The Media Accountability Project  

"There is no symmetry between resistance fighters defending their homes in Jenin and one of the world’s most sophisticated armies laying waste to it. To describe Israel’s attack on Jenin as an effort to eliminate armed groups is absurd when one reviews the uncontroversial facts on the ground. The real objective was to instill terror in the people of Jenin, destroying their homes and vital infrastructure."

"As documented below, over a roughly 28-hour time period last week, CBC's coverage of Israel’s military invasion of the Jenin refugee camp consistently referred to Palestinians in the camp as "terrorists" or to Jenin itself as a “terror hub.” This language, directly adopted from the Israeli military, was presented to Canadian audiences without sufficient skepticism or counter-claims by journalists or others. This terminology was imprecise, misleading, defamatory and dehumanizing."

"Makler poses the questions “Who is going to do the proper clean up?” and “Who is going to pay for all of this?” Rather than focusing on such reductive questions, the segment should have noted that the destruction of homes, hospitals, mosques, roads, and water and electricity lines are a form of collective punishment."

In no other country that is called a “democracy” does a government stand idly by while radicalized youth unleash hell upon innocent everyday civilians. Israeli settler violence committed against Palestinians has elevated to alarming new heights. Israel does this all while continuing to contravene international law by building more new illegal settlements on occupied land.

On July 4, 2023, CJPME sent a letter to the Canadian Press expressing concern regarding a brief radio segment about Israel’s invasion of the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. The segment stated:

“Hundreds of Israeli troops are pressing ahead with their hunt for Palestinian militants and weapons in a West Bank refugee camp for a second day.”

This language that Israeli forces were “hunting” for Palestinians was used widely in Canadian media during the attack on Jenin, and particularly in articles from the wire service Associated Press (AP). CJPME considers this language alarming and defamatory. It is also misleading, as Israel’s attack led to the deaths of 4 Palestinian children and resulted in the destruction of public infrastructure and private property. There were also reports of ambulances not being able to enter the city. UN experts say Israel’s invasion may constitute a war crime.

In a letter responding to CJPME the same day, the Director of Broadcast News for Canadian Press, Rose Kingdon, wrote:

“I have reminded our newscasters that words matter and we always need to be aware of how a turn of phrase can be hurtful or inflammatory. Yes, it was the AP’s description, but perhaps we could have substituted the words searching or looking instead of ‘hunting’ – which evokes a hunter looking for humans.”

In a subsequent note, she reiterated:

“We understand this is a volatile issue and our goal is to maintain an objective perspective – The wording you objected to was lifted from The AP – and I might add the CBC used that exact same copy. As I said in my previous message, we are going to be extra vigilant regarding wording.”

CJPME considers this a positive outcome and commends the Canadian Press’ response. However, we are committed to monitoring their future coverage and providing critical feedback.

On July 3, 2023, CJPME’s Vice President Michael Bueckert was interviewed for a segment on CTV National News about Israel’s attack on Jenin. Earlier that day, Israel launched airstrikes, a military invasion, and a siege on the Jenin refugee camp. By the end of the invasion late on July 5, at least 12 Palestinians were killed, including 4 children, and 140 injured.

Bueckert told CTV National News that Israel was escalating its violence against the Palestinian people, and was quoted: “There are signs that, perhaps, Israel’s government — which is led by a coalition of far-right political parties — is really looking to ratchet things up.”

However, the segment inaccurately said that CJPME was calling for “calm.” In the interview, Bueckert explained that this was not a situation in which both sides were equally to blame for the violence. Rather, CJPME was calling for Israel as the occupying power to deescalate its illegal and unprovoked assault on refugees in Jenin. This point did not make it into the broadcast.

CJPME’s @mbueckert spoke to CTV National News about how Israel’s far-right regime is escalating its violence against Palestinians. We are not calling for a neutral ‘calm,’ but for Israel as the occupying power to deescalate its illegal & unprovoked assault on refugees in Jenin. pic.twitter.com/W0dnzqzaiC

— Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (@CJPME) July 4, 2023

"Israeli forces deliberately destroyed water and electricity networks, homes, residential buildings, hospitals and even mosques. Palestinian residents of the refugee camp describe their homes being turned into military posts and barracks, and the theft and the destruction of their personal possessions. The severity of the destruction and brutality caused by the Israeli raid is completely absent from your radio segment."

"Your use of the term “apartheid” is extremely important and significant. CJPME and others have asked for this terminology to be used as context in articles about Palestine for quite some time. We are happy to see that it has been used in this article. Your description of the arguments for why Israel’s occupation amounts to apartheid are clear. Providing this information as context for readers is useful and pertinent."

"An Israeli soldier who shoots a simple-minded autistic Palestinian cowering next to a garbage bin, is cleared of all culpability.  The article hits all the right points: Israel’s investigations of its soldiers almost never lead to convictions, witnesses are often not even consulted; surveillance cameras in the area supposedly weren’t working."

"Ali Sawafta’s reliance on the official Israeli military narrative results in a complete whitewash of Israel’s brutal military invasion and siege of the Jenin refugee camp. Describing Israel’s assault as an “operation” misrepresents the systematic and large-scale damage caused by Israeli forces, evidenced in the destruction of roads, homes, electricity and water networks, hospitals and even mosques."