The Media Accountability Project  

Reference to “anti-Palestinian racism” needed to increase accuracy of reporting on Ontario hate-crime

"Since your article is about a hate crime, a 63-year-old man ripping a Palestinian flag off a vehicle and leaving an offensive note in Pickering, it would be more precise to include a reference to “anti-Palestinian racism.” 

October 19, 2023

To: 

John Marchesan, Supervising Writer and Associated Web Producer, CityNews Toronto 

Jonathan Whitten, News Director, CityNews Toronto 

Dear John Marchesan and Jonathan Whitten, 

I'm writing to ask you to add an essential piece of information to your article: “Pickering man facing possible hate-crime charges after Palestinian flag damaged,” published on October 18 in CityNews Toronto. 

Since your article is about a hate crime, a 63-year-old man ripping a Palestinian flag off a vehicle and leaving an offensive note in Pickering, it would be more precise to include a reference to “anti-Palestinian racism.” 

According to the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA), 

anti-Palestinian racism is a form of anti-Arab racism that silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, defames or dehumanizes Palestinians or their narratives. Anti-Palestinian racism takes various forms including: denying the Nakba and justifying violence against Palestinians; failing to acknowledge Palestinians as an Indigenous people with a collective identity, belonging and rights in relation to occupied and historic Palestine; erasing the human rights and equal dignity and worth of Palestinians; excluding or pressuring others to exclude Palestinian perspectives, Palestinians and their allies; defaming Palestinians and their allies with slander such as being inherently antisemitic, a terrorist threat/sympathizer or opposed to democratic values. (As seen in Anti-Palestinian Racism: Naming, Framing and Manifestations Community consultations and reflections by the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association) 

To be more accurate, I, therefore, suggest including this definition of anti-Palestinian racism: “According to the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA), anti-Palestinian racism is a form of anti-Arab racism that silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, defames or dehumanizes Palestinians or their narratives” and a reference to the ACLA document. 

I hope CityNews will make this change and improve their coverage in future reporting. 

If you wish, you can contact us at 438-380-5410 for more information. 

Sincerely, 

Fatima Haidar, 

Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East 

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