The Media Accountability Project  

"You assert that there have been 'periodic flare-ups of fighting with the Palestinian Islamist-ruled Gaza strip.' Your use of the phrase 'periodic flare-ups' is inaccurate because it assumes sudden escalations of violence without cause. This completely ignores the context of the over 15-year punishing and illegal blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza strip and its population. In fact, these escalations of violence are almost always instigated by Israel and quickly transform into a fully-fledged bombing campaign on Gaza, indiscriminately killing civilians. By omitting this critical context, your article assumes a pro-Israel, biased stance."

"Israeli society is made up of approximately 21% of Palestinians, who are marginalized and excluded from receiving any employment, healthcare, education and military benefits. While Israel exercises a policy of mandatory conscription, Muslim, and Christian Palestinian citizens are exempt from military service because they are deemed “disloyal” and “untrustworthy” by Israel. Furthermore, the refusal of Palestinians to join the Israeli army is exemplary of the continued military occupation of Palestinian land including the West Bank and Gaza Strip and their violent treatment of Palestinians. In other words, the military is not inclusive or diverse but segregationist."

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.”

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.

"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."

Even more troubling, Bykhovskaia mentions Palestinians only in the context of wars with “neighbouring Arab states” and “two major Palestinian Arab uprisings.” To justify the practice of open-carrying weapons, repeated references are made to “terrorist” threats, which read here as shorthand for ‘Palestinian.’ To the contrary, it is violence against Palestinians which is far more pervasive. According to Amnesty International, 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians since 2005 with some 153 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, including dozens of children.