"After all, Housefather’s condemnation of the encampment was quoted and fully embedded in the article. B’nai Brith’s was also quoted in full. To consistently quote those who condemn the protests/encampments but not those who organize them is illogical and journalistically irresponsible."
April 29, 2024
To:
Paul Cherry, Journalist, Montreal Gazette
Marilena Lucci, Editor-in-Chief, Montreal Gazette
Dear Montreal Gazette,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East to express concern regarding the last couple of articles published by the Montreal Gazette regarding McGill’s Encampment.
In one of the articles, titled “Protesters set up an encampment at McGill University in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza,” Paul Cherry writes that the encampment is in “support of Palestinians in Gaza.” This muted description of the encampment’s message and goals is woefully inadequate. Students for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) at McGill, one of the main groups present at the encampment, have clearly stated that students are reclaiming their campus to demand the university’s “full divestment from occupation and genocide.” Their messaging is abundantly clear, yet Montreal Gazette chose to relay it vaguely and, thus, inaccurately.
Considering unfounded allegations of antisemitism are touched on later in this article, the Montreal Gazette should practice an abundance of caution and provide readers with the encampment’s precise messaging, in their own words. After all, Housefather’s condemnation of the encampment was quoted and fully embedded in the article. B’nai Brith’s was also quoted in full. To consistently quote those who condemn the protests/encampments but not those who organize them is illogical and journalistically irresponsible.
In tandem with my point above, both articles regarding the encampment are lacking critical context regarding Israel’s military assault on Gaza. Perhaps an article about protestors condemning genocide in Gaza should clearly mention the circumstances that may or may not merit this condemnation. Some of this context could include the following:
- The recent discovery of 400 bodies– some of which were tortured, buried alive, executed point blank, etc.– in mass graves outside of two medical facilities in Gaza.
- Israel’s killing of almost 35,000 Palestinians, 14,500 of whom were children, since Oct. 7.
- The deliberate destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system, as all hospitals in the Gaza Strip have been targeted and damaged by Israel’s strikes and bombs.
- On January 26, the International Court of Justice ordered provisional measures in South Africa’s case against Israel regarding allegations of genocide in Gaza.
The significant lack of context to which I refer above seems to be a pattern in the Gazette’s reporting, as information regarding response to encampments in the US is not provided. In one testimony provided by the Quebec Higher Education Minister in your article, she states that she is very “preoccupied and concerned about the situation on campus because we’ve seen what happened in the last couple weeks and days in the United States and Europe.” The violent police crackdown on the encampments across the US is imperative for Canadian readers to know, especially as a McGill encampment in Montreal emerges and takes root. Please elaborate on this unfortunate pattern that has been observed in the United States and Europe.
In the second article, “McGill considering 'next steps' as pro-Palestinian encampment persists,” The Gazette reports McGill’s claim of a video showing some people using “unequivocally antisemitic language.” Considering the overwhelming number of false claims of antisemitism at encampments, journalists need to clarify 1) whether the Montreal Gazette requested to see the evidence and 2) whether McGill provided it.
I hope you will consider making these recommended edits in The Gazette’s current articles published regarding the encampments and consider these recommendations for future ones.
Sincerely,
Rose Mardikian,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East