The Quebec Press Council has condemned the ###y magazine “Ici Quebec” for the anti-S###c “style and tone” of articles it published in three consecutive issues last February, March and April. The Council acted on the complaint of the Canada-Israel Committee which cited articles titled “Zionism — Cancer of Society,” “The Poisoned Oranges,” and other defamatory material as incitement to race hatred.
The Quebec Press Council, an unofficial organization of reporters and publishers in the province of Quebec declared in a statement Jan. 29 that it “deplores vividly the publication of these hateful accusations meant to inflame racist feelings and racism and which deeply hurt the feelings of the Jewish community as a whole. “The statement also noted that the articles were “biased in favor of the Palestinians.”
The complaint was lodged by Reginald Hamel, a professor of literature at the University of Montreal, and Myer Bick, national executive director of the Canada-Israel Committee. They said the articles constituted a “flagrant example of invitation to hatred against Israel and the Jewish people.”
“Ici Quebec is a French language periodical, privately published with a circulation of abaci 3000. It is vigorously nationalistic in its views However, the provincial government headed by Premier Rene Levesque of the separatist Parti Quebecors has denied allegations that the magazine has any connections with the government.
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