This report highlights the widespread problem of anti-Palestinian racism (APR) in Canadian society, exposing more than 500 examples of this form of racism in online written content in 2022. The report argues that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism should be recognized as a key purveyor of APR, as it drives conflation of antisemitism with criticism of Israel, leading to unfair and defamatory attacks on Palestinians and their supporters.
Find the 2022 Report here.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Anti-Palestinian racism (APR) is a widespread problem in Canadian society which goes almost entirely unrecognized and unaddressed. A non-exhaustive study of APR in Canada in 2022 by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) identified 507 examples of this form of racism in online written content. The vast majority of these examples of APR came from non-profit organizations (67 percent), followed by right-leaning media organizations (33 percent).
CJPME identified examples of APR based on the description published in May 2022 by the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association, in a report entitled, “Anti-Palestinian Racism: Naming, Framing and Manifestations.” These examples were drawn exclusively from online written content from 2022 from institutional Canadian sources known to be frequent purveyors of APR. The study deliberately excluded examples from social media, religious organizations, and various other sources. As such, it is necessarily limited in scope. This indicates that the problem of APR is likely much more serious than indicated here.
While APR can take many different forms, 354 of the examples of APR (70 percent) identified in the study included defamatory slander of Palestinians as being either 1) antisemitic, 2) terrorist sympathizers, or 3) anti-democratic. Of these three, slander of Palestinians as antisemitic was the most common subtype of APR at 293 examples (58 percent), followed by terrorist-sympathizer (118 examples, 23 percent) and anti-democratic (29 examples, 6 percent).
Of the examples in which Palestinians were slandered as antisemitic, it was most common for this to be justified based on their 1) criticism of Israel, 2) being ‘anti-Israel’, or 3) being anti-Zionist. These results suggest that the conflation of antisemitism with criticism of Israel is a driving force behind APR. Definitions of antisemitism which engender this conflation, such as the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition (IHRA), should be recognized as purveyors of APR.
This report recommends that governments, companies and other institutions move quickly to adopt measures to incorporate APR in their equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) frameworks. The report also recommends that governments and institutions avoid adopting (and roll back the adoption of) any definition of antisemitism which itself promulgates APR (including IHRA). It is also recommended that governments incorporate APR into their anti-racist public awareness programs targeting not only the general public, but also law enforcement and other critical professions.
This report also recommends that Canadian media give special attention to their reporting on Israel-Palestine, as poor reporting can often be a source of APR, and also contribute to the popularity of racist ideas about Palestinians among readers. The report’s recommendations provide guidelines for how media can counter APR and be more inclusive of Palestinian perspectives – e.g. providing greater historic context in coverage of Palestine-Israel.
The report advises Palestinians and their supporters to highlight the problem of APR in Canada, and to oppose it vigorously.
While this particular study was focused exclusively on examples from 2022, the report notes that there has been a huge uptick of incidents of APR in Canada since Oct. 7, 2023. Among other things, many people in Canada have been warned, suspended, investigated or fired by their employers or academic institutions due to the expression of their views on Palestine. CJPME plans to undertake a report on the problem of APR in Canada each year, and expects that its 2023 report will highlight the growing and devastating impact of APR on Canadian society.
CJPME was established in 2002 by Canadians who wanted to foster justice, peace, prosperity and security for all peoples of the Middle East. CJPME (Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East) was registered in 2004. CJPME seeks to provide resources and host activities which enable Canadians at all levels to better understand the dynamics of the region, and work toward solutions for the region. CJPME’s mission is to enable Canadians of all backgrounds to promote justice, development and peace in the Middle East, and here at home in Canada. – Bio from CJPME.org
