Michael Higgins: CBC can’t imagine antisemitism was behind torn posters of missing girl

A poster for Esther, taken on Bayview Avenue in Toronto on Wednesday, May 20. Photo by Postmedia

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Ripping down posters of a missing 14-year-old Jewish girl is an ugly, vicious stain on Canada, but the cruelty is compounded when our national news media — the CBC and The Canadian Press — feel unable to report the fact that she is Jewish. 

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Did none of the reporters or editors at those institutions think to wonder why so many of these particular posters were being torn down? 

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The family of the missing girl, Esther, also known as Esti (who was reported to have been found safe Thursday), certainly think that antisemitism might be a root cause but, again, the CBC and the Canadian Press didn’t report that. 

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Other news media thought it important. CP24 quoted Maureen Leshem, a spokesperson for the family, as saying that there was a “growing fear” that the vandalism may be motivated by antisemitism. 

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The New York Post reported Lesham describing the same fear and quoted her as saying, “Whether or not that is the intent, the impact is the same: It interferes with efforts to spread awareness and could ultimately hinder the search for Esti.” 

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The Globe and Mail published an opinion piece that asked the question: “are these posters being torn down because this girl is Jewish?” 

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And, of course, that is the question that has to be asked. This case has all the hallmarks of the antisemites who thought that tearing down posters of the kidnapped Jewish victims after October 7 was a fun thing to do. 

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But the CBC and The Canadian Press refuse to raise the spectre of antisemitism playing a part, even though the family did. 

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The CBC headline stated: Community reports missing posters torn down as search for 14-year-old Esther continues: Toronto police. 

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Which community would that be then? 

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The answer, according to one line in the CBC story is: “The Jewish and wider community in Toronto are concerned about these actions and the motivations behind them.” 

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Forgetting for a moment the nonsense of the “wider community,” why would the Jewish community be so concerned and what are these strange “motivations”? 

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The answer is that she’s Jewish and the mysterious motivation is that antisemitism may be the spark for these evil actions. 

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The Canadian Press quoted Leshem as saying that the posters had been “repeatedly torn down” and describing it as “deeply disturbing and cruel.” 

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Reporters are often told to follow the advice of poet Rudyard Kipling in making sure that they always ask six pertinent questions. 

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“I keep six honest serving-men/(They taught me all I knew);/Their names are What and Why and When/And How and Where and Who,” wrote Kipling. 

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Why’s a great question. Why are these posters being torn down is a basic question to ask, but apparently it is beyond the capabilities of the CBC and The Canadian Press — even when a possible answer is presented to them by the family.