"To claim that the military raid on the Jenin refugee camp was a response to recent attacks on Israeli settlers is highly reductive and misleading. The most recent attacks on Israeli settlers followed a recent deadly raid on the Jenin refugee camp. To ignore or to choose not to mention the reasons why Palestinians may resort to violence obscures the reality of Israel’s military occupation."
July 4, 2023
To:
Sean Irvine, Host, CTV News
Tom McConnell, News Director, CTV News London
Dear Mr. Irvine and Mr. McConnell,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express my concern about a news segment aired by CTV News at 11 on July 4, 2023. The segment featured a summary of news from around the world, including an ongoing Israeli military raid on Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. The segment, however, is highly one-sided and contains problematic language.
The transcript of the section of concern reads:
“The raid comes in response to a series of recent attacks on Israeli settlers.”
To claim that the military raid on the Jenin refugee camp was a response to recent attacks on Israeli settlers is highly reductive and misleading. The most recent attacks on Israeli settlers followed a recent deadly raid on the Jenin refugee camp. To ignore or to choose not to mention the reasons why Palestinians may resort to violence obscures the reality of Israel’s military occupation.
More importantly, such a statement obscures Israel’s role as an aggressor and occupier. The Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) discourages “both sides framing” which fails to recognize the power imbalance between Israel, and the Palestinian people, of which the former has one of the “most advanced militaries in the world.”[1]
By defining Israel’s military raid as a “response,” you also rationalize violence against Palestinians, a form of anti-Palestinian racism, as defined by the Arab-Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA)[2]. More importantly, you downplay the reality that Palestinians have been and are actively involved in an ongoing struggle for their liberation and self-determination, which the Israeli government actively seeks to repress as evidenced by the military raid on the Jenin refugee camp.
As such, I ask that you provide an on-air correction to read:
“Israel’s military raid seeks to target armed Palestinian resistance groups based in the occupied West Bank. Attacks on Jewish-Israeli settlers are a direct response to Israeli military aggression, as evidenced by the raid of the Jenin refugee camp.”
While I understand that such news segments are not aimed at providing a comprehensive account of global events, it is important for Canadian listeners to be exposed to accurate, and balanced coverage.
I hope that CTV News London takes the appropriate steps to ensure that my concerns are addressed in any future news segments relating to occupied Palestine and Israeli military raids.
Should you wish, you can contact me at 438-380-5410 for more information.
Sincerely,
Tayla Shair,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
[1] Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA), “Tips and resources for covering issues related to Israel and Palestine,” May 24, 2021, https://ijnet.org/en/story/tips-and-resources-covering-issues-related-israel-and-palestine
[2] Arab-Canadian Lawyers Association, “Anti-Palestinian Racism: Naming, Framing and Manifestations,” April 2022, p. 2.