The Media Accountability Project  

Overall, your article is a much needed, human portrait of Canadians relationship to the ongoing impacts of violent imperialism in the Middle East.

"They don't have a problem with genocide, in fact they are happy to support it. When I write  genocide I include daily massacres of civilians (462 days now), starvation, dehydration, torture, arbitrary imprisonment not unlike hostage taking, killing medical personnel, killing journalists, killing aid workers. And that is the short list."

I believe the authors could have further benefited from deeper contextualization of the lived experience of Palestinians, particularly in relation to the enduring impacts of colonialism and apartheid. The history of the Nakba, the ongoing displacement of Palestinians, and the structural inequalities perpetuated by Israeli policies are essential to understanding the roots and persistence of this long conflict.

It is unusual to read such a thorough account of a Palestinian perspective in Canadian media. That said, this article helps balance a media environment that rarely platforms Palestinians, except when covering their suffering.

"CJPME appreciates your coverage of the McGill encampment in support of Palestine. Once again, student media like The Daily provide a necessary outlet for Palestinians and their supporters, who are too often dehumanized or unjustly labeled as terrorist sympathizers in mainstream media."

On August 6, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to the editor (LTE) to The Telegram in response to Heidi Matthews’s August 3 opinion piece: “A disregard for students’ human rights.”

In her opinion piece, Matthews defended the student protest encampments, and CJPME sent a letter in support.

The LTE was published on August 20, 2024, in the Telegram.

You can read the LTE here.

It is always encouraging to see CJPME’s LTEs published, especially when it concerns the issue of pro-Palestine encampments, which has been unfairly and inaccurately reported on in Canadian media. 

Re: “ A disregard for students’ human rights” (The Telegram, Saturday, August 3, 2024 by Heidi Matthews)

«Malheureusement, comme le souligne Mme Bissonnette, l'avis de la Cour internationale de Justice (CIJ) a reçu très peu d'attention de la part des médias canadiens anglophones ainsi que des médias canadiens francophones.J’ai donc  été  soulagé que Mme Bissonnette partage aussi mes inquiétudes par rapport aux médias et je la remercie d'avoir souligné l'urgence d’action de la société civile canadienne ainsi que la communauté internationale à se pencher  plus sérieusement sur la question des violations des droits des Palestiniens par Israël.»

"Criticism of the Israeli government also costs many of those individuals in terms of their professional and political lives and roles. A fear of speaking out silences those voices within government settings, academic institutions and other public institutions."

As he also rightly mentions, instead of repressing and restraining university demonstrations, they should be engaged with constructively, as the way they are dealt with by authorities truly exposes the nature of governance whether they are democratic or authoritarian.