"Seventy percent of the 22,000, dead and 53,000 wounded are women and children. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced, thanks to unending orders to evacuate yet again to so-called safe zones which are then bombed. The few hospitals that can still function are overwhelmed and can only provide minimal care."
January 3, 2024
To:
Mickey Djuric, Reporter, Canadian Press
Andrea Baillie, Editor-in Chief, Canadian Press
Brodie Fenlon, News Editor-in-Chief, CBC News
Dear Mr Djuric, Ms Baillie and Mr Fenlon
I am writing to comment on your news article: "Singh calls for solidarity, respect as hate crimes targeting Jewish, Muslim communities spike" posted Jan 02, 2024, in CBC News- politics
This news item includes what now seems to be a standard paragraph copied and pasted frequently in reports.
"Hamas militants killed an estimated 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7 and took about 240 more hostage, provoking an Israeli military response that local authorities said has killed almost 22,000 people in the Gaza Strip."
It is in need of updating.
1) Not all Israeli killed on Oct. 7 were murdered by Hamas [1][2][3][4]
2) If you are going to cast doubt on the numbers of Palestinians killed by saying " local authorities...etc " (these numbers have historically been correct) [5], you should equally do so by writing "Israeli sources say ..."
3)) After 90 days of carnage and destruction, stating 20,000 Gazans were killed is so reductive of Israel's disproportionate "military response" as to be almost meaningless. I appreciate the link given to the article about the extent of the destruction but this alone does not cover all Israel's actions that have turned Gaza into a "living hell" and have resulted in South Africa's application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Seventy percent of the 22,000, dead and 53,000 wounded are women and children. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced, thanks to unending orders to evacuate yet again to so-called safe zones which are then bombed. The few hospitals that can still function are overwhelmed and can only provide minimal care. There is no pain relief. Amputations are done without anaesthetic, including on 1000 children. MSF, which had to pull out of alAqsa hospital on Jan 6 because of snipers shooting into the hospital, reports "extreme suffering" of children with even five year-olds not wanting to live. Distribution of the little aid Israel does let in is hindered by the continued bombing and shelling, destroyed roads and even direct attacks on the trucks. At least 60% of homes are destroyed, buildings and tents where people shelter are targeted by airstrikes and tents with wounded inside bulldozed. More than half (1.3 M) of the population is starving.Lack of drinking water, sanitation and medical care are killing those not killed by the airstrikes or shot by snipers in the streets.
Gaza's journalists are risking their lives by documenting what leading human rights organizations call genocide. [6] They show the hellish scenes from hospitals. The streets with overflowing sewers, rubble and decomposing bodies of the dead that sniper fire prevents from being retrieved. The graveyards with newly-buried victims being bulldozed, More than 100 journalists have been killed.
Gazans I personally know are asking us not to pray for their lives but their deaths.
Of course you cannot put all this in, but especially in an article about hate crimes, giving at least some context like this is relevant, as would be mentioning the sustained protest actions by members of Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJVCanada.org.
The inclusion of your example of the Calgary man's antisemitism charges that were later stayed seems rather pointless.
As it stands, the article is shallow and only informs the public of the bare facts; that hate crimes are on the rise.
Finally, Mr Singh does quote Muslim and Jewish Canadians, but as they are the ones being targeted it would have been appropriate to feature some first hand voices.
Renée Nunan-Rappard