MORE DOUBLE STANDARDS

War journalism ignores peacemakers. It plays up violence and conflict, and downplays non-violent alternatives.

CBC's reporting does not offer any credibility to Palestinian non-violent initiatives. CBC prefers to be a part of the problem rather than a part of any solution.

 

The biggest news on the Israel/Palestine conflict these days is the strong embrace of NON-VIOLENT RESISTANCE by all the major Palestinian civil organizations.

Non-violent resistance actually terrifies the Israeli Government far more than Gaza's ineffective rockets, and it is in their interest to pretend as much as possible that it is not happening.

CBC is collaborating with the Israeli Government and undermining both peace and Palestinian non-violent initiatives by downplaying them.

 

The major program being promoted by the Palestinians is the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign (BDS Campaign), which has been largely ignored by CBC.

But a good example of gross misrepresentation in this area is the following article published on January 13, 2013 online:

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/01/13/wrd-israel-palestine-west-bank-settlement-protest.html

 

This was a beautiful example of non-violent resistance. The Palestinians have watched Israelis move onto their lands for decades and build what CBC always calls "settlements", although they are actually colonies. So they decided to build their own settlement on their own land in area E-1. The unarmed Palestinian settlers were immediately evicted violently by the armed Israelis.

 

Why does CBC refer to them only as "protestors"? They deserve to be called "settlers" far more than the Israeli colonists. They were much more than mere "protestors". They were not so much protesting as asserting their rights by building on their own land.

 

Why does CBC treat this as just another "protest", when in fact it is a brilliant new tactic in the new NON-VIOLENT approach being taken by the Palestinian resistance? Why doesn't CBC give more coverage of this REAL news?

 

Why does CBC cavalierly talk about the possibility of an Israeli "settlement" being built on the same site in the future? Why is it so natural for CBC to describe the Bab al Shams settlement that was established by the Palestinians as nothing more than a "protest", while not emphasizing the illegality and immorality of planned future Israeli building on the same (Palestinian) land?

 

Why does CBC not mention the double standard in the occupied territories where Israeli "settlements" are tolerated and protected by the military, while Palestinian settlements are violently uprooted?