"An article of this sort really seems to ignore the elephant in the room, i.e. the plausible accusation of genocide against Israel. By publishing such an article, you undermine the extremely grave accusations against Israel."
February 29, 2024
To:
Mark Gollom, Reporter, CBC News
Nancy Waugh, Sr. Manager, CBC News
Dear Mark Gollom and Nancy Waugh,
I am writing to express concerns about the article: “Why Israeli claims of UN bias have ramped up since the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attacks,” published on February 24 on CBC News.
The article was deeply one-sided as it was centered around people who claim that the UN has anti-Israel biases, especially since October 7, which is concerning considering that the ICJ has ruled that Israel is plausibly committing genocide in Gaza. An article of this sort really seems to ignore the elephant in the room, i.e. the plausible accusation of genocide against Israel. By publishing such an article, you undermine the extremely grave accusations against Israel.
When will you publish an article focused on how the UN protects Israel from criticism and accountability?
The only part that tries to balance the record is the “Protected by the U.S.” part when you give voice to Daniel Levy, president of the policy institute U.S. / Middle East Project, which is at the complete end of the article.
To make your article balanced, you should have given more voice to critical perspectives.
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) ethics guidelines states, “Diversity recognizes the essential dignity and human rights of individuals who experience the world in different ways through their ethnicity, culture, religion, gender identity, political views […].” The CAJ’s guidelines state, for example, that news organizations must:
- “seek to include views from a wide cross-section of people, including those who have been historically underrepresented.”
- “encourage our organizations to make room for the interests of all: minorities and majorities; those with power and those without it; and holders of disparate and conflicting views.”
The journalism in this article clearly didn’t have a concern for diversity.
I, therefore, ask you to add more diverse critical perspectives so that your article is not predominantly engulfed with the Israeli side.
Also, another point worthy of mention is that you completely fail to mention how Israel has had a history of falsely labeling human rights organizations even before October 7.
Israel tends to categorize any (Palestinian) group that is critical of it as a terrorist group without providing any evidence. [1] [2] [3] For example, in 2021, Israel falsely designated 6 Palestinian civil society organizations: Al-Haq, Addamer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association (Addamer), Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defence for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P), the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC) as terrorist organizations. [4]
I, therefore, ask you to take into consideration the element above-mentioned when covering and reporting on claims made by Israel against human rights organizations.
I hope CBC will have a concern for diversity and take into consideration my suggestion in its future reporting on Palestine-related issues.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
[1] The Guardian, “CIA unable to corroborate Israel’s ‘terror’ label for Palestinian rights groups,” August 22, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/22/cia-report-israel-palestinian-rights-groups
[2] Al Jazeera, “Outcry as Israel labels Palestinian rights groups ‘terrorists,’” October 22, 2021, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/22/israel-palestinian-human-rights-groups-terrorism
[3] UN, “Outraged over Israel’s Designation of Six Civil Society Groups as Terrorists, Speakers Tell Palestinian Rights Committee Harassment against Human Rights Defenders Must End,” December 7, 2021, https://press.un.org/en/2021/gapal1443.doc.htm
[4] Al Haq, “Al-Haq and Five ‘Outlawed’ Organisations Send Joint Letters to UN Offices and Representatives Urging Continued International Pressure on Israel,” November 13, 2021, https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/19205.html