The Media Accountability Project  

"While you specify that Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, you simply state that there was a subsequent “Israel-Gaza War.” What about Israel’s brutal, largely one-sided attack on Palestinians in Gaza?"

"This article is incredibly refreshing, for it reveals the deep support that exists for a Free Palestine within the Jewish community and, thus, counteracts the antisemitic trope that all Jews are or should be staunch supporters of Israel."

On February 15, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to the Toronto Star, pushing the newspaper to add more context to accurately and completely describe the intentions of the organizers of the Sunday, February 11, 2024, pro-Palestine rally in Toronto.

CJPME wrote that the article did not even acknowledge the ongoing situation in Gaza, and specifically Rafah amidst Israel’s assault, which was the intention behind the rally.

CJPME asked to balance the article by adding more information about the intentions behind the protest and more context about the situation in Gaza, specifically Rafah.

On February 16, 2024, following our letter, Toronto Star added the following sentence: The protest was organized in opposition to Israel's bombardment of Rafah city in the Gaza Strip on Sunday night. Toronto Star also added an editor’s note. In this editor’s note, Toronto Star specified that the story has been updated to provide more context on the reasons why the rally was held.

This small change helps give a more accurate and complete picture of the Pro-Palestine rally and the organizers’ intentions.

After a week of our sending letters to journalists in Canada asking them to improve their coverage of Elise Gravel, CBC has finally published a great article that prioritizes Gravel’s perspective and others who vouch for intellectual freedom and Palestinian liberation. Please help us give a thank you to encourage this type of reporting. Although it's one of the first articles to set the record straight on the Elise Gravel case, some constructive criticism can also be provided to make the article more informative and contextualized.

"This intimate and ongoing exchange of aggressive/militarized policing tactics ensures the dispossession of Palestinians in Palestine, as well as the continued repression of Black, Indigenous, Arab, and other marginalized communities in Canada and the US.'

"It is disappointing that certain voices are taken at face value and that specific interpretations are selected as an attempt to frame the action of the man climbing the front of the Mount Sinai hospital as antisemitic while disregarding that this framing contributes to anti-Palestinian racism (APR) left unacknowledged in your article."

"The only space and voice you give are a one-sentence paragraph to one of the organizers, Toronto4Palestine, which doesn’t even correctly assess their intentions behind the rally: to bring awareness to Rafah amidst Israel’s assault. I, therefore, ask you to balance the article by adding more context about the protest by giving voice to the organizers and the protesters."

Since the organizers and the protesters are given space after people who did not attend the protest, the central issue of the article turns around false accusations of antisemitism.

By consistently placing comments from one group above comments from another, CBC inevitably suggests a hierarchy of perspectives to the reader. Relegating voices that are critical of Israel or sympathetic to Palestinians to disadvantageous locations in the article, whether unintentional or on purpose, further marginalizes Palestinian narratives.

"I ask you to add mention of their statement and the reasons they chose this overpass: its proximity, high visibility, and sidewalks, which would be more complete and accurate. Good reporting on this issue would include this information and report on Pro-Palestine protests and intentions in a fair, complete, and accurate way."