Anti-Semitism in the Media

In Ontario, a major controversy of the year surrounded a commentary made by radio host Brian Henderson of CHUM. In his broadcast, Henderson remarked that Jewish mothers were pushing their children into the legal profession, and that lawyers were bilking the legal aid system. While his piece was meant as a comedic look at the legal aid program, his humour missed the mark and offended Jews across Metro Toronto. The following week, Dick Smyth, a host on CFTR radio, openly supported Henderson's broadcast - this was somewhat ironic, as CHUM, and Henderson himself, had disavowed his original commentary. Nevertheless, the two broadcasts brought issues of anti- Semitism to the forefront in the Toronto media.

The League also received several complaints from university students because of distasteful features in the campus press that fueled the flames of anti-Semitism. It is regrettable that overzealous editors, usually in a poor attempt at humour, insist on invoking arguments of freedom of the press, and the license of satirists, when these are usually arguments in defense of poor taste and offensive material.

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