"The term “Arab Israelis” has been propagated by Israel to downplay the identity and indigeneity of Palestinians, thus constituting a form of anti-Palestinian racism. The term “Israeli Arab” was never chosen by the Palestinian people, and it doesn’t take into consideration their separate identity from Arabs as a whole."
February 9, 2024
To:
Chris Brown, Foreign Correspondent, CBC
Nancy Waugh, Sr. Manager, CBC
Dear Chris Brown and Nancy Waugh,
I am writing to express my concern about the article: “With or without a ceasefire, Palestinians fear Israel’s economic chokehold won’t end” published on February 9 on CBC.
Foremost, I take objection to your use of the phrase “Arab Israelis” to describe Palestinian citizens of Israel.
- You write: “Between Palestinians who’ve had permits to work in Israel revoked and Arab Israelis who can no longer travel to spend money in the Occupied West Bank…”
- You also write: “Money earned by Palestinians working in Israel – along with money spent by Arab Israelis in the West Bank…”
The term “Arab Israelis” has been propagated by Israel to downplay the identity and indigeneity of Palestinians, thus constituting a form of anti-Palestinian racism. The term “Israeli Arab” was never chosen by the Palestinian people, and it doesn’t take into consideration their separate identity from Arabs as a whole.[1] Media should, therefore, not describe Palestinian citizens of Israel as such, as a variety of Arab and Middle Eastern journalist associations like the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) and the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA)suggest using the term “Palestinian citizens of Israel.”
I, therefore, suggest changing the word “Arab Israelis” to “Palestinian citizens of Israel” to use more accurate and respectful language regarding Palestinians.
On an ending note, I just want to add that since you mention the violence from Israeli settlers, you could have been more explicit on how Israel’s right-wing government has encouraged and enabled settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. For example, you have probably seen that Ben Gvir distributed assault rifles to settlers in the West Bank. This information would give a more complete picture of how, in addition to the items mentioned in your piece, settler violence also makes life increasingly unbearable for Palestinians in the West Bank.
I hope CBC will make this change and consider the abovementioned elements in future reporting about Palestine and Palestinians.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
[1] Canadians for Justice in the Middle East (CJPME), “Why Palestinians in Israel are “Palestinian citizens of Israel,” https://www.cjpmemap.ca/why_palestinians_israel_are_palestinian_citizens_of_israel