Razing Palestine edited by Leila Marshy

As the world nervously watches the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas (one where the killing of Palestinians is still happening, albeit at a much slower rate), we have to begin examining how “never again” became hollowed out and meaningless. Although no one expects Nuremberg-style trials to hold the genocidaires to account, we require a deep probe into our institutions to examine how it is for all our laws and principles, we allowed another genocide to happen on our watch. How did our trusted, supposedly venerable institutions not only fail to act, but provide cover and support for a genocide?

Razing Palestine, a collection of essays edited by Leila Marshy and released by Baraka Books, is a first step in the direction of understanding and accountability. These essays, written by prominent journalists, doctors, lawyers, activists and more, demonstrate the infrastructure and techniques not specifically designed to deny genocide, but to reinforce the status quo. The tactics employed by the media, the police and higher-ups in academia, unions and even parliament, are exposed within the pages of Razing Palestine. Once exposed, how can we ignore the fingers on the scale of human rights and international law, tilting us all away from justice?

Razing Palestine organizes its essays by sector, from law enforcement to media, academia to healthcare to arts and culture. These compelling accounts expose the gatekeepers, the systems in place to silence dissent and uphold the colonial hierarchy. The book does not purport to uncover a grand conspiracy, but sheds a light on the numerous instances of censorship, Palestinian erasure and dirty tricks necessary to enable a genocide.

From the preface, written by Gabor Mate, the famed physician and author who lost family in the Holocaust, the book emphasizes the importance of speaking out against atrocities and the right to do so. The first essay, by former NDP MP Libby Davies, sets the tone of censorship faced by those in power who do speak out. Two years into the genocide in Gaza, most observers are now familiar with the tactics; bad-faith accusations of antisemitism used to silence any legitimate criticism of the Netanyahu government. Davies explores, as several of the contributors do, the use of the problematic International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism to stifle critiques of Israeli state violence.

The essay that follows, by activist Yara Coussa, relates her experience of violence at the hands of police during a pro-Palestine protest. The brutality, designed to instill fear and humiliate, is just one tool of state power used to silence dissent that the book explores. Lawyer Thoby King, in his essay about the case against the Indigo 11, lays bare the rhetorical tactics the police used to smear the protesters involved when the actual charges wouldn’t do the trick. The police, using terms like “hate” and “antisemitism” in their press releases, perpetuated a narrative that an act of protest against a wealthy businessperson who personally funds charities that support the illegal occupation of Palestine was nothing more than bigotry. The charges against the Indigo 11 were eventually dropped for the most part. But that hasn’t slowed law enforcement, certain media outlets and advocacy groups from continuing to spread the narrative that those speaking out against a genocide do so only because they hate Jewish people.

The second part of the book, titled “Radio Silence,” provides strong overview of how Canadian media manufactures consent for the genocide in Gaza through a number of techniques, similar to When Genocide Wasn’t News, released earlier this year by Breach Media. Reporters detail how their voices were silenced in pitch meetings, how a culture of ignorance about the Middle East pervades newsrooms and how the right to have one’s circumstances accurately described turns out to be a luxury afforded to some and not others. The book does not shy away from the ultimate censorship, Israel’s targeted assassinations of over 250 journalists in Gaza. 

Razing Palestine pulls the curtain back on the violence and ugliness of the colonial machine, from its erasure of Palestinian culture and Palestinian voices from the mainstream, to the divisions sewed within the Jewish community itself. It turns those who are supposed to protect us into those who persecute us. The diverse selection of contributors shows the many ways and the many downstream effects of silencing dissent of Canada’s support of our genocidal ally has. We see the impacts of job loss and self-censorship, death threats and doxxing, even Jewish children being uninvited to Passover seder if their parents don’t tow the Likud Party line. 

Solidarity, and the optimism that comes with it, is a throughline connecting these essays. From students to their professors, union workers and journalists, doctors and lawyers, Jews and Palestinians, the movements explored in Razing Palestine provide a shining light in dark times. As Dr. Yipeng Ge states, “resistance is love.” What other force could stand up to the smear campaigns, the police violence, the cancellations and censorship that come along with speaking truth to power? When we’re able to examine the genocide in Gaza through the detached lens of history, and our children ask us how this was allowed to happen, Razing Palestine will be Exhibit A. The testimony of scholars and journalists like Samira Moyeddin, Nora Loreto and Sean Tucker will be valuable evidence. But we needn’t wait. Razing Palestine is here now and should be read by everyone who believes in human rights and justice.

Jeff Dupuis

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Jeff Dupuis is a writer and editor living in Toronto. He is the author of The Creature X Mystery novels and numerous short stories, which have been published in The Ex-Puritan and The Temz Review among others. Jeff is the editor, alongside A.G. Pasquella, of the anthology Devouring Tomorrow: Fiction from the Future of Food, which will be published in 2025 by Dundurn Press.