‘A complex conflict’

Dear Editor:

RE: Falafel Friday at KIPP oven Oct. 2 to raise money for farmers in Gaza, Oct. 1. 

Canadians are compassionate and civilian suffering understandably creates a desire to help. That makes accurate context particularly important when journalism promotes fundraising connected to a complex conflict.

The article recounts the organizers’ family history in Jaffa, stating their parents were “forced to leave” in 1948, but provides little broader context. In 1947, UN Resolution 181 proposed both Arab and Jewish states, with provisions protecting citizenship and political rights. Israel’s 1948 Declaration of Independence called upon Arab inhabitants to participate in the new state on the basis of “full and equal citizenship.” The subsequent war on Israel by neighbouring Arab states created Palestinian displacement: many fled, others were expelled, while a substantial Arab population remained and became Israeli citizens. 

I am similarly concerned by the unqualified reference to Gaza as being in the “aftermath of the genocide,” followed by the assertion that this fundraiser is “not political.” Genocide is an extraordinarily serious and contested legal characterization, not a neutral synonym for civilian suffering.

The timing is particularly sensitive. The Oct. 2 fundraiser  occurred five days before the anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. Approximately 1,200 people were killed in Israel and about 250 taken hostage. Yet Oct. 7 receives no mention while readers are presented with Palestinian displacement, “genocide” and fundraising for Gaza.

Most importantly: where exactly does the money raised in Elora go? The article says proceeds go to Arduna/Our Land to support approximately 25 Gazan farming families. But who legally receives the Canadian funds? Through what charity, bank, payment processor or intermediary are they transferred? Who controls them in Gaza, and what independent accounting verifies their ultimate use?

These are reasonable questions. Gaza has been governed by Hamas since 2007, and Canada designates Hamas a terrorist entity. 

Compassion, historical accuracy and financial accountability should not be competing principles.

Alona Malysheuski,
Elora

*Editor’s note: An independent commission appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council released a report last September stating Israel committed acts of genocide between October 2023 and July 2025. Israel has rejected the findings.