"The article's framing is problematic the Associated Press absolves Israel of its responsibility for killing some of its own citizens in Gaza and obscuring an important part of this story. This context should be added, as it provides a more balanced and thorough understanding of Israel’s military invasions in Gaza. Israel’s tactics have not only been condemned by parties concerned about genocide, but also by the families of hostages concerned about their relatives being killed due to the dangerous tactics employed by Israel’s military."
June 4, 2024
To:
Julia Frankel, Journalist, The Associated Press
Julie Pace, Executive Editor, The Associated Press
Josef Federman, News Director, Jerusalem, The Associated Press
John Daniszewski, Standards Editor, The Associated Press
Donovan Vincent, Editor, Toronto Star
Dear Ms. Frankel, Ms. Pace, Mr. Federman, Mr, Vincent, and Mr. Daniszewski,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express concerns regarding your recent article: “As the Gaza hostage crisis drags on for Israel, here’s what we know”published by the Toronto Star on June 4, 2024.
I take issue with this sentence. You write:
“Of those still in captivity, Israel has pronounced 43 dead, saying their remains are being held by militants. Some are believed to have been killed during the Oct. 7 attack.”
While you do note that Hamas alleges that some Israeli hostages were killed in Israeli airstrikes, you omit one of the more significant stories related to Israel killing its own hostages. As was widely reported, on December 15, Israeli soldiers mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages. The soldiers heard cries for help and believed it might be a trick by Hamas to lure them into an ambush. Acting on this belief, they opened fire, killing the hostages. The Israeli military released its investigation results explaining that the soldiers' actions were justified given the circumstances as they perceived them at the time.
I, therefore, find your article's framing problematic as you've absolved Israel of its responsibility for killing some of its own citizens in Gaza and obscuring an important part of this story. This context should be added, as it provides a more balanced and thorough understanding of Israel’s military invasions in Gaza. Israel’s tactics have not only been condemned by parties concerned about genocide, but also by the families of hostages concerned about their relatives being killed due to the dangerous tactics employed by Israel’s military.
To maintain your journalistic responsibility for accuracy and fairness, as echoed by the CAJ, I urge you to take my edits into consideration and provide more context to readers regarding Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of Palestinians and its own hostages.
Sincerely,
Lynn Naji
Junior Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East