CUPW Statement of Support for Hamas, Not Libel: Ontario Court

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An Ontario court has sided with media commentators who suggested the Canadian Postal Workers Union was a terrorist sympathizer for its participation in a decade-old protest in Ottawa that featured a Hamas flag.

“Their belief that CUPW supports the terrorist organization Hamas, in my opinion, is sincerely confirmed and based on proven facts. It doesn’t have to be a reasonable belief. But it must be fair,” concluded Ontario Superior Court Justice Graham Mew.

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The case, which involves both journalistic ethics and the tense politics of the Middle East, relates to a July 2014 march organized by the Association of Palestinian Canadians, which was joined by some invited postal workers. by their union. But the problem was resolved only on Thursday.

The defendants in the case were Jerry Agar, then the anchor of the now-defunct Sun News Network and a freelance columnist for the Toronto Sun, which was then owned by Quebecor but is now owned by Postmedia, the same company that owns the National Post, and Avi Benlolo. , then president and CEO of the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies and now CEO of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative and a columnist for the National Post.

“This is an important affirmation of the right to debate and express honest views,” Benlolo said in a statement. “To me, this is an important victory that will make a difference for the Jewish community.”

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Another Postmedia newspaper, the Ottawa Citizen, covered the protest at the time and interviewed Adam John, a man who carried the Hamas flag, who said that while a link could be made between the flag and the terrorist group, it was meant to support Islam in in general, and not Hamas in particular.

The flag’s presence and CUPW’s long history of activity in the Gaza Strip formed the basis for subsequent comments and litigation.

Agar wrote in the Sun newspaper: “Would you like a terrorist sympathizer to come to your door every day?” On the Sun News broadcast, where Agar was filling in for regular host of current affairs program The Source, Benlolo, who was invited as a guest, said that CUPW management “has a history of partnering with hate groups, anti-Israel groups” and stated that ” “It’s shocking” that the union “should be so political and side with and collaborate with a hate group like Hamas.”

CUPW sued, claiming that Agar and Benlolo were essentially claiming that the union and its members were terrorist sympathizers, that CUPW supported Hamas and did not attend the rally in support of “ordinary Palestinians”, and that this was libelous. He also argued that Agar’s Toronto Sun article was libelous.

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The Postal Union has long taken a strong position on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and its official peace and disarmament policy states that “the occupation of the West Bank and the siege of Gaza are serious obstacles to justice and lasting peace.” expressing support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Her policies were heavily criticized in newspaper columns and were once criticized by Bob Rae, then a Liberal MP, the court ruling said.

“I continue to be amazed at the extent to which ideas that should have been on the fringes of politics have now been accepted by a union that represents thousands of members,” Wray previously said, according to the ruling.

As a result, the court sided with Agar and Benlolo.

“We are disappointed with the outcome,” said an email from CUPW media relations. “We will contact you when we have something to say.”

It wasn’t just about the history of CUPW and the political views surrounding the Gaza Strip and Israel. The ruling also addressed a statement emailed by a CUPW representative to journalists who asked whether the union supported Hamas. The representative did not directly deny this, and it served as key evidence in the judge’s decision.

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Benlolo, however, attempted to use the defense of truth in court, typically the most difficult defense against charges of libel or defamation.

Although the court noted that when Sun Media contacted the postal union for comment, it “did not take the opportunity to distance itself” from any association with the Hamas flag and supported Canada’s Boat to Gaza initiative, which prompted the creation of a flotilla in 2011 to deliver humanitarian aid through the Israeli blockade of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, this was not sufficient evidence that CUPW deliberately carried out the marches with Hamas supporters or supports Hamas, or that postmen are terrorist sympathizers. This defense failed.

The two men also called their statements “fair commentary,” a popular legal defense against charges of libel or libel. However, it requires that the accused make his statements without malice and that they have some basis in fact. Once again, the judge raised the issue of CUPW’s failure to disavow Hamas when asked to comment.

“A plausible interpretation of CUPW’s reluctance to answer this question … is that CUPW wanted to avoid directly answering the question,” Mew wrote. “While I am not suggesting that CUPW’s failure to take the opportunity to deny its support for Hamas could reasonably be interpreted as an admission that it did support Hamas, it nevertheless left the door open for Mr. Agar and Mr. Benlolo. leave comments that are the subject of this action.”

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The judge concluded that the banner that was displayed during the conversation: “Support for Hamas?” — was a question, not a statement of fact.

CUPW, in attempting to counter the fair comment defense, noted that it “repeatedly condemned violence, terrorism, racism and all that Hamas stands for (albeit without specifically mentioning Hamas),” the judge wrote, which was ignored by the defendants: and that support for BDS or the presence of a Hamas flag, which the organizers were unaware of, “could not form a factual basis for the allegation” that the CUPW was Hamas sympathizer.

The judge disagreed, finding that CUPW’s long history of activism provided a sufficient factual basis for the opinions expressed.

“The comment does not have to be reasonable. It may even be far-fetched or extreme,” the judge wrote. “The requisite factual basis for the opinions expressed by the defendants has been sufficiently demonstrated.”

He also found that Agar and Benlolo acted without malice and truly believed what they said.

The National Post was unable to reach Agar for comment.

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