Unfortunately, mainstream media outlets in Canada have a history of being reluctant to use the word "Palestine." Some never use the word at all, opting instead to only talk about “Palestinians” while erasing their connection to their land, using phrases like “lands Israel occupied” or even referring to Palestinian land as “modern-day Israel.”
February 14, 2025
To The Guardian Newsroom,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East to thank you for publishing the piece titled “Dow's Fashions recognized for 60-plus years in business in downtown Charlottetown.”
In particular, I appreciate your inclusion of the sentence: “George fled the war in his native Palestine in 1950 and came to P.E.I. at the invitation of his uncle.”
Unfortunately, mainstream media outlets in Canada have a history of being reluctant to use the word "Palestine." Some never use the word at all, opting instead to only talk about “Palestinians” while erasing their connection to their land, using phrases like “lands Israel occupied” or even referring to Palestinian land as “modern-day Israel.”
This is not merely a neutral omission of key information; it is a racist denial of Palestinian existence, homeland, culture, history, and heritage. According to the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association, this amounts to a form of anti-Palestinian racism (APR) because it erases Palestinians and their narratives, denies the Nakba, and refuses to acknowledge Palestinians as indigenous people with a collective identity.
For further insight into Palestine’s placename and historical existence, I invite you to read our essay published on our website.
In a media landscape where Palestinian perspectives are often buried or relegated to the end of articles, I thank you again for using the word “Palestine.”
I urge you to continue centering Palestinian identity and history in your coverage, ensuring that their narrative is fully recognized and never deliberately erased.
Warm regards,
Lynn Naji
Junior Media Analyst
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East