The Media Accountability Project  

"The conflation of antisemitism and anti-Zionism is most evident in the paragraph: 'Canada has been deeply enriched by its Jewish community, which has made tremendous contributions to every aspect of our society. Our leading universities, hospitals, and research institutes have also benefited incredibly from cooperation, collaboration, and people-to-people exchanges with their counterparts in Israel.'"

"While I thought you did a fair job covering this story, I was disappointed that the article included commentary from a variety of CUPE members and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center members but not a Palestine advocacy organization."

"Given the political climate surrounding the summer student encampments across Canadian universities, it is highly likely that opponents of these movements, including politicians like Poilievre, will seize upon this report to discredit and dismiss the entirety student-led initiative moving forward. I genuinely hope that by sharing our findings with the Toronto Star, we can try to keep political discourse in Canada somewhat grounded in facts rather than through unverified allegations that have everyone running around with digital pitchforks online."

On July 16, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to the Toronto Star and the Associated Press challenging the framing of an article from July 14 about a brutal Israeli attack a few days earlier in Khan Yunis area of Gaza in an article entitled, “Hamas says Gaza cease-fire talks haven’t paused and claims military chief survived Israeli strike.”  The article covered an Israeli attack that killed 90 Palestinian civilians, which Israel tried to justify by saying it (possibly) resulted in the assassination of a Hamas leader.

CJPME challenged the Star/AP’s decision to headline a Hamas comment on the ceasefire talks, rather than 1) Israel’s devastating attack on civilians, 2) Israel’s decision to make an attack in a supposed “safe zone,” and 3) Israel’s false claim of having killed a Hamas leader, was very suspect and biased.  

CJPME argued that the Star/AP should choose a headline which, rather than focusing on some “diplomatic” development involving Hamas, focused on the significant aspects of the situation, e.g. “Israel’s attack in Gaza ‘Safe Zone’ results in death of 90 civilians.”

The next day, CJPME was happy to see an article from AP, by the same author as the article on the 14th, again about a brutal attack by Israel in Gaza which killed scores of Palestinian civilians, which carried the title, “Israeli strikes in southern, central Gaza kill more than 60 Palestinians, including in ‘safe zone’”  While we don’t always get an explicit acknowledgement that our letters have had an impact, we are often gratified to see our input incorporated in later coverage.

"I take issue with the article describing these extremist groups as 'activists' in sentences such as, 'Hundreds of activists set up tents at Kerem Shalom for several nights in early February to stop the delivery of aid' and 'as well as activists looting trucks and destroying supplies.' Calling these Israeli extremists who obstruct humanitarian aid and engage in looting 'activists' is incredibly misleading and whitewashes their unlawful actions. Please correct any reference of the groups as 'activists' and label them as 'extremists.'"

"According to Haaretz, this directive essentially permits actions that could lead to the death of captured soldiers or Israeli civilians taken hostage to prevent their capture. The use of this directive has severe implications for the events of October 7 and drastically changes the original narrative reported by Israel about Hamas’ capturing of civilians. Including this context in your article and future reports about October 7 is crucial to providing a balanced and comprehensive understanding of the actions taken by the Israeli military and their impact on Palestinians in Gaza, as well as their own civilians and soldiers."

"The headline and sentence use vague words, such as 'far-right' and 'sensitive,' to get around mentioning that Extremist Ben-Gvir stormed the holy site of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Occupied Palestinian Territory of East Jerusalem."

"The Toronto Star’s decision to highlight a Hamas comment on the ceasefire talks, rather than 1) Israel’s devastating attack on civilians, 2) Israel’s decision to make an attack in a supposed “safe zone,” and 3) Israel’s false claim of having killed a Hamas leader, seems very suspect."

"I take foremost issue with your article giving overwhelmingly voice to Richard Marceau, vice president for the Centre of Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, director of policy and advocacy at the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, and Richard Robertson, director for research and advocacy for B’nai Brith Canada, while you only briefly quote the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM)."

"After Haaretz released its damning report that the Israeli military ordered the Hannibal Directive on October 7, I anticipated, to a certain extent, that popular Canadian media would conveniently ignore these findings. Though I remain critical of the Toronto Star, I did not expect this outlet to fall into the disappointing and deep pool of Canadian media outlets engaging in this case of deliberate self-censorship."