The article did a very good job at including pro-Palestinian perspectives, including giving space to demonstrator Zev Saltiel, a member of Independent Jewish Voices Montreal and Montreal Anti-Apartheid who specified that the same man approached the crowd and began directing insults at people there.
To the Montreal Gazette,
I am writing to you on behalf of Candians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East to thank you for your balanced article titled: “Montreal police investigating after man appears to threaten pro-Palestinian demonstrators, strike photographer.”
The article reports that the SPVM confirmed Thursday that its hate crimes unit is investigating the incident of the man at City Hall on Monday who was directing threats at pro-Palestinian demonstrators and who struck a photographer right outside City Hall.
The article did a very good job at including pro-Palestinian perspectives, including giving space to demonstrator Zev Saltiel, a member of Independent Jewish Voices Montreal and Montreal Anti-Apartheid who specified that the same man approached the crowd and began directing insults at people there.
However, I do have some important feedback that I would like to raise. The article fails to clarify the basis for Project Montreal’s characterization of genocide and apartheid:
“The original motion, introduced by Projet Montréal, called on Montreal to denounce what it described as “apartheid” and “genocide” in Gaza and suspend institutional ties with Israel.”
The way the sentence is framed is that it places the onus on Project Montreal by framing these conclusions as being made by the party itself. The implication is that readers might be misled into thinking that the crimes of genocide and apartheid are merely Project Montreal’s own characterizations.
However, this is not the case. The screenshot below shows parts of the motion that were amended. The motion specifically cited international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and others, that have characterized Israel’s actions as acts of genocide.
The motion also specifies that numerous human rights organizations have concluded that Israel maintains an apartheid regime against Palestinians.
We therefore ask The Gazette to amend its coverage to reflect the basis upon which terms of genocide and apartheid are used in the motion, as reflected in the language PM itself used, to provide readers with the necessary context to understand that these characterizations are not simply assertions originating from Project Montreal, but are grounded in a mountain of evidence, with every single international body affirming that Israel violates the international prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid.
Thank you again for your balanced article, for taking these concerns into consideration, and I look forward to your response.
Regards,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East