"The ICJ has ruled that there is a plausible genocide and that Israel must do everything to prevent it. Yet, you chose to mention that Israel is under investigation for genocide and that it can take years to determine. You even add Israel’s position on the court when Israel has a history of falsely accusing human rights organizations of bias."
May 9, 2024
To:
Meredith Bond, Multi-Media Content Creator, CityNews Toronto
Amber Leblanc, News Director, CityNews Toronto
Michael Gibbons, Editor, CityNews Toronto
James Mackin, Editor, CityNews Toronto
Dear Meredith Bond, Amber Leblanc, Michael Gibbons, and James Mackin
I am writing to request changes in the article: “U of T pro-Palestinian encampment will remain until university divests from Israeli government: protestors,” published on May 8 in City News Toronto.
I take foremost issue with the vague language used to describe the intentions of the protesters at the University of Toronto that you don’t even identify.
You write: “Pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Toronto say they will remain at the encampment set up at King’s College Circle on campus until the university divests from the Israeli government amid the ongoing war in Gaza.”
You also write: “The demonstrators are calling on the university to sever financial ties with Israeli government and for a ceasefire in the ongoing war in Gaza.”
The group that organized the protest is U of T Occupy for Palestine (O4P). On their Instagram page, they clearly stated their demands, which are:
- Disclose all investments held in endowments short-term working capital assets, and other financial holdings of the university hereafter;
- Divest the university’s endowment, capital assets, and other financial holdings from all direct and indirect investments that sustain Israeli apartheid, occupation and illegal settlement of Palestine;
- Terminate all partnerships with Israeli academic institutions that either:
- Operate in settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, or;
- Support or sustain the apartheid policies of the state of Israel and its ongoing genocide in Gaza
Please update your language to accurately state the demands of the U of T protesters.
Second, and in tandem with my first point, your article downplays the critical context necessary to make sense of the protesters. Perhaps an article about protestors condemning genocide in Gaza should mention the circumstances that may or may not merit this condemnation.
You write: “The International Court of Justice is investigating whether Israel has committed acts of genocide in the ongoing war in Gaza, with any ruling expected to take years. Israel has rejected allegations of wrongdoing and accused the court of bias.”
While you mention Israel’s genocide trial at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), you do not provide the key information to make sense of the protesters’ demands. The ICJ has ruled that there is a plausible genocide and that Israel must do everything to prevent it. Yet, you chose to mention that Israel is under investigation for genocide and that it can take years to determine. You even add Israel’s position on the court when Israel has a history of falsely accusing human rights organizations of bias.
I, therefore, ask you to add that the International Court of Justice has ruled that there is a plausible genocide and that Israel must do everything to prevent it, and that Israel has provided no evidence to prove its accusations of bias.
I hope City News Toronto will make these changes and keep in mind these suggestions when reporting on student encampments in the future.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East