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Iddo Moed: False narratives about Israel have violent consequences

Iddo Moed: False narratives about Israel have violent consequences

National Post03-06-2025
I am the ambassador of a country that was built by unexpected leaders.
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The founders of the State of Israel were not aristocrats or members of a wealthy elite. They were refugees and immigrants — men and women who arrived with little more than determination and hope. They fled violence, persecution, and antisemitism from every corner of the world: pogroms in Europe and Asia, attacks by mobs and ultimately expulsion from Arab lands, and the unthinkable horrors of the Holocaust.
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While Jews have had a continuous presence in the Holy Land for millennia, modern Israel was forged in the crucible of exile and survival. Today, Israel is a thriving liberal democracy with a diverse and multicultural society, a dynamic economy, and a strong defence force.
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We are proud of these achievements. But we have never forgotten an important lesson from Jewish history: false narratives, when left unchallenged, have violent consequences.
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One need not look far to understand why this lesson is so deeply ingrained in our psyche. Theodor Herzl, the father of modern political Zionism, was moved by what he witnessed during the infamous Dreyfus Affair in late 19th-century France. A Jewish army officer, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, was falsely accused and convicted of treason. The campaign against him was led by the virulently antisemitic press — particularly La Libre Parole, which pushed a dangerous narrative: that Jews were inherently disloyal.
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Given our history, we are highly attuned to the moments these falsehoods begin to surface. That's why, when I woke up Sunday morning to headlines from nearly every major Canadian media outlet — except National Post — about an alleged incident at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid hub in Rafah, I was immediately concerned.
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This war has shown us, time and again, how Hamas manipulates facts on the ground, creating stories of atrocities that either didn't happen or happened in a very different way. The media often amplifies these claims uncritically, and by the time the truth emerges, the damage is done.
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The most egregious example came just weeks after the October 7 massacre. The Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry claimed an Israeli airstrike had killed hundreds at Al-Ahli Hospital. Israel immediately launched an investigation — but the media didn't wait. The story exploded across front pages and screens around the world.
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By the time the investigation revealed that the explosion was caused by a Palestinian rocket, which was confirmed by the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, millions were misled. Worse, some politicians — including Canada's own foreign affairs minister at the time — rushed to condemn Israel before the facts were known.
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Columbia University says it has suspended and expelled students who participated in protests
Columbia University says it has suspended and expelled students who participated in protests

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  • Winnipeg Free Press

Columbia University says it has suspended and expelled students who participated in protests

NEW YORK (AP) — Columbia University announced disciplinary action Tuesday against students who participated in a pro-Palestinian demonstration inside the Ivy League school's main library before final exams in May and an encampment during alumni weekend last year. A student activist group said nearly 80 students were told they have been suspended for one to three years or expelled. The sanctions issued by a university judicial board also include probation and degree revocations, Columbia said in a statement. The action comes as the Manhattan university is negotiating with President Donald Trump's administration to restore $400 million in federal funding it has withheld from the Ivy League school over its handling of student protests against the war in Gaza. The administration pulled the funding, canceling grants and contracts, in March because of what it described as the university's failure to squelch antisemitism on campus during the Israel-Hamas war that began in October 2023. Columbia has since agreed to a series of demands laid out by the Republican administration, including overhauling the university's student disciplinary process and adopting a new definition of antisemitism. 'Our institution must focus on delivering on its academic mission for our community,' the university said Tuesday. 'And to create a thriving academic community, there must be respect for each other and the institution's fundamental work, policies, and rules. Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policies and Rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences.' It did not disclose the names of the students who were disciplined. Columbia in May said it would lay off nearly 180 staffers and scale back research in response to the loss of funding. Those receiving nonrenewal or termination notices represent about 20% of the employees funded in some manner by the terminated federal grants, the university said. A student activist group said the newly announced disciplinary action exceeds sentencing precedent for prior protests. Suspended students would be required to submit apologies in order to be allowed back on campus or face expulsion, the group said, something some students will refuse to do. 'We will not be deterred. We are committed to the struggle for Palestinian liberation,' Columbia University Apartheid Divest said in a statement. Columbia was at the forefront of U.S. campus protests over the war in spring 2024. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up an encampment and seized a campus building in April, leading to dozens of arrests and inspiring a wave of similar protests nationally. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has cut funding to several top U.S. universities he viewed as too tolerant of antisemitism. The administration has also cracked down on individual student protesters. Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident with no criminal record, was detained in March over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. He is now suing the Trump administration, alleging he was falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted and smeared as an antisemite.

‘I prefer death over this life': Hungry and exhausted, AFP journalists document Gaza war
‘I prefer death over this life': Hungry and exhausted, AFP journalists document Gaza war

CTV News

time10 hours ago

  • CTV News

‘I prefer death over this life': Hungry and exhausted, AFP journalists document Gaza war

GAZA CITY — AFP journalists in the Gaza Strip said Tuesday that chronic food shortages are affecting their ability to cover Israel's conflict with Hamas militants. Palestinian text, photo and video journalists working for the international news agency said desperate hunger and lack of clean water is making them ill and exhausted. Some have even had to cut back on their coverage of the war, now in its 22nd month, with one journalist saying 'we have no energy left due to hunger'. The United Nations in June condemned what it claimed was Israel's 'weaponisation of food' in Gaza and called it a war crime, as aid agencies urge action and warnings about malnutrition multiply. Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid. Witnesses and Gaza's civil defence agency, however, have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of firing on aid seekers, with the UN saying the military had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food since late May. 'We have no energy' Bashar Taleb, 35, is one of four AFP photographers in Gaza who were shortlisted for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize earlier this year. He lives in the bombed-out ruins of his home in Jabalia al-Nazla, in northern Gaza. 'I've had to stop working multiple times just to search for food for my family and loved ones,' he said. 'I feel for the first time utterly defeated emotionally. 'I've tried so much, knocked on many doors to save my family from starvation, constant displacement and persistent fear but so far to no avail.' Another Pulitzer nominee, Omar al-Qattaa, 35, is staying in the remains of his wife's family's home after his own apartment was destroyed. 'I'm exhausted from carrying heavy cameras on my shoulders and walking long distances,' he said. 'We can't even reach coverage sites because we have no energy left due to hunger and lack of food.' Qattaa relies on painkillers for a back complaint, but said basic medicines were not available in pharmacies, and the lack of vitamins and nutritious food have added to his difficulties. The constant headaches and dizziness he has suffered due to lack of food and water have also afflicted AFP contributor Khadr Al-Zanoun, 45, in Gaza City, who said he has even collapsed because of it. 'Since the war began, I've lost about 30 kilos (66 pounds) and become skeletal compared to how I looked before the war,' he said. 'I used to finish news reports and stories quickly. Now I barely manage to complete one report per day due to extreme physical and mental fatigue and near-delirium.' Worse, though, was the effect on his family, he said. 'They're barely hanging on,' he added. 'Hunger has shaken my resolve' Eyad Baba, another photojournalist, was displaced from his home in Rafah, in the south, to a tent in Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, where the Israeli military this week began ground operations for the first time. But he could not bear life in the sprawling camp, so he instead rented an apartment at an inflated price to try to at least provide his family some comfort. Baba, 47, has worked non-stop for 14 months, away from his family and friends, documenting the bloody aftermath of bullets and bombs, and the grief that comes with it. Hardest to deal with, though, is the lack of food, he said. 'I can no longer bear the hunger. Hunger has reached my children and has shaken my resolve,' he added. 'We've psychologically endured every kind of death during our press coverage. Fear and the sense of looming death accompany us wherever we work or live.' Working as a journalist in Gaza is to work 'under the barrel of a gun', he explained, but added: 'The pain of hunger is sharper than the fear of bombing. 'Hunger robs you of focus, of the ability to think amid the horrors of war.' 'Living the catastrophe' The director of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, warned on Tuesday that Gaza was heading towards 'alarming numbers of deaths' due to lack of food, revealing that 21 children had died from malnutrition and starvation in the last three days. AFP text journalist Ahlam Afana, 30, said an exhausting 'cash crisis' -- from exorbitant bank charges and sky-high prices for what food is available -- was adding to the issue. Cash withdrawals carry fees of up to 45 percent, said Zanoun, with high prices for fuel -- where it is available -- making getting around by car impossible, even if the streets were not blocked by rubble. 'Prices are outrageous,' said Afana. 'A kilo of flour sells for 100–150 shekels ($30-45), beyond our ability to buy even one kilo a day. 'Rice is 100 shekels, sugar is over 300 shekels, pasta is 80 shekels, a litre of oil is 85–100 shekels, tomatoes 70–100 shekels. Even seasonal fruits now -- grapes, figs -- cost 100 shekels per kilo. 'We can't afford them. I don't even remember how they taste.' Afana said she keeps working from a worn-out tent in intense heat that can reach more than 30C, but going days without food and only some water makes it a struggle. 'I move slowly, unlike before,' she said. 'The danger isn't just the bombing. Hunger is slowly killing our bodies and threatening our ability to carry on. 'Now, I'm not just reporting the news. I'm living the catastrophe and documenting it at the same time.' 'I prefer death over this life' Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on July 8 that more than 200 journalists had been killed in Gaza since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war. Video journalist Youssef Hassouna, 48, said the loss of colleagues, friends and family had tested him as a human being 'in every possible way'. But despite 'a heavy emptiness', he said he carries on. 'Every frame I capture might be the last trace of a life buried beneath the earth,' he added. 'In this war, life as we know it has become impossible.' Zuheir Abu Atileh, 60, worked at AFP's Gaza office, and shared the experience of his journalist colleagues, calling the situation 'catastrophic'. 'I prefer death over this life,' he said. 'We have no strength left; we're exhausted and collapsing. Enough is enough.'

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