It is factually inaccurate to characterize an ongoing genocide as merely “Israel’s response.”
To the CTV News,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East regarding the article published on October 7 titled: “Demonstrators gather in Montreal to mark three-year anniversary of Oct. 7 attack.”
We appreciate that the article gave space to representatives from Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) at both McGill and UdeM who explained why students took to the streets of Montreal: i) to protest the ongoing genocide in Gaza as Palestinians mark three years of genocide and ii) to emphasize that pro-Palestine student groups are going to remain united in their demands for divestment and boycott until their university administrations heed their calls.
However, that being said, we want to raise a concern. The article mentions that a pro-Palestinian demonstration took place to protest “Israel’s response” to October 7th Hamas led attacks. It is factually inaccurate to characterize an ongoing genocide as merely “Israel’s response.”
Cambridge University defines a response as an answer or a reaction. More than three years of genocide is not a response. This is factually inaccurate.
The intent is fundamentally different than a war or a response or retaliation. As Amnesty explains, Israel is acting “with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza – acts including killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.”
We therefore ask CTV News to revise the misleading language in the article to specify that Israel’s response has been characterized as genocidal by legal bodies.
Media Analyst. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East