The Media Accountability Project  

"It’s bold to suggest that Israel was ever a democracy to start with. It is highly problematic that an article on the erosion of Israel’s “democracy” fails to include how the Palestinians under Israeli control are largely excluded from said democracy." 

I was alarmed to see the original article was reframed to treat the Palestinian man who was killed in an Israeli raid as secondary by pushing the information down in the article and removing reference to the killing of Suleiman Ayesh Awaid, or the Israeli arrest raid, from the headline entirely. I am aware that it is common practice for the AP to update existing articles rather than create new ones when stories are related — I find that it is a reasonable practice in general — but in this case, the AP has essentially overwritten a story about yet another deadly Israeli raid, making it about something else entirely.

"The brief summary omits any mention of the Nakba ("catastrophe" in Arabic), when approximately 750,000 to 1 million Palestinians were expelled from their homes by Zionist militias and internally displaced to the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Thus, UNRWA was created in 1949 to help facilitate and provide services to this displaced population. Moreover, the reason that the agency continues to exist today is because Israel refuses to allow those refugees the right to return, in violation of international law."

This article aims to provide readers with an understanding of events in Jerusalem, and in particular new restrictions that Israel has placed on Christian worshippers. However, it fails to convey two essential pieces of context: 1) that the Old City of Jerusalem is under Israeli occupation, and 2) that the “local Christian community” is largely Palestinian.

Significantly, anchor Kris Reyes incorrectly stated that the Israeli raid took place "outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque." The incident occurred inside the mosque. This is a significant error because it affects viewers' understanding of a fundamental aspect of the event. Some of the global outrage is specifically due to the fact that Israeli forces entered the mosque, not just the Al-Aqsa compound.

B’nai B’rith Canada’s call for the NDP to withdraw Jama’s candidacy was part of a smear campaign targeting organizations and individuals who advocate for Palestinian human rights. Firth’s claim that Jama’s affiliation with the student organization Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights amounts to a “call for the eradication of a recognized, albeit flawed, democratic state,” is patently false and unfairly conflates antisemitism and activism.

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.

"Your news segment sheds light on the rise in tensions and violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank which resulted in the death of Amir Bustami, a 21-year old Palestinian man, by Israeli forces. However, I would like to point out several problems with your video segment.

First, you report that the events are taking place in the “West Bank.” However, you fail to mention that the West Bank has been militarily-occupied by Israel since 1967 according to international law. Referring to it only as the “West Bank” omits critical context and fails to adequately describe the oppressive situation that Palestinians in the occupied West Bank face. We ask that future reporting correctly identifies the West Bank as Palestinian territory occupied by Israel."

"Throughout the program, Jericho is described simply as being in Palestine or the “Palestinian Territories,” but does not specify that it is occupied territory. Similarly, a map shows Jericho within an outline of the West Bank, but does not identify it nor specify that it is occupied. Instead, the segment uses the language of “enduring border disputes” and of two parties “claim[ing] and “fight[ing] over the same territory.” 

"Unfortunately, the article failed to provide sufficient information and lacked necessary context for the readers to be able to understand the nature of Israel’s actions. In particular, your article only notes the context of violence against Israelis, without noting the greater violence against Palestinians.

First, the article fails to mention that Israel’s raid on Aqabat Jabr refugee camp in Jericho took place after the city had been under an Israeli siege for more than a week, and was one of multiple attacks on residents.[2] Second, the raid took place just ten days after a large-scale Israeli attack on the Jenin refugee camp, where at least nine Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces, three being civilians including two children, marking the deadliest single day in the West Bank since 2005.[3] This attack was condemned by UN experts arguing that it contributed to “a dangerous trajectory of violence in the occupied West Bank.”[4]"