Vous pouvez trouver une version française de cette lettre ici. The French version of the following letter can be found here.

As Canadian journalists, we are writing to express our horror and condemnation of the violence enacted upon journalists in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli government.  

As we observe from the safety of Canadian newsrooms, journalists in Gaza risk their lives to bring each chilling report to light. We watch as they run towards airstrikes, dig through rubble, and care for children. We wait each morning to hear them assure us they are still alive because their press gear is now a target, rather than a shield.

On November 3, an Israeli airstrike killed journalist Mohammed Abu Hattab in his home, along with 11 members of his family. In a live broadcast thirty minutes later, his colleague Salman al-Bashir said through tears, “We can’t bear this anymore. We are exhausted, we are here victims and martyrs awaiting our deaths, we are dying one after the other and no one cares about us or the large-scale catastrophe.” Taking off his press gear, he said, “Neither press vests nor helmets protect us. They're only statements that we wear...We are here victims, being aired live.” 

Journalism should not be a crime, anywhere in the world.

This latest chapter of violence began on October 7 with the Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis, including four journalists, and has escalated into a retaliatory campaign by Israeli forces that has killed more than 14,800 Palestinians. Among them are at least 54 Palestinian and three Lebanese journalists, according to an ongoing investigation by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which calls this the deadliest conflict for journalists since it began tracking in 1992. (Update: This letter was released on December 3. As of January 24, the CPJ reports 83 journalists, 76 of whom are Palestinian, have been killed. The government media office in Gaza puts this number at more than 100.) This mounting figure does not quantify the suffering of injured or detained reporters, or those who lost family members.

At least one Israeli attack is believed to have deliberately targeted press workers. Journalists have been restricted from reporting on ongoing Israeli ground operations. Israeli journalists and publications criticizing their own government are harassed and threatened with defunding. Israeli leaders and media advocacy groups also implied journalists covering the events of October 7 are complicit in terrorism. 

The killing of journalists of any nationality, both in targeted efforts or as civilian “collateral damage,” is reprehensible and dangerous, as it severely limits the world’s ability to bear witness. 

These actions warrant urgent outcry from the international journalism community, industry leadership organizations, and governments. Despite this, we have not seen substantive leadership from Canadian journalism and press freedom organizations, whose responses have been limited or nonexistent. In the face of a chilling silence, we the undersigned stand in solidarity with our fellow journalists on the front lines, and with colleagues at home and worldwide who illuminate and condemn the violence wrought upon journalists and civilians by the Israeli government.

A Call for Integrity in Reporting on Israel-Palestine

This is not the first time the alarm has been raised on this issue. A 2021 letter with more than 2,000 signatories read, “It’s time for Canadian newsrooms to carry out the necessary due diligence and report on this region with nuance and context…The deep reluctance to cover the ongoing nature of the Israeli occupation leads to urgent breaking news coverage that never includes the context that surrounds the issue.” 

Two years later, Canadian media remains largely the same.

An analysis from The Breach found CTV National News — the most watched national broadcast in Canada — has “featured 62 per cent more Israeli than Palestinian voices, aired racist stereotypes about Arabs, and allowed Israeli military officials to make false claims without pushback in its month of coverage since Oct. 7.”

Internal directives from Bell Media instructed staff across all platforms — CTV News, BNN Bloomberg and CP24 Toronto — to avoid using the word Palestine, saying “Palestine as a nation does not currently exist.” CBC’s language guide has long included a similar directive. 

Palestine has been recognized as a state by 139 countries — Canada is among the minority that do not. However, these same media outlets have frequently referred to other non-recognized nations, like Taiwan, by name without hesitation. 

An internal CBC memo recently cautioned journalists against posting, reposting or liking social media content about the war on Gaza containing information “that CBC has not — or would not — put on air or online,” including “information we have not verified or are not reporting ourselves as CBC News, even when it comes from external news sources.” 

At the same time, CBC journalists have previously reported an internal reluctance to broadcast Palestinian experts and perspectives.

There have also been troubling errors in judgment in the Canadian reporting of the conflict: the use of passive language to describe Palestinians as having “died” while Israelis are “killed”; an eight-day delay in correcting misinformation in the Toronto Star regarding unverified accounts of Hamas beheading babies (five days after most U.S. publications had deemed it unsubstantiated); a National Post headline reading “A War of the Entire Civilized World Against Savagery”; the CBC, Toronto Star, National Post and others publishing detailed accounts of the October 7 footage screened by the Israeli government without indicating whether it had been independently verified.

Journalists at some Canadian news outlets, including Global News and CTV Atlantic, allege they have been dismissed for expressing solidarity with Palestine. Meanwhile, columnists and editorial boards who publish unequivocal support for Israel and dismiss civilian deaths as unfortunate collateral face no similar sanctions. 

This conflict did not begin on October 7 — nor did Israel’s targeting of journalists — and to report it as such would be a failure to carry out our responsibilities as journalists. Here at home, as incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia spike, we have a duty to publish thorough, historically-informed, human reporting, to counter ignorance and misinformation. To fail in this responsibility undermines the trust our audiences generously place in us. As such we demand, and ourselves commit to, clear-eyed, fair and accurate reporting on events as they unfold.

To these ends, the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) has asked journalists to adopt a series of recommendations: 

• Consider both broad and recent context in coverage (including Israel’s historic and ongoing occupation of Palestinian territory, and the rise in Israeli military action in Palestinian cities prior to Oct. 7) 

• Be precise reporting casualties

• Be mindful of the power imbalance between Israel and Palestine

• Verify all published claims 

• Include and respect Palestinian perspectives

• Be responsive to the toll these events can take on newsroom staff who may be personally impacted by the violence. 

Above all, we call for an immediate end to the threats against Palestinian journalists risking life and limb to bring us stories from the ground, without whom we would all be in the dark.

Signed, 

1. Shireen Ahmed
2. Ginella Massa
3. Michelle Cyca
4. Inori Roy
5. Dustin Godfrey
6. Rebecca Gao
7. Ramona Leitao
8. Pacinthe Mattar
9. Kunal Chaudhary
10. Tahmeed Shafiq
11. Nour Abi-Nakhoul
12. Lucy Uprichard
13. Xavier Richer Vis
14. Sonya Fatah
15. Sakeina Syed
16. Tajja Isen
17. Katia Lo Innes
18. Anonymous - Toronto Star
19. Jalani Morgan
20. Asmaa Malik
21. Dru Oja Jay
22. Emma Arkell
23. Emma Paling
24. Kate Schneider
25. Lindsay Sample - The Narwhal
26. Niko Stratis
28. Claire Porter Robbins
29. Desmond Cole
30. El Jones
31. Julia-Simone Rutgers
32. Brandi Schier - CEO, Discourse Community Publishing
33. Rachel Chen
34. Carly Penrose
35. Karan Saxena - The Narwhal
36. Furqan Mohamed
37. Shenaz Kermalli
38. Andre Goulet - Director, Harbinger Media
39. Tracy Glynn - NB Media Co-op
40. Susan O'Donnell
41. Justin Brake - The Independent
42. Nathan Kalman-Lamb
43. Derek Silva
44. David Kattenburg
45. Shannon Carranco
46. Jenn Jefferys
47. Megan Linton - Invisible Institutions
48. Arun Srinivasan
49. Kathleen Newman-Bremang
50. Paris Marx
51. Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé - Freelance columnist
52. Nahid Widaatalla
53. Sarah Samuel - Freelance Journalist and Reseracher
54. Aysha Khan - Next City
55. Stacy Lee Kong
56. Sarah Rieger
57. Huda Hassan
58. Anam Latif
59. Anonymous - CBC/Radio-Canada
60. Anonymous - The Globe and Mail
61. Diane Yeung
62. Nur Dogan
63. Jillian Kestler-D’Amours
64. Michael Rancic
65. Rachel Gilmore
66. Hannah Seo
67. Audra Jander
68. Jeremy Appel
69. Christin El-kholy
70. Tobin Ng
71. Nora Loreto
72. Dani Godbout
73. Anonymous - Toronto Star
74. Tim Bousquet - Halifax Examiner
75. Silas Le Blanc
76. Sobia Moman
77. Tannara Yelland
78. Mira Miller
79. Anne Lagacé Dowson
80. Matt Simmons - The Narwhal
81. Stephen Magusiak
82. Omar Mouallem
83. Fatima Raza
84. Francesca Fionda - The Narwhal
85. Marta Iwanek
86. Emily Leedham
87. Marcello Di Cintio
88. Fatima Syed
89. Rosie Long Decter
90. Nicholas Hune-Brown
91. Shawn Parkinson
92. Alayna LaFleur
93. Henry Lee - Deathnography Podcast
94. Dalya Al Masri
95. Elaine Anselmi
96. Anonymous - CBC/Radio-Canada
97. Kiran N
98. Roslyn Talusan - Off Colour, Independent
99. Jessica Mazze
100. Jonah Brunet
101. Srivindhya Kolluru
102. Romy Garrido
103. Hafsa Maqsood
104. Nana aba Duncan
105. Sara Black McCulloch
106. Sophia de Guzman Rivadeiro
107. Lorax B. Horne - DDoSecrets
108. Allison Baker
109. Joan Baxter
110. Sabra Ismath
111. Alex Birrell
112. Mashal Butt
113. Duncan Kinney - Editor of Progress Report
114. Anonymous - CBC/Radio-Canada
115. Ayesha Habib
116. Kayla Zhu
117. Anonymous - CBC/Radio-Canada
118. David Gray-Donald
119. Grace Scott
120. Meral Jamal
121. Daniel Sarah Karasik
122. Raneem Alozzi
123. Ziya Jones 
124. Gillian Findlay
125. Kyle Muzyka - CBC Radio/Canada
126. Sana A. Malik
127. Karen Pinchin
128. Anonymous - Toronto Star
129. Luke Ottenhof
130. Josie Kao
131. Joy Pecknold
132. Peter Biesterfeld
133. Mona Awwad
134. Kathryn Jezer-Morton
135. Leslie Sinclair
136. Noor Azrieh
137. Heidi Lee
138. Evy Kwong
139. Stephanie Wood - The Narwhal
140. Brannavy Jeyasundaram
141. Zeahaa Rehman
142. Amanda Follett Hosgood
143. Martin Reis
144. Daysha Loppie
145. Ashleigh-Rae Thomas 
146. Yvette d'Entremont - Halifax Examiner
147. Jeevan Sangha
148. Natasha Bulowski
149. Brennan Doherty
150. Adrian Harewood
151. Sophie Jin – Briarpatch Magazine
152. V. S. Wells
153. Abhiraj Lamba
154. Jordan Prentice, Energeticcity.ca
155. Dana Masa
156. Ysh Cabana
157. Alexa Margorian
158. Malak Abas
159. Taylor C. Noakes
160. Mia Johnson
161. Dev Ramsawakh
162. Katarina Szulc
163. Safeena Dhalla
164. Anonymous - CBC/Radio-Canada
165. Vanessa Minke-Martin
166. Matthew Stepanic
167. Iman Adem
168. Rachel DeGasperis
169. Angela Capobianco
170. Mat Hebert
171. Eman Bare
172. Saman Malik
173. Fabrice Vil
174. Stu Neatby
175. Anonymous - Global News
176. Min Sook Lee
177. Sophie Lyons
178. Eve Cable - The Eastern Door
179. Lauren Kaljur - Discourse Community Publishing
180. Cloe Logan
181. Emily Wilson - CBC
182. Anonymous - The Globe and Mail
183. Anna McKenzie
184. Gabriela Perdomo
185. Gökçe On
186. Liam Devitt
187. Maryam Azzam
188. Anonymous - CBC/Radio-Canada
189. Joshua Best
190. Santiago Helou Quintero
191. Anonymous - CBC/Radio-Canada
192. Anonymous - Glacier Media
193. Diamond Yao
194. Alisha Mughal
195. Jadine Ngan
196. Paul Weinberg
197. Abeer Khan
198. Paloma Pacheco
199. Anonymous — Toronto Star
200. Adam Leith Gollner
201. Adriana Fallico
202. Christine Estima
203. Dimitri Lascaris
204. Sanam Islam
205. Carol Eugene Park - Freelancer
206. Jimmy Thomson
207. Emma Buchanan
208. Denise Reyes
209. Kiran Singh
210. Anonymous - Toronto Star
211. Zak Vescera - The Tyee
212. Josh Bloch
213. Judy Haiven
214. Rumneek Johal
215. Colin Slark
216. Kayla Higgins
217. Anonymous - CBC/Radio-Canada
218. Prarthana Pathak
219. Anna-Giselle Funes-Eng
220. Ebyan Abdigir
221. Jamuna Galay-Tamang
222. Anonymous — Freelance
223. Jolson Lim
224. Murray Bush - Freelance Photographer
225. Hina Imam
226. Katie Hyslop - The Tyee
227. Alyanna Chua
228. Tyler Harper - Nelson Star
229. Anonymous - Freelance Journalist
230. Carlyn Zwarenstein - Independent Journalist
231. Ainslie Cruickshank
232. Zahra Khozema - Canada’s National Observer
233. Kim Kimberlin
234. Anna Burns
235. Jason McBride
236. Alyssa Wu
237. Marc Fawcett-Atkinson
238. Brittany Tiplady
239. Jeanie Mai Tran - Freelance Writer
240. Ayesha Nasir
241. Ashlynn Chand
242. Asha Swann
243. Tvdonyoung
244. Anonymous - CBC / Radio-Canada
245. Tahmina Aziz
246. Glyn Bowerman
247. KC Hoard
248. Dhriti Gupta
249. Colby Payne
250. David Slater
251. Ashley Okwuosa
252. Anonymous - CBC/Radio-Canada
253. Nicole Schmidt
254. Denise Balkissoon
255. Georgia Longphee
256. Olamide Olaniyan
257. Anonymous - CBC/Radio-Canada
258. Nathan Sing
259. J.B. Staniforth
260. Anonymous - CTV News
261. Emma McIntosh
262. Kasey Skinner
263. Anonymous - Freelance 
264. Christopher Curtis - The Rover
265. Marc Kitteringham
266. andrea bennett
267. Sharon Nadeem
268. Curtis Seufert
269. Marelj - Freelance
270. Anonymous - CTV News
271. Charlie Carey
272. Melanie Morassutti
273. Hafsa Ahmed
274. Urbi Khan
275. Kat Eschner
276. Tiffany Lam
277. Anonymous - The Globe and Mail
278. Anthony Milton
279. Tamara Khandaker
280. Hal Newman - The Last Ambulance
281. David Gutnick
282. Loreen Pindera
283. Julie Arounlasy
284. Kelly Alex Karen Asselin-Tousignant
285. Anonymous - CityNews Toronto
286. Melayna Williams
287. Katarina Sabados
288. Gavin Adamson
289. Anonymous - Freelance
290. Spencer Izen
291. Anonymous - CBC/Radio-Canada
292. Sarah Barmak
293. Ishani Nath
294. Alexis Kienlen
295. Jen Foden - Freelance
296. Brielle Morgan
297. Stephanie Irvine
298. Lito Howse
299. Emma Johnston-Wheeler - Freelance
300. Jess Shane
301. Sadaf Ahsan