Muslims leaders say anti-Palestinian racism is casting a chill on free speech
York University professor Nadia Hasan says schools and employers are linking Palestinian culture with terrorism and retaliating against people already traumatized by the war in Gaza.
Hasan, who runs the Islamophobia Research Hub, says there has not been enough prosecution or public pushback in response to incidents of anti-Muslim hate, which further emboldens those committing violence.
Her group has released a report that says corporations were quick to issue statements of support for Jewish Canadians after the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023, but have not spoken out about Israeli policies causing mass death and hunger.
Amira Elghawaby, Ottawa's special representative on combating Islamophobia, says students are being bullied or officially punished for wearing a traditional scarf called a kaffiyeh, or for posting a Palestinian flag on social media.
The report urges all levels of government to officially recognize anti-Palestinian racism and calls on Ottawa to crack down on foreign interference that targets Muslims in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
an hour ago
Protests, warnings of 'catastrophic consequences' confront Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City
Forced into tents on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea or huddling in the rubble, Palestinians have been running for their lives through 22 months of war. Dodging bullets and Israeli airstrikes while chasing scarce food, some two million people are squeezed into less than 100 square kilometers. And it seems they're about to be squeezed again. Najla Abu Jarad's family is squatting on the outskirts of Gaza City, Israel's next target. They want to remove us, but to where? asked the 60-year-old. What's left in Gaza? According to the United Nations, 86 per cent of the territory is already within the Israeli-militarized zone or subject to evacuation orders (new window) . Enlarge image (new window) Najla Abu Jarad, 60, speaks with CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife near her tent on the outskirts of Gaza City on Thursday. She says there is nowhere left for her family to go in Gaza, as military occupation expands. Photo: CBC / Mohamed El Saife There are many uncertainties around Israel's new plans to expand military occupation, even as its first step — taking control of Gaza City — was approved by government ministers and reluctant generals at a security cabinet meeting that lasted 10 hours and dragged into the early hours of Friday. The stated aims are to disarm Hamas and free the 20 remaining Israeli hostages believed to be alive — goals that have eluded Israel despite its overwhelming military power. In order to achieve them now, Israel is edging toward a full Israeli occupation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hinting at it. When asked in a Fox News Channel interview on Thursday whether Israel will take control of Gaza, Netanyahu replied, We intend to. We don't want to keep it, he continued, we don't want to govern it. WATCH | Netanyahu says Israel intends to take full control of Gaza: Instead, he said Israel wants to replace Hamas, the militant group which has ruled Gaza since 2007, with Arab forces that will govern it properly, without threatening Israel, he said. No Arab country has publicly agreed to take on that role, and Israel has rejected handing control of Gaza to the Palestinian group that runs parts of the occupied West Bank, Hamas's political rival, the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority. Israel has also refused a proposal presented by Egypt (new window) in March to create a government made up of independent Palestinian technocrats. Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing almost 1,200 Israelis and taking some 250 people hostage. Since then, the resulting ground war and Israeli airstrikes have left more than 61,000 Palestinians dead, according to figures supplied by the Gaza Health Ministry. In both cases, the numbers include fighters and civilians. Opposition at home and abroad After nearly two years of war, Israel's military says it currently controls 75 per cent of Gaza, avoiding areas where it believes the 20 remaining living hostages are being held. The next step could be to take over all of the territory. Enlarge image (new window) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the audience at a conference in Jerusalem on July 27. In a recent interview, Netanyahu confirmed Israel 'intends' to take full control of Gaza, adding, 'We don't want to keep it.' Photo: Associated Press / Ohad Zwigenberg We are setting up everything to go in, Israel's deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel told CBC News. Haskel, who was born in Canada, said the process will mean up to two weeks of moving forces from Israel's north into Gaza, followed by a four- to six-month military campaign to bring hostages home and to disarm Hamas. The plan has already run into stiff opposition, both abroad and in Israel. Germany immediately halted arms exports that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice. The European Union said Israel's plan to expand its military operation must be reconsidered. Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, condemned the move. Earlier this week, the UN warned of catastrophic consequences for Gazans and Israeli hostages. Enlarge image (new window) A demonstrator clenches his fist as he shouts slogans during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The protest took place outside the prime minister's office in Jerusalem on Thursday. Photo: afp via getty images / Ahmad Gharabli And even as Israel's security cabinet met, protesters clashed with police in Tel Aviv and yelled outside Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem, demanding a negotiated deal which would end fighting and bring the hostages home. Recent public opinion polls (new window) suggest 74 per cent of Israelis share that view. To continue the war is a disaster for the Palestinians and for us the Israelis as well, said protester Naomi Granot. Israel's military and security establishments also oppose the escalation of war. Military chief of staff Eyal Zamir clashed with Netanyahu several times this week over the expanded mission for his force, reportedly in a tense three-hour meeting on Tuesday, and again last night. Zamir has warned the prime minister that taking the rest of Gaza could trap the military in the territory, from which it withdrew two decades ago. It could also risk harm to the hostages being held there, government sources told Reuters. (new window) 200,000 more soldiers If the government does plan to go ahead with a full occupation, the next sign will be an order to call up more reserve soldiers, said Janice Stein, a specialist in the Middle East at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. According to the Israel Hayom daily newspaper, 200,000 reservists are required for the operation in Gaza City alone. But when military leaders are saying there are no further military objectives to meet and further military action risks the needless deaths of reserve soldiers and the hostages, it is extremely difficult to call up reserve soldiers, Stein said. Enlarge image (new window) Families gather on the outskirts of Gaza City on Thursday. On Friday, Israel's security cabinet approved a plan to expand its military occupation into Gaza City, the largest city in the enclave. Photo: CBC / Mohamed El Saife On the other hand, there remains political pressure from far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition government to continue fighting until total victory is reached, as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir keeps reminding the prime minister. Netanyahu needs this support to stay in power. Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have been labelled extremist for their ties to Israel's radical settler movement, and sanctioned by Canada (new window) , Britain and other countries as threats to "international peace and security" by promoting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. They see Gaza as territory ripe for new settlements, and have pushed policies promoting voluntary migration of Palestinians out of the enclave. It's real, Smotrich told a conference last week marking the anniversary of Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza. For 20 years, we called [the re-establishment of settlements in Gaza] wishful thinking. It seems to me it is now a real working plan. Many Palestinians say that's what's behind Netanyahu's plans for the occupation. It's going to be accompanied by a push to get people out, said Diana Buttu, a Palestinian Canadian lawyer who used to advise the Palestine Liberation Organization and lives in Haifa. The idea of occupation is meant to be temporary, but in Israel's case, it's not. It becomes a permanent feature accompanied by the erasure of people in order to build Israeli-only settlements. The Israeli government says this is not its policy in Gaza. WATCH | Why aid distribution is failing in Gaza: Meanwhile, aid groups are also sounding the alarm. A broader war in the enclave will make Gaza's humanitarian crisis even more dire, they say, and the delivery of food and medicine more restricted and dangerous. Already, the UN says (new window) almost 1,400 Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli troops and private security contractors near aid distribution sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an alternate group supported by Israel and the United States. The GHF and Israel dispute the shootings and that their system is ineffective, saying tightly controlled aid delivery is needed so that Hamas does not hijack shipments. Enlarge image (new window) Palestinian women search the sand for legumes or rice in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, following an air-drop mission above territory on Tuesday. Photo: afp via getty images / Eyad Baba Netanyahu has even denied reports of famine (new window) in the enclave. There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza, he told a Christian conference in Jerusalem two weeks ago, triggering a heated phone call with Donald Trump, where the U.S. president challenged Netanayhu, NBC News (new window) reported. Israel's current aid system is one that Doctors Without Borders calls a militarized food distribution scheme that is weaponizing starvation. Sana Bég, executive director of the group's Canadian operations, worries the failure to address the humanitarian crisis will be entrenched if the war spreads. Are we at a tipping point today as a result of this? All points have been tipped, she said. Are we at a make it or break it situation? We are already beyond breaking. Saša Petricic (new window) · CBC News · Senior Correspondent Saša Petricic is a senior correspondent for CBC News, specializing in international coverage. He previously reported from Beijing as CBC's Asia correspondent, focusing on China, Hong Kong, and North and South Korea. Before that, he covered the Middle East from Jerusalem through the Arab Spring and wars in Syria, Gaza and Libya. He has filed stories from every continent. More from Saša Petricic (new window) With files from Mohamed El Saife
Toronto Sun
an hour ago
- Toronto Sun
U.S. has 'no plans' to recognize Palestinian state: Vance
Published Aug 08, 2025 • 3 minute read United States Vice President JD Vance, right, and Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Feb. 14, 2025. Photo by Matthias Schrader / AP Photo LONDON (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance met with U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Friday at a stately home south of London, with the two leaders saying the agenda includes global economics and the Israel-Hamas war and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Taking questions from reporters before their talks, Vance addressed the U.K. decision to recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza, saying he wasn't sure what such recognition would even mean, 'given the lack of a functional government there.' Asked whether Trump had been given a heads up on Israel's announced intent to occupy Gaza City, Vance said he wouldn't go into such conversations. 'If it was easy to bring peace to that region of the world, it would have been done already,' he said. The meeting comes amid debates between Washington and London about the best way to end the wars between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Israel and Hamas. It's also taking place as the United Kingdom tries to come to favorable terms for steel and aluminum exports to the U.S., and the two sides work out details of a broader trade deal announced at the end of June. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he hoped to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump next week, comments that came a day before Trump's deadline for Moscow to show progress in ending the nearly 3 1/2-year war in Ukraine. While Trump has focused on bilateral talks with Putin, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European leaders have stressed that Ukraine must be part of any negotiations on ending the war. The U.S. and Britain, which have historically close ties known as 'the special relationship,' have also disagreed on their approach to ending the war in Gaza. The meeting took place at Chevening, an almost 400-year-old mansion surrounded by 3,000 acres (about 1,200 hectares) of gardens that serves as the foreign secretary's official country residence. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. About two dozen protesters were spotted on the road before the turnoff to the stately home. A few were wearing keffiyeh scarves and another held up a round sign that had a meme making fun of Vance printed on it. Vance and Lammy, who come from opposite ends of the political spectrum but have made a personal connection through their hardscrabble childhoods and Christian faith, While Lammy is a member of the left-leaning Labour Party and Vance is a conservative Republican who supports Trump's 'America First' agenda, the two men have bonded in recent months. Lammy told the Guardian newspaper that the two men can relate over their 'dysfunctional' working class childhoods and that he considers Vance a 'friend.' Lammy attended a Catholic Mass at the Vance home in Washington earlier this year, and the two men met again at the U.S. Embassy in Rome when he and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner attended the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV in May. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I had this great sense that JD completely relates to me and he completely relates to Angela,' Lammy told the Guardian. 'So it was a wonderful hour and a half.' After spending a few days at Chevening, Vance and his family will head to the Cotswolds, an area that has become popular with wealthy American tourists because of its quaint villages, stone cottages and rural countryside that hark back to old England. The Vance family's trip will include official engagements, fundraising, visits to cultural sites and museums and meeting with U.S. troops, according to a person familiar with Vance's trip who wasn't authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. A host of celebrities descended on the area two weeks ago for the wedding of Eve Jobs, the daughter of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, and Harry Charles, a member of the British equestrian team at last summer's Olympic Games in Paris. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Cotswolds cover about 800 square miles (2,000 square kilometres) and parts of five counties in the west of England. Vance and his family have reportedly rented a house in the village of Charlbury, 12 miles west of Oxford, according to British media outlets. 'That area is very fashionable,' Plum Sykes, a socialite and journalist, told London-based newspaper The Times. 'If you wanted to be in the super-hot, super-social Cotswolds, that's where you'd go,' she said. 'There's been this mass exodus from America to the Cotswolds. Americans just cannot get over the charm. Then power and money attract power and money.' Toronto Blue Jays Tennis Editorials Ontario Columnists
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Iran International network says two journalists working in Canada targeted by regime
OTTAWA – Two journalists working for Iran International in Canada are among dozens who have been targeted by regime officials in recent weeks, the network says. Iran International is a prominent online broadcaster that covers news in Iran and its diaspora, including anti-government protests that advocates say are censored within Iran. Network spokesman Adam Baillie says Canadian law enforcement officials have instructed one journalist to take security precautions after receiving messages implying that he could be kidnapped and taken outside of Canada. Another journalist reports Iranian authorities have been intimidating their relatives in Iran due to their work in Canada. The network is coming forward a week after Canada and more than a dozen other countries called out 'attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people,' including journalists and Jewish citizens. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. The Canadian Press has asked Iran's diplomatic mission to the United Nations for comment but has not yet received a response. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2025.
