Source: The National Post | Canada | January 13. 2003
Envoy Says Zionists Run Media
By Stewart Bell
Raymond Baaklini, the Lebanese
ambassador, shown in a file photo, said yesterday: "90% of the mass
media in Canada is controlled by Jews or Zionists."
Lebanon's ambassador to Ottawa is under fire for comments he made
about Canada in an Arabic-language newspaper in response to the
government's decision to ban Hezbollah.
In an interview with the newspaper Sada al Machric, Raymond Baaklini
said Canada outlawed the terrorist group last month because of
pressure from a "Zionist party" that he said "controls 90% of the
Canadian media."
He also advised that Canadians travelling in the Arab world should
not wear Canada T-shirts anymore, and said he had been told that
"Canadian police always suspect every man with a beard and every
woman with a veil."
Lebanese-Canadian and Canadian Jewish organizations said yesterday
they were contacting Bill Graham, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to
protest the remarks and seek a reprimand for the ambassador.
Foreign Affairs said last night it was looking into the matter. "The
translation that we received is indeed cause for concern," said
Rodney Moore, a department spokesman. "We're going to be reviewing
the original text."
Yesterday, the ambassador confirmed to the National Post he made the
comments. He said the remarks were meant for an Arabic audience and
he might have phrased them differently if he were addressing English
readers.
The Dec. 31 edition of the Arabic-language newspaper asked the
ambassador for his response to Canada's "unfair" policy on Hezbollah
and published his reply verbatim over two pages.
"The most stubborn party benefiting from this subject is the Zionist
party that exists in Canada," he was quoted as saying. "As you know
this party controls 90% of the Canadian media. It takes instructions
and help from many Zionist organizations either in Canada or abroad.
Therefore if we don't say the Zionist movement had the number two
role, it had the number one role and America comes second."
Asked what he meant by these remarks, the ambassador told the Post:
"I wanted to say exactly that 90% of the mass media in Canada is
controlled by Jews or Zionists, and those Jews and Zionists, they are
also supported by other organizations in the States."
Canadian Jewish leaders are
outraged.
"Not only are such comments insulting to Canada and to Canadian
values, they are also actionable under Canadian human rights
legislation and the Criminal Code, but for diplomatic immunity," said
Keith Landy, president of the Canadian
Jewish Congress.
"I would call upon the Canadian government and specifically Foreign
Minister Graham to call in the Ambassador and to admonish him that in
Canada, we take a dim view of such comments and that they are
completely unacceptable."
Frank Dimant of B'nai Brith Canada called the remarks "crude" and
said they were "just not acceptable public discourse in this country.
His reference to Zionists controlling the media -- standard fare for
the propagandists of the Middle East -- is just a rehash of age-old
anti-Semitic canards."
Left: Keith Landry, president of the Canadian Jewish Congress speaks at a pro-Israel rally. The only two things that matter to Mr. Landry are Jews and Israel. Right: Landry again, this time with booze king and president of the "World" Jewish Congress, Edgar Bronfman. Bronfman headed the effort to extort billions from various European countries as "holocaust reparations." Both Bronfman and Landry are furious that the Ambassador would dare mention Jewish media control!
Later in the Sada al Machric interview, the ambassador noted that
Americans often wear Canada T-shirts when they travel overseas, but
as a result of Ottawa's Hezbollah policy a Maple Leaf flag is no
longer a welcome sign in the Middle East. "I am afraid the Canadian
would have the urgency to wear a non-Canadian T-shirt in Lebanon and
the Arabic world."
Mr. Dimant said the remark about T-shirts was an "implied threat" and
called it intolerable.
"As such, we question whether his credentials for an ambassadorship
in Ottawa should be acceptable to our government."
A spokesman for the Canadian Lebanese Human Rights Federation, which
opposes the current Lebanese government, said the group would be
writing to Mr. Graham to ask that the ambassador be reprimanded.
The Canadian government froze the assets of Hezbollah's military wing
last year, but did not ban the group outright until December,
following protests led by the Canadian Alliance and Canadian Jewish
groups. B'nai Brith launched a court challenge against the government
over the issue.
"We felt it was our responsibility to challenge the government's
initial reluctance to ban Hezbollah in this country not just in our
capacity as a Jewish human rights organization, but because like many
Canadians, we do not want to see this country become a haven for
terrorist groups that use murder and mayhem as political tools," Mr.
Dimant said.
Canadian officials said the decision was based on Hezbollah's
longstanding involvement in international terrorism. A background
report prepared by Canada said Hezbollah was responsible for car
bombings, hijackings and kidnapping Western, Israeli and Jewish
targets.
Hezbollah, which is based in southern Lebanon, has operated in Canada
for at least a decade.
Ottawa's decision angered Lebanon, where Hezbollah is viewed an
Islamic resistance movement against Israel with elected members of
parliament. Lebanese officials have protested the decision, but
Canada is not expected to back down.
