"It would be more appropriate and accurate to refer to the “shadowy military facility” as a detention center or to use its actual name: Sde Teiman detention facility."
July 30, 2024
To:
Sam McNeil, Video Journalist, AP
Samy Magdy, Reporter, AP
Lee Keath, Middle East Enterprise Editor, AP
Josef Federman, News Director, Jerusalem, AP
Dear Sam McNeil, Samy Magdy, Lee Keath, and Josef Federman,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express our concerns regarding the article: “Israeli military detains 9 soldiers over alleged abuse of a detainee at a shadowy military facility,” published on July 30, on AP.
While there are a lot of issues in your article, such as not raising skepticism on Israeli claims, I mostly want to focus on how the protest that followed the arrest of nine Israeli soldiers accused of rape on a Palestinian detainee was reported and covered.
First, it would be more appropriate and accurate to refer to the “shadowy military facility” as a detention center or to use its actual name: Sde Teiman detention facility.
In early May, CNN published an investigation titled “Strapped down, blindfolded, held in diapers: Israeli whistleblowers detail abuse of Palestinians in shadowy detention center.” The “shadowy military facility” you refer to is part of the “infrastructure of Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law, an amended legislation…that expanded the military’s authority to detain suspected militants.” Whistleblowers have detailed human rights violations, including doctors amputating prisoners’ limbs due to injuries sustained from constant handcuffing, wounds left to rot, and captives being strapped to their beds and fed through straws.
This is not a “shadowy military facility,” it is a torture center, and you refusing to accurately describe it or refer to its name downplays Israel’s crimes.
Please change “shadowy military facility” from your article and replace it with “torture camp” or, at the very least, “detention center.”
Second, you never explicitly mention the allegations against the nine soldiers. You use the words “substantial abuse” to gloss over their grave, immoral, and illegal actions. The Israeli soldiers are suspected of raping a Palestinian detainee. Please update your article to not conceal Israel’s crimes.
Third, it is concerning that you would describe people who are masked and carry guns as “protesters” when they are far-right extremists. Please update your article to portray Israeli society accurately.
Fourth, a lot of details are left out of this article, which contributes to not fairly and accurately depicting the events and their controversial nature:
- Members of parliament and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu joined the protest and stormed the facility
- The detainee is suffering from “a serious wound in his rectum area.”
- Protests in solidarity with the nine soldiers were called across Israel
- 1200 Israelis joined the call
- Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described the nine soldiers as “heroic warriors.”
- National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called the nine soldiers “best heroes” and described the arrests as “shameful.”
- On 15 July, Israel's High Court issued an order to close Sde Teiman in response to the reports of abuse
Please include more details on the events to not cover up Israel’s alarming conduct. This is a glaring double standard, as you don’t shy away from demonizing Hamas for its alleged crimes.
I hope AP will make these changes and accurately report Israel’s actions.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East