I encourage The Star and the Associated Press to continue to draw attention to issues that are often sidelined in mainstream media, and to highlight Palestinian voices and perspectives.
To the Toronto Star and Associated Press,
I’m writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to provide feedback on the article “Israeli rights groups report a surge of Palestinian inmates being shot with rubber bullets” published today.
The article should be commended for highlighting the serious and distressing issue of Israel’s ongoing cruel, inhuman treatment of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
However, in drawing solely on Israel-based sources, the article missed an opportunity to highlight the work of Palestinian organizations such as Adameer (Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association) and the Palestinian Prisoner Society, as well as numerous UN reports, including most recently “Torture and genocide – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967”.
While the piece states that “Israeli forces rounded up” Palestinians, it fails to mention that a large proportion are held by Israel under indefinite administrative detention - a system that allows Israel to detain Palestinians for renewable six-month periods based on undisclosed evidence. Some have been held for years without ever knowing the accusations against them, without facing formal criminal charges, or being brought to trial.
I encourage The Star and the Associated Press to continue to draw attention to issues that are often sidelined in mainstream media, and to highlight Palestinian voices and perspectives.
Sincerely,
Alison Jenkins