By: Taghreed Saadeh
Discussions about the practices of the Israeli occupation in Palestine are longstanding, but the events since 7 th October have revealed to the world its true face. For 77 years, Palestinians have endured persecution, dispossession, imprisonment, and exile, all in violation of international norms and laws.
In this context, the courageous decision of journalist Valerie Zink, who resigned from Reuters after eight years in protest of its coverage of Gaza and its role in justifying the systematic assassination of 245 Palestinian journalists, stands as a beacon of integrity. Her stance is a reminder of the duty we share as journalists, to tell the truth, even when it comes at personal cost.
The occupation’s crimes extend beyond the targeting of journalists. In the West Bank, settlers burn Palestinian crops, especially olive trees, a timeless symbol of Palestine’s resilience. Peaceful demonstrators are met with live fire. In Gaza, protests against the ongoing blockade were answered with sniper bullets, killing unarmed young men and women. The message is clear, even peaceful expression is punished with death.
As journalists, our profession demands that we bear witness. Silence in the face of such injustice is complicity. We must call things by their name; collective punishment, forced displacement, and the killing of innocent civilians are crimes, not “security measures.”
Palestine deserves justice, dignity, and the right to life, a real state with its own leadership, people, flag, and anthem. Its children deserve to live, to laugh, to play, to ride bicycles, to pick flowers, to sing songs of childhood instead of growing up under the shadow of drones and tanks.
We must also be honest, the Palestinian people are paying the price both for Hamas’s unilateral decisions and for Netanyahu’s political calculations. The war continues not to end Hamas, but to preserve power, deepen divisions, and push Palestinians off their land. A weak Hamas serves Netanyahu’s goals, while ordinary Palestinians, mothers, fathers, children, bear the unbearable cost.
To my colleagues across Canada, I say journalism is not only about reporting facts, it is about defending truth and humanity. Just as we would not accept the erasure of Indigenous voices here in Canada, we must not allow the erasure of Palestinians. We cannot look away.
Stand with Palestine. Stand for justice. Stand against the silencing of journalists and the slaughter of innocents. Let us ensure that our voices, our pens, and our profession remain aligned with conscience, not complicit in oppression.
As a Palestinian-Canadian journalist, I stand between my two countries, calling on my people in Canada to help rescue my people in Palestine.
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