"Considering that most of Israel’s actions in Gaza both before and after Oct. 7 qualify as terrorism, labeling Hamas’ actions as terrorism but not Israel’s is a blatant double standard."
April 17, 2024
To:
Denette Wilford, Journalist, Toronto Sun
Adrienne Batra, Editor-in-Chief, Toronto Sun
Dear Denette Wilford,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East to request a correction in a recent article titled “Google employees storm U.S. offices to protest billion-dollar Israel contract,” published on April 17 in Toronto Sun.
At the beginning of your article, you write:
In one of the group’s posts on X, it reported, “They refuse to leave until Google stops powering the genocide in Gaza,” referring to Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas terrorists.
Hamas is an Islamic Palestinian liberation organization that governs certain aspects of the Israeli-occupied Gaza strip, provides social services, runs media outlets, and has a military wing. Although terrorism has many interpretations and no clear definitions, the United Nations attempts to define it as criminal acts against civilians with the purpose to “intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act.” Given that Hamas targeted military personnel and infrastructure on Oct. 7, only a portion of their attacks can be broadly classified as “terrorism.” Considering that most of Israel’s actions in Gaza both before and after Oct. 7 qualify as terrorism, labeling Hamas’ actions as terrorism but not Israel’s is a blatant double standard.
For context, the United Nations Security Council does not list Hamas as a terrorist organization. Canada, on the other hand, does. If Canada’s attribution is the reason you’ve made a broad-brush generalization of Hamas as a terrorist entity, then that needs to be made clear in your article. Otherwise, your vocabulary insinuates a moral judgment, which is inappropriate in an article labeled “world news.”
I appreciate your consideration. Don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Rose Mardikian,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East