Canada Council reviews funding after journal publishes poem praising Hamas attack
A Canadian literary journal published a poem that appeared to praise Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, including the paragliders used by attackers and the “fighters” whose courage it celebrated. The publication has prompted an internal review by the Canada Council for the Arts, which provided public funding to the journal.
The Ex-Puritan received a CA$22,000 grant in 2024 as part of a four-year operating award. Guest editor Bahar Orang said the issue deliberately turned towards “armed resistance”; the council said funded magazines have editorial independence, while freedom of expression remains subject to Canadian law. The attack killed about 1,200 people and more than 250 were taken hostage.
- A Canadian journal published a poem praising Hamas’s 7 October attack.
- The journal received a CA$22,000 public arts grant in 2024.
- The Canada Council for the Arts has begun an internal review.
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On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched an attack on Israel that killed approximately 1,200 people and saw over 250 others taken hostage. This was one of the deadliest incidents in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Canadian literary journal The Ex-Puritan recently published a poem that appears to praise this attack, including references to paragliders used by the attackers and descriptions celebrating those who carried it out. The journal received CA$22,000 in public funding from the Canada Council for the Arts through a four-year operating grant started in 2024.
The situation raises questions about the balance between editorial independence for cultural publications and accountability for how public funds are used. This highlights a broader tension about what responsibility funding bodies should have when they support organisations that publish controversial content.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Literary journals must maintain editorial independence, and poetry's power lies partly in its capacity to challenge prevailing narratives and engage with contested political realities. Public funding for the arts should protect creative expression even when provocative or unpopular, as state or institutional approval of content fundamentally compromises artistic integrity. A poem engaging with Palestinian resistance is not inherently identical to endorsing terrorism, and examining contested political art requires intellectual charity rather than reflexive defunding based on perceived messaging.
The case against
Public funding represents a social investment carrying implicit expectations about stewardship, and significant questions arise when taxpayer money supports content that appears to celebrate an attack resulting in over 1,200 deaths. Distinguishing between protecting controversial speech and actively funding such content through grants matters; freedom of expression does not guarantee public subsidy. The council's review reflects a reasonable position that publicly funded institutions have some responsibility to consider whether their funding aligns with community values and whether resources might better serve the public interest in supporting diverse artistic voices.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Canadian taxpayers fund vile pro-October 7 poet who wrote: ‘Praise the paragliders… their triumphant descension’”.