Opinion columnists perform an important public service when providing cogent
arguments supported by factual information. This is true regardless of where the columnist falls out on the spectrum of opinion. But when a columnist regularly demonizes one side of the Arab-Israeli conflict ―
while resorting to outlandish conspiracy theories and unsubstantiated
allegations ― the columnist has crossed the bounds of ethical journalism.
Case in point: HonestReporting Canada reports that the Toronto Sun's Eric Margolis, who has a long record of
Israel-bashing, recently accused Israel of poisoning Yassir Arafat:
Arafat's convenient death
removed a major obstacle to U.S.-Israeli plans. This writer continues to
suspect Arafat was murdered by an untraceable nerve or blood toxin. He was
being held prisoner by Israel in his Ramallah compound. (Feb.
13)
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Columnist
Eric Margolis |
And
this week
(Feb.
20), Margolis likewise implied
with no substantiation whatsoever that Israel may have murdered
former Lebanese Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri.
Observing that 'the professional expertise of the bombing
strongly suggests a state intelligence agency,' Margolis names only one such
likely agency in his column: 'Israel's Mossad.'
In a
1998 column, Margolis even propagated allegations (originally published in
the Times of London) that Israeli scientists were
working on an 'ethnic bomb' that would kill Arabs ― while sparing Jews. Western
scientists dismissed this claim ― embraced by the Arab media and
lunatic-fringe ideologues ― as utter nonsense. Yet Margolis's
column, which appeared in the Edmonton Sun and Ottawa Sun, quoted 'numerous
reliable sources' who claimed, 'Israeli scientists are attempting to
engineer deadly micro-organisms that only attack DNA within the cells of
victims with distinctive Arab genes.'
Margolis, who appears often
on Canadian TV, has
also
claimed 'a group of Likudniks' brought the US to war in Iraq,
and that
'bloodthirsty
neo-conservatives' with Israeli allegiance drive Washington policy.
ETHICS OF THE
OPINION COLUMN
Columnists such as Margolis whose material is clearly labeled as opinion do
enjoy greater journalistic license than news reporters, but to responsible
columnists and papers this license has real limits. The Gannett Corporation,
which operates the largest newspaper group in North America, states in its
Code of
Ethics that
We will hold factual information in opinion columns and editorials to the
same standards of accuracy as news stories.
And as James Hill, managing editor of the Washington Post Writers
Group, has stated:
You have to hold columnists to the same standard as anyone at the
newspaper. If a column writer is making egregious errors in the
process of stating his or her opinion, eventually it's not the
columnist who's doing that, it's the paper that's doing that.
Eric Margolis has established a pattern of violating this standard,
promoting wholly unsubstantiated accusations against the State of
Israel for allegedly perpetrating illegal, unethical and diabolical
acts. Margolis has crossed the line of journalistic standards, and calls into question the credibility of his primary platform, the Toronto Sun.
Comments to the Toronto Sun:
editor@tor.sunpub.com
Thank you for your ongoing involvement in the battle 
against media bias.
HonestReporting
