"To uphold Canadian standards of accuracy and fairness outlined by the Canadian Association of Journalists, I demand that you issue a formal correction addressing the existence of a Palestinian national identity, and also correct the factual misrepresentation of past statehood offers, explicitly clarifying that previous negotiations never included full sovereignty, border control, or airspace."
To the National Post editorial team,
I am writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) to express my concern regarding Mr. Black’s article “The moral bankruptcy of Carney's Israel sanctions.”Not only is this opinion piece Islamophobic and racist towards Palestinians, it contains several historical inaccuracies and misleading framing.I take issue with this paragraph:
“The Palestinians are not a distinct nationality but are essentially the Muslim and Christian Arabs of the former League of Nations Mandate taken from Ottoman territory at the end of the First World War that are not now located within Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, or the borders of Israel prior to the Six-Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur war of 1973. The notion of a Palestinian state was popularized by Arab nationalists led by Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser (1954 to 1970), in order to stir up antagonism to the State of Israel, and to distract the Arab masses from the misgovernment that was being inflicted upon almost all of them by their rulers.”Denying the existence of a Palestinian national identity is a recognized form of anti-Palestinian racism. As defined by the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association, erasing Palestinian identity, culture, and historical presence constitutes racist framing.Palestine has long existed both as a political and geographic concept — “Palestine” is not a modern invention. The placename has a rich etymology that has been extrapolated by the work of archeologists, anthropologists, and historians.
In addition, during the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem in the late Ottoman period, the area was commonly referred to as Palestine. During the British Mandate of Palestine, the term was officially revived and used to denote the territory under British administration following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The issuance of coinage, stamps, and passports bearing the name "Palestine" during this period further solidified its geographical significance. Despite the absence of a formal administrative region called Palestine under Ottoman rule, the term was widely used to describe the region inhabited by Palestinians. Indeed, the National Post has a point that the emergence of Palestine as a political identity is a more recent development, gaining momentum in the 20th century. Prior to this, the inhabitants of Palestine identified more locally, under Ottoman rule, as inhabitants of various cantons. However, with the rise of nationalism and decolonization movements, Palestinians began to assert their political identity.The UN Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947 marked a significant milestone in the political history of Palestine, envisioning the creation of an Arab state alongside a Jewish state. Although this plan was never fully realized, it laid the groundwork for aspirations of Palestinian statehood.
The establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1993 marked a crucial step towards Palestinian self-governance and statehood. Despite broad international support for the creation of a Palestinian state, obstacles remain, particularly due to the ongoing Israeli occupation and lack of recognition by certain countries.
Currently, Palestine and the Palestinians fulfill all the requirements recognized as necessary for the establishment of a nation-state. It is only Israel and US which continue to deny Palestinian self-determination
Since the Montevideo Convention of 1933, international law has traditionally required that four criteria be satisfied before the recognition of an entity as an independent sovereign state can be considered – a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to conduct international relations. All four of these criteria are satisfied by the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people.Denying this heritage, in an editorial context, misleads readers and promotes historical erasure.Second, I also take issue with this paragraph:
“The Palestinians could have had a state at any time in the last 35 years but their leaders, whether in the Palestine Liberation Organization or in Hamas, want a state that includes Israel and the return or immigration to Israel of enough Arab Muslims to be a governing majority with the declared intention of expelling, subjugating, or massacring the Jewish population, (one more time).”
The assertion that Palestinians "could have had a state at any time in the last 35 years" is demonstrably false. Major diplomatic frameworks, including the Oslo process and subsequent negotiations, never offered Palestinians a fully sovereign state. Israeli proposals consistently required retention of control over borders, airspace, electromagnetic spectrum, and security infrastructure, while mandating a demilitarized Palestinian entity. Presenting autonomy proposals lacking basic sovereign attributes as "offers of a state" is a major factual error that fails basic reporting standards.
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Media Analyst
