The Media Accountability Project  

I would like to thank you for shedding light on the Israeli army’s strategy to influence the Israeli public about the Gaza bombing campaign by creating false social media accounts. This is extremely unbecoming behaviour for a country that is a supposed democracy.

"In the article, you state that “Hawara lies on a busy road in the northern part of the West Bank that is used by Israeli residents of nearby Jewish settlements. Many settlers carry guns.” The statement lacks context and fails to properly present the illegal nature of settlements. It also fails to capture the dynamic between incoming Jewish settlers and indigenous Palestinian residents of the occupied West Bank."

In an article focused on Israeli Minister Smotrich’s call to “erase” Hawara and Netanyahu’s response, it is alarming that the description of events leading up is so one-sided. The two Israeli brothers who were killed in the leadup are mentioned, but the Palestinian casualties are omitted. In a story about erasing a town, this is essential information.

Your news segment highlights the racist incident at Park West School in Halifax where six Palestinian students were targeted for wearing the Kufiyah by the school’s principal. I commend you for your thorough coverage of this incident. I especially appreciate that you interviewed two members of the Palestinian community, including a parent of one of the students targeted, as well as a member of Independent Jewish Voices Canada.

While I can understand you want to show your readers related video content, it is in poor taste to include a “heartwarming” story about a refugee from Gaza above a story about the bombing of her homeland and other Israeli violence being committed against Palestinians. This does not aid the reader in further understanding the incidents in the article.

"According to an investigation by the Palestinian human rights NGO, Defence for Children International – Palestine (DCIP), 16-year-old Hamza Ashqar was killed while he was with a group of youth confronting Israeli military vehicles which had invaded the Palestinian city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. DCIP reports that these youth were unarmed"