"Given that Palestinian resistance groups are often framed in media coverage as being opposed to the existence of Israel, despite many clearly indicating an openness to the Arab Peace Plan, it is critical that a high degree of precision be exercised in this context to help rebalance the scales."
September 21, 2023
To:
Will Weissert, Journalist, AP
Donovan Vincent, Public Editor, Toronto Star
Dear Mr. Weisser and Mr. Vincent,
I'm writing to express concern about an important omission in the AP article “Saudi crown prince says in rare interview 'every day we get closer' to normalization with Israel” published by the Toronto Star on September 20.
You write:
The Saudis have said any deal would require major progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state, which is a hard sell for the most religious and nationalist government in Israel’s history.
Readers ought to know a basic detail in this context: Saudi officials, as recently as this week, have made clear that a Palestinian state would need to be established along 1967 borders. This condition is consistent with the longstanding Arab Peace Plan.
The other missing context is that such a Plan is not merely a “hard sell” to Israel’s far-right governing coalition, it is at odds with the coalition’s published policy guidelines. “The Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel…. in the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan and Judea and Samaria.”[1]
My complaint, in essence, is that you include reference to the important diplomatic tension, but give little to no clarity on the dramatic differences between the two sides. As such, readers are left with a false sense of the nature of the tension between the parties. The idea of a Palestinian state along 1967 borders is not merely a “hard sell,” but fundamentally contradicts the core policy principles of Israel’s governing coalition.
Given that Palestinian resistance groups are often framed in media coverage as being opposed to the existence of Israel, despite many clearly indicating an openness to the Arab Peace Plan, it is critical that a high degree of precision be exercised in this context to help rebalance the scales.
Sincerely,
Jason Toney
Director of Media Advocacy, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
[1] Carrie Keller-Lynn and Michael Bachner, The Times of Israel, 28 December, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/judicial-reform-boosting-jewish-identity-the-new-coalitions-policy-guidelines/.