Taha Ghayyur is the executive director of Justice for All Canada, “a human rights and advocacy organization dedicated to preventing genocide,” and an occasional opinion commentator for The Hill Times.

In spite of the group’s lofty self-description, according to NGO Monitor, Ghayyur’s organization has worked with Samidoun, a now-banned terrorist organization in Canada linked to another group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), another banned terrorist group in Canada which was involved in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 massacres.

Thus, the Hill Times’s choice of columnist is someone who has a history of spreading anti-Israel misinformation and who has previously called for immigration laws to ban some Israelis to Canada.

In his April 21 column entitled: “Gaza exposes a crisis of conscience in federal election,” Ghayyur wrote that on April 8, at a rally for Prime Minister Mark Carney, a member of the audience said “‘Mr. Carney, there is a genocide happening in Palestine.’ His reply? ‘Thank you. I am aware. That is why we have an arms embargo.’ The response was both dismissive and detached. Carney later scrambled to clarify, distancing himself from any recognition of genocide and explaining instead that Canada had imposed only limited restrictions on arms exports to Israel.”

Ghayyar argued that condemnation of Israel is an issue of political weight in Canada due to its supposed “moral imperative.” He justified his point of view by stating that “since October 2023, Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 50,000 people according to local health authorities—the overwhelming majority women and children.”

Mentioning October 7, 2023 without mentioning – never mind condemning – Hamas’ invasion, heinous atrocities, including massacring 1200 unsuspecting innocents, and taking 250 hostages, and so instigating the war, served to whitewash an act of genocidal terrorism by an organization who says they prevent it. Hamas’ genocidal intentions against Jews are not a secret, stated clearly in their 1988 Hamas Charter, and by Hamas leaders intending to repeat October 7. Yet Ghayyar seems not to have heard of Hamas or their proposed genocide.

However, he seems well informed about their subsidiary, the Gaza Health Ministry and its highly dubious data. Their figures include the upwards of 17,000 combatants killed and those who died of natural causes. Additionally, the proportion of women and children was found to be falsified. A recent study found evidence of multiple problems, including that men – even if their name was Mohammed – were sometimes listed as female. Additionally, sometimes the numbers didn’t add up at all, with a report from the UK-based Henry Jackson Society stating that “similarly, on 26 October 2023, the MoH reported 7,028 cumulative fatalities versus 6,547 the prior day, an increase of 481. But the number of newly reported women and children killed increased by 626 (417 women and 209 children) on the same day, which was more than the increase in total fatalities.”

Ghayyar’s call for a total arms embargo on Israel while Hamas is still refusing to release 59 hostages, and is rebuilding their tunnels and weapons arsenals to fuel their genocidal aims, raises the question as to what he would have Israel do as it is forced to face its murderous neighbour.

Ghayyar also commended those who have supported “Vote Palestine,” an effort backed by radical anti-Israel groups which, in the April 28 election, saw 93 percent of its candidates lose.

Columnist Tristin Hopper, in his April 22 commentary for the National Post, noted that the Palestine Youth Movement (PYM) is listed as an “initiating endorser” of “Vote Palestine”.

Hopper noted that this is problematic, as “PYM is also repeatedly recorded as having celebrated the October 7 terrorist attacks against Israel.” While the attack was still occurring, PYM organized “victory” rallies in multiple Canadian cities.

Ghayyar claims to protect against genocide, yet he failed to mention the one underneath his nose. Additionally, his organization is alleged to have worked with the terror organization Samidoun and Ghayyar himself commended the Vote Palestine effort which is comprised of an organization that celebrates terror. In publishing him, The Hill Times has made any semblance of fair and balanced journalism a distant memory.