The Media Accountability Project  

As I’m sure you know, Jerusalem is one of the five “final status” issues from the 1993 Oslo Accords. Israel and the Palestinians are not supposed to change the status quo until a negotiated agreement is reached.  Jerusalem was also intended to be a shared international zone under the 1947 UN Partition Plan. Moreover, the UN repeatedly censures Israel for “altering or purporting to alter the legal status and physical and demographic character of the city.”

"For Palestinians, the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 constituted a Nakba or ‘catastrophe,’ where families were forcibly expelled from their homes to make way for Jewish immigrants coming from Europe and the Middle East and North Africa. The massacres of Palestinian villages by Zionist militias, the most well-known being the Deir Yassin, is what drove Palestinians to flee."

"According to Middle East Monitor, Naji Tamimi, the head of the Nabi Saleh Village Council, said that Israeli forces “locked the iron gate at the village entrance and proceeded to invade several neighbourhoods and fire live rounds at protesters.” In fact, in 2023, the occupied West Bank has become a target for the Israeli military, who have repeatedly conducted military raids into various neighbourhoods and towns. These operations often wound or kill civilians, including Palestinian children and the elderly and result in the destruction of homes."

"You omit that the village of al-Mughayyir has been under a blockade by Israeli military forces for over 2 weeks. According to Wafa News Agency, the Israeli army has sealed the two entrances of al-Mughayyir for over 14 days, preventing Palestinians villagers from entering or leaving, and forcing them to take long rough roads to reach their destination. This blockade further restricts Palestinians’ freedom of movement who already face restrictions through fixed checkpoints, settler-only roads, and other physical obstructions."

First, the article states that “Canada and several countries reject” recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. This statement both downplays and misrepresents the international community’s near consensus against recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. In December 2017, a total of 128 nations voted at the General Assembly against the resolution to formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in which it declared any actions intended to alter Jerusalem’s character or status are “null and void.”

"Néanmoins, j'ai été déçu que vous n'ayez pas réussi à respecter l'éthique journalistique de l'équilibre dans vos reportages.  Par exemple, alors que vous avez mentionné les Israéliens qui ont été tués ou blessés par la violence palestinienne, vous n'avez pas mentionné les Palestiniens qui sont tués ou blessés par les Israéliens - en nombre et en ampleur bien plus importants au fil du temps."

"I appreciate how you describe CUPW’s support of a boycott of Israeli products, but the description is limited in a couple of ways. The campaign that CUPW endorsed is more than a boycott, and it is a response to the mistreatment that Palestinians face as a whole, including refugees and Palestinian citizens of Israel (not just those in the occupied Palestinian territories)."

It is incredibly encouraging to see CUPW’s steadfastness in the face of B’nai Brith’s smear campaign. Their case is just one example of how organizations and activists who stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people are often unfairly targeted and defamed by being falsely accused of antisemitism or supporting terrorism.

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.

"Their case is just one example of how organizations and activists who stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people are often unfairly targeted and defamed by being falsely accused of antisemitism or supporting terrorism."