"First of all, I am flabbergasted at the choice of the title to the article, which it seems aims to emphasize the attack by a Palestinian individual which wounded 8 Israeli civilians, whereas at least 10 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military in the Jenin refugee camp."
July 4, 2023
To:
Dan Taylor, Managing Editor, CTV News
Josef Federman, News Director – Jerusalem, Associated Press
John Daniszewski, VP and Editor-at-Large, Associated Press
Dear Mr. Taylor, Mr Daniszewski, Mr. Federman,
I’m writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express concerns and ask that corrections be made to your article titled “Palestinian attacker wounds 8 in Tel Aviv.”
First of all, I am flabbergasted at the choice of the title to the article, which it seems aims to emphasize the attack by a Palestinian individual which wounded 8 Israeli civilians, whereas at least 10 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military in the Jenin refugee camp.
I would ask that you change the title of your article to “Israeli military raid in Jenin enters second day; Palestinian lone wolf attack in Tel Aviv”, which is a far more accurate descriptor of the current events. Furthermore, only the first two paragraphs of the article are about the Palestinian individual’s attack on Israeli civilians whereas the rest of the article is about the events in Jenin, yet, the choice of the title highlights the attack by a lone-wolf Palestinian in Tel-Aviv.
I would like to bring your attention to the use of the words “raid” and “operation” when mentioning the Israeli military’s actions. This is a large-scale military assault on a refugee camp filled with thousands of civilians; the use of the word “operation” can allude to many different things. The Israeli military has not been hunting so called “militants” as many of the individuals killed by the Israeli military have been innocent civilians. Let us not forget that this is a refugee camp with a population made up of people displaced from their homes and properties following the creation of Israel in 1948 and includes women, children and the elderly who are among those killed by the Israeli forces during their attack on Jenin.
As such, when you use the word “raid,” I would like you to further qualify it as a “military raid.”
Generally speaking, I feel that CTV News and the Associated Press could do much better in its coverage of Palestine-Israel. Below, I highlight some of the areas where I feel like the reporting in your article has fallen short.
First, I disagree with your statement, “the current violence is also different from the intense years of what was known as the second intifada”. This statement downplays the severity and significance of Israel’s all-out assault on Jenin. In addition, attacks by violent, armed settlers on Palestinian civilians and property have seen an unprecedented rise over the past year with little to no action being taken on the part of the Israeli military to stop or curtail this violence. In fact, the Israeli military has stood idly by or even been complicit in random attacks on un-armed civilians and their property. Some Israeli politicians have even praised the actions of settlers with the likes of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir calling young settlers who torched a number of Palestinian villages “sweet boys” just last week.
Israel’s attacks have caused significant harm and deaths among civilians. These civilians include many women and children. An example of this is the murder of Sadeel Turkman, a 15-year-old Palestinian girl who was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper in Jenin on the 21st of June. Are we to assume that she was a militant as claimed by Israel?
Second, I feel your coverage fails to capture the virtually universal condemnation of Israel by the international human rights community. The international community, many human rights organizations and the United Nations have condemned Israel’s attacks on Palestinian civilians with some officials, both past and present even labelling Israel an apartheid state; yet the Israeli army’s narrative and position is being prioritized and promoted when you are reporting on these events, often without including any Palestinian viewpoints or perspectives.
In addition to the changes/corrections I have highlighted at the top of my letter, I would ask that my broader criticisms be considered in order to better reflect the realities of the situation in Jenin and the occupied Palestinian territories in general, since it provides a highly skewed narrative that is favorable to the Israeli military and can be greatly misleading to your readers in its current form.
Should you wish to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact me at 438-380-5410.
Sincerely,
Mohamed Khalaf
Director of Strategic Operations, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East