It is widely accepted as fact within the humanitarian and human rights sectors, and it is the basis of the legal case against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the arrest warrants against Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court (ICC). PCHR’s position is hardly unique, and it could not be further from “outlandish.”
September 5, 2025
Dear Bryan Passifiume and Adrienne Batra,
I am writing to express serious concerns about the ethical and factual shortcomings in the article, "Canadian tax dollars funding terror-linked Gaza NGOs, group alleges," published September 3, 2025.
The allegations contained in the article originate from NGO Monitor, a pro-Israel group with significant ties to the Israeli government, according to +972 Magazine. Given the widespread concerns about the group, NGO Monitor’s claims deserve significant skepticism, but unfortunately none is expressed in this article.
Passifiume describes the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights’ (PCHR) research as “anti-Israel campaigns,” and says the group accuses Israel of “outlandish acts like seeking out and killing Palestinian cancer patients and deliberately preventing births by pregnant women in Gaza.” This language violates basic journalistic standards and should be amended, as it is not impartial and represents the author’s opinion. Worse yet, these claims significantly misrepresent the actual work and findings of PCHR. Both of the reports he describes are rigorous and describe in detail Israel’s alarming actions harming Palestinian cancer patients and pregnant women. Both of these reports are grounded in fact and cannot reasonably be described as “outlandish,” especially in the context of a news article. Human Rights Watch has published a similar report about Israel’s attacks on pregnant Palestinian women.
In addition, you mention PCHR’s claim that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war as an example of another “outlandish” claim. However, the World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Programme (WFP), and United Nations have repeatedly accused Israel of this crime. It is widely accepted as fact within the humanitarian and human rights sectors, and it is the basis of the legal case against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the arrest warrants against Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court (ICC). PCHR’s position is hardly unique, and it could not be further from “outlandish.”
Following these poorly sourced, unfair accusations, the article states, “This isn’t the first time Canadian tax dollars have funded Palestinian terrorism.” This is inaccurate, unfair, and deserves correction. There is no solid evidence whatsoever provided by NGO Monitor or the Toronto Sun that PCHR’s work constitutes “Palestinian terrorism.” This is a blatantly false and misleading claim. Raji Sourani, the founder of PCHR, is a widely respected human rights lawyer. He was an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience as well as a recipient of the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Award in 1991. To claim that PCHR is a terrorist organization because of decontextualized comments by its founder about past ties to a Palestinian political party is deceptive at best. This piece falls far short of basic journalistic standards and deserves significant correction.
Sincerely,
Jason Toney
Director of Media Advocacy, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
--