The Media Accountability Project  

The settlement of CUPW’s defamation lawsuit against B’nai Brith is a victory for all those who stand up in solidarity with Palestinians and should serve as a reminder for the need to continually oppose attempts to silence support for justice. Continue reading

CJPME’s media analysts were generally disappointed by Canadian coverage of the Nakba. It was too sparse and limited. However, we were glad to see Saltwire and The Telegram both make an effort to cover such an important historical event. Mr. Hynd’s letter gives a concise account of essential facts that will no doubt benefit your readers. Continue reading

I appreciate that you call attention to an event organized by a new community organization called the Palestinian Heritage Revival Society in Halifax. Your news segment also highlights the event’s display of traditional Palestinian garments. I greatly appreciate that you interview one of the organizers on the importance of this event for the Palestinian community in Halifax. Continue reading

By failing to properly contextualize this issue, your reporting fails to explain the consequences of Israel’s military occupation of East Jerusalem. As such, readers are left without a proper understanding of why Israel’s flag march demonstrates triumphalism and domination over an occupied population, why ‘tensions’ therefore arise, and why Palestinians view the march as a provocation. Continue reading

The news segment fails to mention that the flag march, held in Jerusalem’s Old City, is considered occupied Palestinian territory according to international law. This is the central controversy surrounding the march, as Israeli nationalists are marching in protest of international law. This is not an opinion but a matter of 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. Continue reading

I appreciate that you bring attention to the distress felt by the disabled siblings after they received a phone call from Israeli forces warning of an imminent airstrike on their home. Necessary mobility equipment, like wheelchairs for the disabled siblings, was left behind as they were forced to flee their homes. However, in your reporting of Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza, you mention that 15 residential blocks were destroyed without mentioning the loss of Palestinian lives. Continue reading

Your story pins the responsibility for these attacks — which killed numerous children and other innocent civilians — on Gazan militants due to apparent “rocket launches” that Israel was responding to. What rocket launches are you referencing? The last rocket launches from Gaza happened on May 2, which Israel had already responded to, as reported by the Associated Press. Early on May 3 following the exchange of violence, a ceasefire went into effect that was agreed to by both sides. On May 9, Israel unilaterally violated the ceasefire that had been reached a week earlier. Unprovoked, Israel launched an airstrike that killed 13 Palestinians in Gaza on Tuesday alone. This included 4 children and 6 other civilians. Israel breaking the ceasefire is what led to the risk of an “all-out war” as you referred to it. Continue reading

Although this is presented as Israel’s perspective, this historical account is nonetheless factually inaccurate. By the time the State of Israel was declared on May 14, 1948, over 200 Palestinian villages had already been “emptied as people fled in fear or were forcibly expelled by Zionist forces, and approximately 175,000 Palestinians had been made refugees.” The intervention by the armies of the neighbouring Arab states Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq was partly a response to the large-scale ethnic cleansing campaigns being carried out by Zionist militias, among other reasons. To put it simply, the Nakba started long before the Arab armies got involved. To claim that the refugee crisis was the result of Arab armies “attacking” the territory is to turn the historical record on its head. Continue reading

I appreciate that the article quoted Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour who raised concerns about the importance of internationally commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Nakba both as a historical and ongoing injustice, as many Palestinians continue to be forcibly expelled from their land for the establishment of Jewish-Israeli settlements. I am glad that you quoted Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Malki who pointed to the failure of the international community and the U.N. to hold Israel accountable. Continue reading

Your news segment reported that Israel’s latest airstrike attack on Gaza has killed “4 senior militants and at least 25 people.” It is frankly disappointing that you fail to correctly describe the “25 people” killed as civilians, including at least 4 children.   By omitting the fact that civilians were killed in Israel’s latest attack on Gaza, you are presenting the narrative preferred by the Israeli military, which says that any Palestinian living in Gaza is a “target.” Continue reading