MAP Advocacy pushes New Brunswick Newspaper to Correct Reporting on Palestinian Hostages in Ceasefire Deal
After a constructive correspondence between CJPME Media Analyst Anthony Issa and the newsroom of New Brunswick newspaper The Aquinian, its masthead has updated their recent article on the Gaza ceasefire to more accurately reflect the situation of Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel.
According to these human rights organizations, Israel’s dual legal system constitutes apartheid, as it enforces separate and unequal treatment based on nationality and ethnicity. Under this system, Palestinians, including children, are often detained without charge or trial under administrative detention orders. As of December 1, 2024, Israeli authorities held 2,873 Palestinians in administrative detention, marking a three-decade high. Amnesty International has documented the systematic use of torture and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees, including beatings, stress positions, and denial of medical care, all of which violate international law.
The article now rightly refers to these individuals as hostages rather than prisoners. The term hostages better reflect the grave power dynamics and human rights violations inherent in their detention by Israel.
This change matters as it challenges the misleading narrative that Palestinians in Israeli prisons are all convicted criminals. It also highlights the fact that many Palestinians are detained without charges, including minors.
At CJPME, we’ve long advocated for precise and fair language in media coverage of Palestine. Small shifts in language can profoundly reshape public understanding of the occupation and the systemic injustices Palestinians face by Israel.
A huge thank-you to The Aquinian for taking this step toward balanced journalism.
Thanks for reporting on pro-Palestinian petition signed by Ottawa health-care workers
"I was, therefore, pleasantly surprised when I read your article that covered the open letter signed by almost 400 healthcare workers questioning their hospitals’ decision to withdraw from Capital Pride events. Your article not only gave voice to some of them but highlighted the double standard of the fact that hospitals have been silent on the genocide in Gaza but decided to take a stance on the Capital Pride events."
Read moreThank you for excellent piece on the pro-Palestine encampment at U of G
"First and foremost, it was incredibly refreshing to read that you accurately cited the intentions of the group behind the pro-Palestine encampment, U of G for Palestine. This stands in stark contrast to how other media outlets have covered the encampment, often paraphrasing their motivations or merely stating that students are encamping regarding the “conflict in the Middle East,” which absolves Israel of its genocidal assaults in Gaza and perpetuates its impunity."
Read moreThank you Orillia Matters for publishing Letter on Gaza
Mr. Chaudhuri's conscientious choice of precise language
and commitment to providing context to help readers understand the current situation in
Palestine. It is essential to recognize that Canadian media often frames Palestinian
retaliatory actions as terrorism without providing the underlying realities of Israel’s 75
brutal occupation of Palestine, Israel’s blockade of Gaza, and Israel’s illegal settlements in
the occupied West Bank.
Thanks for covering the underreporting of hate crimes among Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian communities
I am relieved to see that CBC has finally reported on this issue in a recent CBC Toronto News segment. To follow Toronto Police’s statement on their suspected underreporting with Fatema Abdalla’s testimony was helpful in balancing the news segment and offering a range of perspectives.
Read moreThank you for playing "RIVER 2 THE SEA"
Thank you for featuring this song and placing it in a fair context. I hope you will ignore the unfair attacks from HRC.
Read moreThanks for reporting on concerns of anti-Palestinian racism in the Waterloo school district
Thank you for reporting on updates of district policy to address concerns of anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia. The news segment’s use of the term “anti-Palestinian racism” (APR) is particularly appreciated, as mainstream media tends to conflate racism against Palestinians with Islamophobia, which erases Palestinian identity and perpetuates the generalization of Arab populations.
Read moreThanks for highlighting HWDS’ actions to protect pro-palestine students
"I applaud students today who are engaging in contemporary issues, protesting atrocities even worse in some ways than what concerned us. I don not recall any state violence where 135 children a day are being killed by the aggressor as is the case with Israel’s bombardment of Gaza."
Read moreThanks for giving space to Palestinian voices and their reality
"I was especially shocked to hear that her family is sheltering in a storage room with 50 other families with no clean water, not enough food, or necessities and that some smugglers are asking 10,000 USD to cross the border."
Read more