"Please understand that my concerns are rooted in a good-faith effort to hold Canadian media accountable for their coverage of Israel’s genocide in occupied Palestine and to raise awareness about harmful stereotypes that dehumanize Palestinians."
April 4, 2025
To the Toronto Star newsroom,
I am writing to take issue with an article that was published on April 4, 2025 titled: “Cost of policing Toronto protests related to war in Gaza nears $20 million.”
While I appreciate that the article acknowledged the rise of anti-Muslim hate and anti-Palestinian racism, I am concerned with several other aspects.
The headline itself, “Cost of policing Toronto protests related to war in Gaza nears $20 million” refers to “the war in Gaza” but fails to name Israel as the occupying power responsible for waging a genocide on the besieged Palestinian population of the occupied Gaza Strip.
This selective attribution of responsibility creates a double standard. The headline should be revised to clearly assign responsibility to Israel: “… protests related to Israel’s attacks on the occupied Gaza Strip….” It is also critical for readers to have a fair view that the context of genocide be referenced.
Second, the article states: “some rallies, including the controversial pro-Palestinian Al-Quds Day event that takes place each year, have drawn thousands of people,” and then vaguely references “agitators” contributing to “confrontations and violence”. By failing to identify who these individuals were, what exactly occurred, or whether they were even affiliated with the demonstrators, the article irresponsibly risks portraying peaceful pro-Palestinian protesters as inherently violent. At the Al-Quds day protest in Toronto, Jewish Defense League members showed up to counter-protest with branding related to far-right Israeli terror organizations and signs about destroying the Al-Aqsa mosque and building a new temple. Why is none of this context mentioned? CJPME wrote to the Star about these exact issues recently.
To illustrate the peaceful nature of the unprecedented pro-Palestinian encampments that happened internationally last year for instance, I would like to reference an account by Nadia Khan. In June, Khan visited the pro-Palestine encampment at the University of Waterloo to sit in on a writing workshop. She described being offered water and a vegetarian sandwich by nearby campers before participating in a session where a local Palestinian lawyer and writer spoke about the power of storytelling and imagination. This account, detailed in Khan’s article here, highlights the non-threatening, community-focused and peaceful nature of the encampment.
I urge the Toronto Star to apply the same journalistic standards to coverage of pro-Palestinian demonstrations as it would to any other movement.
Please understand that my concerns are rooted in a good-faith effort to hold Canadian media accountable for their coverage of Israel’s genocide in occupied Palestine and to raise awareness about harmful stereotypes that dehumanize Palestinians.
I trust that you will take these points into account in the interest of balanced reporting, and look forward to seeing concrete changes now and in future reporting.
Sincerely,
Lynn Naji
Junior Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East