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.