The Media Accountability Project  

"It was disappointing once again to see a double-standard in a media article. We are in total agreement that we need to push back against any form of racism and hatred, regardless of the group that is targeted. However, the role of the media is to provide informed and unbiased reporting when such incidents occur."

I take issue with the paragraph that quotes the Israeli forces using the term “terrorist” to inform readers about the alleged motivation behind why they opened fire on a car carrying the Bani Odeh family in the town of Tammun in the northern occupied West Bank, killing Ali Khaled Bani Odeh, 37, his wife Waad, 35, and two of their sons, Mohammad (5) and Othman (7). The Star should have provided context about Israel’s documented history of weaponizing the term “terrorism” as a pretext to justify the killing and illegal detention of Palestinians.

According to the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) Ethics Guidelines, journalists must ensure reporting is accurate, fair, and complete, and must not present unsubstantiated claims as established fact when credible evidence suggests otherwise. We therefore urge the Toronto Star to revise its headline so that it does not present the claim of faulty intelligence as an established fact.

Journalistic fairness means that if you are going to point out that Iran’s retaliatory strikes have targeted countries in the Middle East that host U.S. military bases, you should also be pointing out how many countries the U.S. and Israel have bombed and how many world leaders they have murdered or forcibly removed from office in just the last two years. If you want to be fully fair and balanced, your reporting should at least occasionally be looking back over several decades at the master plan that seem to be coming to a head. This also means mentioning the Greater Israel project.

"The headline obscures the most essential fact of this developing story which is that Israel has invaded southern Lebanon, in clear violation of Lebanese sovereignty. A headline that centers Israeli military directives rather than the act of cross-border invasion misleads readers about the nature of the escalation."

Palestinians’ claims of ownership are rarely approved; many families depend on decades-old Ottoman-era documents or were never permitted to formally register their land in the first place. This is an illegal decision that amounts to de facto annexation under occupation and reflects Israel’s greater escalating annexation, occupation, and apartheid policies in the occupied West Bank.

"We question your quoting of COGAT’s statistic that “less than 1% of the total aid” going into the Gaza strip is contributed by the 37 aid groups whose licenses are to be revoked. Where was the 1% statistic derived from? What was included in the 1%? Tents? Food? Baby formula? Water? Medical supplies? What about medical, public health and sanitation services? As you indicated later in the article, Palestinians in Gaza rely on aid groups for food, water, health care, shelter and other essentials."

The Israeli government’s approval of a land registration process that permits Israel to designate territory in the occupied West Bank as “state property” if Palestinians cannot prove ownership is not “contentious,” as stated in the headline. It is an illegal decision that amounts to de facto annexation under occupation.

You have provided a platform for the arrogant racist and genocide supporter, Adam Edelman. This despite the fact that his bobsled came in absolutely last. Most news outlets cover the winners and the runner up, not the last place losers. Not only that, but the photo and caption attempt to deceive Canadians by bathing Edelman in a positive light as someone who could inspire children.

In the name of accurate, consistent, and fair reporting, I kindly ask that the article be edited to add that most of Palestinians killed by Israel are civilians, so as not to downplay Israel’s total disregard for international humanitarian law in its indiscriminate bombing of Palestinians in Gaza.