The Media Accountability Project  

"There is a serious issue with how the violence associated with Israel’s raid in Nablus has been presented , and particularly the inaccurate language of “triggering a gunfight where gunmen and civilians were killed . ” This terminology of a “gunfight” obscures the power dynamics at play, creating the appearance of a fight between armed parties in which both sides are equal" Continue reading

There should not be a comma after the word rare. The comma creates the false impression that the “arrest operations” themselves are rare. As you are well-aware, that is not true. This raid is rare only insofar as it was carried out during the day. As such, the sentence should instead read “… in a rare daytime arrest operation…” without the original comma. In the AP’s past reporting, Israeli arrest raids are described as “regular,” which is indisputably the case. I believe this is ultimately a mistake related to the difference between coordinate and cumulative adjectives. Continue reading

The term “Palestine territories” was used, but we recommend using the widely accepted “Occupied Palestinian Territories” instead. When speaking about the adverse impact that Israel’s military occupation has on children, this is an especially important nuance to capture. Additionally, the region is described as a “warzone,” but this phrasing obscures the asymmetrical nature of the situation, in which Israeli military violence disproportionately impacts Palestinians, especially children. In 2022 alone, Israeli forces and settlers killed 36 children with live ammunition. Continue reading

"Unfortunately, the headline contains a factual inaccuracy. The UN Security Council did not approve a draft resolution, but ultimately approved a “watered-down statement” instead, as discussed in the first sentence of the article. There is an important distinction here, as UNSC resolutions are binding on UN members while the statement which was approved is only symbolic. We expect that this headline change is made promptly so that readers are provided with accurate information."     Continue reading

"I commend you for rightfully highlighting the criticism of Israel’s 'questionable democratic credentials' due to their treatment of Palestinians. This is an important critique, one backed effectively by a 200+ page Amnesty International report titled 'Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians: Cruel system of domination and crime against humanity.' Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians is necessary context for understanding the nature and quality of Israel’s democratic institutions, and this should be included in all coverage of Israel’s judicial reforms." Continue reading

"Israel has not promised that it will not approve any more West Bank outposts. In fact, multiple Israeli ministers have vowed that last week’s settlement expansion and outpost authorization is just the beginning. Instead, as the story itself makes clear, Israel has made a significantly weaker promise to temporarily ‘hold off’ on such activities for the next few months." Continue reading

"The article is about a workshop organized by the Ontario Secondary School Teacher’s Federation (OSSTF) entitled “Anti-Palestinian racism: Nakba denial.” Unfortunately, the article fails to provide a Palestinian perspective nor to explain what the Nakba represents, leaving the reader with a single perspective. Below, I will outline two areas in this article that urgently require an update. First, your article fails to include a Palestinian perspective, even though the workshop in question is about anti-Palestinian racism. While you mention that the session presenters did not respond to requests for comment, more efforts should have been made to provide a Palestinian point of view on the importance of this workshop and the concepts under discussion. Following the Canadian Association of Journalist’s (CAJ) ethics guidelines on diversity, news organizations and journalists should seek to “include views from all segments of the population.”"     Continue reading

"The notion that more guns and armed civilians in Israel will lead to greater safety is not only misguided but downright dangerous. A more sustainable and just solution lies in ending the apartheid policies that have been in place in Israel for decades and respecting the basic human rights of Palestinians." Continue reading

"Your article describes the occupied West Bank as 'lands the Palestinians seek for a future state.' Your article also mentions that Israel 'captured' the West Bank in 1967. Referring to the West Bank in this way gravely obscures the reality that it is militarily-occupied territory. This is not an opinion but a matter of a settled consensus at the international level, as confirmed by the United Nations Security Council, the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel’s military occupation of these Palestinian territories is critical context for interpreting the nature of, and motivations behind, the new far-right government’s plan to expand illegal settlements. We, therefore, insist that you correctly identify the West Bank as Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) under international law and change 'captured' to 'occupied.'" Continue reading

"Even though the article powerfully tells the story of 17-year-old Wadi’ who was killed by Israeli forces, the article references more attacks on Israelis than on Palestinians, and the overall framing of a 'cycle of violence' similarly obscures the asymmetrical nature of the violence. This could have been mitigated if you had included data on the casualties this year: since the beginning of 2023, at least 50 Palestinians have been killed, including 11 children, while 12 Israelis have been killed, including at least 2 children." Continue reading