"Generally, the article overwhelmingly privileges pro-Israel Jewish advocacy groups like Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and B’nai Brith, while excluding alternative Jewish views and Palestinian perspectives entirely. Indeed, no Palestinian, Arab, or civil liberties advocates are meaningfully quoted in response to proposed criminalization. As such, the article is imbalanced and not aligned with journalistic standards laid out by the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) ethics guidelines."
To the National Post and the Napanee Guide editorial newsrooms,
I’m writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express concerns about the article titled “Jewish groups press Liberals to ban 'glorification' of terrorism such as praising Hamas attacks” published on March 17, 2026.
Generally, the article overwhelmingly privileges pro-Israel Jewish advocacy groups like Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and B’nai Brith, while excluding alternative Jewish views and Palestinian perspectives entirely. Indeed, no Palestinian, Arab, or civil liberties advocates are meaningfully quoted in response to proposed criminalization. As such, the article is imbalanced and not aligned with journalistic standards laid out by the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) ethics guidelines.
As a specific example, in the article’s coverage of the attempt by Doug Ford to halt this year’s Al-Quds Day march in Toronto, a B’nai Brith representative is directly named and quoted, and while the rally organizers’ response is noted in the article, no one actually involved, or likely to be involved, in the march is provided a voice.
Further, Al-Quds Day is described, inaccurately, as “an annual day of anti-Israel protest promoted by the Iranian regime”. While it is accurate that Al-Quds Day originated in Iran in 1979 following the Iranian Revolution, Al-Quds Day rallies held in numerous countries, including Canada, often involve coalitions of student organizations, anti-war activists, diaspora communities, and human rights advocates - with varied motivations.
The discussion of “glorification of terrorism” in the article is implicitly tied to pro-Palestinian protests with Al-Quds Day as the primary example, as it is associated to the Iranian regime and religious terrorism. Human rights and civil-liberties advocates have repeatedly warned that support for Palestinian rights is too often treated as inherently suspect, with harmful consequences for freedom of expression, association, and assembly. Yet, there is no mention in the article of the broader pattern in which pro-Palestinian speech and organizing in Canada have been subjected to censorship, stigmatization, and political intimidation. Efforts to shut down Al-Quds Day show how Palestinian solidarity is often singled out for exceptional political restriction. The article reinforces the idea that pro-Palestinian expression is inherently linked to terrorism, a common trope in media that meets the definition of anti-Palestinian racism as defined by the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association.
Furthermore, CJPME analyzed protest data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and found that 96 per cent of Palestine solidarity protests in Canada between 2021 and 2025 were entirely peaceful, involving no violence or property damage. This rate was consistent with the overall level of non-violent protest activity across other protest categories in Canada for the same time period.
This context should have been included by the outlet for adequate diversity and balance. The article’s framing falls short of the Canadian Association of Journalists’ principle of accuracy, which requires journalists to provide sufficient context for audiences to properly understand events. In case helpful for further information, please see the recent CJPME statement on the pressure to ban Al-Quds day march in Toronto.
I kindly urge the Napanee Guide to correct the article accordingly, in order to align with the Canadian Association of Journalists ethics guidelines and standards of balance and accuracy.
Sincerely,
Alison Jenkins