The Media Accountability Project  

"It is misleading to refer to a “religious divide” among Israel’s citizenry. This report of yours falsely presents a Muslim/Jewish divide as such. In fact, historic Christian centres of Palestinian society – is it enough to name Nazareth – are integral to this society: the divide between Jewish Israeli and Palestinian civic life has secular determinants."

"Overall, the article did a fine job outlining the US-Israel visa waiver. It is an improvement from previous coverage of this topic, where the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinian Americans and their inclusion in the waiver were barely covered."

"I appreciate that your coverage included an interview with Elyanna, quoting her pride to perform in Arabic, her inspiration in Palestinian poetry and the donning of the keffiyeh. I am also especially happy that you include Palestinian voices such as Masa Qzaih and Sam Agha. Palestinian arts, culture, and voices are frequently excluded from Canadian public discourse and media."

"Israel’s preferred use of the politicized term “Arab” (or “Israeli Arab”) – which your article parrots – is intended to downplay the “Palestinian” identity of the vast majority of the members of this group. It also intentionally downplays the Palestinians’ connection with their land, suggesting that they are indistinguishable from Arabs elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa."

"It is deeply problematic and inaccurate to refer to Palestinian citizens of Israel as 'Palestinian Israelis,' a label they simply reject. In your headline, you employ the term 'Israel’s Palestinians,' and in the second paragraph, 'Palestinian citizens of Israel,' both deemed acceptable by the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) and the International Press Institute (IPI) as they emphasize the population’s Palestinian Identity. Yet, you adopt the term 'Palestinian Israelis' throughout the article, a label which wrongfully imposes the 'Israeli' identity on the country’s Palestinian citizens."

On February 15, 2023, CBC News published an article by the Associated Press with the problematic headline, “Israeli parliament approves law that could strip some Arab attackers of citizenship.” (Click here to see the archived version with the original headline).

CJPME wrote to the CBC taking issue with three problems in the headline: First, the headline incorrectly used the term “Arab,” even though it refers specifically to Palestinians. CJPME noted that “Israel’s preferred use of the politicized terms ‘Arab-Israeli’ or simply ‘Arab’ is intended to downplay or erase the ‘Palestinian’ identity of the vast majority of the members of this group.” Second, the headline used the term “attackers,” even though the law applies to a range of offences which is much broader than violence, including various actions which allegedly constitute “a breach of trust to the State of Israel.” Third, the headline did not specify that the law was racist, even though it is only directed at Palestinian citizens of Israel and not Jewish Israelis.

CJPME is pleased that CBC News agreed to act on the first two out of the three issues, and on March 17 changed the headline to: “New Israel law allows stripping residency of Palestinians convicted of 'breach of trust.'” For the third point, CBC declined to take our suggestion, pointing out that the perspective that the law is racist is included prominently in the subheading and text of the article.

"We believe that your news article does a good job of detailing the consequences of this racist law for Palestinians. However, the headline is misleading and inaccurate for several reasons, and we are requesting an immediate change.

First, your use of the term 'Arab' in the headline is problematic, as it refers specifically to Palestinians. Israel’s preferred use of the politicized terms 'Arab-Israeli' or simply 'Arab' is intended to downplay or erase the 'Palestinian' identity of the vast majority of the members of this group. We, therefore, urge you to follow the widely used and respected Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) guidelines on covering issues related to Israel and Palestine, which encourage journalists to avoid the language of 'Arab-Israeli' or 'Arab' and instead use the more appropriate term 'Palestinian citizens of Israel,' or simply 'Palestinian.'"

The use of the term “attackers” in the headline is misleading. According to the Israeli parliament’s press release, the new law applies to Palestinians who are convicted of an offense that “constitutes a breach of trust to the State of Israel.” As reported by the Times of Israel, the law applies to Palestinians who have been “incarcerated following a conviction for terror, aiding terror, harming Israeli sovereignty, inciting war, or aiding an enemy during wartime.” Many of these requirements are vague and could potentially encapsulate many Palestinian citizens of Israel convicted of a variety of offences, and not necessarily for violent attacks on Israel. Therefore, referring to them as “attackers” minimizes the potentially harmful implications of this new law.