A year-long battle between the B’nai B’rith Eastern District and the United Church of Canada has ended with an out of court settlement after both groups signed a joint statement acknowledging that “we have anguished over recent events that have driven deep wedges of misunderstanding and acrimony between us.”
The dispute arose when the United Church Observer, organ of the United Church of Canada, published an article in its March 1972 issue by John Nicolls Booth entitled “How Zionists Manipulate Your News.” The article suggested that B’nai B’rith and other Jewish agencies were involved in suppressing the news media in reporting and editorials concerning the Middle East. A month earlier, the monthly bulletin of the Toronto B’nai B’rith Lodge referred to Rev. A.C. Forrest, the editor of the United Church Observer, as a “Haman” and a “pharaoh.”
B’nai B’rith issued a writ of defamation against the United Church and its publication. The Rev. Forrest issued a writ against the president of the B’nai B’rith Lodge and the editor of the bulletin.
In their joint statement, the two organizations said: “Though we may differ in opinion from time to time on some issues, we believe that cooperation and friendship can be achieved, and that criticism of each other can be constructive when offered in a spirit of mutual respect and integrity.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
