"You report that the Palestinian death toll is “according to” the Health Ministry in Gaza but subsequently state the Israeli death toll without acknowledging the entity that has reported this information. For the sake of reporting these death tolls in the same manner, please specify that 1,200 Israelis have been killed according to Israel or remove 'according to reports from the Health Ministry in Gaza this week'."
February 14, 2024
To:
Robert Williams, Reporter, Waterloo Chronicle
Robyn Wilkinson, Managing Editor, Waterloo Chronicle
Dear Mr. Williams,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East to express concern regarding a recent article titled “Palestinian students speak out on ‘disturbing trend’ of discrimination,” published on February 13 in the Waterloo Chronicle.
While I am glad that you are reporting on anti-Palestinian racism (APR), I am afraid that your article exhibits APR. About halfway through your article, you state that the following:
The overall Palestinian death toll from the war in Gaza has now surpassed 28,000, according to reports from the Health Ministry in Gaza this week. This comes after Hamas militants killed about 1,200 Israelis and foreigners on Oct. 7, and abducted around 250 people, mostly civilians.
The ACLA definition of APR describes it as “a form of anti-Arab racism that […] dehumanizes Palestinians…” Your use of the passive voice to represent the number of Palestinians who have been killed (“Palestinian death toll”) yet active language (“Hamas militants killed”) for those who were killed on Oct. 7 is a clear example of the dehumanization of Palestinians.
Other aspects of this paragraph dehumanize Palestinians and fail to reflect the power asymmetry of Israel’s war on Gaza. The Palestinian death toll has been climbing incessantly, not because of an ambiguous “war in Gaza,” but because of Israel’s one-sided aerial and ground military campaign in Gaza. I recommend you edit this sentence to: Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, according to reports from the Health Ministry in Gaza this week.
Second, you report that the Palestinian death toll is “according to” the Health Ministry in Gaza but subsequently state the Israeli death toll without acknowledging the entity that has reported this information. For the sake of reporting these death tolls in the same manner, please specify that 1,200 Israelis have been killed according to Israel or remove “according to reports from the Health Ministry in Gaza this week.”
In the seventh paragraph of your article, you write that “since the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict began in October, the Coalition of Muslim Women of K-W has been documenting the rise in specific anti-Palestine racism in the school board.” The “latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict” did not begin in October, as the Gaza Strip has been blockaded and occupied by Israel for 17 years, and Palestinians suffered under Israeli apartheid and dispossession for decades.Even so, referring to recent events as a “conflict” falsely implies a power symmetry between the two parties involved. Further, it obfuscates Israel’s highly disproportionate share of the killing since Oct. 7. To make this sentence more accurate, perhaps you can write: “Since Oct. 7, the Coalition of Muslim Women of K-W…”
All this said, I appreciate your willingness to cover anti-Palestinian racism and its effects on students/staff in Waterloo. I hope you will continue prioritizing these Palestinian perspectives and narratives in future reporting.
Thank you for promptly making the edits mentioned above.
Sincerely,
Rose Mardikian,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East