The Commission report conducted investigations in relation to war crimes committed by Palestinian groups, therefore the piece requires a correction. In opinion writing, columnists are expected to adhere to basic journalistic standards of factual accuracy. This opinion clearly breaches this journalistic standard.
To the National Post,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East regarding the opinion piece titled: “A Nobel Peace Prize for defending rapists and murderers.”
The opinion’s subheading reads: “Navi Pillay has spent her career obsessed with Israel, while ignoring the atrocities of Hamas.” This is factually incorrect and a misleading characterization of Pillay’s work.
Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel, explicitly stated that the Commission conducted two parallel investigations:
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First, into attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Israel on 7 and 8 October;
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And second, into Israeli military operations and attacks in Gaza between 7 October and 31 December.
More specifically, in relation to the attack of 7 October 2023 in Israel, the Commission found that “Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups were responsible for the war crimes of intentionally directing attacks against civilians, murder or wilful killing, torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, destroying or seizing the property of an adversary, outrages upon personal dignity, and taking hostages.”
The Commission report conducted investigations in relation to war crimes committed by Palestinian groups, therefore the piece requires a correction. In opinion writing, columnists are expected to adhere to basic journalistic standards of factual accuracy. This opinion clearly breaches this journalistic standard.
If the National Post does not issue a correction, we have no choice but to file a complaint with the appropriate body of accountability.
Media Analyst. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East