"This article contains glaring inaccuracies. First, you seem not to acknowledge Palestinian deaths as deaths. You write: “The surprise weekend attack by Hamas left a death toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria,” you write. That is true only if Israelis alone count as part of the 'death toll'."
October 10, 2023
To:
Al Beeber, Editor, Lethbridge Herald
Josef Federman, News Director, The Associated Press
Issam Adwan, Reporter, Associated Press
Dear Al Beeber, Josef Federman, and Issam Adwan,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, cjpme.org) to insist on correction of your October 10 article, “Israel strikes downtown Gaza City and mobilizes 300,000 reservists as war enters fourth day.”
This article contains glaring inaccuracies.
First, you seem not to acknowledge Palestinian deaths as deaths. You write: “The surprise weekend attack by Hamas left a death toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria,” you write. That is true only if Israelis alone count as part of the “death toll.”
Just one Israeli ground operation in Gaza, in 2014, killed an estimated 2,251 Palestinians, according to the United Nations. We therefore insist your sentence be edited to read:
While Israeli attacks often kill Palestinians in the hundreds, and sometimes in the thousands, the surprise weekend attack by Hamas left an Israeli death toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria.
Moreover, your characterization of Israel’s government – “its most hard-right government ever, dominated by ministers who adamanlty reject Palestinian statehood,” you write – is inadequate. This alternative language is necessary: “its most hard-right government ever, one of whose ministers has been repeatedly indicted for anti-Arab racism and terrorism.”
These are crucial matters of fact, and you owe your readers corrections.
Thank you for your time and attention. Feel free to contact me at 438-380-5410 if you would like to discuss this further.
Sincerely,
Dan Freeman-Maloy
PhD, University of Exeter
Director of Strategic Operations
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East/
Canadiens pour la Justice et la Paix au Moyen-Orient