The Media Accountability Project  

I urge the AP to update its article and either remove the description of Hamas as a “militant group” or add that Hamas also “governs the Gaza Strip, provides social services, and runs media outlets.”

"Your news article claims that the Israeli killed has been identified as 'Meir Tamari, a 32-year-old resident of the settlement.' However, your headline identifies Tamari as a 'civilian' rather than a 'settler.' It is important that your headline correctly identifies Tamari as a 'settler' in order to place the attack by Palestinian gunmen within the context of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank."

"Grant LaFleche’s article titled “Hamilton Centre MPP Sarah Jama’s retweet condemned by party” misleads readers and omits critical context to understanding the nature of Jama’s tweets. Sarah Jama has publically supported Palestinian rights and the rights of all oppressed communities making her the target of a smear campaign. Jama retweeted the news of the death of Khader Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner who died as a result of being on a hunger strike for 90 days and of medical negligence by Israeli authorities."

"First, it is unacceptable that the reporting in this story is entirely one-sided and notably lacks comment from Palestinians themselves or their allies, who support Jama’s positions on Palestinian human rights. This article would have been strengthened, for example, if it had included the perspective of Noura Erakat, whose tweet is at the centre of this story. Instead, the only perspectives in this story are from Jama’s critics, who are opposed to her pro-Palestinian activism."

It was quite ironic that in his April 1 letter entitled “Israel has legitimacy,” Gary Gerofsky was unable to bring himself to actually write the word “Palestine” or “Palestinian.”  Rather than referring to “Palestine,” he could only write, “another Arab state.”  And rather than referring to the “Palestinian Authority,” he could only write “PA.”  Seems like somebody has a problem attributing legitimacy to the Palestinians.

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.

The letter makes a false charge that Palestinian activists and slogans, including the BDS movement, are “Islamist.” However, most Palestinian movements (including BDS) are secular and encompass both Muslim and Christian Palestinians. My concern here, however, is not only that it is a false claim, but that it has overtly Islamophobic overtones. The author is using the term “Islamist” solely to try to paint Jama and the Palestinian solidarity movement in a negative light, perpetuating anti-Islam and anti-Palestinian sentiment.

If Michael Mostyn has a definition of antisemitism which implies that Palestinians are undeserving of self-determination and basic rights codified by international humanitarian law, then perhaps he needs to rethink his definition of antisemitism.

The author claims that there is no moral equivalence between Israeli and Palestinian violence. He’s right, but for the wrong reasons. This year, the significant death toll of Palestinians during violent Israeli military “arrest raids” in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is again showing the world the reality of Israel’s brutal military occupation.

"While the three Israelis who were killed in two incidents are mentioned in the headline and first paragraphs of the article, there is no mention that a Palestinian was killed during the Israeli settler attack on Huwara (Hawara) and surrounding villages. The killing of Sameh al-Aqtash, is the immediate context for the retaliatory attack on an Israeli motorist, and this should have featured prominently in the story. This omission is not acceptable, but shows an unjustified asymmetry in how Israeli and Palestinian casualties are reported."