"Your article partakes in undermining how controversial and racist her comments were by using the words: “pre-1948 Israel.” The land to which you are referring is Palestine, both from a modern-day perspective and a historical perspective. By describing this territory as “pre-1948 Israel,” you are erasing the history of Palestinians and their land and, therefore, reinforcing Robinson’s harmful anti-Palestinian comments."
March 7, 2024
To:
Lauren Collins, Provincial Multimedia Journalist, Victoria News
Wolfgang Depner, Legislative Reporter, Victoria News
Katherine Engqvist, Managing Editor, Greater Victoria, Victoria News
Dear Lauren Collins, Wolfgang Depner, and Katherine Engqvist,
I am writing to express concerns about the article: “BREAKING: Selina Robinson quits BC NDP caucus,” published on March 7 on Victoria News.
While this article is about MLA Selina Robinson quitting the NDP caucus because she claims there is antisemitism and a ‘double standard’ in the party, the article failed to highlight how controversial and racist her comments were, which led to her party rightly asking her to resign.
You write: “After she called pre-1948 Israel a “crappy piece of land with nothing on it.””
Your article partakes in undermining how controversial and racist her comments were by using the words: “pre-1948 Israel.” The land to which you are referring is Palestine, both from a modern-day perspective and a historical perspective. By describing this territory as “pre-1948 Israel,” you are erasing the history of Palestinians and their land and, therefore, reinforcing Robinson’s harmful anti-Palestinian comments.
Please replace “pre-1948 Israel” with “Palestine” so that your readers know better what led to her resignation.
Is it your editorial position to never use the word Palestine? If so, why?
Further, your article fails to outline how and why her comments are particularly racist and harmful. It would be helpful for readers to understand that the idea of “Terra Nullius” was used to justify the ethnic cleansing of Indigenous peoples. Her claim that the land was “crappy” and had “nothing on it” perpetuates a key feature of Zionist political discourse: asserting that Palestine was a “land without a People for a People without a Land” and, therefore, ideal for the creation of the state of Israel.
I, therefore, suggest adding this information to your article, as it helps further contextualize how Robinson’s comments are anti-Palestinian.
Finally, you could have mentioned that her comments were racist and given space to Palestinian voices. Not giving voice to Palestinians again undermines how problematic her comments were and is a form of anti-Palestinian racism (APR) in itself since it silences, excludes, and erases Palestinians and their narratives.
Please specify that Selina Robinson’s comments are a form of APR and add Palestinian voices.
I hope Victoria News will make these changes and consider my suggestions when reporting on anti-Palestinian racism.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East