The Media Accountability Project  

"I believe that The Globe and Mail should either update this piece, or publish a follow up which accurately represents the perspectives and grievances of marginalized groups who have cut ties with Fierté Montréal. I also suggest your reports on Gaza and Palestinians are centered within the frameworks of international law and human rights. I would also avoid using arguments that promote double standards and that dehumanize queer Arabs and Palestinians."

"Israel has waged a nearly 22-month-long military siege on the Gaza Strip. Yet the article presents these claims as unchallenged fact, despite extensive documentation from international human rights organizations (including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, UN bodies, and now two Israeli human rights groups) which have concluded that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide."

"On behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, and as a concerned Canadian, I demand that the government takes concrete actions to stop Israel’s ongoing violations of international law. Canada must impose sanctions and a two-way arms embargo on Israel, and exert meaningful pressure to allow full, immediate and unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, enforced through international mechanisms."

"Anti-Palestinian racism must be named when Palestinian-Canadians and their allies are targets of politically motivated assaults."

"Rather than center the piece on the plight of Palestinians in Gaza who are facing genocide and famine, the Globe and Mail is more concerned with Israel’s reputation and losing their 'war' against Hamas — not the fact they are committing war crimes."

"I urge you to revisit this article and add context that reflects the full scope of perspectives, particularly from the Palestinian-Canadian community which is most affected by the legislation."

Canada needs to return to its once leading role in promoting international rule of law and supporting the independence, impartiality and integrity of the ICC.

"I kindly request that the article be amended to raise skepticism around Israel’s supposed military goals and statements in response to committing war crimes. By repeating Israeli talking points, your reporting risks whitewashing Israel’s war crime of indiscriminately bombing Palestinian civilians and places of worship in occupied Gaza."

"As it stands, the article presents a one-sided Israeli military narrative while excluding or minimizing Palestinian and humanitarian perspectives. I ask that The Globe and Mail and the Associated Press revise this article to include these perspectives, present Israel’s accusations as claims and not fact and properly contextualize the situation as genocide according to the growing body of evidence by human rights groups."

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