After months of silence, except in National NewsMedia cases where they were forced to reply, CJPME’s media advocacy efforts have visibly impacted the Toronto Sun and their newsroom. CJPME Media Analyst Anthony Issa sent a letter criticizing the Toronto Sun for biased and Islamophobic coverage by National politics reporter Bryan Passifiume.
CJPME’s letter highlighted concerns over Passifiume’s article titled “Hillel urging universities to make campuses safe for Jews this September,” which was published on August 16, 2024. The article was criticized for its one-sided narrative, failure to include Palestinian voices, and for contributing to anti-Palestinian racism.
But instead of engaging with these serious concerns, Passifiume decided to turn social media and tweet a picture of our numerous letters of complaint which he has turned into his personal art gallery in his home office. Passifiume presented these letters as a badge of honor. However, it’s clear that CJPME's advocacy is being read by the Toronto Sun and living rent-free in their minds (and homes!).
While this reaction was unexpected, it shows how necessary our work is. All that Passifiume has shown is that some journalists take pride in the substantive allegations of racism and false claims made against them.
While Toronto Sun journalists like Warren Kinsella and Brian Lilley have also taken to social media to intimidate CJPME and launch personal attacks against our staff, we will continue to fight against racism and for fair and honest media coverage of Palestine.