After a week of our sending letters to journalists in Canada asking them to improve their coverage of Elise Gravel, CBC has finally published a great article that prioritizes Gravel’s perspective and others who vouch for intellectual freedom and Palestinian liberation. Please help us give a thank you to encourage this type of reporting. Although it's one of the first articles to set the record straight on the Elise Gravel case, some constructive criticism can also be provided to make the article more informative and contextualized.
Good coverage – Media outlet to be thanked
CJPME's Media Accountability (MAP) team is particularly pleased to present this alert to our Responders. The CBC has done a number of stories about a public library in Montreal which sought to censor Quebec artist Élise Gravel's children's books. Gravel has been extremely public in her criticism of Israel's violence and human rights abuses - you can see her Instagram account here. The MAP team has sent two letters over the past two weeks criticizing the CBC's coverage, and we are finally pleased to see 1) that the CBC coverage finally gives voice to Gravel and her lawyer, and 2) that the library has backed down from its plan to censor Gravel's works.
As usual, we provide the all the usual links and suggested points below. If you can, please submit a quick response to the media, even if it’s just a sentence or two. Thanks for participating in this alert of appreciation to the CBC. Best,
Tom, on behalf of CJPME Media Accountability Project team
Title of Piece: Erika Morris: "Montreal’s Jewish Public Library puts children’s books back on shelf amid backlash."
Media Outlet: CBC News
Click here to access the piece on-line.
Comments of the CJPME Media Researcher:
(Note: Please do not copy and paste the material below as the content to your message to the media - put all comments in your own words):
After a week of our sending letters to journalists in Canada asking them to improve their coverage of Elise Gravel, CBC has finally published a great article that prioritizes Gravel’s perspective and others who vouch for intellectual freedom and Palestinian liberation. Please help us give a thank you to encourage this type of reporting. Although it's one of the first articles to set the record straight on the Elise Gravel case, some constructive criticism can also be provided to make the article more informative and contextualized.
- The article includes Gravel’s lawyer’s testimony, where he denounces the conflation of antisemitism with criticism of Israel.
- Erika Morris touches on the issue of censorship of pro-Palestinian voices, which is a critical component we have been encouraging mainstream media to include in their coverage.
- Morris includes Gravel’s own testimony, where she rejects claims of antisemitism made by pro-Israel lobby groups.
- If you’d like to present a slightly critical component to your email, you can point out that Morris could have provided more context on the actions, like the protests and petitions, that led to the library’s decision to bring Gravel’s books back onto their shelves.
Please click here to launch an email in which you can draft a response to this media coverage.
Thank you very much. Every response makes a difference.
The CJPME Media Centre Team
Email CJPME - CJPME Website