"There are nearly 7 million Palestinian refugees around the world today. They were not merely kicked to the “outskirts” of Palestine. Many were kicked entirely out of the territory and are stateless to this day. It is again alarming that this reality would be downplayed by insinuating that Palestinians were just displaced to the outskirts, just a little bit."
November 10, 2023
To:
Ben Cohen, Journalist, Toronto Star
Joshua Chong, Journalist, Toronto Star
Mahdis Habibinia, Journalist, Toronto Star
Donovan Vincent, Public Editor, Toronto Star
Dear Ben Cohen, Joshua Chong, Mahdis Habibinia, and Donovan Vincent,
I’m writing to express my concern about a glaring issue with the recent article, “Rallying cry or hate speech? What ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ means.”
The article is presented as an attempt at a fair overview of the popular slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” However, it is alarming that such an effort would allow for such one-sided oversights.
- “The line references the area between the Jordan River, to the east of Israel, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and it’s been used as a slogan since the 1960s.”
The line references an area that includes more than just Israel; it includes the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. This confounding omission deserves a prompt correction.
- “To some, it’s a cry for the repatriation of a people kicked to the outskirts of a land they call home.”
There are nearly 7 million Palestinian refugees around the world today. They were not merely kicked to the “outskirts” of Palestine. Many were kicked entirely out of the territory and are stateless to this day. It is again alarming that this reality would be downplayed by insinuating that Palestinians were just displaced to the outskirts, just a little bit.
- “To others, it’s a genocidal refrain, verbalizing a desire to purge the Jews from Israel.”
While I understand you are trying to represent the views of pro-Israel individuals, this would be one of the most extreme interpretations. Given that UN officials and experts on the study of genocide have warned that Palestinians are right now facing a looming genocide, this is written in poor taste.
You might instead say the much more popular interpretation that it is a call for the ‘destruction of the state of Israel.’ This captures the same point and is far less offensive.
There are bright spots in your work, but I see these as significant issues that fail to meet critical journalistic standards.
Sincerely,
Jason Toney
Director of Media Advocacy, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East