"Readers deserve to know that Smotrich is openly intent on discriminatory hostility against Palestinian citizens of Israel. You should know, if you do not, that he has publicly said to Palestinian Arab members of the Knesset that they do not live in their homes by right but 'by mistake – because Ben-Gurion didn’t finish the job and throw you out in 1948.'"
August 29, 2023
To:
Steve Bartlett, Managing Editor, Saltwire
Emily Rose, Reporter, Reuters
Dear Steve Bartlett and Emily Rose,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, cjpme.org) to express concern about your August 29 article, “Israeli Finance Minister to Renew Funds to Arab Communities After Backlash.”
This article lets your readers down; it omits the crucial details.
This brief attributed line of yours – “The National Committee of Arab Local Councils in Israel accused Smotrich of racism” – fails to communicate the reality of the situation. It has the effect of reducing Smotrich’s record to a he-said, she-said open question.
In fact, Smotrich is a figure of the far, racist right. His bigotry is well established in matters of Jewish Israeli domestic policy: “I’m a fascist homophobe, but I’m a man of my word,” Smotrich famously said. His support for violence against Palestinians is even more plain.
Earlier this year, following the infamous mob attack on Huwara by Israeli settlers, Smotrich called for the Government of Israel to embrace similar violence. “I think the village of Hawara needs to be wiped out,” he said. “I think the state of Israel should do it.”
One attributed assertion from the National Committee of Arab Local Councils is not enough to establish the professionally incontestable facts about these politics of hate.
Readers deserve to know that Smotrich is openly intent on discriminatory hostility against Palestinian citizens of Israel. You should know, if you do not, that he has publicly said to Palestinian Arab members of the Knesset that they do not live in their homes by right but “by mistake – because Ben-Gurion didn’t finish the job and throw you out in 1948.”
This Israeli minister’s policy of hostility towards Palestinian citizens of Israel is globally notorious. It is a matter of basic professional responsibility that you adequately cover it.
Feel free to reach me at 438-380-5410 should you wish to discuss this matter further.
Sincerely,
Dan Freeman-Maloy
PhD, Exeter
For Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East