The Media Accountability Project  

One paragraph begins with, “Not everyone identifies with the soldiers.”  One assumes that this paragraph will talk about people who are critical of soldiers who threaten insubordination because of their views on Netanyahu’s government’s actions.  Instead, this paragraph talks about how the military upholds a regime of injustice against Palestinians with “open-ended occupation,” and the subjugation of the Palestinians, which itself has, “eroded the country’s democratic ideals.”  It is useful to point out these contradictions.  At the same time, the opening sentence mischaracterizes the whole direction of the paragraph.  As such, I ask that you change the opening sentence of this paragraph to read, “Yet the soldiers’ position has deep contradictions.” Continue reading

Lilley makes only three actual assertions against Jama: she has attended protests and events in support of Palestinian human rights; she supports the Palestinian call to boycott Israel until it respects international law; and she has named Israel’s racist practices as ‘apartheid’ – as have Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, UN experts, and many of Israel’s human rights organizations. These are not just legitimate but necessary responses to Israel’s ongoing violations of Palestinian human rights, and should be commended. Continue reading

Who politicians meet with matters. It's becoming increasingly apparent that far-right politics are gaining a foothold in Canada. While this article mentions a recent meeting between Conservatives and far-right Israeli real estate developer Silberstein, this only scratches the surface of connections between Canadian officials and Israeli extremists. Continue reading

Far from being representative of Israeli society, around 20% of Israel’s population is made up of Palestinians who are excluded from joining the Israeli military and its economic benefits. Although Israel has a policy of mandatory conscription for all its citizens, Muslim and Christian Palestinian citizens, numbering around 1.6 million, are exempt from military service because they are deemed “disloyal” and “untrustworthy” by Israel. Further, Palestinians largely refuse to join Israel’s army due to its military occupation of Palestinian land including the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as the Syrian Golan Heights. In other words, the composition of Israel’s military reflects the segregation in society. Continue reading

Overall, the article brought forth most of the key ethical issues involved with the presidents’ trip, and gave a spotlight to traditionally marginalized voices on the issue.  Congratulations, and thank you.  I am sure you will be attacked by “(Dis)honest Reporting Canada” for shedding light on this trip and the related issues, but you can stand firm knowing that you are simply doing your job as professional journalists. Continue reading

Below the short article it states: “The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.” This is false. The article is a shortened, verbatim version of another The Epoch Times article published online written by a staff journalist, Andrew Thornebrooke.[i] I believe this is a serious breach of journalistic ethics, as it misleads readers into believing this was authored by AP or Reuters. As it stands, it appears as if The Epoch Times is masquerading an in-house story as one by the AP and Reuters. Continue reading

In your article, you fail to mention that Israel is militarily occupying the Gaza strip according to international law. Further, since 2007, Israel has imposed a land, sea and air blockade on the strip. Israel’s blockade on Gaza amounts to a “denial of basic human rights in contravention of international law and amounts to collective punishment,” according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Occupied Palestinian territory. As a result of omitting this necessary context, the article fails to adequately describe the oppressive situation that Palestinians in Gaza face, and does not properly capture the severe human cost of Israel’s 15-year-long illegal blockade and siege. Continue reading

It is important that Canadian audiences are aware about such instances of anti-Palestinian racism in our education system and how they affect the Palestinian-Canadian community. I hope to see continued coverage of anti-Palestinian racism and how it affects the lives and perceptions of Palestinians in Canada.  Continue reading

The article, although very brief, cites four different Israeli sources including “Israeli officials,” “Israel’s military,” “a settlements spokesperson” and the “Israeli army.” The article does not specify whether the fifth source, “medical officials,” is Palestinian or Israeli. The article does not include even one Palestinian source. By excluding Palestinian sources and perspectives and citing only Israeli sources, your article presents as deeply biased to your readers. The Cape Breton Post has a journalistic responsibility and obligation to provide both perspectives in this article. Following the Canadian Association of Journalists’ (CAJ) ethics guidelines on diversity, news organizations and journalists should seek to “include views from all segments of the population.” Continue reading

During a moment of violent upheaval, this article brings a sense of humanity to an otherwise fraught media landscape in Canada. I want to bring particular attention to your citation of a Palestinian human rights organization, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights. All too often, the actions of Palestinian civil society organizations are excluded from the conversation. I am glad to note your inclusion of their work. Continue reading