A Jewish Canadian Broadcasting Corporation journalist has reportedly been disciplined by the state broadcaster after recording a group of anti-Zionist protesters outside of a synagogue service in Toronto on Yom Kippur.
Neil Herland posted a video to X on Monday, during his time off, documenting protesters that he said were “trying to taunt and intimidate” worshipers as they attempted to enter Meridian Hall for the Jewish religious service.
“My late father was an Austrian Jew who survived the Holocaust in Romania. And came to Canada as a refugee. This year I got an Austrian passport, in case Canada becomes unsafe for me as a Jew,” he said in the post. “ I fear that moment is approaching, here in Canada and elsewhere.”
On the same day as the protest, a lone shooter targeted the Sons of Jacob synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, injuring a police officer and firing over 20 shots into the synagogue filled with worshipers.
Herland continued in the post saying that “Jewish Canadians are living in a parallel world where police stand guard with guns outside synagogues. And Jewish schools, religious sites and businesses are targeted with bullets.”
He said, “most Canadians have no awareness or understanding.”
According to reporting in the Toronto Star by columnist Warren Kinsella, the CBC investigated and held a disciplinary hearing with Herland on Thursday for the post, including “quietly” pulling Herland “off-the-air.”
When asked to confirm that Herland was disciplined and to respond to criticisms online that the move by the state-funded broadcaster was evidence of antisemitic bias and an unfair action, Chuck Thompson, a spokesperson for the CBC, told Juno News that he won’t comment on internal matters.
“We respect the privacy rights of our employees and won’t comment on internal matters. However, we are aware of reporting on this matter that contains errors and mischaracterizations,” he said.
When asked to point out what “errors and mischaracterizations” were present in Kinsella’s reporting, Thompson told Juno News again that “We won’t comment on those details fully respecting the privacy of the situation.”