One-sided article engages in anti-Palestinian narrative

"Your article does not give the same treatment to the claims made by Palestinian students, no additional arguments are provided in their defense, although there are numerous. This demonstrates an alarming lack of balance on a sensitive issue, that of anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia."


January 31, 2024

To:

Victoria Nicolaou, Reporter, St. Catharines Standard

Angus Scott, Editor-in-Chief, St. Catharines Standard

Dear Ms. Nicolaou,

I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East to express my concern regarding the article, “B'nai Brith reports increased complaints following Brock University holocaust education week,” published on January 30 by St. Catharines Standard.

I want to highlight issues that make your article particularly one-sided.

Firstly, your article inaccurately depicts B’nai Brith, Canada. It is not just a Jewish human rights organization, but a self-prescribed “staunch defender of the State of Israel,” according to their website. B’nai Brith Canada is, thus, a pro-Israel advocacy organization. I, therefore, recommend you add this to your initial description of B’nai Brith Canada.

According to Students from the Brock Arab Student Association, a Holocaust education workshop implied that the blame falling on Israel for the al-Ahli Arab hospital bombing is a form of antisemitism. According to their testimonies, however, the students felt that attributing this to antisemitism is actually anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic because the source of the bombing remains unverified. The context you provide following these testimonies is one-sided and works to defend the view that allegations made against Israel for the hospital crime are, indeed, antisemitic. Your article does not give the same treatment to the claims made by Palestinian students, no additional arguments are provided in their defense, although there are numerous. This demonstrates an alarming lack of balance on a sensitive issue, that of anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia.

Not only do you fail to mention that a full investigation of the bombing has not been completed, but you also fail to emphasize the scale of Israel’s murderous and destructive campaign in Gaza. By omitting the fact that Israel has repeatedly targeted hospitals, schools, and places of refuge in Gaza, you are engaging in an anti-Palestinian narrative that makes blaming Israel for a hospital bombing seem shocking and out of place. According to Article 18 of the Geneva Convention, civilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick “may in no circumstances be the object of attack” or the attacker will be in stark violation of international law. As of January 5, the United Nations reported that Israel has attacked “94 health care facilities and 79 ambulances” since October 7. To make your article more balanced, please provide context regarding Israel’s pattern of violence against healthcare facilities.

I hope that St. Catharines Standard will make these edits promptly.

Sincerely,

Rose Mardikian,

Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East