Statement from CLARITy Coalition on the Rise of “Anti-Palestinian Racism” as an Institutional Category

July 2, 2025

CLARITy Coalition is increasingly alarmed by the institutional adoption of the term Anti- Palestinian Racism (APR) across Canadian schools, public bodies, and professional sectors—often without clear definition, legal precedent, or parliamentary scrutiny. While all forms of racism and discrimination must be taken seriously, the sudden emergence of this term within educational frameworks—unaccompanied by robust legal or scholarly foundations—raises urgent concerns about due process, civil liberties, and academic freedom.

The children’s book We Are Palestinian: A Celebration of Culture and Tradition by Reem Kassis, now included as a professional resource in some Canadian school boards, illustrates the stakes. The book features:

• A map of the Levant that omits Israel entirely—a country recognized by Canada since 1948;
• Religious content that includes Islam and Christianity while excluding Judaism, despite its deep historical roots in the region;
• Descriptions that imply Jews were transient “passers-through,” erasing documented millennia of Jewish presence and indigeneity.

When educators, parents, or community groups raise concerns about such omissions, they are increasingly met with accusations of APR—a term being operationalized not to combat discrimination, but to insulate certain narratives from challenge.

There are serious implications here: as this term becomes normalized within human rights frameworks and educational policy, it risks chilling speech, undermining legitimate criticism, and weaponizing equity language to penalize dissent. No democratic society should endorse vague or ideologically driven terminology that can be used to abridge Charter-protected freedoms of expression and conscience.

CLARITy Coalition supports fair, accurate, and inclusive education for all. But educational equity cannot be built on legally untested frameworks that blur the line between critique and hate.

Pluralism requires courage—and courage requires clarity.

For a deeper analysis on the legal and societal implications of adopting APR, please read The Legal and Societal Perils of Introducing the Concept of Anti-Palestinian Racism in Canada, co- authored by Yasmine Mohammed, co-director of CLARITy Coalition.