"These kinds of exclusions when repeated become dehumanizing, as the implicit message is that Palestinian and Lebanese civilians who are victims of Israeli attacks don’t matter and can be ignored. Meanwhile, Israeli deaths are more deserving of coverage, needing more focus and emotional weight."
October 4, 2024
To:
Cassandra Yanez-Leyton, Journalist, CBC
Nancy Waugh, Managing Editor, CBC News
Brodie Fenlon, News Editor-in-Chief, CBC News
Dear Ms. Yanez-Leyton, Ms. Waugh, and Mr. Fenlon,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) to express my concern regarding your article, “Jewish Montrealers enter high holidays with increased security at synagogues,” published on October 3, 2024.
I take issue with the article’s reporting on the death toll in the fifth paragraph, which reads:
“(…) when Hamas launched an attack in southern Israel, killing over 1,000 people and taking some 250 hostages to the Gaza Strip.”
The significant death toll of Palestinians and Lebanese civilians that have occurred as a direct result of Israel’s military aggression on both occupied Palestine and Lebanon are completely omitted. These kinds of exclusions when repeated become dehumanizing, as the implicit message is that Palestinian and Lebanese civilians who are victims of Israeli attacks don’t matter and can be ignored. Meanwhile, Israeli deaths are more deserving of coverage, needing more focus and emotional weight.
I demand the CBC revise the article to include the number of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians killed in this conflict as expected of your Journalistic standards of fairness and impartiality, as laid out in the CBC’s Journalistic Standards and Practices.
I urge you to consider these points and ensure that future reporting is more balanced and inclusive.
Sincerely,
Anthony Issa
Media Analyst
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East