On May 6 and 8, syndicated columnist Gwynne Dyer wrote an opinion column published by The Hamilton Spectator, The Hill Times and Halifax newspaper the Chronicle Herald entitled: “Israel appears to have carte blanche,”  in which he attempted to vilify Israel on several issues with weak foundations.

Dyer is entitled to his opinion, but the ‘facts’ he used to support his narrative are at best selective, and at worst inaccurate.

He opened his commentary by writing of Israel that “it has just attacked an unarmed civilian ship called Conscience with armed drones near Malta in the central Mediterranean, almost 2,000 kilometres from Israel — and nobody has said ‘boo.’”

Click below for larger images of the articles:

Setting aside the fact that there’s no evidence to substantiate that Israel carried out this alleged attack, and that Israel has not confirmed, nor denied any involvement, but Dyer has fundamentally ignored that Israel has a naval blockade on Gaza. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Dyer admitted, wanted “to turn the spotlight on the perpetual Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip” by sending its ship, ostensibly to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza, towards Israel’s blockade as a media stunt to create anti-Israel coverage. He didn’t mention the folly of sailing towards Israel’s Navy.

Dyer likewise ignored recent news reports which quoted the Saudi Al Arabiya television channel which, “citing a Western security source, reported Friday that the aid ship had been arranged by Hamas and that those onboard planned to engage with IDF troops as they approached the Gaza shore.”

Additionally, according to an activist’s statement quoted in a news report, “the activists said the strike appeared to target the boat’s generator,” and took place a day before an additional 30 activists intended to board. Despite it seeming like a defensive, pre-emptive strike with no casualties, Dyer outrageously claimed: “but frankly, there wouldn’t have been much outcry now even if the Israelis had sunk it with all hands.”

There are two options to explain the omission of these key details: that despite Dyer writing a column on this subject, he failed to conduct proper research, or that he simply chose to hide this critical information from his readers.

He cited the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s 2010 boat, the Mavi Marmara. His version of events was that: “When the Freedom Flotilla Coalition—the group that sent the Conscience—sent an earlier aid convoy to Gaza bearing 10,000 tonnes of aid in 2010, Israel waited until the ship Mavi Marmara neared the coast and sent commandos who abseiled down from helicopters. Ten civilians were killed and 28 injured, and there was an almighty international uproar about it.”

However, there is a fuller picture of events which Dyer similarly failed to acknowledge. Firstly, the Mavi Marmara itself did not carry any humanitarian aid that was destined for Gaza. It was a PR stunt full stop.

Furthermore, Israel’s spokesperson at the time said that “live fire was used against our forces. They initiated the violence, that’s 100 percent clear.” This was corroborated by social media posts by Greta Berlin, the co-founder and spokesperson of the Free Gaza Movement, stating that “the Israeli troops did not open fire until after Ken O’Keefe, a former US marine aboard the Mavi Marmara, had seized a gun from one of them.” Berlin blamed O’Keefe for some of the deaths on board and it’s noteworthy that several of the activists attacked the Israeli soldiers attempting to interdict the vessel.

Dyer’s May 6 & 8 column is the latest in a long line of commentaries where he makes selective use of the facts, did little to inform and educate readers, and neglected to provide context, raising questions as to his commitment to factual accuracy and whether Canadian media outlets should give him a platform.