CTV News: Specify that the Anti-Defamation League is a pro-Israel organization

"The ADL is not merely a Jewish advocacy organization but one that explicitly supports Israel’s Zionist project. It has a history of labeling Palestinian rights movements as antisemitic, conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Palestinian rights movements are demonstrating against Israel’s settler colonial project in Palestinian territories and its apartheid system, not against Judaism itself." Continue reading

 

CBC: The term intifada is widely understood to mean a civil uprising and not terror attacks

"While it is true that Intifadas in Palestine have included violent events, they are fundamentally about resisting oppression. The resistance has been mixed, involving both violent and non-violent methods. To frame calls for an intifada as inherently violent is a gross misrepresentation and does a disservice to your readers." Continue reading

 

Stop downplaying Israel’s responsibility for targeting a Canadian civilian

"Your article and headline should clarify that the stabbing attempt is, at this point in time, only an allegation made by the Israeli military, who claim without evidence that the Canadian tourist 'threatened the soldiers of the Netiv Ha’Asara’s standby squad with a knife.' However, this is mere hearsay as there has not been a formal investigation into the incident." Continue reading

 

Unfair framing of headline and article about Palestine protest and Halifax Pride

"I’m concerned that the framing of this story is unfair. The pro-Palestine protest that occurred at the Halifax Pride parade is described as being “disrupted” in the headline. The story itself frames the protesters as being at the centre of “pushing and shoving.” While you quote one of the protesters speaking broadly, it you quote two people who opposed the protest to frame the narrative about what happened." Continue reading

 

Israel is responsible for inflicting the conditions that have caused the poliovirus to surge

"At first glance these sentences seem to reflect accurate journalistic reporting, but the CBC never transparently mentions that Israel is responsible for inflicting the conditions that have caused the poliovirus to surge: the inability for Gazan authorities to collect garbage; Palestinians being forcibly expelled from their homes as Israel carpet bombs the strip and forces those displaced to gather in overcrowded refugee camps; Israel's conscious political decision to blockade the strip, meaning Gazans don’t have access to hygiene, sanitary, or medical products." Continue reading

 

Questionable assertions from CBC regarding aid in Gaza

"The United Nations defines 'terrorism' as criminal acts against civilians with the purpose to 'intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing an act.' If indeed Hamas or unidentified gunmen have stolen aid, it would not be for any political purpose, but rather to feed starving people.  As such, the characterization of such attacks being by nature 'terror' would be inaccurate."  Continue reading

 

Better journalism is required on Iran-Israel violence

"I’m disappointed with the article’s paragraph which talks about the death toll in Gaza, as it fails to make clear that the Palestinians are the overwhelming victims in this conflict." Continue reading

 

Globe and Mail article buries pro-Palestine perspectives till the very end

"While I am glad the Globe and Mail are covering the ICJ decision, your article and its headline not only downplay the ICJ findings but outright misrepresent them. While this is a wire article, the Globe and Mail should, as is common, modify the headline to make clear that ICJ did not merely find that 'Israeli settlements' in Palestinian territories violate international law, but rather that 'the State of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory [which includes the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, not merely settlements] is unlawful.' To frame the ICJ opinion as being specifically about settlement policy, rather than about occupation in a much larger sense, is to fundamentally mischaracterize the nature of this ruling for your readers." Continue reading

 

RE: Uncle Sam's hand (letter to the editor submission)

"Mohammad Talat Naeem is right to say that the U.S. plays the role of an 'impregnable wall' when it comes to not putting pressure or sanctions on Israel. While the Israeli lobby does play a huge part in American politics, the opposite is also true. Since World War 2, the US has been the patron of Israel. It has not only metaphorically shielded Israel from any accountability, but it has also literally provided its shield by funding Israel’s Iron Dome and Israel’s arms in its long history of war crimes, with the latest being its genocide in Gaza." Continue reading

 

Globe and Mail: Surely Palestinian deaths are not just "drumbeats"

"I consider your use of the expression 'drumbeat of…' in the sentence, 'Air strikes in recent days have brought a constant drumbeat of deaths of Palestinians…' to be extremely insensitive and offensive. Despite how Palestinians are frequently dehumanized in popular depictions, their deaths are not mechanical inevitabilities, but individual tragedies. A look at other 'drumbeat of…' examples from Merriam-Webster demonstrate how insensitive your chosen language is. And I would suggest replacing the word 'constant drumbeat of deaths,' with 'tragic' or 'unfortunate' or 'sad.' Use of these other terms will more accurately capture the atmosphere among the survivors after 60 lives were so needlessly extinguished." Continue reading