"A more balanced account would reflect these stark differences in perspective and mention the decades of Israeli military occupation of Palestine. It would only require a brief sentence to this effect to balance your coverage meaningfully."
June 11, 2024
To:
Stephanie Levitz, Toronto Star
Donovan Vincent, Toronto Star
Dear Donovan Vincent and Stephanie Levitz,
I'm writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East in response to the recent article "Trudeaugovernment raises concerns with Israel about 'Islamophobic’ misinformation campaign that is ‘targetingCanadians’” published on June 11, 2024.
While I have some feedback to share, I want to thank you for amplifying this important story and adding critical context. Unfortunately, this excellent article was spoiled by its poor concluding paragraphs.
I was disappointed that your summary of the situation in Gaza parrots the perspective of Israel rather than being neutral. The notion that the conflict started on October 7, rather than after decades of occupation, reflects a slanted perspective. The vast majority of Palestinians see the events in Gaza as part of a long history of occupation, not the result of one single attack by Hamas. History did not start on October 7. After September 11 in the United States, the media perpetuated a similar narrative that was deeply unfair and irresponsible, acting as if history started that day in terms of US-Middle East relations. I invite the Toronto Star to not merely repeat the mistakes of the past but also be a leader in Canadian media. A more balanced account would reflect these stark differences in perspective and mention the decades of Israeli military occupation of Palestine. It would only require a brief sentence to this effect to balance your coverage meaningfully.
Even though numerous Israeli officials made genocidal comments after October 7 that are even being considered in international courts of law, the attacks on Gaza are framed only as “designed to wipe out Hamas.” It’s unclear how one can make this claim when there are so many comments from high-ranking Israeli government and military officials calling for killing “human animals” or wiping out Gaza and taking it back over. As a journalist on this beat, I'm sure you are well aware of the statements I am referring to by the likes of Yoav Gallant, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Benjamin Netanyahu, or Bezalel Smotrich. These are some of the most powerful men in Israel, so why not cite their claims rather than Israel’s boilerplate statements that don’t match the reality in Gaza?
Finally, when writing about the issues of discrimination, you mention antisemitism and Islamophobia. It is regrettable that you omitted anti-Palestinian racism (APR). APR is a distinct and alarming issue that deserves attention in your paper.
Sincerely,
Jason Toney
Director of Media Advocacy, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle Eas