"Even though the article powerfully tells the story of 17-year-old Wadi’ who was killed by Israeli forces, the article references more attacks on Israelis than on Palestinians, and the overall framing of a 'cycle of violence' similarly obscures the asymmetrical nature of the violence. This could have been mitigated if you had included data on the casualties this year: since the beginning of 2023, at least 50 Palestinians have been killed, including 11 children, while 12 Israelis have been killed, including at least 2 children."
February 16, 2023
To:
Nathan VanderKlippe, International Correspondent, The Globe and Mail
Sylvia Stead, Public Editor, The Globe and Mail (CC)
Dear Mr. VanderKlippe,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to provide feedback on your recent article, “Palestinians sense a new intifada coming as young people focus their anger on Israel’s resurgent right,” which was published in the Globe and Mail on February 16, 2023.
We very much commend you for your coverage of these important issues and for providing a sympathetic portrait of young Palestinians who have grown up under an oppressive system. However, we do have some concerns that we believe could be addressed to improve the accuracy and fairness of your reporting. We also note an important factual error that needs to be corrected.
First, we would like to bring your attention to a factual error in your article. You write of Israel’s deadly raid of the Jenin refugee camp on January 26: “The Israeli army killed nine Palestinians in a refugee camp, including some they identified as terrorists.” However, we have found that 10 Palestinians were killed in the raid, including a 61-year-old woman, Majda Obaid, and two 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) and Amnesty International.[1][2]
We urge you to make a factual correction on this matter and update the clause to read: “The Israeli army killed ten Palestinians in a refugee camp…”
Second, even though the article powerfully tells the story of 17-year-old Wadi’ who was killed by Israeli forces, the article references more attacks on Israelis than on Palestinians, and the overall framing of a “cycle of violence” similarly obscures the asymmetrical nature of the violence. This could have been mitigated if you had included data on the casualties this year: since the beginning of 2023, at least 50 Palestinians have been killed, including 11 children, while 12 Israelis have been killed, including at least 2 children. The UN reports that in a period of just three weeks in January, “422 Palestinians, including at least 49 children, were injured by Israeli forces across the West Bank, of whom 74 (18%) were shot with live ammunition.”[3] By failing to emphasize the significant number of Palestinians killed or injured by Israeli attacks this year, your coverage obscures the degree to which various parties have been affected by violence.
Additionally, we have concerns about the way in which the Second Intifada is framed in your article. The Second Intifada is described as a “violent uprising in 2000 that left thousands dead,” which may lead readers to believe that Israelis were the main victims of this violence. However, according to the B’Tselem fatalities database, between September 2000 and September 2004, approx. 3,000 Palestinians were killed compared to approx. 900 Israelis who were killed.[4]
We urge you to add an editor’s note to clarify potential misunderstandings, which can read: “Editors note: According to the B’Tselem fatalities database, between September 2000 and September 2004, a period known as the Second Intifada, approximately 3,000 Palestinians were killed compared to approximately 900 Israelis who were killed.”
Finally, the use of “terrorist” to describe the casualties from Israel’s raid on Jenin is problematic, as it refers to people who are alleged to have been members of militant organizations, but for which there is no evidence that they have been involved in “terrorist” activity (Israel does not make a distinction between the two but regards all forms of resistance as terrorism). According to the International Press Institute’s guide for journalists to avoid inflammatory language, media should use the term “terrorist” only in the context of acts of violence against civilians in order to advance political goals (the widely accepted definition of terrorism).[5]
We insist that future reporting includes more context and data related to the victims of violence, of whom the majority by far are Palestinian, so that your coverage properly reflects the asymmetrical nature of this situation.
Beyond this feedback, we sincerely appreciate your reporting on this story and welcome the opportunity to engage with you. Should you wish, you can contact me at 438-380-5410 for more information.
Sincerely,
Jason Toney
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
[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
[2] Amnesty International, “Crisis and Tactical Round Up: Afghanistan, End Israeli Apartheid, Iran, Torture-Free Trade Treaty,” February 3, 2023, https://www.amnesty.ca/blog/crisis-and-tactical-round-up-afghanistan-end-israeli-apartheid-iran-torture-free-trade-treaty/
[3] UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Protection of Civilians Report, Occupied Palestinian Territory, January 10-30, 2023, https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/occupied-palestinian-territory-protection-civilians-report-10-30-january-2023
[4] B’Tselem, Fatalities Database, https://statistics.btselem.org/en
[5] International Press Institute (IPI), “Use with Care: A Reporter’s Glossary of Loaded Language in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” 2013, http://ipi.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/UseWithCare_ebook.pdf