References to Israel’s “divine decree” must therefore be contextualized with a Palestinian perspective: that such claims are used to justify the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and the expansion of illegal Jewish settlements.
To the CBC Newsroom,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East regarding your article published on September 21, 2025, by Margaret Evans titled “As Canada recognizes a Palestinian state, some in the West Bank fear it's too late.”
I appreciate that Evans approaches Canada’s recognition of a Palestinian state with a critical lens, including perspectives that question whether it is largely symbolic amid Israel’s expansion of the illegal Jewish Ma'ale Adumim settlement towards Jerusalem. The contradiction between Canada’s diplomatic gestures and the lived realities of Palestinians is glaring: Palestinians in Gaza are trapped in what has long been described as an open-air prison, relentlessly bombarded by Israel in an ongoing genocide, while they cannot move freely to the West Bank or East Jerusalem as Israel enforces sweeping restrictions on movement through checkpoints, permits, and ID systems. As Evans rightly prompts us to ask, what does recognition truly mean in material terms when Palestinians remain trapped under Israel’s siege and occupation?
That said, two aspects of the article require urgent reconsideration. First, the description that “violence against Palestinians by the hardline settlers who believe the land is theirs by God-given right has increased dramatically since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel” risks normalizing settler colonialism as either religiously inspired or a reaction to October 7th, when in reality it is a systemic and existential feature of Israel’s colonial project. The incentives that perpetuate Israel’s occupation, apartheid, and genocide go far deeper than religious fanaticism. While it is an element, only mentioning the religious aspect while downplaying the other ideologies and incentives that motivate Israel’s actions risks misleading ordinary Canadians, or having them believe that this is simply an intractable religious conflict.
Zionism, as an ideology, emerged to establish a Jewish state on Palestinian land through the dispossession of Palestinians. Theodor Herzl, one of its founders, was an atheist and in fact did not speak Hebrew (El Kurd, Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal). References to Israel’s “divine decree” must therefore be contextualized with a Palestinian perspective: that such claims are used to justify the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and the expansion of illegal Jewish settlements.
Second, the reference to the name of Israel’s apartheid wall as being somehow disputed — that “Israel calls it a security barrier… Palestinians call it an apartheid wall and a land grab” is misleading. This is not simply a matter of competing narratives, which readers may reasonably infer based on the kind of information given here (which is a trend in much of CBC’s coverage). The International Court of Justice, in its 2004 Advisory Opinion, ruled that the wall is illegal, amounts to de facto annexation, and violates international humanitarian law, including the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. I cannot recall an instance in which this context was mentioned in CBC’s discussion of the wall. Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have similarly concluded that the wall constitutes unlawful appropriation of occupied land. To describe the wall’s illegality as “what Palestinians call it” downplays an established international consensus. CBC has an obligation to report this as a matter of law, not opinion.
While Evans’ article raises strong arguments about the meaning of Canada’s recognition of a Palestinian state materially, I urge CBC to ensure its reporting does not normalize colonial framings. Settler violence must be recognized as part of a state-backed project of dispossession, and the ICJ’s ruling on the wall’s illegality must be presented as fact.
Lynn Naji
Media Analyst
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East