The Media Accountability Project  

"First, I take issue with the language used to discuss the legal status of Israel’s colonial settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT). The article says, “The international community, including Israel’s closest ally, the United States, considers settlements illegal.” Regrettably, this phrasing presents the issue as if it is a matter of mere opinion. In fact, Israel’s settlement enterprise is a direct violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that an occupying power “shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” There is no ambiguity about this question."

"88.1% of Jewish Israelis trust the IDF, the number 1 ranking institution. However, only 33.9% of Arab Israelis (Read: Palestinian citizens of Israel) trust the IDF, which ranks 5^th in terms of trust. The authors do not combine this data and explicitly warn against it, so as far as I can tell it is unclear whether or not the IDF would still be the most trusted institution if the data was combined. In any case, the statement should be properly qualified, as it is currently misleading and potentially false."

In the first two weeks of March 2023, there was a series of articles in media outlets reporting on unfair accusations against Sarah Jama, the Ontario NDP candidate in the Hamilton Centre byelection, related to her advocacy for Palestinian human rights. Jama is a well-respected disability rights activist with a long history of speaking out for Palestinians.

In total, CJPME responded to 7 such articles and news broadcasts, including in the Toronto Sun, Toronto Star, and National Post. CJPME took issue with how they had helped to fuel the smear campaign against Jama by relying on highly contestable claims made by the pro-Israel group B’nai Brith Canada, thereby presenting activists in a one-sided and negative light. None of them provided a perspective from the Palestine solidarity movement itself nor mentioned the many civil society groups who support Jama’s activism.

As a result of our persistent advocacy, CJPME’s perspective on Jama’s Palestine activism and the smear campaign against her was incorporated into media coverage on the subject, including articles in the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star, and syndicated elsewhere. The Toronto Star's coverage was also updated to include a Palestinian perspective on the meaning of a popular chant. CJPME also had a statement featured on multiple CP24 news broadcasts aired on March 16 and 17. This helped restore some balance to the otherwise skewed reporting. Jama was elected MPP on March 16. Click here to read all of our letters on this subject.

Like many, we were horrified by the unfair attacks on #hamont MPP @SarahJama_ due her courageous support for Palestinian human rights, but encouraged to see voters reject this smear. Thanks to @CP24 for including our perspective in coverage of last night’s election result. pic.twitter.com/ATE5MYlNnV

— Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (@CJPME) March 17, 2023

"Cohn claims that the phrase, 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' is controversial 'because it speaks for liberation from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea – with no Israel to speak of.' The reality, however, is that Israel is the occupying power, ‘from the river to the sea.’"

"I fear that you omitted a critical element of Borrell’s piece. He wrote that 'While Israelis can rely on a strong state and army, Palestinians have no such recourse. This vast inequality in the ability to control one’s destiny is visible at every roadside checkpoint.' Borrell goes further than merely equating violence ‘on both sides.’"

"In an article already plagued by unbalanced reporting (read: citing B’nai Brith but no Palestinian groups), I was shocked to read a clear-cut case of plagiarism in the twelfth paragraph of Ferguson’s article. Besides one word, all of this language is plagiarized directly from the Associated Press."

On March 12, the Toronto Star published an article by journalist Rob Ferguson about Ontario NDP candidate Sarah Jama, which had falsely conflated Jama’s support for Palestinian human rights with antisemitism. Unfortunately, the article had uncritically repeated a smear campaign by pro-Israel advocacy group B’nai Brith. In part, the article claimed that Jama had previously been affiliated with a group which “has called for a Palestinian state ‘from the (Jordan) river to the sea’ — often interpreted as erasing the state of Israel.” Based on this one-sided interpretation, it was assumed therefore that the chant was antisemitic.

In describing a common Palestinian chant, the Star, therefore, had provided only a hostile interpretation which painted it in a negative light, without asking Palestinians themselves what it meant. CJPME promptly wrote to the Star about this gross misinterpretation, which we noted is a simple and legitimate call for freedom for all Palestinians under Israeli rule. CJPME insisted that the Star update its article to “include a Palestinian perspective regarding the meaning of this legitimate chant, instead of relying on interpretations sourced entirely by perspectives which are hostile to Palestinian narratives and activism.”

Late on March 13, the article was updated to describe the chant more accurately as “a contested refrain interpreted by some as a rallying cry for Palestinian freedom, but by others as a call to erase the state of Israel.” An Editor’s Note was appended to the bottom of the article to read: “This story has been updated to provide more context regarding the phrase ‘from the (Jordan) river to the sea.’” However, the article did not incorporate additional Palestinian perspectives or change the misleading headline, as had been requested.

"Jama’s critics (and subsequently, your article) are wildly misrepresenting the meaning of the Palestinian chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which is a simple and legitimate call for freedom for all Palestinians under Israeli rule. Yousef Munayyer writes in Jewish Currents that the chant refers to “a state in which Palestinians can live in their homeland as free and equal citizens, neither dominated by others nor dominating them.” As he writes, “the claim that [it] carries a genocidal intent relies not on the historical record, but rather on racism and Islamophobia.”

"Further, you still claim that since 1967, 'more than 500,000 Jewish settlers have moved into dozens of settlements' which is factually incorrect as it excludes settlers living in east Jerusalem which is occupied territory as recognized by the international community. According to Foundation for Middle East Peace, 'by 2014 there were some 700,000 Israeli Jews living in settlements in the occupied territories.' This is a factual error that must be corrected."

"It is frankly appalling that you write several paragraphs about the settler rampage in Hawara and the subsequent settler attack on Monday but make no mention of the fact that a Palestinian was shot and killed in Hawara. To be clear, around 100 Palestinians were injured and one was killed. It is not fair to mention that two Israelis were killed and not mention the significant casualties of Palestinians.

It is even more troubling that you mention that two Israeli brothers were killed but you fail to report on the murder of Sameh al-Aqtash, just four days after he returned from Turkey where he had been supporting earthquake victims. If we take seriously that Palestinian life matters equally to those of Israelis, a full and fair broadcast must mention the casualties of Palestinians in this story. Otherwise, the story is incomplete and unfair."