A recent push for institutions and governments to adopt the concept of anti-Palestinian racism (APR) has made its way to the Toronto District School Board, the House of Commons justice committee hearings on Islamophobia and was even invoked in court by groups opposing the injunction requested to dismantle the encampment at the University of Toronto.

While anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bigotry certainly exist in Canada and must be combated, that should not exempt APR from scrutiny. Developed by the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA), APR’s origin is cause for concern, with the concept not having been independently vetted, and instead advanced by groups pushing a specific political agenda.