Letter to MP Terry Sheehan from Dr. Joyce Isbitsky, Sault Ste Marie re disgusting display of anti Israel hate at CBC live Broadcast on New Year’s Eve in Toronto, Jan. 1, 2026
- CAEF
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Good morning Mr. Sheehan and best wishes to you and yours for a happy and healthy new year.
I felt compelled this morning to draw your attention to the New Year’s Eve programming last night on CBC television that was shocking and horrifying. Correction, it wasn’t shocking given the steady diet of heavily biased anti-Israel reporting by the CBC that Canadians have been fed since October 7 2023.
I took a screenshot while watching and then saw that Honest Reporting had emailed an alert. I have included my screenshot and the alert below.
Honest Reporting details the issue so I will not repeat it, other than to say that kicking off the new year with this message from our publicly funded broadcaster has reinforced my sense, shared by so many in the Jewish community, that the Canadian government, the Liberal party and Prime Minister Carney have turned their back on us.
The spectacle of unabashed, unimpeded waving of the Palestinian flag behind the smiling CBC host, a flag which for many Jews is a symbol of the designated terror group Hamas, while antisemitic messages were clearly visible on the screen, gave the impression that this was a welcome add on to the festivities. This was both an affront and a strong message to Canadian Jews.
This, on the heels of the Boxing Day takeover of the Eaton Centre in Toronto by protestors inciting hatred towards Israel and Jews, while police passively looked on, reflects a profound and persistent failure on the part of our government to halt the escalating Jew hatred that has been allowed to become normalized.
My father sacrificed four years of his young life fighting overseas for Canada against the Nazis in WWII, as did my husband’s father. My grandfather fought for Canada in WWI. It is heartbreaking for me to say I am relieved they did not live to witness what the country they so proudly defended has become. At this moment, I am profoundly ashamed to call myself a Canadian, something I could never have imagined.
There is a pervasive and chilling sense amongst many in the Jewish community that the massacre of Jews, such as recently occurred at Bondi Beach. Australia, can and will happen in Canada, that it is an inevitability. A man with ties to ISIS, arrested for planning to “hunt” Jewish women in Toronto is out on bail. There is a tolerance for hate speech and violence targeting Jewish people, our property, our businesses, schools, synagogues and neighbourhoods. The laws on the books are not being enforced. The police stand by and nothing is done to halt protesters calling for the death to Jews and annihilation of Israel. In Vancouver, the Canadian flag was burned at one of these hate fests, the perpetrators still not having been brought to justice. History shows us that the normalization of hateful rhetoric against Jews inevitably leads to violence against Jews, as we are seeing here in Canada, in real time. History has also taught us that what starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews.
I am at a loss, despairing at having been abandoned by my government. I am terrified for what the future holds for Jews in Canada, for my daughter and her family, if things continue down this dark path. Jews are not safe in Canada, full stop.
You have been a staunch and steadfast supporter of the Jewish community in Sault Ste. Marie, for which we are beyond grateful. As such, I was hoping for some direction from you on what steps, beyond signing petitions, can be taken with our public broadcaster. How can we impress upon the Liberal party that its actions, and inactions have lead to devastating consequences for a small minority community that, for generations, has punched well above it’s weight class in its contributions to Canadian society.
I apologize for the length of my email, and it’s unvarnished content. What I saw last night, while welcoming 2026 with my husband and briefly tuning in to CBCs New Year’s Eve broadcast (admittedly after watching the Times Square Ball Drop) has felt like another step toward a final and irrevocable blow to my trust in, and deep love for Canada, and this saddens me beyond measure,
Respectfully,
Joyce Isbitsky, Sault Ste. Marie