The anti-Palestinian racism of B’nai Brith Canada’s 'Jewish Tribune'

Written by: Stephen Ellis

B’nai Brith Canada’s image as a legitimate human rights organization has all but imploded with a series of exposes that have shed light on its racist past, its fudging of anti-Semitism statistics and its pivotal role in Canada’s Islamophobia industry.

BBC’s racism is reflected in the Jewish Tribune, which published both a physical paper and an online site, until it folded in 2015. Since then, BBC has been publishing its brand of “news” online. In its time, the Tribune was Canada’s largest circulated Jewish publication and was a curious amalgam of community news and anti-Palestinian/anti-Muslim hate. In its pages, you would find recipes, student and sports news, cultural events, and regular columns about and from some of the world’s most notorious Islamophobes, names like Pamela Geller, Geert Wilders, Daniel Pipes, Moshe Feiglin, Mordechai Kedar and the fascist Jewish Defence League (JDL).

Cartoons, an integral part of BBC’s anti-Palestinian arsenal, have the power to convey simple, hate-filled, messages in ways that words cannot. Ten cartoons taken from the Jewish Tribune from the period of 2006-2015 showcase this reality; responses from Palestinians on what each means to them are included.

This cartoon reproduces one of the most shockingly Islamophobic and Palestinian-dehumanizing tropes spread by Zionist propaganda: it combines the stereotyping of Muslims as homogeneously backward, extremist, suspicious, and dangerous; the total dehumanization of Palestinians by turning their birth, that is, their very lives into an act of terror, an aggression to the existence of Israel and Jews; and the cynical justification of Israeli crimes against Palestinians as self-defence by obfuscating the fact that the state of Israel is a colonial oppressor and an occupying power that is trying to dispossess Palestinians not only of their land, history, identity, and existence, but also of the basic right to resist this colonial violence.

Emilio Dabed – law professor

This is appalling. The cartoonist, the publisher, and the carrier of this comic ought to be sued for promoting hatred under the criminal code. Palestinians are being depicted as evil beings celebrating death while Israelis are shown as simply wanting to celebrate their holidays. The cartoon turns the power imbalance on its head, which makes for effective propaganda. Here, the “violent” ones are those who are occupied, while the occupiers are depicted as the “innocent” ones.

Reem Al-Salti – web designer and developer

Palestine was first inhabited by the Jebusites, a Canaanite tribe, in 3500 B.C. Since then, Palestine has been controlled by many kingdoms and powers, including Ancient Egypt, the Israelites who came from Egypt, the Babylonian Empire, the Persian Empire, the Greek Empire and the Roman Empire. In the 5th century BCE, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus mentioned in his book The Histories a “district of Syria, called Palaistinê" between Phoenicia and Egypt.

Palestine is the birthplace of Jesus and Christianity. There exists a consensus among scholars that the language of Jesus and his disciples was Aramaic since it was the common language of Palestine in the first century AD. Hebrew was also used by religious scholars. Some inhabitants of Palestine became followers of Jesus and converted to Christianity. Later on, following the Arab conquest of Palestine in 634 AD many inhabitants converted to Islam and Arabic became the predominant language overtaking Aramaic.

B’nai Brith’s cartoon glosses over the history of Palestine, demeans its rich multicultural and multi-religious history and exposes its support for Jewish supremacy in Palestine, in contravention of stated Canadian values.

Khaled Mouammar – community activist

In an issue that features on the front page an interview with Mark Steyn, best known for decrying the "the Muslim takeover of Europe," it comes as little surprise to find an Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian cartoon at the back end of the issue. The cartoon suggests that Muslims will bring their supposedly inherent antisemitic hatred of Jews to Europe, and through sheer numbers (as a result of their high birth rate) will replace Europeans thus changing its majority opinions.

Despite Europe's commitment to Israel as part of "Western civilization," the cartoon suggests that the "Muslim takeover" will change Europe's culture, values, and beliefs for the worse. The cartoon thus (a) encourages Islamophobia and fear of the Muslim who will force Sharia Law ("the dawn of a new Dark Ages" as Stein puts it) on an unsuspecting and dwindling "pure" European population, and (b) associates this unfounded fear with Palestinian critiques of Israel and Zionism. This is not a subtle message. It basically paints calls for Palestinian freedom and human rights as part and parcel of the destruction of "Western Civilization" and the dawn of the new Dark Ages.

Mark Ayyash – professor

This is exactly the narrative that Israel supports. It assumes that it has some righteous reason to keep Jerusalem united as if it all belongs to them and Palestinians want to ruin it. The same cartoon with the costumes reversed would be seen as anti-Semitic and counterproductive to the so-called Peace Process and the Two-State solution. There is absolutely nothing left for Palestinians. What you call your Promised Land was populated by Palestinians for centuries. You brought settlers from all over the world to replace its Indigenous inhabitants. You wiped out hundreds of villages and expelled more than 75 per cent of its population in 1948. You brought your criminal gangs, like the Haganah, Irgun, Stern, Lehi, etc., and committed massacres and atrocities. In 1967 you waged another war, and took the rest of Palestine, including Jerusalem. This cartoon speaks volumes about your lies.

Odette Dabit – community activist

As a Palestinian, this cartoon portrays how Zionist narratives desperately aim to problematize and, in many cases, even criminalize solidarity with Palestinians. As the last few years have demonstrated, the tide is slowly beginning to shift when it comes to mainstream coverage of current events in Palestine. Zionists are losing the war of public opinion, in large part due to the rise of social media. There is nothing that scares Zionists more than international solidarity with the Palestinian cause, and this cartoon exposes that.

Mohammed W. – community engagement coordinator

When I saw this cartoon and as a Palestinian, I felt enraged! Immediately, this is what came to mind:

Israel is using the label of terrorism to delegitimize and silence the Palestinians' legitimate grievances and demands, and to justify its violations of international law and human rights. It’s a self-serving tactic.

People resisting Israeli occupation, oppression, and colonization of their lands, have the right to do so. They have the right to self-determination and freedom.

Since when do we call a freedom fighter a terrorist? It's absurd! It is done to illicit unfounded support to the colonial and apartheid regime in this case Israel. Using these tactics can only promote violence and halt the advancement of a just peace in Palestine.

Note: Bhagat Singh, Nelson Mandela, and Samuel Adams are a few of history's freedom fighters who sometimes had to use violence to bring on liberation and freedom from colonial and apartheid regimes. The problem is, a non-Palestinian may not get it.

Sana Farah Scott – retired nurse

The cartoon is racist towards Palestinians who are represented as anti-Semitic terrorists, and it also serves to silence and bully anyone calling for the boycott of Israel, which is a legitimate right, by equating them with Nazis and antisemites. It is another example of the weaponization of antisemitism to silence peaceful, non-violent critics of Israel, and it helps perpetuate a violent, racist, dehumanizing representation of Palestinians by Israel’s supporters.

Lena El-Malak – lawyer

A continuation of the Zionist narrative script from the early 20th century which cleverly propagandizes, dehumanizes and turns Palestinians into cartoon cutouts whose primary purpose in life is to hate and kill Jews. Zionism benefits in two ways: first it casts ALL Palestinians even women and children as the villains in the story placing limitless blame on Palestinians despite having little means to perpetrate what they are accused of or what is advertised. Secondly, it serves to divert attention from Israel's own behaviour - violence, warmongering, cruelty, lawlessness and serial human rights violator. The result is that Israel gets a free pass or blank check to kill, destroy and oppress as it pleases because it faces an implacable, hateful enemy while remaining the most ‘moral’ state routinely defended by the most ‘moral’ army in the world.

Rihad Badawi – business owner

Cartoons are meant to be a humorous exaggeration of subjects, but when the exaggerations perpetuate racist stereotypes that cause harm and reinforce falsehoods, they cease to be humorous. The characterization of a sinister looking Palestinian man dressed in black, juxtaposed with an Israeli man, dressed in a brown suit, which is typically associated with sincere, relatable and respectful persons, blatantly ignores the human struggle of self-determination and occupation that Palestinians endure. The cartoon suggests that it is the Israelis themselves who have been waiting for recourse through the Hague, overlooking the fact that Palestinians have been appealing to the international community for years to address the reality of 75 years of illegal occupation. Ignoring the brutal basis of upon which the Palestinian resistance is built is the only way that the Zionist lobby has been able to garner support for the continuation of its war crimes and apartheid practices. Fortunately, the world is growing aware of the reality of the situation and can read through these images propagated by aggressors, pleading for sympathy, shooting while weeping.

Randa Mouammar – professor

An eye on the present and the future

The Jewish Tribune can only be found using Webarchive, being otherwise erased from the internet. Researchers looking into B’nai B’rith Canada (BBC) are best advised to consult the various historical archives in Ontario.

Naturally, BBC is quite sensitive to any suggestion that it is anything but a good-faith actor on the political scene. For those who support equal rights for Palestinians, BBC is widely known as the most aggressive agent for the Israeli apartheid state on Canadian soil.

On February 13, 2023, BBC CEO Michael Mostyn appeared before the Senate’s Standing Committee on Human Rights. Mostyn spent most of his allotted time attacking Wilfrid Laurier University Professor Jasmin Zine for her report which showed BBC as a consistent purveyor of Islamophobia in Canada. Zine’s report was the first high-profile study in Canada which located BBC among a vast network of racist individuals and organizations that have proliferated since 9/11. The tenor of Mostyn’s response shows that Zine had indeed struck a nerve.

On June 28, 2023, BBC announced that it was taking Palestine solidarity activist, Rabbi David Mivasair, to court for stating that BBC is, among other things, a racist, anti-Palestinian, hate group. Rabbi Mivasair is a beloved solidarity activist who has shown courage and staying power in the face of Canada’s unwavering support for a racist, colonial state.

BBC’s attack on Mivasair is what poker players call a “tell” - an action that inadvertently reveals the strength of one’s hand. BBC would rather we not uncover its history of silencing, excluding, erasing, stereotyping, defaming and dehumanizing Palestinians in the pages of its official paper.

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Stephen Ellis is a Toronto lawyer with the Legal Centre for Palestine.

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