Three recent news articles from CBC News written by reporter Yasmine Hassan have portrayed Israel as a villain and severely downplayed Hamas’ role in the suffering of Palestinians.
The first article, published on July 27 entitled: “Former Palestinian detainees detail accounts of abuse and torture while in Israeli jails,” described the alleged plight of a number of Palestinian prisoner and detainees under Israeli authority. The second article, published on July 29 entitled: “A highly contagious skin disease is spreading across parts of the Gaza Strip,” detailed some of the health issues plaguing people in Gaza as the Hamas-provoked war nears the 10-month mark, and a third entitled: “Gaza’s Health Ministry has declared a polio epidemic. What does it mean for the territory?” describes a non-existent health emergency in apocalyptic terms.
Yasmine Hassan’s Long Track Record Of Anti-Israel Bias
Hassan’s skewed reporting has been flagged by HonestReporting Canada in recent weeks.
In the July 27 article, Hassan reported accounts of alleged mistreatment of Gazan civilians at the hands of the Israeli police and military. One former prisoner claimed that she endured “various forms of mistreatment while in Israeli custody, including being blindfolded most of the day, no access to bathrooms and limited water and food.” Another alleged that he was held in a small room and repeatedly threatened with death by Israeli military personnel.
CBC News defines its approach to journalism as “reporting based on accuracy, fairness, balance, impartiality and integrity.” In a recent statement from the CBC Ombudsman, CBC News took pains to point out that “balance does not necessarily mean mathematical equivalency.” That is well understood, and a reasonable position. That said, an article that interviews several Palestinians who allege mistreatment, as well as Amnesty International, who have been vocal in the extreme in their criticism of Israel since Hamas’ terrorist attacks on October 7, ought to include more than a boilerplate statement from Israeli authorities to counter these serious allegations.
Perhaps the most important context that was missing from this article was that the Israeli military flatly denies campaigns of mistreating detainees, asserting that “abuse of detainees was illegal and against military orders. It said since the war began there have been cases where correctional staff have been dismissed for violating military rules in their treatment of detainees.”
In the state of Israel, the rule of law prevails, and the law forbids torture. The existential struggle in which Israel finds itself against Hamas means that individuals suspected of ties to the terrorist organization will be detained and questioned. But torture and other forms of mistreatment are not condoned and there are punishments for bad actors.
The same cannot be said for Hamas’ conduct in Gaza. It has been nearly 10 months and for dozens of Israeli hostages, there has been no communication, no proof of life, and certainly no assurance of their gentle treatment. The United Nations reported in March that there is proof that Hamas is torturing Israeli hostages. And yet Hassan did not see fit to provide this crucial context in her report on allegations of Palestinian mistreatment.
In Hassan’s other article on July 29, she described the difficult situation facing many in Gaza with respect to contagious skin conditions that are growing increasingly common among the displaced. “Health professionals in the strip say the spread is because of the lack of hygiene products and clean sanitation.”
Hassan Ignores Israel’s Facilitation Of Aid To Gazans
On July 31 alone, more than 100 tonnes of medical and combined aid entered Gaza (along with hundreds of tons of food and building aid). The necessary supplies are entering Gaza on a daily basis. As has been so often the case throughout this war, Hamas are the true culprits. Embedding themselves deeply in the civilian population, Hamas’ presence hampers efforts to distribute aid to those who need it, when they are not simply just stealing it for their own use.
Hassan’s piece, again, showed a lack of balance that betrays her bias, or perhaps just her inability to see things clearly. Israel was dragged into a war by Hamas, and Hamas continues to hamper every effort to make life better for civilians in Gaza. By withdrawing from the civilian population, aid could be distributed more effectively, and Israeli authorities would no longer have any difficulty distinguishing between combatants and civilians.
Hassan A Stenographer For The Anti-Israel Cause
In a third article published July 30 making up Hassan’s stenography of anti-Israel complaints, she told readers that Hamas’ so-called “Gaza Health Ministry” has declared an “epidemic” for polio, though failing to share that the ministry is little more than a propaganda outlet for the terrorist group and whose statements cannot be taken as anything close to face value.
Despite the apocalyptic headline and story, only midway through the article did she make clear that exactly zero cases of polio have so far been identified in Gaza.
The article also shared the completely unsubstantiated claim that the war has left “39,000 dead in Gaza,” a statement that comes only from Hamas, does not distinguish civilians from combatants, cannot be verified in any way, and is statistically suspect. But Hassan repeated it, falsely presenting it as truth.
Israel is holding up their end of the humanitarian bargain. Will CBC News, and Yasmine Hassan, ever ask Hamas to demonstrate the same?
