"Your use of “Jerusalem” to refer to the Israeli government is simply an inaccurate interpretation of the terms of the agreement. I urge you to correct this factual mistake as soon as possible."
December 2, 2024
Dear Rob Roberts, Joshua Marks, and Aileen Donnelly,
I’m writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) to express serious concerns over inaccuracies, bias and misinterpretations in your article Israel-Lebanon ceasefire takes effect, ending over a year of war written by Joshua Marks of the Jewish News Syndicate and published by the National Post on November 27, 2024.
The narrative you build throughout your article shows clear pro-Israel bias, which is inappropriate for a news piece. Your story is one-sided, relies heavily on mainly Israeli sources only, and omits important context.
1. Omission of essential context and perspectives
The first five paragraphs discussing the ceasefire deal cite Israeli and American sources only, with no mention of Hezbollah’s or Lebanon’s perspective.
However, in the sixth paragraph, when you start discussing attacks, you begin by mentioning Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel, but omit any mention of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), at least 13,608 attacks were exchanged between Israel and Hezbollah and other armed groups in Lebanon from October 7, 2023 to October 18, 2024.
About 83 percent of these attacks – 11,238 – were carried out by Israel, meaning Israel has launched more than four times as many attacks on Lebanon as Hezbollah has on Israel, which killed at least 2,318 people in Lebanon. This is basic and essential context for your readers.
Hezbollah and other armed groups were responsible for 2,370 attacks that killed at least 41 Israelis.
For fairness and balance, the National Post and the Jewish News Syndicate must include the Lebanese statement and position on the ceasefire deal. You also need to include the important context above regarding Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
2. Failure to appropriately qualify the claim that Hamas is a “terrorist group”
I’m also concerned over your categorization of Hamas as a terrorist group with no attribution. As you well know, terrorism is a word often weaponized for political gains.
The Irish Republic Army, which was fighting for the independence of Northern Ireland, was recognized as a terrorist group by the US and the UK and no longer is after Northern Ireland gained its deserved independence.
Most importantly, and as you can see in the linked map, very few countries in the world recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization. It’s mainly the US and its Western allies, which are already complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza by supplying weapons to the Israeli army and providing diplomatic cover to Israel.
While the Canadian government recognizes Hamas as a terrorist organization, it also supports Israel, a country that’s committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, according to its own former defence minister.
I urge you to attribute the categorization of Hamas as a terrorist group to specific bodies, because it certainly is not a universal stance.
3. Lack of balance due to omission of displaced Lebanese civilian figures
Your mention of the impact of the Hezbollah-Israel war on the residents in the area is also one-sided. You only mention the impact on Israeli residents, but I wish to remind you that if some 70,000 Israelis have been displaced, the UNHCR estimates over 1.2 million Lebanese to have been displaced by Israel’s attacks on Southern Lebanon and Beirut.
To give your readers an accurate understanding of the reality on the ground, the National Post and the Jewish News Syndicate are obligated to mention the above facts.
4. Misrepresentation of the ceasefire deal
Another very serious concern is your misrepresentation of the ceasefire deal between Lebanon and Israel. Your “Terms of the agreement” section in the article mentions “Jerusalem” several times in place of Israel, which appears to controversially suggest it is Israel’s capital, like Beruit is Lebanon’s.
However, despite Israeli claims to have Jerusalem as their capital, the United Nations does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over all of Jerusalem. In fact, the eastern part of Jerusalem is considered occupied under international law.
No country in the world recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with the exception of the US and Russia, the latter of which announced its recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and East Jerusalem as “the capital of the future Palestinian state.”
As of now, embassies in Israel are based in the commercial capital, Tel Aviv, although some countries have based their consulate offices in Jerusalem.
Your use of “Jerusalem” to refer to the Israeli government is simply an inaccurate interpretation of the terms of the agreement. I urge you to correct this factual mistake as soon as possible.
5. Failure to mention that the Golan Heights is occupied Syrian territory
Finally, your mention of violations of the ceasefire agreement also includes an omission that can be considered a factual error.
In this paragraph: “However, the Israeli Air Force intercepted a drone that crossed into the northern Golan Heights from the east, and another drone was shot down over the Red Sea, with no sirens sounding per protocol.”
You fail to mention that Golan Heights is occupied Syrian territory. In 1981, Israel passed the Golan Heights Law, effectively annexing the territory. However, this annexation has not been widely recognized internationally.
I look forward to your prompt response to my concerns and corrections.
Regards,
Zahraa Al-Akhrass