The article morally defends Israel, suggesting that while Israel “could have incorporated all Palestinian territory long ago,” it hasn’t. Israel has belligerently occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since June 1967, threatening to annex it several times in recent years. Claiming that a colonial Israel is morally defensible because it has not entirely annexed Palestine is outrageous.
Poor coverage - Media outlet to be critiqued
A CJPME Media Researcher has launched a media alert for the following article. Please submit a quick response to the media, even if it’s just a sentence or two:
Title of Piece: Steven Harper: “Israel’s war is just, Hamas must surrender or be eliminated.”
Media Outlet: National Post
Click here to access the piece on-line. If the article is behind a media paywall, click here to view the article in .pdf format.
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):
Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper often writes highly offensive articles in staunch, almost blind, support of Israel, its propaganda, and its ongoing genocide of Palestinians. Authors of op-eds in the National Post are not held to the same standards as news stories, so we don’t expect the National Post to force Harper to “change” anything in his op-ed. However, we encourage you to send a letter to this hate-filled opinion piece about Israel’s war on Gaza to signal to the National Post that publishing these pieces is unpopular, racist, and anti-Palestinian. Since we’ve included the email for submitting letters to the editor, you may consider writing your letter such that it could be published in the letters section. National Post asks for letters of no more than 200 words. Feel free to choose to respond to one or two of the op-ed’s assertions below or choose your own angle.
- Harper implies that “peace” or a “two-state solution” has not manifested because of Palestinian opposition and insists that Israel is not the main barrier to peace.
- The article morally defends Israel, suggesting that while Israel “could have incorporated all Palestinian territory long ago,” it hasn’t. Israel has belligerently occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since June 1967, threatening to annex it several times in recent years. Claiming that a colonial Israel is morally defensible because it has not entirely annexed Palestine is outrageous.
- Harper writes his article based on the assumption that the ideologies associated with Hamas are formed in isolation from Israel’s ongoing dispossession and oppression of Palestinians.
- The article continuously conflates the suffering of Israelis and Palestinians. Harper thus obfuscates Israel’s highly disproportionate share of the killing since October 7th.
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
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