"As a public broadcaster, Global News has a duty to provide fair, accurate, and thorough reporting. Reducing the suffering of Palestinian civilians to footnotes for your news anchor while whitewashing Israeli narratives betrays this responsibility. The situations in Gaza and the West Bank demand nuanced and extensive coverage."
January 23, 2025
To:
CFPL-AM (Global News Radio London 980) London
Dead Global News London newsroom,
I am writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East to raise concern regarding your recent broadcast where you briefly mention the situation in the West Bank and Gaza. For context this was aired Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at 4 am.
The broadcast failed to provide essential context about the impact on Palestinian civilians and communities by Israel’s siege on Jenin and raids in the West Bank. The segment also described the October 7th attack as “the deadliest on Israel in its history” without mentioning the devastating Palestinian death toll in Gaza or the condemnation of Israel’s actions as genocide by human rights groups. This exclusion dehumanizes Palestinians who have been suffering for the past 15 months. Over 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza were killed in Israel, 70 per cent of which are women and children civilians, which is considerably deadlier than the attacks on Israel and needs to be included whenever reporting on this deadly siege by Israel.
When discussing Israel's operations in the West Bank, your report claimed they “target militants.” However, the segment overlooked the challenges faced by emergency services and civilians, such as restricted access for ambulances, disruptions to water supplies, and the broader impact on families and neighborhoods due to these Israeli raids. The broadcast failed to mention the UN’s estimate that at least 2,000 families have been forcibly displaced in Jenin during these brutal attacks as well.
There was no acknowledgement of the destruction of infrastructure, including homes and public spaces, caused by the Israeli raids. Additionally, the segment uncritically repeated the Israeli military’s narrative of a “significant broad operation” without questioning its proportionality or compliance with international law. To be clear, this is a siege on the Jenin camp.
This is also a major double standard on the part of your newsroom. Imagine describing Russia's actions in Ukraine using Kremlin terminology such as using the term “special military operation” instead of “war” It would rightly be condemned as irresponsible. The same standard should be applied to Palestinians in the West Bank.
The broadcast also neglected to include reports of rising settler violence, such as attacks on Palestinians near Hebron, which have escalated alongside military operations. Also, the segment entirely excluded Palestinian perspectives and whitewashes Israel's actions without scrutiny.
As a public broadcaster, Global News has a duty to provide fair, accurate, and thorough reporting. Reducing the suffering of Palestinian civilians to footnotes for your news anchor while whitewashing Israeli narratives betrays this responsibility. The situations in Gaza and the West Bank demand nuanced and extensive coverage.
Given your failure to provide balanced reporting that critically examines claims made by the Israeli military and include Palestinian voices, I have no choice but to prompt a formal complaint to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC).
Anthony Issa
Media Analyst
CJPME