2023-10-13 CBC affirms that referring to the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria” is a violation of standards
On October 13, 2023, CJPME received confirmation from senior CBC staff that a CBC host’s reference to the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria” was a violation of their style guidelines. CBC informed us that they reinforced this position with their programming team after receiving our complaint.
The issue occurred during an October 10 interview on CBC Radio’s Breakaway.
“Judea and Samaria” is the language commonly employed to diminish Palestinians’ claim to their land. Serious media outlets do not use it, nor do the vast majority of the international community.
We are relieved that CBC is taking the appropriate steps to prevent such one-sided language from occurring again.
2023-10-11 – Radio-Canada corrects article about Gaza following CJPME letter
On October 11, 2023, Radio-Canada published an article online: «La bande de Gaza en cartes et en chiffres» (the Gaza Strip in maps and figures) that contained important errors. Following a CJPME letter, Radio-Canada agreed to correct them.
The journalist, Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski, wrote:
« Avant 1918, la bande de Gaza faisait partie de l'Empire ottoman. Elle a ensuite été occupée par la Grande-Bretagne de 1918 à 1948, puis par l'Égypte de 1948 à 1967. » (Before 1918, the Gaza Strip was part of the Ottoman Empire. It was then occupied by Great Britain from 1918 to 1948, then by Egypt from 1948 to 1967.)
In response to this inaccurate fact, CJPME wrote (English follows):
Or, ce n’est pas vrai. Avant 1948, la bande de Gaza n’existait pas. Il est impossible de trouver une telle région sur une carte géographique avant 1948.
Tel qu’écrit dans un article du Devoir, publié hier, 10 octobre, « au moins 700 000 Arabes, et davantage selon les sources, sont expulsés de chez eux », un processus découlant de la création de l’État d’Israël en 1948. En résultat, la réalité démographique et territoriale qu’on appelle la bande de Gaza a été créée en 1948 et pas avant.
Ainsi, nous vous suggérons cette formulation à la place : « Avant 1918, le territoire qui figure dans l’actuelle bande de Gaza faisait partie de l’Empire ottoman. Elle a ensuite été occupée par la Grande-Bretagne de 1918 à 1948, puis par l’Égypte de 1948 à 1967. Depuis 1948, la plupart de la population de la bande de Gaza est réfugiée palestinienne déplacée du territoire qui est devenu aujourd’hui Israël. »
Une référence quelconque aux réfugiés palestiniens est absolument nécessaire.
(But this is not true. Before 1948, the Gaza Strip did not exist. It's impossible to find such an area on a map before 1948.
As written in an article in Le Devoir, published yesterday, October 10, "at least 700,000 Arabs, and more depending on the source, are being expelled from their homes", a process resulting from the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. As a result, the demographic and territorial reality known as the Gaza Strip was created in 1948, not before.
We therefore suggest this wording instead: "Prior to 1918, the territory that comprises the present-day Gaza Strip was part of the Ottoman Empire. It was then occupied by Great Britain from 1918 to 1948, then by Egypt from 1948 to 1967. Since 1948, most of the population of the Gaza Strip has been displaced Palestinian refugees from the territory that is now Israel."
Any reference to Palestinian refugees is absolutely essential.)
The journalist corrected the sentence the same day, October 11, and added a precision box to explain why the previous sentence was incorrect. This is the correction:
Avant 1918, le territoire de l’actuelle bande de Gaza faisait partie de l’Empire ottoman. Ce territoire a ensuite été occupé par la Grande-Bretagne de 1918 à 1948, puis par l’Égypte de 1948 à 1967. La plupart des habitants de la bande de Gaza sont des descendants des réfugiés de la guerre de 1948, qui ont été déplacés du territoire qui est devenu Israël. (Before 1918, the territory of the present-day Gaza Strip was part of the Ottoman Empire. It was then occupied by Great Britain from 1918 to 1948, and by Egypt from 1948 to 1967. Most of the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip are descendants of refugees from the 1948 war, who were displaced from the territory that became Israel.)
Given that Radio-Canada is one of Quebec's most well-respected and cited media, this is an important correction. CJPME is dedicated to holding media to account during the ongoing avalanche of misinformation related to the 2023 Gaza-Israel Conflict.
2023-10-06 – Three newspapers publish CJPME letter challenging one-sided coverage of Gaza protests
On October 6, 2023, The Welland Tribune, Niagara Falls Review and St. Catharines Standard of Ontario all published a letter from CJPME’s Jason Toney in response to an article written by Issam Adwan of the Associated Press, “Israel reopens the main Gaza crossing for Palestinian laborers after days of rising tensions.” Amidst Gaza’s protests, Adwan writes:
Palestinian demonstrators have thrown explosives and rocks and launched incendiary balloons that have sparked fires in Israeli farmland.
In response to this one-sided description, Toney writes:
It’s unfair that Canadian media’s coverage of Palestine-Israel tends to portray Palestinians as responsible, almost like a reflex.
The violence between the two sides is profoundly asymmetrical.
Israel is one of the world’s most powerful militaries — according to the United Nations, 65 per cent of Gazans live below the poverty line. Israel has repeatedly closed the borders to Gaza in response to protests, preventing Palestinian workers from getting to their jobs and worsening the economic situation.
Despite these facts, Israeli military forces are still portrayed as defending themselves.
Canadian readers deserve more balance and fairness in the coverage of these events. It’s not the fault of any particular outlet or the result of a conspiracy; it is a problem that requires constant assessment and improvement. What is happening in Gaza today, and the coverage therein, represents a long-standing problem that will take some honesty and courage to fix.
Letters to the editor remain a valuable tool in CJPME’s continuous effort to challenge the negative trends in Canada’s media coverage of Palestine.
2023-10-04 – The Globe and Mail publishes CJPME letter rebutting whitewashed column on extrajudicial assassinations
On October 4, 2023, The Globe and Mail published a letter from CJPME’s Jason Toney in response to an article written by columnist Andrew Coyne, ”No, India killing a Canadian is not ‘just like’ America killing bin Laden.”
Coyne’s op-ed argued that when evaluating the morality of extrajudicial assassinations, one should consider three factors:
- “What kind of state is the actor;”
- “What kind of state is being acted upon,”
- And “What kind of individual is involved.”
For Coyne, states can be split into straightforward categories: the “good guys” (US, Israel, Canada, etc.) and everyone else. He writes, “Israel has assassinated those it holds responsible for the murder of Israeli citizens,” and describes a questionable moral framework that would indicate that Israel acted morally in such cases.
While it’s disappointing that such a whitewashed, simplistic argument could be published in one of Canada’s most-read newspapers, Mr. Coyne is a regular voice in mainstream Canadian media. CJPME is proud to be published in Globe and Mail pushing back against such a flawed and dangerous narrative.
The Globe’s version of Jason Toney’s letter reads:
“Context matters.”
Columnist Andrew Coyne’s tripartite standard for judging the morality of extrajudicial killing is to assess “what kind of state” is doing the murdering and where the killing is happening, then consider “what kind of individual” is being killed.
We (Canada, the United States and Israel – Mr. Coyne’s examples) are the objective “good guys,” and others are not. This is just how it is, he writes, and anything else is mere moral relativizing or an “undergraduate” desire to be contrarian.
When Mr. Coyne considers the above, “there is simply no comparison” between the good guys and the others. But why compare? He warns against tu quoque, or whataboutism, while seeming to play a twisted version of the game himself.
Why overlook and whitewash the despicable actions of the “good guys?”
Jason Toney Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East; Montreal
You can also read the letter online or in the October 4 edition of Globe and Mail.
2023-10-03 – Journal de Montréal corrects false claim about West Bank following CJPME complaint
On October 2, 2023, Journal de Montréal published an article by Rosalie F. Choquette. The article was centered around Jericho and Tell es-Sultan’s addition to the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Journal de Montréal wrote: « L’ancienne Jéricho se situe dans la vallée du Jourdain, une région bordée par la Cisjordanie … » (Ancient Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, a region bordering the West Bank…)
CJPME complained that the Jordan Valley is not bordered by the West Bank, but is part of the West Bank.
Following CJPME’s letter, the following correction was made in the article: “Ancient Jericho lies in the Jordan Valley, a region of the West Bank...” (L’ancienne Jéricho se situe dans la vallée du Jourdain, une région de la Cisjordanie …)
To read CJPME’s original letter of concern, click here.
2023-09-29 – SaltWire improves description of West Bank casualty figures
On September 29, 2023, SaltWire news service showed continued improvement in describing the causes of violence in the occupied West Bank. Where this news service had previously listed the causes of violence in an order inverse to their significance, they have corrected this.
The previous description read as follows:
The West Bank has seen a wave of violence over the past 18 months, with a series of deadly attacks by Palestinians on Israelis, brazen attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinian towns and villages and stepped up raids by the Israeli military.
The new description, after CJPME efforts, reads:
Violence in the West Bank has raged for more than a year, amid stepped-up Israeli military raids, increased settler assaults on Palestinian villages, and a spate of Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
That last phrase still requires serious improvement. Our work continues!
2023-09-29 – The Boissevain Recorder publishes CJPME letter challenging suspect claim about UNRWA
On September 29, 2023, The Boissevain Recorder of Manitoba published a letter from CJPME’s Jason Toney in response to an article written by Paul Rayner, ”Blind Leading the Blind.” Amidst Rayner’s sweeping critique of the United Nations, he writes:
Organizations like UNWRA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East], which was set up to help Palestinian refugees, worked to keep the Middle East conflict alive so they could keep collecting salaries.
In response to the suspect claim, Toney writes:
Where’s the evidence?
Certain critics have commented that UNRWA ‘perpetuates the conflict’ in the past decades, but the argument has no teeth. UNRWA, founded in 1949, is a humanitarian relief agency with a mandate provided by the United Nations General Assembly. Its budget is spent on education, health care, and general support services for Palestinian refugees and their descendants.
UNRWA is mandated to exist until a just and durable solution is found for Palestinians. It does not have a specific prescription of what a solution should look like.
If Rayner and his rhetorical allies mean that UNRWA perpetuates the conflict by literally keeping thousands, if not millions, of Palestinians alive, then sure, the argument stands — but I sense that is not the author’s point.
The print version of the letter is available in the September 29 edition of The Recorder.
2023-09-07 – The Hill Times features CJPME article on Canadian anti-apartheid opinion poll
On September 6, 2023, The Hill Times published an op-ed from CJPME's Thomas Woodley discussing new anti-apartheid survey data in Canada. Woodley writes:
EKOS survey results published by my organization, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) this week, show that many Canadians have an extremely dim view of Israeli democracy. The largest number of survey respondents (27%) agreed with the view that Israel is “a state with segregation similar to apartheid,” while only the smallest group (8%) views Israel as a “vibrant democracy.” . . .
When you exclude those who responded, “I don’t know,” the numbers are even more damning for Israel. 38 percent of Canadians consider Israel an apartheid state – more than three times the number (11%) who consider Israel a vibrant democracy. Of the remainder, 20% consider Israel a “state with restricted minority rights,” and 31% a “flawed democracy.”
For anyone bothering to look closely at what Israel is doing to Palestinians, these numbers should not be a surprise
2023-08-29 – Chronicle-Journal Publishes CJPME Letter Calling Out Erasure of Palestinians in New Film
On August 29, 2023, the Chronicle-Journal published a letter from CJPME’s Mohamed Khalef in response to a film review by Mark Kennedy of the new film Golda, about former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. Khalef’s letter was published in the August 29 print edition. Khalef writes:
In Mark Kennedy’s critique of “Golda” in which Helen Mirren plays the role of Golda Meir, Israel’s fourth prime minister, he takes issue with directorial and artistic decisions, yet couldn’t care enough to mention the massive omissions of a key topic, Meir’s treatment of the Palestinian people, and the fact that the word “Palestinian” was not even uttered once throughout the entire movie.
Meir’s tenure as prime minister of Israel was marked by hostility and racism towards the Palestinian people. Her infamous quote, “The were no such thing as Palestinians”, basically an attempted erasure of an entire nation, was a direct insight into her denialist view of what had happened to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were forcibly uprooted and expelled from their homes through violence, mass arrests and in some cases even massacres at the hand of the newly formed Israeli militias, for whom Meir had a hand in raising millions of dollars in foreign funding.
Why is there no mention of this aspect of her legacy? Perhaps if Kennedy paid half as much attention to her legacy in which thousands of Palestinians were dispossessed or murdered, rather than his criticism of the director’s decision to include too many scenes in which she (Meir) smokes cigarettes, his argument and critique of the movie would have actually been based on the omission of key historical events that led to the deaths and dispossession of thousands, rather than the anxious smoking habit of a racist prime minister.
2023-08-23 – The Hill Times interviews CJPME about Canada’s attempts to block an ICJ opinion on Israel’s occupation
On August 23, 2023, CJPME Vice President Michael Bueckert was interviewed by Neil Moss of the Hill Times about Canada’s opposition to the pending legal advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice regarding the legality of Israel’s occupation.
“‘Canada has decided that its role is to support Israel in blocking or shutting down these attempts,’ [Bueckert] said. ‘It’s absolutely an embarrassment to Canada that this is the approach that Canada has taken. It’s really unfortunate and hypocritical given Canada’s strong support for international law, in other cases such as Russia and Ukraine.’… ‘The contradictions are just becoming so clear between the reality on the ground and Canada’s response to it,’ Bueckert said.”
To read the full article, click here or pick up a physical copy of the August 23 edition of the Hill Times.
2023-08-23 – The CBC republishes interview with Halifax-based Palestinian advocate following CJPME campaign
On August 22, 2023, the CBC’s Information Morning, a Radio One program based in Halifax, aired an interview with Yara Jamal of Free Palestine Halifax about a new book club on Palestine. The segment was subsequently posted on the CBC’s national website, as well as Information Morning’s webpage. However, hours later, CJPME learned that the segment had been unpublished, a grave violation of CBC’s own policies.
CJPME is proud to report that following a formal letter of complaint, as well as multiple letters of concern submitted by MAP Media Responders, the CBC republished the segment online.
During the interview, Jamal spoke powerfully about the political importance of the book club, her identity as a Palestinian, and Israel’s apartheid policies. Here is an excerpt:
“The more people know about Palestine, the more I feel like I have done something. If I can reach one person, one person can be someone else. I've done my part — I've done my duty as a Palestinian as long as people continue to talk about Palestine, so it's not forgotten, not just by Palestinians, not just by Middle Easterners or Muslims or whatever- as long as Palestine is a topic of discussion….
“Honestly, just open up your hearts. There are kids involved, whether it's Israeli children or Palestinian children- it doesn't matter, those are children who are involved.
“Also, use the resources that you're so privileged to have — whether it's social media, the internet, the news, whatever it is because reputable human rights organizations have called it apartheid. So those are not my words.”
CJPME believes this is a major victory in holding the media to account.
To listen to the segment, click here.
To read CJPME’s formal complaint, click here.
2023-08-23 – Toronto Star removes problematic photographs from article following CJPME complaint
On August 22, 2023, the Toronto Star published an article written by Isabel Debre of the Associated Press. The article was centered on the death of a 17-year-old Palestinian who was shot and killed by Israeli forces during a military raid in Zababdeh, south of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
Despite the article being focused on the death of a Palestinian child, the photographs at the top of the article featured five images of mourning Israeli settlers.
CJPME complained:
“The image is totally unsuited to the story. The result is confusing: the headline refers to a Palestinian killed, while the photograph features a scene from an illegal Israeli settlement….
“Just the same, by your account, Israeli assaults on Palestinians are now escalating on the pretext of ‘defending’ or ‘avenging’ settlements that have been imposed on the West Bank in flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Your photograph – with its caption about the pain that Palestinian culprits have inflicted on ‘the West Bank Jewish settlement of Kfar Etzion’ – aligns your coverage with the narrative of the Israeli attackers.”
Following CJPME’s letter, the photographs were removed from the article entirely on the Toronto Star website.
To read CJPME’s original letter of concern, click here.
2023-08-18 – The Whitehorse Daily Star publishes CJPME letter challenging idea that Israel is a democracy
On August 18, 2023, The Whitehorse Daily Star published a letter by CJPME’s Mohamed Khalaf in response to an article by Gwynne Dyer titled “Israel: has it reached the end of democracy?” Khalaf argued that the premise of the article was flawed, as Israel cannot be properly described as a democracy at all. Khalaf’s letter was featured in the August 18 print edition. He wrote:
The entire premise of Gwynne Dyer’s article “Israel: has it reached the end of democracy?” is based on the idea that Israel has always been a fair and representative democracy. Israel cannot be considered a democracy as long as millions of Palestinians live under Israeli rule as subjects of military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza. To them, Israel is a belligerent occupier which frequently attacks refugee camps, towns and cities, and allows extremist, armed settlers to attack Palestinians with impunity.
This is also the emerging consensus with human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem and Amnesty International who argue that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid.
If Israel is to be considered a democracy, then it is a selective one at best, serving foremost the interests of its Jewish citizens, and purposely neglecting or repressing all others. We must address the elephant in the room and stop labeling Israel a democracy due to its oppressive treatment of millions of Palestinians across all areas under its control, and name it for what it truly is: an oppressive, apartheid regime.
2023-08-11 – CBC makes on-air clarification to mention Palestinian children killed in Israeli attack
August 11, 2023, CBC informed CJPME that it had made an on-air correction following a letter that identified a factual error during a July 5 broadcast on Canada Tonight with Dwight Drummond. The report failed to identify the Palestinian children that had been killed during Israel’s assault on the Jenin refugee camp and referred to them simply as militants.
CBC updated its “Corrections and clarifications” webpage to announce the correction that had been made on-air on July 7. The CBC statement reads:
“On July 5, 2023, the program Canada Tonight with Dwight Drummond reported on funerals for Palestinian militants who were killed during an Israeli military raid on a refugee camp in Jenin. In fact, the Palestinian Health Ministry said the dead included a 16-year-old boy and two 17-year-olds. A clarification was broadcast on July 7 to add their ages and include attribution for that information.”
While CJPME is disappointed by CBC’s lengthy delay in informing us of the change, we applaud its commitment to transparency and publishing this information. CJPME also notes that according to Palestinian NGO Defence for Children International – Palestine (DCIP), Israel killed four children during its military assault on the Jenin refugee camp, not three as the CBC had reported.
To read CJPME’s original letter of concern, click here.
2023-07-14 - 7 Canadian media outlets correct headline and article to identify Israeli killed as a “soldier”
On July 14, 2023, CJPME confirmed that 7 Canadian media outlets corrected their articles following its complaints. A widely circulated Associated Press article published on July 6 contained an erroneous headline that read: “A Palestinian militant kills an Israeli in the West Bank, a day after Israel’s military raid in area.” By identifying the person killed only as “Israeli,” the headline misled readers into believing a civilian was killed, when in fact it was an Israeli soldier. This error was repeated in the text of the article itself. To its credit, the Associated Press later corrected its article, but the 7 outlets in Canada did not follow suit. After a letter-writing campaign by CJPME, the article was corrected across the board.
The headline now reads:
“Palestinian militant kills Israeli soldier in West Bank, a day after Israel’s military raid in area”
This change is also reflected in the text of the article itself.
The papers that made the change include the Toronto Star, Hamilton Spectator, Niagara Falls Review, Peterborough Examiner, St. Catharines Standard, Welland Tribune, and Winnipeg Free Press.
To read one of our letters from this campaign, click here.