@cjjpmedia
A coalition of journalists across Canada who call for an end to the targeting of Palestinian journalists by Israel. Are you a current or former journalist in Canada with a conscience? Join us at: http://forms.gle/bq8rNMLVteeuCCQA8
PEN International celebrates @smohyeddin.bsky.social, winner of the 2025 Ken Filkow Prize from @pencanada.bsky.social for her courageous journalism and defence of free expression.
Learn more about the prize and its past recipients:
pencanada.ca/defend-expre...
“I’m hurt by my fellow journalists. They didn’t create pressure or raise their voices for my release. I was arrested because of my work. I hope every free journalist hears me.”
Inés El-Hajj |Stories From Palestine 🇵🇸 @InesElhajjPal A harrowing account from imprisoned Palestianin journalist Farah Abu Ayyash has emerged: Her lawyer, Hassan Abadi, who recently visited her in Damon Prison, said that what she shared was not just a legal testimony, but a direct, personal description of the severe abuse she has suffered since her arrest. In the letter conveyed through her lawyer, Farah recounts: “I experienced so many horrific things. They arrested me in the middle of the night with dozens of soldiers, two female recruits, and numerous jeeps and police vehicles. I never imagined I would be targeted. They took me to Karmeh Tzur, tied me to a chair outside, next to a pipe dripping filthy water onto me.” She continues describing the torture: “The female soldiers tightened the white plastic restraints on my wrist so hard that my artery swelled. An officer eventually cut them off with pliers. Dogs tore at my pants. Then they put me in solitary—just a room filled with electrical boxes. They pretended not to know I was a journalist. They forced me to unlock my phone… I work with complete transparency.” Farah describes her transfer to the Russian Compound: “It was like a horror film. They shoved me inside with handcuffs, leg shackles, and a heavy chain on my shoulders. Nahshon officers beat me. A female soldier grabbed my hair, slammed my head into the wall, and ordered me to kiss the Israeli flag. I refused. She kicked me. I was sick.”
Her voice, she says, was shaking as she added: “In Ramla, they put me in an abandoned room and turned off the light. I screamed. Then they placed me in an underground cell infested with cockroaches, insects, and bedbugs. I cried all night. Cockroaches covered my face and body. The marks are still there.” She explains that she was later taken back to the Russian Compound, fainted multiple times from the cold, and that the transport conditions were “extremely harsh and terrifying.” After 55 days, she was moved to Damon Prison. Expressing her disappointment in her peers, she says: “I’m hurt by my fellow journalists. They didn’t create pressure or raise their voices for my release. I was arrested because of my work. I hope every free journalist hears me.” Farah also sends words to her family, especially her mother: “I miss you so much… I tell the girls about the ma’amoul you make. My most cherished memories are the poems you wrote for me and how I used to recite them on the radio.”
How Israel treats a female Palestinian journalist:
Israel launched air attacks that killed several Palestinians despite the ceasefire, saying they were in retaliation for a Hamas attack in Rafah that killed two Israeli soldiers — a claim the group denies.
🔴 Follow our LIVE coverage: aje.io/5fnl8c
Nick Seebruch sits down with @royinori.bsky.social, co-founder of @cjjpmedia.bsky.social, to discuss why many journalists in Canada remain hesitant to cover #Palestine.
Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in Israel “plunged the region into a devastating war.”
That’s how an Associated Press article opens – one that some of Canada’s largest news outlets published today.
But Oct. 7 wasn’t the day this started.
Today, with @cjjpmedia.bsky.social, I'm giving a history lesson:
📢 We urgently call on governments across the world, the United Nations General Assembly and the international community to take immediate and concrete action to stop #Israel’s human rights violations in Gaza, including the deliberate targeting and killing of journalists. @abellanger.bsky.social
🔴 In two years of war, over 223 Palestinian journalists have been killed in #Gaza in the deadliest period in the history of journalism. As journalists, unionists and, ultimately, humans, we cannot accept that reporters are killed amid indifference, be that in Gaza or elsewhere.
We co-sponsored a screening of Gaza Doctors Under Attack by Paramedics for Palestine last week, on October 3.
It’s a must-watch documentary originally axed by the BBC but presented elsewhere.
Thanks to CJJP member Mary Newman for representing us at this event.
We held a press conference on parliament hill earlier this week.
🎤 Four of our members addressed the federal government as well as media organizations across the country.
@smohyeddin.bsky.social
@brishti.bsky.social
@asadch.bsky.social
@abihayward4.bsky.social
RSF condemns the Israeli forces’ illegal arrest of 20+ journalists on the ships bound for #Gaza. They must be released immediately. #Israel’s army has killed 210+ journalists in Gaza in under two years & these detentions are a continuation of its media blockade on the Strip.
rsf.org/en/gaza-flot...
I'm not seeing a single mention of the six Canadians on the Sumud Flotilla in any major news outlets.
Let’s be clear: Israel has no “right to isolate” Gaza.
The Global Sumud is challenging an illegal siege, which uses starvation as a weapon of war. CBC's framing erases that reality and launders a crime against humanity.
#SumudFlotilla #Gaza
This is what professional ethics looks like: A must watch press conference by @cjjpmedia.bsky.social 👏👏👏
‼️Journalists speaking out against media silence and muzzling on Palestinian genocide
Feat. @smohyeddin.bsky.social @brishti.bsky.social @abihayward4.bsky.social @asadch.bsky.social
www.cpac.ca/headline-pol...
Question from @cdnpress.bsky.social (essentially, what about Hamas?)
Response from CJJP baddie @smohyeddin.bsky.social 💅🏼🔥
"What does it say about the state of free press in Canada when journalists can’t go to a vigil for their dead colleagues without worrying about whether it’s gonna cost them their jobs in this shitty economy?"
Watch the full press conference below 👇
#cdnpoli
@cjjpmedia.bsky.social held a news conference today excoriating the Canadian government and media outlets for their complicity in genocide.
That there is virtually no coverage of this news conference is damning.
Thanks to @cpac.ca, here's where you can watch our press conference, where we address PM Carney, Minister Anand, and legacy newsroom leaders across Canada.
Feat. @smohyeddin.bsky.social, @abihayward4.bsky.social, @asadch.bsky.social, @brishti.bsky.social
www.cpac.ca/headline-pol...
Canadian Journalists for Justice in Palestine (CJJP) held a news conference this morning to bring attention to Canada's inaction in enabling the deliberate killing of Palestinian journalists.
Give them a follow: @cjjpmedia.bsky.social
www.cpac.ca/headline-pol...
Last week, Canada issued a statement "reaffirming its commitment to the safety of journalists" in Gaza. But it did not specify how it plans to hold Israel accountable, only calling on the government to take action.
@cjjpmedia.bsky.social is going to Ottawa with some ideas.
Join @smohyeddin.bsky.social, @abihayward4.bsky.social, @asadch.bsky.social, and @brishti.bsky.social tomorrow morning in Ottawa.
Hear them speak for our growing network of journalists across Canadian newsrooms who condemn Israel's #genocide and massacre of journalists in Gaza.
#pressfreedom
If you're a journalist and want to attend/cover this press conference but aren't an Ottawa press gallery member, email pressres2@parl.gc.ca for access.
@cajournalists.bsky.social @pressfreedom.bsky.social @cjf-fjc.bsky.social @cjfe.bsky.social @handle.invalid @cjpme.org
Poster with the title "CJJP: Canadian Journalists for Justice in Palestine" and details about press conference: Monday, September 29, 11am EST, Press Gallery B
🚨 CJJP GOES TO OTTAWA 🚨
We're sending a contingent to Ottawa to tell PM @mark-carney.bsky.social and @anitaoakvilleeast.bsky.social how Canada is enabling the deadliest assault on free press in recent history.
We have some ideas on how Canada can stop being complicit in Israel's massacre.
Oxfam mourns our partner colleague Tasneem (27), killed with her 2 young children in an Israeli airstrike in #Gaza. Partner clinics providing life-saving care have also been destroyed. Aid workers must never be targets.
www.oxfam.ca/news/israeli...
Israel still bars foreign journalists from entering Gaza. But this weekend, if you're in Toronto, you can see up close the destruction Israel has wrought in Gaza.
CJJP is partnering with Toronto Palestine Film Festival to bring an immersive VR experience.
Find us at TIFF LIGHTBOX on Sept 27 & 28.
Today is #PeaceDay. It's paramount to protect journalists reporting from conflict zones, particularly in Gaza. We echo the calls of @pressfreedom.bsky.social, @rsf.org, & @cjjpmedia.bsky.social to demand their safety and condemn Israel's blatant killing of journalists. bit.ly/47BA6Mt
Coming this week! A new State of Play episode will examine why the Canada vs. Israel Davis Cup match in Halifax was played behind closed doors. Tennis Canada says the decision was based on “intelligence,” but it remains unclear what type of intelligence was used. bit.ly/4mgDTlV
The airstrike hit the offices of Yemen's two main newspapers: Al Yemen and 26 September net.
We at CJJP once again call on Canada to condemn Israel's war crimes against journalists in Gaza, Lebanon, and now Yemen.
@mark-carney.bsky.social @anitaoakvilleeast.bsky.social #freepalestine #cdnpoli
