The Canada-Israel Committee, the umbrella organization of the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Canadian Zionist Federation and the B’nai B’rith, lodged yesterday a strongly worded complaint with the Quebec press council concerning an article in the French-language monthly, Ici Quebec (Here is Quebec), terming Zionism “the cancer of humanity.
The Canada-Israel Committee said this was a “malicious libel,” against Zionism, Israel and Jews in general. The article in the March issue was written by the editor-in-chief, Jean Cote. Cote called Israel “a dagger in the heart of the Arab world” and accused Israel of using “cruelty without precedent in the history of the world” in its treatment of Palestinians.
Ici Quebec is a monthly pro-separatist paper which represents the right wing of the Pequist Party which is now in power as the provincial government. The magazine was established a year ago and has a circulation of 15,000. “International Zionism is the generalized cancer of humanity, the home of violent racism and the ferment which has fed wars in the Middle East for the last quarter of a century,” the article said.
The March issue of the magazine includes an article accusing Israel of poisoning shipments of Jaffa oranges to Europe as a way of discrediting the Palestinians and creating sympathy to aid Zionist fund-raising campaigns.
JEWISH COMMUNITY ASSAILS ARTICLES
The Canada-Israel Committee, based here, said “the articles are shocking and unfortunate especially at a time when there is more chance of achieving peace in the Middle East than ever before. Such blatantly propagandistic efforts can only serve to promote tensions and misunderstanding in Quebec society and to unnecessarily provoke elements within it.”
Listed in the table of contents as a collaborator in the anti-Zionist article is Roger Delorme, broadcaster and unsuccessful Progressive-Conservative candidate who has been accused in the past of anti-Semitic views. Delorme has been quoted as saying that the Diary of Anne Frank is a forgery and that no more than a million Jews were killed by the Nazis.
Marcel Caput, director general of the magazine, said he was not surprised at the reaction of the Jewish community to the articles. Chaput said: “With Jews, you have to agree with them or they call you racist. Jews don’t want independence for Quebec so why should I support independence for Israel? What have Jews done for the French-Canadians in Quebec? Nothing. They have done nothing for French Canada.
Asked about the article on the Jaffa oranges, Chaput said: “It is not necessarily an affirmation, but Israel can be expected to have done it. The Royal Mounted Police in Canada have set fires and planted bombs. Why shouldn’t Jews poison their oranges?” he asked.
Premier Rene Levesque’s assistant press secretary, Nicole L’Heureux, stated today that the Quebec provincial government “has absolutely no political or financial links” with the magazine.
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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.
