The Media Accountability Project  

One of our MAP media advocates Debbie Hubbard wrote a powerful letter to the editor that was published in the Toronto Star on July 24, 2025. In her piece, Debbie condemns the lack of Canada’s silence regarding Israel’s systematic targeting of civilians in Gaza through the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

In her letter, she urges the Canadian government to take immediate meaningful action, imposing a two-way arms embargo on Israel, sanctioning Israeli leaders currently under investigation by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and banning business with companies complicit in the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.

You can read her letter here.

This National Post article uses inflammatory and misleading language to smear Palestinian protesters at Saint John’s Culturefest. The piece frames the demonstration as an antisemitic attack, erases its political context, and presents unverified allegations as fact. Such coverage perpetuates anti-Palestinian racism and silences Palestinian voices in Canada.

"This claim is factually false. Bob Vylan is an anti-racist and anti-fascist group; they have never called for violence against Jewish people. To misrepresent their critique of state violence as antisemitism is defamatory and irresponsible."

"Mr Levi has made plain his unconditional support for limitless Israeli violence. Indeed, I would challenge you to find a single word of sympathy for any Palestinians - even children - anywhere in his copious social media posts."

To the Globe and Mail Newsroom,

I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (www.cjpme.org) regarding the recent op-ed by Deborah Cowen, Naomi Klein, Kyo Maclear, and Madeleine Thien titled: "Canada needs to follow through on its promise to help people in Gaza."

Thank you for providing a forceful indictment of Canada’s inaction in evacuating Palestinians from the occupied Gaza Strip. I especially appreciated how the op-ed situated Canada’s failures within the broader history of exclusionary immigration policies and racialized border controls, invoking past injustices such as the Chinese Head Tax, Japanese-Canadian internment, and Canada’s refusal to admit Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust.

I also want to thank you for using the term genocide. It has taken nearly two years for much of the world to acknowledge that Israel is carrying out a genocidal campaign against Palestinians—a campaign rooted in abhorrent apartheid policies and practices dating back to Israel’s very creation.

If I may offer some constructive feedback, however: The op-ed’s title, “Canada needs to follow through on its promise to help people in Gaza,” reflects a pattern we often see in media coverage, where the word Palestinian is omitted. Too often, the media avoids naming Palestinians directly, effectively erasing Palestinian identity—a practice that contributes to anti-Palestinian racism. I do not know if this omission was intentional, but I kindly urge you to consider revising the headline to read “Palestinians in Gaza” instead of “people in Gaza.”

Unfortunately, much of Western media has abandoned core journalistic principles when covering Palestine, echoing Israeli talking points and burying Palestinian voices. By repeating Israeli propaganda and sanitizing the language of occupation, mainstream outlets have become complicit in genocide—normalizing Israel’s ongoing bombardment, ethnic cleansing, mass imprisonment, and detention of Palestinians. 

I urge The Globe and Mail to take a moral stance and change the headline so as not to erase Palestinian identity.

I await your response and send my kind regards in the meantime.

Warmly,

Lynn Naji
Media Analyst
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East

"Unfortunately, much of Western media has abandoned core journalistic principles when covering Palestine, echoing Israeli talking points and burying Palestinian voices. By repeating Israeli propaganda and sanitizing the language of occupation, mainstream outlets have become complicit in genocide—normalizing Israel’s ongoing bombardment, ethnic cleansing, mass imprisonment, and detention of Palestinians."

"Although Trudeau himself has seldom shown any spine in standing up to US foreign policy directives, to the extent that Trump now calls us the 51st state, few of those interested in justice for Palestinians will mourn Freeland’s departure from cabinet."

By pledging uncritical, “unwavering, ironclad” support, Freeland/Trudeau gave Israel permission to ramp up ethnic cleansing against Palestinians, thereby putting Canadians on the opposite side from the world’s leading organizations for human rights and the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

"This is the press, an irresponsible press. It will make the criminal look like he's the victim and make the victim look like he's the criminal. If you aren't careful the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." Malcolm X. 1964