Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia Amira Elghawaby speaks during a press conference in Ottawa following the release of a report on Islamophobia, anti-Palestine and anti-Arab racism in Canada.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
Canada’s special representative on combatting Islamophobia says a new report that tracks anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism in this country since Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel will help shape her recommendations to the government on the issue.
Amira Elghawaby was referring to a report from York University’s Islamophobia Research Hub that looks at cases of harassment from 2023 and 2024 and was released in Ottawa Wednesday.
“This report will help inform the advice that I provide to the federal government,” Ms. Elghawaby told a news conference, adding that she will be reviewing the 15 recommendations in the document.
“We will be looking at where they are related directly to my mandate and then we will be having discussions with decision makers on these.”
The report says there has been a rise in anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia, anti-Arab racism and antisemitism since the militant group Hamas launched a series of attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The Hamas attacks killed 1,200 people in Israel, which responded with a military offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 60,000 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
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Researchers say the incidents include the targeting of young people in schools and postsecondary institutions and hate-motivated crimes.
The report also refers to what it calls the “Palestinian exception,” referring to incidents of censorship, discipline and punishment for those speaking out against violence by the Israeli state and for Palestinian human rights.
The report’s 15 recommendations include adopting a definition of anti-Palestinian racism at all levels of government, as well as related curriculum development, training and education.
There’s also a call for political and institutional leaders to speak out against such racism, provincewide reviews of how schools and school boards have handled reports of anti-Palestinian racism in schools, and creating a fund to support victims of hate-motivated crimes.
“Our hope is that this report contributes to efforts to combat the Palestine exception and strengthen democratic rights and freedoms for all,” said Nadia Hasan, director of the Islamophobia Research Hub.
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“If you go through the report, the incidents that we document here, they portray a picture of something very wrong. There is a problem that needs to be addressed, and it needs to be solved through a good-faith engagement with impacted communities.”
She predicted difficult conversations on these issues, and questions on how to best proceed.
“But I think it can be done if the right processes are in place in how we consult, how we engage communities, and how we address the problem in a grounded way.”
Nihad Jasser, a representative of the Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians, said the report documents how anti-Palestinian racism is real and happening in classrooms and workplaces.
“Students have been shamed for speaking about Palestine. These students are being denied the ability to mourn the death of their family members just because they are Palestinian,” she said.
Ms. Elghawaby was appointed as Canada’s first special representative on combatting Islamophobia in January, 2023.
She said the report demonstrates that civil liberties in Canada have been threatened since 2023 with limits on freedom of expression around Palestine and the protection of Palestinian, Muslim and Arab Canadians.
“We know anti-Palestinian racism is a form of discrimination that can intersect with Islamophobia,” she said.