The Media Accountability Project  

Major media outlets, from the Globe and Mail and CNN to BBC and The New York Times reported on the findings of a 300-page report published by the Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children, an Israeli non-profit founded in 2023. The report, titled “Silenced No More Sexual Terror Unveiled: The Untold Atrocities of October 7 and Against Hostages in Captivity,” claims to document evidence gathered through more than 430 interviews conducted over the past two years with alleged survivors, witnesses, returned hostages, and family members. It alleges that Hamas militants perpetrated systematic, widespread, and calculated sexual and gender-based violence during the October 7, 2023 attacks.

The author invokes Hannah Arendt’s concept of the “banality of evil” to frame the alleged sexual violence perpetrated on October 7 as ideologically planned, drawing parallels between Hamas militants and Nazi officials through the portrayal of violence as calculated, bureaucratic, and systematically executed. 

In addition to highlighting the role that municipal politics can play in putting pressure on the federal government on behalf of the community concerned about Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza, and providing multiple examples of similar initiatives at municipal level across Canada, the article points out clearly where Canada is falling short, such as the disparity in Canada’s refugee and visa programs for  Palestinians vs. Ukrainians and Afghans, and Canada’s continued export of military components to Israel. 

"In the name of fair and accurate journalism, I believe this context should have been included in the article, as it’s crucial for readers to understand what truly happened on October 7, including the fact that Israel’s own military directives led to the deaths of its own civilians."

On October 8, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to the Hill Times to address serious concerns over the misleading and harmful language used in their article titled: “So much pain, and there’s been no winners’: MPs mark Oct. 7 anniversary.”

The article referred to Israel’s year-long genocidal campaign in Gaza as a “counteroffensive” and claimed that this “counteroffensive” is expanding to Lebanon—an egregious euphemism that whitewashes the atrocities Israel has been committing in occupied Gaza for the past year.

CJPME argued that the term “counteroffensive” should be replaced with “genocide,” as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on January 31, 2024, that Israel’s military operations plausibly constitute genocide. In response to CJPME’s advocacy efforts, The Hill Times updated the article by removing the term “counteroffensive” and replacing it with more accurate language, alongside an editor’s note acknowledging the correction.

Additionally, The Hill Times invited CJPME to submit a letter to the editor challenging their use of B’nai Brith’s antisemitism report, which conflates anti-Zionism with antisemitism. In the letter, CJPME emphasized that B’nai Brith’s report is dangerous because it stifles legitimate advocacy for Palestinian liberation.

These changes represent a significant victory in our ongoing mission to ensure that media outlets uphold standards of journalistic integrity, fairness, and accuracy in their reporting on Palestine and Lebanon.

"Media outlets must recognize that supporting Palestinian liberation and opposing Israel's apartheid policies are not acts of antisemitism. Media must stop allowing B’nai Brith to blur this distinction, as antisemitism should not be weaponized to suppress the fight for Palestinian liberation."

While these issues are certainly important, the broadcast failed to mention the alarming rise of anti-Palestinian racism, including attacks on Arab institutions and mosques in Montreal. It is also problematic that the segment interviewed representatives from the pro-Israel group Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), yet provided no corresponding Palestinian voices to offer balance or convey the equally important concerns of the Arab Canadian community.

CJPME is extremely disappointed by this editorial decision by the CBC as the suffering of Palestinians, particularly in Gaza following October 7, is a crucial part of this ongoing story, yet it is almost entirely absent from your coverage.

"These kinds of exclusions, when repeated, become dehumanizing, as the implicit message is that Palestinian and Lebanese civilians who are victims of Israeli attacks don’t matter and can be ignored. Meanwhile, Israeli deaths are framed as more deserving of coverage, receiving more focus and emotional weight. This selective empathy has no place in reporting."

"CJPME is extremely disappointed by this editorial decision by CTV as the suffering of Palestinians, particularly in Gaza following October 7, is a crucial part of this ongoing story, yet it is almost entirely absent from your coverage. You should have included interviews with grieving Palestinian families whose loved ones have been killed in Gaza."