History Will Condemn Media’s One-sided Anti- Israel Coverage of the Gaza War, by Harvey Oberfeld

by Harvey Oberfeld

Keeping It Real…

Juan 9, 2025

Ravid Haim died last week … only 15 days old.

Doctors had tried valiantly to save the baby, born through an Emergency C-Section after his pregnant mother, Tzeela Gez was shot in her car and murdered.

Sure seemed like a newsworthy story to me: a pregnant mother shot and killed … then extraordinary efforts to save her baby: could even be a “show topper”, as we used to refer to TV headline stories.

But did you see much coverage of that story on CBC, CTV or Global? I didn’t see any!

Why?

I believe that’s because Ravid and his mother Tzeela are Israelis … Jews … killed by a Palestinian terrorist.

No story there … for today’s slanted, anti-Israel media!

Had Tzeela been a Palestinian, shot by an Israeli soldier, I have no doubt her murder and the struggle by doctors to her baby would have garnered world-wide media attention: including video of the shooting location; the bullet ridden car; interviews with emotional grieving family members; maybe even pictures of their coffins and, their funerals.

Here’s Ravid’s short-life story:https://www.timesofisrael.com/baby-of-pregnant-terror-victim-dies-after-fighting-for-his-life-for-two-weeks/)

It’s quite apparent to me: the national TV networks in Canada have taken sides … in favour of the Palestinians, even the Hamas terrorists, and as a result, hour after hour, day after day, week after week, viewers are being bombarded by “weighted” stories, aimed at saving Hamas, so it can survive, rebuild, re-arm, fire thousands more rockets into Israel and carry our another attack/massacre as soon as it can. (Read about Hamas’ vow here: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/17/middleeast/hamas-will-not-disarm-gaza-israel-intl.)

Of course, the media don’t openly say that.

What they do is show how ugly the war is in Gaza (and it is!) … and editorially place the blame for all the destruction on Israel, not Hamas, Islamic Jihad, who fired thousands of rockets into Israel and then carried out the Oct 7, 2023 invasion, massacre and hostage-taking and are still oppressing/intimidating the Palestinian people wherever they can.

So we get LOTS of footage (most of it selectively shot, edited and supplied from Palestinian videographers working under the scrutiny of Hamas) of the terrible destruction and the toll the war has taken on Gazan civilians … showing suffering women, children, elderly in every story … highlighting grieving family members, showing body bags, coffins and funerals, but almost NEVER identifying any of the dead or injured as Hamas/Islamic Jihad terrorists/fighters … except for the occasional successfully assassinated major terrorist targets, whom the Israelis announce and identify.

But this is not a blog on the war itself: it’s an exposure of Hamas has been very effective in “using” and manipulating sympathetic media.

Take the accusations three weeks ago that Israel had “bombed a hospital” in Gaza; that was soon modified (after Israel complained) to Israel had bombed “near” a hospital; and a week later, the truth came out: using a deep bunker buster bomb Israel had killed the new leader of Hamas, Mohammed Sinwar, who was indeed hiding in a tunnel beside and underneath the hospital, something Hamas has repeatedly denied existed.

Most of the Western media have ignored or glossed over that very telling revelation.

Where was any hard, tough questioning of Hamas officials (they do have a Press Office) or their supportive anti-Israel commentators/mouthpieces about why that tunnel was there, why was Sinwar hiding so near a hospital etc. ???

In any story, especially a conflict, there is also the other side … something it sure seems to me the CBC, CTV and Global have now almost forgotten … or are willfully ignoring.

Would you be surprised to learn that 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the Oct. 8 war began? Most of them reservists (teachers, lawyers, mechanics, scientists, farmers, students, chefs etc.) … called up to fight in a war Israelis never wanted, never started, never even anticipated would happen.

Where are the stories about these large numbers of Israeli deaths? Do killed Israelis not have grieving families … just like the Palestinians? Do they not have funerals? Have you seen those covered? I have not.

Are you aware four more Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza last week? And four more the previous week? Either barely a mention about them or none at all … and nothing about who they were, how they died, what family did they leave behind … in our media.

And did you know every two to three days, Israelis in many cities are still forced to wake their kids up at 3 a.m. and flee to underground bomb shelters when air raid sirens go off, because Hamas is still firing rockets from Gaza and the Houthis are regularly firing missiles from Yemen … specifically timed in the middle of the night to cause as much civilian terror as possible.

Seen that story anywhere?

Think of how living like that would impact YOUR family! Would you want Hamas, Islamic Jihad to be eliminated or to survive … and continue their terror?

The Israelis estimate 20,000 armed Hamas/Islamic Jihad fighters have been killed in Gaza … many of them deliberately hiding in and amongst Gazan civilians and Israeli spokespersons regularly identify many of them by name and Hamas role/rank. Seen that covered anywhere?

In addition to the day after day one-sided anti-Israel stories, note the plethora of one-sided interviews that follow each of them with obviously biased, anti-Israel “experts” who always overwhelmingly blame the plight of the Gazans on the Israelis, never Hamas. Commentators who understand/support Israel’s point of view/positions/actions get very little … or often, no air time at all.

And, of course, Palestinian officials or anti-Israel voices are given HUGE air time, allowed to go on and on, often distorting the truth or even outright lying … totally unchallenged. While Israeli officials or supporters are grilled like hamburgers, often interrupted and given only very short air time.

And when the media do include Israelis themselves , notice how they stack the deck: featuring family members of hostages, who understandably call for an immediate cease-fire to get the release of their loved ones, or Israeli activists/politicians who clearly oppose/dislike Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It’s all slanted!

But do most people even notice?

Watch the CBC, CTV and Global coverage (BBC too) with a critical eye and you too will be appalled at how one-sided pro-Palestinian propaganda is being peddled.

Currently, the big push by naive left-leaning politicians (and by Hamas) is for “an immediate and permanent ceasefire”.

Sounds good … except, that would indeed allow Hamas to survive, to continue to oppress Palestinians in Gaza, to rebuild its massive military infrastructure, smuggle in or build thousands more rockets to eventually fire into Israel and prepare for another invasion, massacre, kidnapping of Israelis … as they have openly vowed to do. (https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/hamas-official-vows-to-repeat-attacks-on-israel-again-and-again-until-it-s-destroyed-196930629782).

Now … and this is important … I am not suggesting in any way that Israeli actions in Gaza should not be reported; but only that BOTH sides of this (or any) conflict should be equally covered by fair, impartial real journalists.

That is not happening!

This blog is an INDICTMENT of activists who have infiltrated legitimate news organizations and are using their very privileged positions to push personal political, ethnic or religious biases with their “stories”.

And not just in the Gaza conflict, but with many other stories as well … too much propaganda, now, disguised as news!

They are disgracing and further damaging a once trusted profession that has been losing its credibility …. now even faster with the current one-sided reporting.

Management should realize viewers (listeners, readers) are not stupid and should not underestimate peoples’ ability to discern manipulated “news” when they see it … and will just stop watching.

When media historians look back at the state of journalism in Canada in this decade, especially when it comes to journalistic ethics involving fairness, impartiality and telling both (or many) sides of a story, they will be appalled!

Meanwhile, we should all mourn the innocent victims of the war in Gaza; but. unlike our media, we should also mourn the innocent victims of the war on the Israeli side … including Tzeela Gev, who was murdered, and her baby Ravid Haim, who was only 15 days old when he died.

Pass it on …

Harv Oberfeld