On March 7, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to Victoria News, pushing the media outlet to make some changes regarding an article about Selina Robinson quitting the NDP caucus.
CJPME wrote that the article failed to highlight how controversial and racist her comments were.
Victoria News wrote: “After she called pre-1948 Israel a “crappy piece of land with nothing on it.””
CJPME argued that the land that they are referring to is Palestine, both from a modern-day perspective and a historical perspective. By describing this territory as “pre-1948 Israel,” the article is erasing the history of Palestinians and their land, which reinforces Robinson’s anti-Palestinian comments.
CJPME asked Victoria News to replace the words: “pre-1948 Israel” with “Palestine.”
Following our letter, Victoria News changed the words: “Pre-1948 Israel” with “the British-ruled Mandate upon which Israel was founded in 1948.”
It is not the change CJPME hoped for, but this small change still nuances Israel’s existence before 1948 and will push CJPME to further its effort in asking media outlets to use the word Palestine.