Canadian Taxpayer Funds Spark Controversy Over Poem Praising October 7 Attackers
Online journal The Ex-Puritan, which received taxpayer funding, published a poem by Bahar Orang that appeared to support Hamas militants.
A literary journal funded by Canadian taxpayers has published a poem that appears to praise the Hamas militants who carried out the October 7 attacks in Israel. The piece, titled 'FLOOD' by Toronto poet Bahar Orang, appeared in a new edition of the online journal The Ex-Puritan.
Orang's poem includes lines such as, 'Praise the paragliders, their gentle ascension, their unbroken morning, and of course their triumphant descension, their feet touching down.' The poem also states, 'Praise October,' and praises 'fighters, whose courage nourishes the world.' Hamas fighters used paragliders as part of the October 7 attack, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and the taking of over 250 hostages.
The Ex-Puritan received a CA$22,000 (US$15,440) grant in 2024 from the Canada Council for the Arts, an organization that receives significant taxpayer funding. The grant is described as a four-year operating grant with annual funding. The journal also acknowledges financial support from the Ontario Arts Council.
In an editorial note for the issue, Orang, who served as guest editor, explained the journal's decision to focus on armed resistance. She wrote, 'We do this knowing that the enemy requires our despair, our detachment, our resignation, our complicity, our disdain for militants and our indulgence of liberalism.' The poet concluded her note by stating, 'We are not freeing Palestine; Palestine is freeing us.'
The Canada Council for the Arts has initiated an internal review of the funding following the controversy. Lise Ann Johnson, the council's director general of arts granting programs, stated that while funded magazines have editorial independence, 'freedom of expression in Canada exists within a broader legal framework and is subject to limits under Canadian law.' She added that the council aims to balance freedom of expression with applicable legal limits.
Ryanne Kap is listed as the editor-in-chief of The Ex-Puritan, with Orang serving as the guest editor for this special issue. The journal's 'About Us' page features a logo for the Canada Council for the Arts.
In the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, Israel launched a retaliatory campaign in Gaza. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that at least 74,000 Palestinians have been killed, and much of Gaza has been destroyed, displacing a significant portion of its population. Reports from the Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes Against Women and Children detail accounts of rape, sexual torture, and mutilation among hostages taken during the Hamas attack.