Analysing the Israel Effect in Canada

Book excerpt: What is the life of a Palestinian worth to intellectuals in Canadian universities and news media? Analyzing the Israel Effect documents and analyzes the discursive and organizational methods by which public criticism of Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians is silenced in Canada, as experienced through ten episodes in the life of the author over a thirty-year period from 1990-2020 in interaction with his university and local and national Canadian news media. As a sociological work the book is a critical autoethnography. But it is also an atrocity tale, a horror story of institutional self-censorship amounting to the abrogation of intellectual responsibility by those specifically charged with upholding it. In the end, the book is a crossover between academic treatise and journalistic exposé, “a historical narrative written by an academic from the standpoint of a political participant-observer” (Rajan Philips). The Israel Effect itself is analyzed as a three-tier propaganda industry. Hasbara is produced in Israel (Tier 1), disseminated to Israel Lobby groups around the world (Tier 2) and independently re-produced, actively and passively, by the “intellectual” institutions – universities and news media (Tier 3). This book is about the non-Jewish, non-Zionist institutions of Tier 3, the onlookers to war crimes, ethnic cleansing and, arguably, genocide, as in Gaza in October-November 2023. This work stands as a compelling testament to the importance of preserving freedom of expression, and the vital role intellectuals play in challenging injustice and promoting transparency. It is ideal for scholars, activists, and anyone seeking to understand the complexities of political activism and the power dynamics behind public discourse.