Mr. Dimitri Lascaris , lawyer, journalist and activist is very concerned about Islamophobia and those he concludes are Islamophobic.
I reached out to Mr. Lascaris regarding comments he made about Lt. Col (Ret) Jonathan
Halevi. Lascaris did not respond to my first Media Inquiry. But he did to the second one in which I questioned his statements. Out of respect, I sent him the article I was planning to post to
give him the opportunity to question or make changes.
I am sharing all of this with you as it pertains to Fake News. When a media outlet shares
posts that contain errors and then refuses to make changes or provide opportunities for
people to expose the errors, then you get this: Someone else, knowingly or unknowingly, taking false news and spreading it. Like a virus.
There is a beautiful Jewish tale that explains this. Madonna wrote a book about it.
A father says to his child, “Cut open that feather pillow and shake it into the wind.”
The child does. And the feathers fly away wherever the wind takes them.
Then the father says: “Now go and find all the feathers!”
Needless to say the children are baffled. How will they find all of the feathers?
The same holds true with false/fake news. Once spread, how does one retrieve all of the
copies? Especially in the world of social media.
I have decided to lead the article with Mr. Lascaris’ response which he shared within
minutes of receiving my second request. He did not respond to the first one.
Ms. Bederman:
I have better things to do with my time than respond to questions from someone who
routinely writes and publishes Islamophobic garbage such as
this:How do you spell censorship…I S L A M O P H O B I A
All I have to say in response to your questions is that my comments about Mr. Halevi were
entirely fair. If he feels that he has been unfairly maligned, then he can always sue me and
the Toronto Star for defamation, yet he has never communicated to me any complaint
about my comments, and as far as I know, he has not sued the Toronto Star for defamation.
Please don’t bother me your biased and bigoted commentary and questions any more.
Dimitri Lascaris
Please note, Dear readers, the article to which he refers was posted on my Blog and FB
page just shortly before he responded. I had no idea he was a fan. Here is the article which I sent to him in my email.
On March 21, 2019, Dimitri Lascaris, gave his deputation on behalf of the organizing
committee of the Al Quds Day rallies in Toronto, to a Toronto Executive Committee that is
assigned to look into an Administrative Inquiry on Hate Sponsored Rallies.
In his deputation Lascaris said, among other things, the following:
“By the way, it appears that someone who is involved in the video upon which that
allegation is based is Jonathan Halevi who was exposed in the Toronto Star in an exposé
last year as being somebody who had produced a doctored and mistranslated video in
order to smear a Toronto imam.”
Mr. Lascaris’ statement refers to Toronto Star’s article “A Toronto imam was accused of
hate-preaching against Jews. But that wasn’t the whole story” published on October 22,
2017 by Jennifer Yang and approved Kathy English, the Star’s public editor since 2007.
Since early 2018, I’ve written a series of investigative articles showing that the allegations of the
Star’s “exposé” were unfounded, wrong and/ or false. Moreover, it clearly appears that both
Yang and English failed to follow the Star’s own journalistic standards.
My findings were never disputed (multiplies media inquiries were sent to all) by Yang,
English or the five experts with whom the Star consulted. One of these
experts inadvertently exposed how the Star misled its readers by providing false
information on the key issue discussed in the article.
Mr. Lascaris stated that
“Jonathan Halevi… was exposed in the Toronto Star in an exposé
last year as being somebody who had produced a doctored and mistranslated video in
order to smear a Toronto imam.”
Jonathan Halevi did not produce the edited video in question. Moreover, the Toronto Star
never alleged that Jonathan Halevi “produced” this video. The Toronto Star stated that “a
new, edited clip was posted on YouTube, crediting Halevi with its translation.” Halevi’s
translation had already been published in CIJnews article and was available for all.
Here are excerpts from my article “Toronto Star #FAKENEWS It’s not manipulation…it’s an
ellipsis” published on July 26, 2018:
The Toronto Star alleged that the short video clip that was broadcast on The Rebel by Ezra
Levant:
• “was digitally manipulated: the first two seconds were cut and pasted from a
different prayer Elkasrawy had made two minutes earlier”
• contained “a slanted translation” that transformed this Quranic verse from “Thou art
our Protector. Help us against those who stand against faith” to “Give us victory
over the disbelieving people.”
• Atiqa Hachimi, the Star’s “expert” stated: “It changed their meaning in such a way
as to promote the dangerous myths that violent extremism and hate are inherent to
Islam,” Hachimi said.”
All allegations made by The Star in this regard are not true. The Rebel’s video clip was not
“manipulated” but edited to remove irrelevant lines.
On July 25, 2017 Jonathan Halevi wrote to Jennifer Yang:
“The original videos were embedded in CIJnews with no editing, manipulation etc. They
were available till Masjid Toronto YouTube Channel was deleted… CIJnews translation was
mainly based on Islamic sources (see my previous email and below).”
Lt Col. (Ret) Jonathan Halevi’s translation on CIJnews site of the Quranic verse in question
was based on credible Islamic sources and is accurate. The article: “Why doesn’t the
Toronto Star correct and apologize for its front page #FakeNews article?” showed that
Halevi’s translation of the line in question; “Give us victory over the disbelieving people,” is
supported by leading Islamic organizations and scholars in Canada.
Media inquiries containing a wealth of evidence supporting Jonathan Halevi’s translation
were sent to the Toronto Star and its five experts. The Star and four experts never
responded to contest the overwhelming evidence or to defend their original position. One
claimed that the Toronto Star didn’t ask for an opinion regarding this line.
In summary,
• Toronto Star did not allege that Halevi produced the edited video.
• Halevi embedded the unedited videos in his article.
• The shortened video was edited, not “doctored”. The editing did not affect its
message.
• Halevi’s translation was accurate and based on reliable Islamic sources, including
Canadian.
On March 25, 2019 I sent Mr. Lascaris a media inquiry that included three questions, short
background information, and links to relevant articles.
Media inquiry to Dimitri Lascaris
At the time of your statement (March 21, 2019) were you aware of the series of
investigative articles that refuted ALL Toronto Star’s allegations? (see below) [links to the
articles]
Can please provide evidence supporting your statement that the Toronto Star alleged that
Mr. Jonathan Halevi “had produced a doctored” video?
See my article: https://dianebederman.com/toronto-star-fakenews-its-not-manipulation-itsan-ellipsis/
Why did you repeat false and defamatory statements (“mistranslated video”) made by the
Toronto Star against Mr. Halevi?
I’d appreciate a response by 10:00 AM March 25, 2019. If you require more time please
advise me.
Background:
I’m about to publish a book that exposes the fake news article published by the Toronto
Star regarding the prayers at Masjid Toronto mosque. The book will also deal with the
dissemination of fake news articles by third parties. Your response to this media inquiry will
be published in an upcoming article and in the book.
Appendix – Investigative articles refuting Toronto Star’s allegations
DIANEBEDERMAN.COM
Is the Toronto Star Canada’s #FAKENEWS media outlet?
Toronto Star publishes fake news but refuses to retract even after being proven wrong
Why doesn’t the Toronto Star correct and apologize for its front page #FakeNews article?
Was Toronto Star’s front page exposé defamatory fake news?
Toronto Star #FAKENEWS It’s not manipulation…it’s an ellipsis
Ibrahim Hindy sets his own definition of antisemitism in Muslim prayers
#FakeNews: What didn’t Toronto Star tell readers about its “independent” expert?
#FAKENEWS Toronto Star concealed Ayman Elkasrawy’s affiliation with the Muslim
Brotherhood
Toronto Star #FakeNews: Writing about social media posts but neglecting to check them!
#FAKENEWS Toronto Star ignored Ayman Elkasrawy’s sympathy with Hamas, Al-Qassam
Brigades
#FakeNews Toronto Star-where were Elkasrawy’s anti-Jewish/ Israel posts?
Toronto Star #FAKENEWS What did Ayman Elkasrawy mean by reciting “slay them one by
one”
#FakeNews Toronto Star: What prayers are shared in the Masjid Toronto Mosque?
Why did #FakeNews Toronto Star ignore Elkasrawy’s Third Supplication
Toronto Star’s “Fake News” Serving “Political Islam”
Has the virus spread?
From the Ethics of the Fathers: “Rabbi Tarfon used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it.”
