Jewish CBC journalist faces discipline over comments about anti-Israel protest

A longtime CBC journalist and national newsreader has reportedly been removed from the air and is facing disciplinary action after posting video on social media showing pro-Palestinian protesters outside an event for Yom Kippur in north Toronto.

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Neil Herland posted the video and his comments on Monday after attending a service at the Meridian Arts Centre at Yonge and Sheppard. The Song Shul holds annual events there to mark Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, known as the Day of Atonement. The synagogue doesn’t have its own building but rents different locations to hold services.

“I’m a journalist. And I happen to be Jewish,” Herland wrote in the post. “On Yom Kippur I went to a synagogue service in Toronto and was met by protesters trying to taunt and intimidate me from entering the building.”

I'm a journalist. And I happen to be Jewish. On Yom Kippur I went to a synagogue service in Toronto and was met by protesters trying to taunt and intimidate me from entering the building. 1/5 pic.twitter.com/2eH3MaC9QB

— Neil Herland (@NEWSneil) September 22, 2026

The video shows about 20 people, some blowing horns and waving large Palestinian flags and signs. As Herland moves through them, someone shouts in his face several times with a megaphone: “You’re going to hell!”

At another point he turns to look behind him — some distance away are two individuals with a placard that says “Where’s your humanity?” One of them shouts “Zionist alert” through a megaphone before waving at the camera.

According to Toronto Sun’s Warren Kinsella, CBC management “quietly pulled Herland off the air” after the post became known, and “hit him with disciplinary action” over its content. He added that the first disciplinary hearing was held with Herland and his lawyer on Thursday.

Herland’s LinkedIn page notes that he has 30 years of on-air experience and says: “I’m heard nightly in Canada on every CBC Radio One station and across North America on Sirius XM Satellite Radio,” adding: “Canadian and EU passport holder.”

In his post on X, Herland says his late father was an Austrian Jew who survived the Holocaust in Romania before coming to Canada as a refugee. “This year I got an Austrian passport, in case Canada becomes unsafe for me as a Jew,” he added. “I fear that moment is approaching, here in Canada and elsewhere.”

A CBC spokesperson told National Post by email: “We respect the privacy rights of our employees and won’t comment on internal matters. However, we are aware of reporting on this matter that contains errors and mischaracterizations.”

The spokesperson did not say what those errors and mischaracterizations were, citing “the privacy of the situation.”

While the CBC has not commented on the reason for its action, a spokesperson for the group Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) told National Post: “We submitted complaints to CBC’s Ombud and the Values and Ethics Commissioner. In addition, we created a campaign for others to complain to the Commissioner.”

The group also shared its letter to the CBC, which says Herland’s post “was fundamentally misleading to an extent that it appears to be deliberate, resulting in disinformation that defames pro-Palestinian activists.”

It goes on to quote CBC’s Journalistic Standards and Practices, which says that reporting on riots and demonstrations “should avoid inflaming or aiding in any way the various sides in a confrontation.” It adds: “Mr. Herland clearly violates these practices.”

Aliza Spiro, creative director of The Song Shul and songwriter and singer, wrote a blog post this week titled: “Yup. That Was My Shul: How it feels after a Yom Kippur pro-Palestinian protest.”

She wrote: “Cantor Spiro, the Spiritual Leader (as well as my husband, music-partner, and co-founder), walked outside, proudly wearing his white kittel, talit, and kippah, and smiled at the protesters, only to hear one scream into his megaphone, ‘The Jew smiles while he murders babies in Gaza!'”

She added: “When the police officer told Cantor Spiro not to antagonize them, the Cantor said to the officer, ‘Really?! They are the ones screaming insults at my members. They are the ones disrupting our prayers on this holy day. They are the ones spreading hate speech. You’d be well within your rights to arrest them.'”

Toronto police kept protesters about five metres away from the door but did not make any arrests.

Herland’s post and CBC’s reaction have garnered worldwide attention. Britain’s Jewish News ran a story about the situation, while Florida Congressman Randy Fine, a Republican, responded to the original post, saying of the protesters: “Try this in Florida, and you go to prison for five years.”

Add my name to the list of people confused about the treatment of @NEWSneil following a post he made which included a video of what happened to him on his way to a religious service. I may not have all the facts, but I know this: Normally when a journalist witnesses a news story…

— Carole MacNeil (@carolemacneil) September 25, 2026

Meanwhile, the X account of the U.S. Israel Education Association posted: “We have seen where unchecked hatred can lead. History has taught us that silence in the face of antisemitism comes at a terrible cost.”

Carole MacNeil, a former CBC journalist who left the broadcaster in 2021, posted to social media on Friday: “Add my name to the list of people confused about the treatment of @NEWSNeil,” his X account.

She added: “Normally when a journalist witnesses a news story live they are encouraged to record it. If there was an issue with how Neil subsequently posted or framed the material, surely a simple, ‘Next time, run it past an editor,’ could suffice. However, Israel-Palestinian stories do — and always have — made many people at CBC News extremely cautious.”

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