The Media Accountability Project  

Thank the Toronto Star for article on Toronto Palestine Film Festival

We expect that extreme pro-Israel individuals will attack the Toronto Star for its exploration of Palestinian perspectives through this article.  So a strong response in support of the Toronto Star’s Richie Assaly is important. 

A CJPME Media Researcher has launched a media alert for the following article. Please submit a quick response to the media, even if it’s just a sentence or two:

Title of Piece: Richie Assaly: "Toronto Palestine Film Festival: How a scrappy, student-led film fest evolved into a broad-ranging celebration of Palestinian culture"

Media Outlet: Toronto Star
Click here to access the piece on-line

Comments of the CJPME Media Researcher:
(Note: Please do not copy and paste the material below as the content to your message to the media - put all comments in your own words):

Please thank the Toronto Star for its excellent article on the Toronto Palestine Film Festival (TPFF), an annual event which is receiving more and more well-deserved recognition!

We expect that extreme pro-Israel individuals will attack the Toronto Star for its exploration of Palestinian perspectives through this article.  So a strong response in support of the Toronto Star’s Richie Assaly is important.  Some of the praiseworthy items about the article include:

  • The discussion of the TPFF in the Star provided a meaningful way to celebrate Palestinian art and culture in Canada. 
  • The article not only covered the festival but also provided good context in describing the Nakba, and ongoing violence against Palestinians.
  • The article gave ample space to articulate and informed Palestinians, both filmmakers and festival organizers
  • The article gave space to diaspora Palestinians to talk about their lived experiences
  • The article gave voice to Palestinians without the "obligatory" Israeli counterpoint perspective

Finally, the Toronto Star should be thanked for including Dania Majid’s comments about Israeli settler colonialism and apartheid. 

Please click here to launch an email in which you can draft a response to this media coverage.

If you have any problems, please email [email protected].

Thank you very much. Every response makes a difference.

The CJPME Media Centre Team
Email CJPME - CJPME Website

The Media Accountability Project is an initiative of:
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), 580 Sainte-Croix, Suite 060, Saint-Laurent, QC H4L 3X5
©2007-2023 CJPME

CJPME acknowledges that our offices, located in Montreal, are on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk), whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial.  CJPME recognizes the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka as the customary keepers and defenders of the St. Laurence River Watershed and its tributaries. We honour their long history of welcoming many Nations to this beautiful territory and uphold and uplift the voice and values of our Host Nation.  Further, CJPME respects and affirms the inherent and Treaty Rights of all Indigenous Peoples across this land. CJPME has and will continue to honour the commitments to self-determination and sovereignty we have made to Indigenous Nations and Peoples.  CJPME also acknowledges the historical oppression of lands, cultures and the original Peoples in what we now know as Canada and fervently believes that its work should contribute to the healing and decolonizing journey we all share together.

Created with NationBuilder