"Fegelman cites a Jerusalem Post article that does not back his claim, that 1,500 rockets were fired by PIJ militants “while hiding behind Palestinian civilians.” The sentence in question is written in such a way that one should interpret it as meaning that specifically 1,500 rockets were fired from positions that were “behind Palestinian civilians.”"
May 30, 2023
To:
Rob Roberts, Editor-In-Chief, National Post
Carson Jerema, Comment Editor, National Post
Dear Mr. Roberts and Mr. Jerema,
I’m writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to alert you to a factual error in Mike Fegelman’s article “Iran's brutality erodes credibility on international stage.”
Fegelman writes:
“At the time of writing, Islamic Jihad has fired more than 1,500 rockets at Israeli civilians while hiding behind Palestinian civilians — a double war crime.”
He cites a Jerusalem Post article that does not back his claim, that 1,500 rockets were fired by PIJ militants “while hiding behind Palestinian civilians.” The sentence in question is written in such a way that one should interpret it as meaning that specifically 1,500 rockets were fired from positions that were “behind Palestinian civilians.”
Fegelman is clearly alluding to the idea that militants used human shields (I am not aware of any evidence of this, especially during the latest conflict) or claiming that all rocket firing positions for the 1,500 rockets were located in residential areas (again, I have found no evidence of this). It is clear and obvious that this is not the case, that every rocket was fired from a position “behind” civilians. In the past, the Israeli military released maps of rocket launch sites in Gaza and many were located in remote or unpopulated areas of Gaza.
While I understand that opinion writers have a long leash, the NNC states that it does not consider complaints about opinion writing except in cases where there is a factual error. Because of the way in which this sentence is written, there is a strong argument that it is a factual error. I believe it deserves correction, clarification, or removal.
I insist that you change or remove this sentence.
If you would like to discuss this matter further, please contact me at 438-380-5410.
Sincerely,
Jason Toney
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
Director of Media Advocacy