"Mujahid Abadi was not “stuck” on the hood of an Israeli army vehicle; he was shot, beaten, and tied to an Israeli army jeep. CBC News regularly repeats Israel’s claims that Hamas uses Palestinians in Gaza as ‘human shields’ without tangible evidence."
July 2, 2024
To:
Margaret Evans, Senior International Correspondent, CBC News
Perlita Stroh, Producer, The National, CBC News
Chad Paulin, Executive Producer, The National, CBC News
Dear Margaret Evans and The National team,
I’d like to express serious concern regarding one of your most recent segments, “Palestinians in Jenin refugee camp brace for more Israeli military raids,” posted on June 27, 2024.
I am particularly distraught by the following statement at minute 1:04 of this segment:
Images of the injured 23 year old, stuck on the hood of an Israeli army vehicle, have been widely condemned.
Mujahid Abadi was not “stuck” on the hood of an Israeli army vehicle; he was shot, beaten, and tied to an Israeli army jeep. CBC News regularly repeats Israel’s claims that Hamas uses Palestinians in Gaza as ‘human shields’ without tangible evidence. Here are a couple of examples:
- In a Reuters article published on November 14, 2023: “Israel says Hamas is using them as human shields, and it produced images of what appears to be an underground bunker discovered under another hospital.”
- In an article published on November 15, 2023: “Israel says Hamas ‘uses the people of Gaza as human shields’ as conflict stretches toward 2nd”
When narrating over a video of a wounded Palestinian man strapped to the hood of an Israeli army vehicle, however, the term ‘human shield’ isn’t stated once. This is unfair and demonstrates a dangerous double standard in CBC’s reporting.
Another double standard reveals itself near the end of this video segment. At minute 2:12, Margaret Evans states that one Israeli soldier was killed and 16 others were injured in Jenin. As of May 2024, more than 500 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israel since October 7, yet no Palestinian death toll is included in this video segment. The Israeli military’s pattern of murderous violence and dispossession against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank is, thus, undermined.
Please consider these points in future reporting, as it is a matter of maintaining minimum standards of good journalism.
Sincerely,
Rose Mardikian,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East