I think we should be careful about being so politically correct that we can no longer say what is happening in our society. Masson did say he would reserve judgment until meeting with representatives of Jewish groups. But he pointed out that the leaders of the criminal group have been identified as Jewish by the RCMP, which stated that the main leaders have Jewish or Israeli connections. According to some of the newspaper's critics, the story about Lansky and Siegel appeared to add insult to injury. CJC Quebec region chair Reisa Teitelbaum said La Presse's coverage was simply unacceptable.
Criminals are criminals.
It is despicable that ethnicity and religion became an issue here. We think it is important that the media does not fall into this kind of trap. The CJC's community relations chairman, Arielle Meloul, pointed out that other newspapers covering this story locally refused to focus on the religion of those arrested. This is particularly disturbing to the Jewish community, given the very good relations we have fostered with La Presse over the last number of years. That is why we are seeking this meeting with La Presse before deciding whether or not to take further action.