Supporters of Israeli apartheid are trying to ban the word Palestine from the airwaves, but the struggle for justice won’t be silenced. Help us send a loud and clear message to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to stop censoring Palestine! |
Dear Friends,
For decades, supporters of Israeli apartheid have tried to make Palestine disappear from maps, international politics, history books — and now, even the airwaves.
Recently, radio show host Duncan McCue had to apologize on-air for having used the word “Palestine” during an interview he conducted with Joe Sacco, a cartoonist whose work deals with colonialism from the Northwest Territories to Palestine and beyond. McCue is the host of the show, The Current, on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
What’s wrong with using the word “Palestine”? Absolutely nothing! Take a moment right now to contact Canadian MPs who support Palestinian rights and tell them to speak out against this grotesque attempt to erase a people and their struggle for justice. Tell them not to allow the CBC to censor Palestine!
The day after McCue interviewed Joe Sacco and used the “P” word, he issued a brief and vague apology for “referr[ing] to the Palestinian territories as Palestine.” CBC then issued a statement claiming that McCue’s apology was in accordance with the company’s “internal language guidance,” which does not recognize Palestine as its own sovereign state.
The CBC’s language policy and McCue’s retraction is not only inaccurate — Palestine is acknowledged as a state by over a hundred countries and organizations, including the United Nations — but harmful and part of a concerted effort to silence Palestinian voices and their struggle equality and freedom. The fact that Joe Sacco is an artist who works to dismantle colonialism and even wrote a book entitled Palestine gives this incident an extra dose of bitter irony. Speaking to Mondoweiss, Sacco stated: “It’s ironic that the CBC would apologize for the use of the word “Palestine” for a segment about my book, whose subject is at least partly the attempted obliteration of the cultural identity of indigenous people of the Northwest Territories, particularly through the notorious residential school system...”
Take a moment right now to contact MPs in Canada and tell them to speak out against CBC censorship of Palestine. Palestine is a place, a country, and the Palestinian people should have full equal rights. Shame on the CBC for trying to silence a human rights struggle.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is Canada’s top public broadcasting network. As a publicly-funded corporation, it has a duty to deliver information that is accurate and fair — and its rejection of Palestine is neither. Other outlets, including those as venerated as the New York Times, have no problem recognizing Palestine in articles and headlines — so why does the CBC?
There’s a good chance the CBC will be open to reexamining its stance on Palestine and this is where we need your help in mounting more pressure. Don’t let Palestine be censored. Contact progressive MPs now!
Towards a nuclear-free world,
Ariel and the entire CODEPINK team: Ann, Caty, Cody, Danaka, Emily, Jodie, Kelsey, Leila, Leonardo, Mary, Michelle, Nancy, Paki, Teri, and Yousef
P.S. There's more. Facebook has censored Palestinians and advocates for Palestinian rights for years and we and our coalition partners have had enough. Join the September 23 social media day of action to hold Facebook accountable. Post and tweet using this toolkit and join the Stop Censoring Palestine Facebook group.
