"Writing that Palestine “was impoverished, had no industry and few prospects” and that “it was largely a desert” is not only offensive to the region’s indigenous inhabitants but factually incorrect."
February 12, 2024
To:
Howard Levitt, Journalist, Financial Post
Joe Hood, Managing Editor, Financial Post
Rob Roberts, Editor-in-Chief, National Post
Dear Howard Levitt, Joe Hood, and Rob Roberts,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to request corrections regarding the February 9 piece, “Is Canada headed for a great fall in failing to confront antisemitism ?”
I want to bring your attention to two main issues in your article.
First, you have not clearly indicated what type of article the article is.
While we can see that the on-line version article is under the work label, it is nowhere indicated that this piece is an opinion article. The article is also written as a story using the pronoun, I, and the article is clearly a vehicle for Mr. Levitt’s opinion, and not reporting of news.
Correctly identifying an article is imperative as it enables readers to separate facts from someone’s thoughts. The Canadian Association of Journalists ethics guide states, “We clearly identify news and opinion so the audience knows which is which. Failing to do so is an ethical breach.
Please update the on-line piece immediately to indicate that the article is an opinion piece.
Second, you write:
Make no mistake: 1948, pre-Israel, divided by the Brits between Arabs and Jews was a crappy piece of land, which is why Israel has long boasted of “making the desert bloom.” It was impoverished, had no industry and few prospects. Other than a thin coastal strip, including then relatively promising Gaza, it was largely a desert.
Writing that Palestine “was impoverished, had no industry and few prospects” and that “it was largely a desert” is not only offensive to the region’s indigenous inhabitants but factually incorrect.
There are many credible sources which present a clear picture of a fertile and prosperous Palestine prior to 1948. You may also wish to refer to the February 4 Canadian faculty organizations’ letter asking for B.C Minister Selina Robinson’s removal, which wrote:
Over one million Palestinians inhabited the land of Palestine prior to the 1948 Nakba (Arabic for catastrophe) […] Historic Palestine had over 530 of its villages and cities destroyed and depopulated by Zionist militias during the Nakba. Palestine had a thriving economy, as well as a complex network of trade and commerce which contributed to the economic vibrancy in the region prior to 1948.
I, therefore, ask you to remove the paragraph I cite above as it is factually incorrect. As you well know, professional journalism requires that even opinion pieces published by media outlets be factually correct.
I hope Financial Post will make these changes and uphold its basic journalistic obligations in future reporting.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East