Acclaimed journalist Robert Fife wants to see Palestinians eradicated. Or at least that’s the logic of his outrageous smear on social media.
Recently the Globe and Mail’s Ottawa Bureau Chief posted to X “A Pogrom Is Brewing in Canada”. Fife linked to an article with that headline published in a forcefully genocidal US publication. The anti-internationalist and (paradoxically) anti-Canadian article labels as anti-Jewish a slew of examples of Canadians courageously opposing their government’s backing of genocide. Tellingly, the examples of actual antisemitism cited in the story are largely buried.
Close to Canada’s US-empire-aligned intelligence services, Fife is a sycophant. But, ostensibly, a sophisticated one. That he would post such an obviously unhinged message highlights the depth of support for colonial Jewish supremacy in Canada’s ruling class. And its media. On Thursday the front of the National Post blared “Foreign minister kicks off with PR for Hamas”. The story complained that Anita Anand responded to a question about Israel’s starvation policy by noting “we cannot allow the continued use of food as a political tool…. Over 50,000 people have died as a result of the aggression caused against the Palestinians and the Gazan people in Palestine. Using food as a political tool is simply unacceptable.”
Amidst the holocaust in Gaza, National Post, Sun Media and ‘journalists’ from other outlets have taken trips to Israel organized by that country’s lobby groups. The longtime head and now board chair of Postmedia, which controls the National Post, Sun papers and many other dailies, Paul Godfrey, is Honorary Chair of Zionist fanatic Avi Benlolo’s Abraham Global Peace Initiative. In 2014 Godfrey was chairman of the Calgary Gala of the Jewish National Fund, which lost its charitable status for supporting the Israeli military and racist land-use policies. At the more liberal Torstar, which publishes the Toronto Star and other papers, Robert Prichard, was CEO while he directed Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz’ HESEG Foundation for lone soldiers, which funds non-Israelis who join that country’s military.
Canadian media is genocidal even compared to other deeply Zionist anglosphere countries. Last week the Financial Times editorial board published “The west’s shameful silence on Gaza,” arguing the US and Europe “should be ashamed of their silence, and stop enabling Netanyahu to act with impunity.” Subsequently, the London Economistpublished “The war in Gaza must end,” which calls on Donald Trump to pressure Netanyahu for a ceasefire while The Independent and Guardian editorial boards published “End the deafening silence on Gaza — it is time to speak up” and “Trump can stop this horror. The alternative is unthinkable.”
Back in Canada, Fife has long been anti-Palestinian. In an embarrassing example for someone purportedly troubled by foreign interference, Fife posted a release from the Israeli ambassador to X last year criticizing Ottawa for mild opposition to the genocide. A year earlier Fife moderated a panel at a conference hosted by the Israeli Embassy headlined “Canadian Summit for Israel-Jewish Affairs: the Next 75 Years.” As much as any journalist in the country, Fife has been responsible for the fear mongering about foreign interference. Imagine Fife moderating a panel at a conference organized by the Chinese embassy to mobilize domestic lobby groups on its behalf? (Any comparison between Israel and China is unfair of course. Israel was born in ethnic cleansing, regularly bombs its neighbours and is committing a holocaust in Gaza.)
Fife offers a window into the sycophantic character of Canada’s dominant media. Even when challenging the governing party, they generally articulate the perspective of institutional power (be it the military, CSIS, Israel lobby or corporate associations).
That’s been the case with Fife’s reporting on foreign interference, which embarrassed the Liberals but served the US-aligned military and CSIS. It’s also true of his odious role in the Maher Arar imprisonment scandal.
In the official “Report of the events relating to Maher Arar” former Associate Chief Justice of Ontario Dennis R. O’Connor, criticized Fife for quoting unnamed intelligence sources to justify the imprisonment of Arar. O’Connor concluded the purpose of one of the leaks Fife relayed was to “influence public opinion against Mr. Arar at a time when his release from imprisonment in Syria was being sought by the Government of Canada, including the Prime Minister.”
Having been explicitly criticized in an official inquiry ought to sap a journalist’s credibility.
But not if you are a mouthpiece of institutional power. Rather than harm his career, Fife has risen to the top of his field. He is Ottawa bureau chief for Canada’s ‘paper of record’ and has recently won the Conference of Defence Associations’ Ross Munro Media award, Canadian Hillman Prize and Canadian Association of Journalists Don McGillivray prize.
According to one of Canada’s most acclaimed journalists a “pogrom is brewing in Canada”. What an embarrassment to journalism in this country.
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