"It is unfair that people who were not present at the pro-Palestine rally are given a prominent right to comment, while those who attended and the organizers of the rally themselves are not. The only space and voice you give are a one-sentence paragraph to one of the organizers, Toronto4Palestine, which doesn’t even correctly assess their intentions behind the rally: to bring awareness to Rafah amidst Israel’s assault."
February 13, 2024
To:
Kelly Grant, Health Reporter, Globe and Mail
David Walmsley, Editor-in-Chief, Globe and Mail
Dear Kelly Grant and David Walmsley,
I am writing to express my concern about the article: “Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital to boost security after pro-Palestinian march,” published on February 13 in Globe and Mail.
There are two main issues in your article that I would like to point out.
First, to weigh in on the action of the person climbing the front of the Mount Sinai hospital, you give the first voice of your article to 1) political leaders, 2) chief executive officers of 14 Greater Toronto Area teaching hospitals, 3) and a senior representative of the University of Toronto.
It is unfair that people who were not present at the pro-Palestine rally are given a prominent right to comment, while those who attended and the organizers of the rally themselves are not.
The only space and voice you give are a one-sentence paragraph to one of the organizers, Toronto4Palestine, which doesn’t even correctly assess their intentions behind the rally: to bring awareness to Rafah amidst Israel’s assault.
I, therefore, ask you to balance the article by adding more context about the protest by giving voice to the organizers and the protesters.
Second, since the intention behind the rally is not provided, the central issue of the article turns around false accusations of antisemitism.
Four Jewish women indeed founded the Mount Sinai hospital. However, the workforce is not exclusively Jewish. The hospital's front entrance does not explicitly indicate that it’s a Jewish institution. Nothing about the hospital’s vision, mission, purpose, and value says anything about it being a Jewish institution, only that it has a Jewish heritage.[1]
It is deeply disappointing to read an article that is trying to paint a pro-Palestine rally as antisemitic while there is no clear basis to make such accusations, only impressions by association.
Sadly, overall, your coverage does not uphold the journalist’s ethic of “diversity.” The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) ethics guidelines states, “Diversity recognizes the essential dignity and human rights of individuals who experience the world in different ways through their ethnicity, culture, religion, gender identity, political views […]” The CAJ’s guidelines state, for example, that news organizations must:
- “seek to include views from a wide cross-section of people, including those who have been historically underrepresented.”
- “understand that conveying one individual’s or group’s views doesn’t accurately and fulsomely reflect the experiences of the entire community.”
- “encourage our organizations to make room for the interests of all: minorities and majorities; those with power and those without it; and holders of disparate and conflicting views.”
Clearly, the journalism in this article reflected no concern for diversity. I therefore strongly recommend that the Globe and Mail incorporate my recommendations and exercise more caution when reporting on pro-Palestine rallies in the future.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
[1] The grind magazine, “What happened outside Mount Sinai Hospital as a pro-Palestine rally passed by?” https://www.thegrindmag.ca/what-happened-mount-sinai-hospital-palestine-rally-passed-by/