Latest news with #anti-Palestinian
Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
What does no politics in the classroom mean? Ford government's directive has created fear and confusion, say parents and teachers
A temporary ban on students sharing their family's culture in class. A parent-organized Pride event moved outside school hours. Teachers afraid to answer students' questions around the Israel-Hamas war . Over the past academic year, Toronto parents and teachers say activities and discussions that would typically be normal to have in the classroom have suddenly become a source of fear and confusion — and they pin the blame on an edict dropped by the Ontario government last September. Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, then-education minister Jill Dunlop issued a memo to Ontario school boards to keep 'political biases' out of the classroom to ensure these spaces remain 'safe, inclusive and welcoming for all students and staff.' It came as the Toronto District School Board and other boards asked for guidance on addressing hate and geopolitical tensions in schools amid a rise in antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian discrimination since October 2023. But the ministry's memo doesn't define what it considers 'political biases' — nor would the ministry provide a definition when asked directly by the Star — and many worry the lack of specificity will affect how Toronto's public schools handle certain topics, as administrators and educators try to figure out what is and isn't allowed. Can civic lessons on who is prime minister continue as normal? What about sex-ed lessons on different genders and sexualities? Class discussions around race? 'Nothing is neutral,' said Carl James, a professor and the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community & Diaspora at York University. 'The curriculum cannot be seen as outside of providing and producing a way of seeing things.' The Star has previously reported on incidents when the TDSB has used the ministry's directive to block certain field trips and movie screenings , and censor parts of high school yearbooks . These cases involved matters related to Palestine — along with activities and discussions around Israel and Tibet — reflecting broader concerns the province's directive has largely been used to shut down conversations on the topic. For its part, the TDSB said in an emailed statement to the Star that 'The Ministry directive applies broadly to any school or classroom activity, outside the established curriculum.' But, the board said it does not have a 'specific definition' for what constitutes a political bias. The Star spoke with several TDSB parents and teachers, many of whom did not want their names published due to fears of reprisal from the board and other parents. They recounted stories over the past year of their children feeling afraid or being reprimanded for bringing up certain topics, and educators feeling unable to fully support their students in the classroom. Not everyone is opposed to the directive, however, with some saying the classroom is not a place for discussions around international politics, with one parent in support of the edict adding that educators could still teach students about civics, queer issues and Indigenous history without bringing up politics. When a public speaking competition was coming up at the elementary school of Zoë Wool's child this past year, the west-end parent said students were invited to write a short speech on an important issue. But when Wool's child wanted to talk about Palestine, she said they were told it was 'not a good idea.' Wool said the incident came around the same time the school's principal allegedly put a blanket ban on students sharing their culture in class — but that the ban was later lifted after the principal met with parents. Neither Wool nor her child is Palestinian (they are Jewish), but she worries about the impact the ministry's memo will have on those who are. 'Palestinian families are being given the message by the Ministry of Education that there is something wrong or dangerous or problematic about their very identity and history and that acknowledging their existence puts other kids at risk,' Wool said. If students don't feel safe in the classroom, they become disengaged and less interested in learning, according to Todd Cunningham, a psychology professor at the U of T's Ontario Institute for Studies of Education. This is particularly true if a student feels their identity is being ignored or brushed aside. 'If you are fearful that what you talk about or if you bring up your lived experience in class is going to evoke a negative reaction, then you go quiet or you go defensive,' he said, adding students might experience more anxiety in these situations. Palestinian teachers who spoke to the Star said they, too, felt constrained by the province's edict, even when students ask them questions about their heritage. The watermelon and Palestinian flag pins on the Palestinian teacher's fanny pack. The elementary school educator said she's afraid to answer student questions around the pins. 'I'm too scared,' said a Palestinian TDSB elementary teacher, who explained how she doesn't answer her young students' questions on what the Palestinian flag and watermelon pins attached to her fanny pack represent. The Star agreed to not name the teacher due to her fears of being reprimanded by the TDSB. 'It's truly awful that in a learning environment, I can't freely talk about a country,' she continued. In its emailed statement to the Star, the TDSB said it respects the identities of all its students and staff, and also adheres to the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 'Creating inclusive and supportive learning environments for all students of all identities continues to be our priority,' the board wrote, adding that any concerned parents or caregivers should contact their school's principal. The Ministry of Education did not answer a list of specific questions sent by the Star, instead sending a previous statement defending its edict. 'Schools should be focused on educating students and helping them graduate with strong reading, writing and math skills that lead to good-paying jobs,' Emma Testani, press secretary for Education Minister Paul Calandra, wrote in the emailed statement. Meanwhile Josh Landau, Ontario's director for government relations at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, voiced support for the directive, pointing to a recent report from the federal government on growing concerns of antisemitism in Ontario's K-12 schools. 'When bias goes unchecked, it directly impacts the safety and security of all students,' Landau wrote in an emailed statement. However, those critical of the directive believe the vague language around what constitutes a bias could end up harming students, particularly those from marginalized communities. One such critic, elementary school parent Alice Romo, pointed to the fact that a parent-organized Pride event at her child's school last month felt derailed by the ministry's directive. The event, held every June, typically involves parents bringing in chalk for students to draw art and write LGBTQ-friendly messages on the pavement during class. Rainbow freezie pops are also involved — a treat that the kids always look forward to and that add to the end-of-year excitement, according to Romo. But this year the event was held outside of school hours. 'It did feel like we had to strategically manoeuvre around policies,' Romo said. (She noted that the school's principal said the day after the event that the chalk art could stay, even though it was unclear to her if the event violated the directive at all.) Although students are off on summer break, Romo still worries the ministry's directive will continue to affect her child's learning, pointing to lessons around Canada's colonial history for National Day of Truth and Reconciliation in September. 'Are we going to have to be watering things down and maybe not talk about things as explicitly as we would previously?' she said. 'It feels like we're taking a step backwards.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Roya News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Roya News
US man who killed 6-year-old Palestinian boy dies in prison
Joseph Czuba, the 73-year-old Illinois man convicted of the hate crime murder of six-year-old Palestinian-American Wadea al-Fayoume and the attempted murder of his mother, Hanaan Shahin, died in prison on Thursday. His death occurred less than three months after he was sentenced to 53 years behind bars. The horrific attack unfolded on October 14, 2023, in Plainfield Township, Illinois, when Czuba, the family's landlord, stabbed Wadea 26 times with a military knife. His mother, Hanaan Shahin, also sustained critical injuries. Authorities swiftly classified the murder as a hate crime, stating it was motivated by anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian extremism, directly linked to the escalation of the war on Gaza. Prosecutors revealed Czuba's agitation was fueled by his consumption of conservative talk radio, leading him to believe his tenants posed a threat. Czuba was found guilty on all charges, including first-degree murder and hate crimes, on February 28, 2025, after less than 90 minutes of jury deliberation. He was sentenced on May 2, 2025. While the official cause of Czuba's death was not immediately released by authorities, it was known he had been battling stage 4 cancer. Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), stated, "this depraved killer has died, but the hate is still alive and well". The case deeply affected the Chicago area's large Palestinian community and highlighted rising hostility against Muslims and Palestinians in the US. Plainfield officials have since dedicated a park playground in Wadea's honor, serving as a lasting memorial.
Euronews
7 days ago
- Sport
- Euronews
Viral video doesn't show Palestinians fleeing Gaza to Sweden
A video has been shared on social media with captions alleging that it shows a group of Palestinian refugees arriving in Sweden by plane, supposedly fleeing the war in Gaza. The posts tend to contain anti-immigrant and anti-Palestinian rhetoric. Some claim that the people in the video are wearing western attire, and that while they may appear willing to assimilate western customs, they will soon cast this attitude aside. "Once their stomachs are full, they will wear knitted caps, build mosques and say 'this country belongs to our forefathers'," one of the most viral posts sharing the video on X reads. Other posts sharing the video praise Sweden for accepting Palestinians and urge others to leave Gaza as soon as possible. This one has been shared by a self-proclaimed "Proud fierce Zionist" account. Regardless of the captions shared with the video, the claim that the people depicted are refugees fleeing the war is false. The video actually shows members of the Rawahel Charity Association's Under-14 football team, which is based in the West Bank, not Gaza. It can be traced back to its original source through a reverse image search using stills from the videos. It leads us to the Rawahel Charity Association's social media accounts. For example, it posted the same video to its TikTok account on 10 July with the caption "To Sweden". Its TikTok bio says that it's a Palestinian sports association that aims to foster talent and fulfil children's dreams of travelling. A browse of its posts across different social media channels, including TikTok and Instagram, shows that the team has been on an extensive tour of Europe. Its first stop, for example, was in France, with photos showing members of the team posing in front of the Eiffel Tower. Yet another video shows the team getting off a coach with the caption "First destination: Paris, France", with more posts also locating them in Paris. Other posts put the team in Gothenburg in Sweden, and more reputable reports state that stops in Denmark and Norway are up next, as part of a tour that will last 46 days. As the Israel-Hamas war continues, so too does the stream of disinformation targeting those most affected, which is often combined with an anti-immigration narrative for maximum exposure.
Middle East Eye
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Writers group accuses New York Times of being 'accomplice to the genocide in Gaza'
A new dossier released by a coalition of media workers has accused The New York Times of systemic pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian bias, and alleged that nearly two dozen of its top journalists, editors and executives have extensive ties to pro-Israel lobbying groups. "The New York Times is an accomplice to the genocide in Gaza, serving as a mouthpiece for American imperialism and shaping elite consensus around foreign policy," a statement from the group Writers Against the War on Gaza (Wawog) reads. Like several mainstream news outlets, the NYT has come under intense scrutiny over its reporting of the war on Gaza, with several human rights activists and analysts accusing the publication of providing cover for Israeli war crimes. The dossier, released on Wednesday, argues that the NYT's coverage could be explained by the extensive material, financial and ideological connections between several current and former employees at the paper and the Israeli state or the army. The dossier also outlined other levels of ideological and material ties, including relationships with the pro-Israel lobbying groups and think tanks. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The dossier alleged that news editors at the NYT had ordered reporters to avoid so-called "inflammatory terms" - including "genocide", "ethnic cleansing", and "occupied territory", and even to avoid saying "Palestine". "Our dossier so far covers mostly material ties to occupation and apartheid, but we also include and discuss ideological ties, which we've updated the dossier to reflect," a spokesperson for Wawog told Middle East Eye. The group said its findings, extracted from the archives of Mondoweiss and The Electronic Intifada, as well as through interviews with Palestinian journalists, demonstrate "how the Times' vaunted code of conduct amounts to a racist double standard". 'New York War Crimes ' Wawog, a group made up of writers and creatives, emerged in the weeks following Israel's bombardment of Gaza after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023. The group has routinely held protests outside and at times in the lobby of the NYT's building in the borough of Manhattan. Western media enabling Gaza genocide and rewriting history, say experts Read More » The group has routinely referred to the paper as "The New York War Crimes" as a means to communicate the NYT's complicity in war crimes in Gaza. More than 58,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel's war on Gaza, which several countries, as well as many international rights groups and experts, now qualify as an act of genocide. In Wednesday's dossier, Wawog describes the deep entanglements between the NYT and Israel as fuelling the paper's biased coverage. Wawog said the omission of the journalists' connections to Israel - be it through personal or immediate family ties - in the reporter profiles on the NYC website contradicted the basic tenets of journalistic ethics. It said that the NYT "would offer bullhorns to people with clear allegiances to the Zionist project demonstrates its commitment to and support of Israel's fantasy of annihilation". Media analysts and human rights groups have repeatedly accused mainstream media of contributing to both the erasure and distortion of Israel's war crimes in Gaza. Several observers have argued that the reporting on Israel's war on Gaza, as well as the student movement for Palestine in the US, hasn't merely been inaccurate but has ventured close to journalistic malpractice. 'Palestinians and allies have been silenced and marginalised in the media for decades' - Joyce Ajlouny, American Friends Service Committee Western media in particular have come under fire for obfuscating in their headlines and for the explicit use of the passive voice in narrating the murder of Palestinians. Advocates' concerns over the use of language and terminology have also been backed up by data. An Intercept study published in January 2024 found that the NYT, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times' reporting of Israel's war on Gaza demonstrated consistent bias against Palestinians, offered disproportionate coverage of antisemitism in the US and downplayed anti-Muslim racism after the events of 7 October 2023. Likewise, in October 2024, several journalists from the BBC and CNN told Al Jazeera's Listening Post that their newsrooms routinely failed to hold Israeli officials to account. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the journalists accused senior editorial staff of attempting to minimise Israeli excesses in news coverage. Whereas the Wawog dossier details several members of staff who have either served in the Israeli army or have had children serve in the army, it also includes those who have consistently produced what Wawog describes as lies and justifications for war crimes. War on Gaza: How western media favours Israel on Instagram Read More » In January, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organisation that advocates for peace, cancelled a planned advertisement in the paper after it refused to allow it to refer to Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide. "The refusal of The New York Times to run paid digital ads that call for an end to Israel's genocide in Gaza is an outrageous attempt to sidestep the truth," said Joyce Ajlouny, general secretary for the AFSC. "Palestinians and allies have been silenced and marginalised in the media for decades, as these institutions choose silence over accountability. It is only by challenging this reality that we can hope to forge a path toward a more just and equitable world," Ajlouny said. A spokesperson for the NYT rejected the arguments raised in the dossier, telling MEE that the report was "a vile campaign aimed at intimidating journalists and media executives because of fair-minded reporting and news coverage. "Rather than criticize the specifics of our journalism, this campaign is choosing to make personal attacks and innuendo based on a person's faith or ties to a group or country, all of which are public knowledge, and some of which are inaccurate. All to try to discredit our reporting. A group of writers should know better."
BusinessToday
18-07-2025
- Politics
- BusinessToday
PM Says Govt Weighing Matter With Regard To Nick Adam Appointment
Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government is weighing the matter accordingly on the potential appointment of Nick Adams as the US ambassador to Malaysia. Recently, the Malaysian Youth Council expressed concerns over the nomination Nick Adams as the next ambassador to Malaysia, calling on Putrajaya to reject his appointment. It argued that Adams's public persona and rhetoric are incompatible with Malaysia's principled foreign policy and could jeopardise the longstanding bilateral relationship between the two nations. In a statement, MBM highlighted Adams's alleged consistent propagation of 'provocative and divisive rhetoric' that, according to the council, 'vilifies international calls for justice, dismisses human rights advocacy, and equates legitimate expressions of solidarity with extremism.' It cited Adams's public statements, which they described as 'widely regarded as anti-Palestinian and openly supportive of acts of aggression that many in the international community have characterised as war crimes and genocide.' The council stated that such views are 'morally indefensible' and risk normalising violence against civilians, thereby undermining shared global principles of justice, peace, and humanity. 'Malaysia's foreign policy has always stood firmly in defence of human dignity, the rule of law, and multilateralism,' the statement read. 'Mr. Adams's statements, including those that ridicule or distort the pursuit of these principles, are not in line with the values we uphold and are unsuitable for an official envoy to our country.' Related
