"We appreciated your coverage for a number of reasons, including:
- The fact that you included b-roll footage of Palestinians in Jenin, highlighting the impact on Jenin society as a result of these killings
- The fact that you included the perspective of both a Palestinian bystander, and a spokesperson for the Palestinian president
- The fact that you mentioned how Israel’s newly elected ultranationalist government is not only enflaming tensions through hardline policies, but encouraging the government to use violence more freely against Palestinians"
January 27, 2023
Margaret Evans, CBC News, London
Dear Ms. Evans,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to thank you for your generally good coverage on The National of the Israeli killings in the Palestinian Jenin refugee camp yesterday. However, I will also suggest two changes to your coverage: amendments which would have improved the context provided to listeners.
We appreciated your coverage for a number of reasons, including:
- The fact that you included b-roll footage of Palestinians in Jenin, highlighting the impact on Jenin society as a result of these killings
- The fact that you included the perspective of both a Palestinian bystander, and a spokesperson for the Palestinian president
- The fact that you mentioned how Israel’s newly elected ultranationalist government is not only enflaming tensions through hardline policies, but encouraging the government to use violence more freely against Palestinians
Nevertheless, I think you should have mentioned the fact that two of the victims of Israel’s attack were children: Wasim Amjad Aref Abu Jaes (age 16) and Abdullah Marwan Juma’a Mousa (age 17), as documented by Defense for Children International - Palestine (DCIP).[1] According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, every human being under 18 years old is considered a child. Had The National included this information, the viewer would have been better positioned to discern whether the violence used in the Israeli raid were appropriate. As such, I request that the CBC add an editor’s note to the Webpage for this broadcast indicating that two of the Palestinian victims of the Israeli raid were children.
I was also disappointed that the audio commentary in the broadcast failed to mention that Israel currently militarily occupies the West Bank. The b-roll footage did include text noting, “Deadly day after IDF raid in Israeli-occupied West Bank.” However, by not mentioning this in the audio commentary of the segment, the CBC failed to properly highlight this extremely salient detail. Canadians should be reminded that millions of Palestinians have suffered under a brutal Israeli military occupation for over 55 years.
Moving forward, I would ask that CBC coverage of Israel-Palestine be sure to highlight the occupation as perhaps the single most important underlying cause of the violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
Again, thank you for a generally solid broadcast. I look forward to seeing the requested editor’s note, and more mentions of Israel’s military occupation in the future. Should you wish, you can contact me at 438-380-5410 for more information.
Sincerely,
Thomas Woodley, MPA
President, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
CC: Adrienne Arsenault, The National
[1] Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP), “Israeli forces kill two Palestinian children during incursion into Jenin refugee camp,” January 26, 2023, https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces_kill_two_palestinian_children_during_incursion_into_jenin_refugee_camp