"To refer to them as ‘Jewish’ is misleading to the reader and inaccurate, according to the position of both the United Nations and the Canadian government. Both the United Nations and Canada consistently refer to them as Israeli settlements or Israeli settlement activity. I would ask that you consider exchanging the word ‘Jewish’ for ‘Israeli’. This change would clearly identify the role the Israeli government has had and continues to have in the creation and expansion of the settlements."
April 23, 2024
Dear Mr. Brown and Ms. Waugh,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) to thank you for and request a minor correction in the article “Why rights groups say so many Palestinians are being attacked with impunity” that was published on April 24, 2024.
Your article highlighted the many abuses that Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, particularly those living in small villages, endure. Settler attacks and violence against Palestinians are not new. During my time as a human rights observer in 2014-2015, I reported on many incidences of setter attacks – damage to a mosque, uprooting of olive trees, attacks on Palestinian children as they walk to school, etc. What is new, as your article reported, is the ‘integration’ of the settlers into the Israeli security forces and the increase in settler violence since October 7.
I especially appreciated that you interviewed and named some of the Palestinians who have endured these settler attacks. They are not numbers. They are people trying to live in a situation that is totally unimaginable for most of us in Canada. Please continue to publish articles that provide a factual and humane account of what is happening in the West Bank.
The minor correction I request is the following: When you refer to the settlements, you refer to them as ‘Jewish settlements.’ The inhabitants of the settlements are indeed Jewish. However, they are there because successive Israeli governments since 1967 have permitted the establishment of the settlements. To refer to them as ‘Jewish’ is misleading to the reader and inaccurate, according to the position of both the United Nations and the Canadian government. Both the United Nations and Canada consistently refer to them as Israeli settlements or Israeli settlement activity. I would ask that you consider exchanging the word ‘Jewish’ for ‘Israeli’. This change would clearly identify the role the Israeli government has had and continues to have in the creation and expansion of the settlements.
I hope CBC News will make this minor change as it would reflect the principle of accuracy that is identified in CBC’s Journalistic Standards.
Sincerely,
Debbie Hubbard