In January 2009, the Israeli military conducted a number of air strikes against Gaza. The death toll among Palestinians, according to the military, was 1,166, of whom 709 were combatants and 206 adult civilians and 89 children.

A year later in Montreal, a photo exhibit called Human Drama in Gaza has been put on display at Cinéma du Parc. It features 44 images of the air strikes and their aftermath, taken by professional photographers.

The photos show blood-caked faces, relatives weeping over the inert bodies of people they loved, apartment buildings with entire walls missing, people moving as in a dream over piles of rubble.

The operation was criticized, the number of victims and even who they were is still a matter of dispute. In the context of that debate, this exhibition is decidedly one-sided and is sure to offend some Montrealers. That's probably why Gestion Redbourne PDP Inc., the property manager of the building housing Cinéma du Parc, is trying to close the show.

Redbourne contends that Cinéma du Parc's lease stipulates the space is for "purely cinematographic use" - despite the fact that more than 40 photo exhibits have been mounted there in the last three years. This hardly marks the first time a business has reacted badly faced with controversy. But what Redbourne is trying to do - cognizant or not - is stifle freedom of speech.

Freedom of speech is a human right under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is the freedom to speak without censorship, to share ideas and information without interference. In Canada, and elsewhere in the civilized world, freedom of speech is a tenet of faith, a bulwark against the forces of tyranny.

This conception of freedom is broad enough to cover a photo exhibit that some viewers find biased and overly contentious. There is no doubt the group that mounted the exhibit intended it to be provocative.

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East bills itself as a non-profit, secular organization to "empower decision-makers to view all sides with fairness."

We'd argue that achieving that goal would require adding to the exhibit photos, for example, of Hamas rockets striking Israel. But the right to free speech does not impose that kind of obligation. The usual remedy will have to apply: The antidote to free speech you don't like is more free speech.

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