"If you are not willing to make the change, I would ask that you explain to me why you have a different standard for reporting on Russia’s war strategy than you do on Israel’s war strategy?"
March 5, 2025
Dear Mr. Petricic, Ms. Waugh and Mr. Fenlon,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) to express concern regarding the CBC News segment on March 3, 2025 that featured a report by Sasa Petricic re Israel blocking aid into Gaza.
I take issue with the CBC’s reluctance to apply the same standard in describing Israel’s use of starvation as a “weapon of war” as it did in a June 2022 article about Russian tactics, which explicitly referred to hunger as a “weapon of war.” That article’s headline, How hunger is a weapon of war in Ukraine, directly called out the tactic. In contrast, your headline on Israel’s blockade of aid to Gaza, Israel blocks aid into Gaza as ceasefire standoff escalates, downplays Israel’s flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. It also misleadingly frames the blockade as a reaction to ceasefire negotiations, rather than an independent and deliberate act of collective punishment.
The Israeli government has been clear that their move is meant to pressure Hamas into accepting a new set of ceasefire terms and that they have the support of the US government. Regardless of what Israel and the United States believe the use of starvation as a “weapon of war” is a war crime and must not be used to deprive vulnerable and innocent people in a conflict from the necessities of life.
Headlines and language are powerful in terms of framing a story or issue in the minds of the listener. At the very least I would ask that you change your headline to “Israel blocks aid into Gaza as a weapon of war”.
If you are not willing to make the change, I would ask that you explain to me why you have a different standard for reporting on Russia’s war strategy than you do on Israel’s war strategy?
Sincerely,
Debbie Hubbard
CJPME: Okanagan
Kelowna, British Columbia