While I appreciate this inspiring story of Palestinian women’s strength and tenacity, well-timed during FIFA, which gives much-needed space for Palestinians to give their perspectives, the story is undermined by the lack of recognition of why Palestinian women are facing these challenges in the first place.
Dear Basem,
I’m writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express concern about the segment titled “The war took their limbs, soccer gave them purpose again” aired on CBC News on June 27, 2026.
The segment, while timely and important to cover, misses opportunities to attribute the cause of these Palestinian women’s amputations to Israel. First, the title of the segment omits the fact that Israel - not “war” in general - is the direct cause of these Palestinian women’s injuries. Then at 19 seconds, the segment states “It’s been almost a year since Kifah Al-Fakhoury lost her leg while inside a coffee shop targeted by an airstrike” - failing to mention it was an Israeli airstrike, which was noted explicitly by Getty Images.
Further, at 46 seconds, the segment asserts “Rozan Khaira used to be a runner before the war against Israel broke out”. This incorrectly frames the “war” as against Israel, when, in reality, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel has found that Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, and Israel currently faces charges of genocide against Palestinians at the International Court of Justice.
While I appreciate this inspiring story of Palestinian women’s strength and tenacity, well-timed during FIFA, which gives much-needed space for Palestinians to give their perspectives, the story is undermined by the lack of recognition of why Palestinian women are facing these challenges in the first place. Stating that this is a “war against Israel” is incorrect - an affront to the 73,041 fatalities and 172,402 injuries of Palestinians reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health as of June 24, 2026, compared to 1,200 reported fatalities and 4,200 reported injuries in Israel in the aftermath of October 7, 2023, and 472 fatalities and 3,004 injuries among Israeli soldiers since the start of Israel's ground operation in Gaza, as reported by the Israeli military website.
I therefore request that the CBC, at a minimum, change the title of the segment to recognize Israel’s direct role in injuring these Palestinian women. If possible, the reference to “war against Israel” should also be removed from the segment.
In future coverage, I encourage CBC to correctly attribute the role of Israel when reporting on societal and individual impacts of the genocide against Palestinians. Inspiring, positive, “good news” stories should not be immune to adhering to the standards of accuracy and fairness set out in the Canadian Association of Journalists ethics guidelines.
Sincerely,
Alison Jenkins