Re: Avi Benlolo: “Palestinian intransigence once again dashes hope for peace in the Middle East”
"Benlolo points to opinion polls which show that Palestinians have lost hope in a political outcome and are turning to armed struggle as a last resort. However, he ignores the many troubling polls which show that Jewish Israelis do not support democracy or equality."
Read moreOne-sided coverage of Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank by National Post
"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."
Read moreBiased reporting of NDP's Sarah Jama and her support for Palestinian rights by National Post
"There have been different interpretations of Jama’s comments with many groups, including Jewish ones, contesting her comments as being antisemitic. However, you assert this in your headline as fact whereas it is way more accurate to describe it as an 'antisemitic controversy' for sparking debate. As such, I insist that you change the headline from 'antisemitic comments' to 'antisemitic controversy' to better reflect the fact that this is a news article."
Read moreRe: “Israel’s pro-LGBTQ record is not ‘pinkwashing’”
Zivo claims that “Israel is a bastion of LGBTQ acceptance in a region that otherwise beats, executes and imprisons queer people.” It is quite ironic that Zivo’s concerns for LGBTQ rights do not extend to queer Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, who are denied their most basic, fundamental human rights. Zivo’s portrayal of Israel as an almost-perfect liberal democracy completely ignores and erases the 6.8 million Palestinians living under Israeli rule against their will.
Read moreNational Post corrects false Mahmoud Abbas quote in Op-Ed, but leaves many errors
On March 3, 2023, the National Post published an opinion piece by Avi Benlolo tited, “The West keeps subsidizing the Palestinian Authority's death culture.” CJPME identified several issues in the article which crossed the line and amounted to falsehoods and racist tropes, rather than legitimate differences of political opinion.
On March 9, 2023, the article was amended to correct a quote from a video posted to a Facebook page affiliated with the Fatah movement, which had been directly and falsely attributed to Mahmoud Abbas.
Unfortunately, other issues remain uncorrected, including the fraudulent use of the term “terrorism” in a way which includes all acts of resistance by Palestinians (and not only acts of violence against civilians), and the use of a dehumanizing and generalizing trope that Palestinians possess a “death culture.”
FALSEHOODS AND RACISM IN OP-ED ON "DEATH CULTURE"
There are many issues with this shameful op-ed in the National Post from Avi Benlolo. First, in his discussion about “terrorism,” Benlolo makes no distinction between Palestinian violence against civilians, and Palestinian violence against legitimate military targets like Israeli soldiers. Second, in very racist fashion, Benlolo dehumanizes Palestinians by asserting they have a “death culture.” Finally, Benlolo ignores Israeli apartheid and occupation when he accuses Palestinians of antisemitism when they attack Israelis. Overall, Benlolo misleads his reader and ignores important context in this extreme anti-Palestinian racist rant.
Read moreNational Post publishes letter from CJPME rebutting racist "death culture" claims
On March 8, 2023, the National Post published a letter to the editor by CJPME’s VP Michael Bueckert rebutting claims in an op-ed by Avi Benlolo that Palestinians possess a "death culture" due to the inculcation of "generations of Palestinian children to be venerated as 'martyrs' for mass murders." This followed a complaint from CJPME about the many falsehoods and errors in the op-ed.
The edited letter as published is as follows:
Avi Benlolo conflates all acts of Palestinian resistance under the rubric of “terror attacks,” whether they involve acts of violence against civilians or throwing rocks at Israeli military jeeps. What is more alarming however is his claim that the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA are “inculcating generations of Palestinian children to be venerated as ‘martyrs’ for mass murders,” and his implication that a “death culture” is pervasive in Palestinian society. This dehumanizing generalization of Palestinians as a group and labelling them with a “death culture” slander is more than inflammatory and a clear example of anti-Palestinian racism.
Falsehoods and Racism in Op-Ed on "Death Culture"
"This dehumanizing generalization of Palestinians as a group and labelling them with the “death-culture” slander is inflammatory and a clear example of anti-Palestinian racism, as discussed by the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA) in a 2022 report."
Read moreAssociated Press updates article to include Palestinian killed in Huwara
On February 27, 2023, the National Post and other outlets published a story by the Associated Press on a pogrom by Israeli settlers against the Palestinian town of Huwara in the occupied West Bank. However, while the deaths of three Israelis killed by Palestinians before and after the attack were prominently discussed at the top of the article, it did not mention that a Palestinian was also killed until halfway through the article.
CJPME responded to the Associated Press and National Post about this error, insisting that the Palestinian killed by Israeli fire should be mentioned in the first two paragraphs:
“There is an unjustified asymmetry in how Israeli and Palestinian casualties are reported. While the three Israelis who were killed in two incidents are mentioned in the headline and first paragraphs of the article, it is not until the 14th paragraph until you mention that a Palestinian was killed during the Israeli settler attack on Huwara (Hawara) and surrounding villages. The killing of Sameh al-Aqtash, who is unnamed in the article, is the immediate context for today’s retaliatory attack on an Israeli motorist, and this should have featured prominently in the story.”
Within a day, the Associated Press story was updated to properly reference the Palestinian killed by Israeli fire in the second paragraph.
National Post publishes letter from CJPME about the Nakba
On January 22, 2023, the National Post published a letter to the editor by CJPME’s VP Michael Bueckert about the Nakba, e.g. the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians during the creation of Israel from 1947-49. This followed a complaint from CJPME about a recent op-ed on the creation of Israel which had omitted any mention of the Nakba.
The letter as published is as follows:
Allan Levine fails to mention that 1948 not only commemorates the creation of Israel, which is the focus of the “Israel at 75” series, but that for Palestinians it also marks 75 years since the Nakba: the forced expulsion of at least 700,000 Palestinians by Zionist military forces. This process of ethnic cleansing and its associated atrocities (including the Deir Yassin massacre) had begun in the months prior to Israel’s declaration of Independence in May 1948, and it was followed by the expropriation of refugees’ property and land, the destruction of over 500 villages, and the imposition of military rule over those Palestinians who remained.