Star had right not to print letter to editor
Press Council agrees debate already covered Reader wanted to respond to earlier note
Newspapers have the right to decide when to terminate a letters- to- the- editor debate, the Ontario Press Council says in dismissing a complaint against the Toronto Star.
Elias Hazineh, president of Palestine House, complained the Stardidn’t publish his letter, which in effect supported a Star editorial and took issue with a letter that criticized the editorial. The editorial, published March 14, said that in the interests of promoting peace in the Middle East, Canada should contribute a substantial sum to Palestinian relief. The next day, the Star published a dissenting letter from Jason Shron of Toronto.
His letter said the editorial ignored a significant question: “ What has happened to the billions of dollars the Palestinian Authority has already received in aid from Western nations?” The Star noted that Hazineh was, in effect, supporting the editorial, but did not address the allegations made in Shron’s letter, contained unsubstantiated allegations of its own and didn’t advance the debate.
Text of the adjudication:
Elias Hazineh of Mississauga, president of Palestine House, complained that the Toronto Star refused to publish a letter to the editor in which he criticized another letter that took issue with an editorial advocating more aid to the Palestinians. The editorial, published March 14, suggested that increased foreign aid could help Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the race with extremists for the hearts and minds of the people who live in the occupied areas. A day later, the Star published a letter from Jason Shron of Toronto that said sending aid to the Palestinians was like “ throwing money into the heart of a black hole.” Hazineh described the letter’s allegations as “ worn out and debunked,” and said hundreds of millions of foreign money went to pay for destruction of Palestinian infrastructure by Israel. The Star said it did not want to turn the paper into a forum where letter writers simply attack each other. It also ( said) Hazineh did not directly address the allegations made in Shron’s letter.
In dismissing the complaint, the Ontario Press Council said it accepted the Star’s position that two sides of the debate had been explored and there was no need to print another letter that tangentially supported the editorial.