A Canadian fashion magazine says it removed Hamilton politician Sarah Jama from a story on influential women after the publication’s editorial team received threats.
Jama, the Hamilton Centre MPP who has established herself as an advocate for marginalized groups, was featured in the September issue of ELLE Canada alongside seven other women “paving the way for those behind them,” the article reads.
The article, titled “Changemakers,” also includes artist Vivek Shraya, journalist Connie Walker and former hockey player Cassie Campbell-Pascall, now with the new Professional Women’s Hockey League.
Its author called Jama a woman who “walks the talk,” particularly when it comes to her advocacy for Palestinians.
She has been outspoken since the current conflict in Gaza began nearly a year ago, calling for ceasefire, and continuing to wear a kaffiyeh in the Ontario legislature despite a ban, even after she was removed, the author wrote.
She’s quoted in the story talking about her advocacy work.
“Whether it’s by talking to friends or showing up at a community level to raise awareness — protesting the ongoing genocide in Gaza, knocking on doors to discuss housing rights, volunteering at a food bank or participating in a boycott — anyone can have a positive impact on important issues around the globe,” she was quoted as saying in ELLE.
Her actions and comments, which have been billed by some as antisemitic, have been met with both criticism and applause in recent months.
The rookie MPP, elected in a March 2023 byelection as an NDP candidate, was ultimately exiled from her own party and then muzzled in the legislature by a censure vote — which she claimed was a result of pressure from a “Zionist lobby” — that rendered her all but invisible during debates.
She now sits as an independent. She said Tuesday on social media she is planning to run again.
ELLE publisher Sophie Banford said in an email that they opted to to remove Jama from the article, originally published Aug. 19, after members of its editorial team “were targeted with threats.”
“The decision was not made lightly,” she said. “The safety and well-being of our journalists are our top priorities, and it is within this context that we made the decision to remove the content in question.”
A Sept. 2 disclaimer at the top of the online version indicates the original story “represents the opinions of a political personality but does not reflect the opinions of the publishers” or the magazine’s parent company.”
“Following a number of concerning messages posted online and received by our magazine, the publisher chose to edit the original version of the article in order to protect everyone’s safety,” the disclaimer reads.
It also notes that the byline was removed.
The nature of the threats is unclear.
Banford declined to offer details in an effort “to stop nourishing such hatred,” she said.
“The journalist and ELLE Canada wanted to highlight people who do … good around them,” she wrote.
Jama didn’t respond to a request for comment by deadline. But she acknowledged the article — and her removal from it — on social media.
On Aug. 31, she tweeted the link, commenting she was “honoured” to be included in the list of Canadian trail-blazing women.
The same day, she replied to a post: “I think they deleted me off it.”
“I haven’t received any threats so it wasn’t for my safety,” she said in another reply.
