On September 17, 2010, Canadian author Margaret Atwood published an article in Ha’aretz, entitled “Suffering of Palestinian children is something both sides can agree on.” Atwood alleged that Israel was responsible for malnutrition of Palestinian children in Area C — “higher even than that in Gaza, and many kids are not only developmentally stunted, but are dying from related illnesses.” (Area C” of the West Bank is under Israeli control.) For evidence, Atwood cites a report by Save the Children-UK (“Life on the Edge,” originally published October 2009, re-released June 2010).

However, the details provided by Atwood are not contained in Save the Children’s report. In fact, in correspondence with NGO Monitor, Save the Children noted that

  1. The source for the malnutrition claims was from a “UNRWA/UNICEF/ WFP household survey: Food Security and Nutrition Survey For Herding Communities In Area C” that was circulated by Save the Children, not from “Life on the Edge.”
  2. “When referring to the UNRWA, UNICEF and WFP survey, Save the Children specifies that it is referring to ‘children in herder and Bedouin communities.’ Atwood’s article does not make this distinction.” (emphasis added)
  3. “Save the Children did not contact Ms Atwood directly and is not responsible for her statement.”

NGO Monitor wrote to Ms. Atwood, asking her for specific data and quotes from “Life on the Edge” to support her claims.

She did not respond directly to NGO Monitor, but Ha’aretz published a response on its website. Atwood wrote:

“As for the notion that the bad condition of the children of Area C is a lie made up by me, or that Israel bears no responsibility for Area C conditions, please see the following, from the STCUK press release of June, 2010…If the STCUK report is wrong, or if there are other, more accurate statistics, these should also be published.”

Instead of admitting that her claims were inaccurate, Atwood repeats the mistake, again failing to distinguish between the general Palestinian population of Area C and herder and Bedouin communities.

By generalizing about a humanitarian situation based on marginal populations, Atwood greatly distorts the impact of Israeli policies. She also makes the misleading claim that children “are dying from related illnesses”; the survey did not relate to fatalities.

In order to correct the record, Ms. Atwood should immediately publish an apology and amend her article.

Correspondence:

1. Letter to Margaret Atwood, asking for the sources of her claims (September 20, 2010)
2. Letter to Save the Children-UK, asking for more information on the sources of Atwood’s claims (September 20, 2010)
3. Response of Save the Children, noting that Atwood failed to specify “herder and Bedouin communities” in her article (September 29, 2010)
4. NGO Monitor reply to Save the Children, inquiring about whether the NGO contacted Atwood to correct the record (October 4, 2010)
5. Save the Children’s response (October 8, 2010)

1. Letter to Margaret Atwood, asking for the sources of her claims (September 20, 2010)

Margaret Atwood
c/o McClelland & Stewart
75 Sherbourne St., 5th Floor
Toronto, ON M5A 2P9

Dear Ms. Atwood,

In your article “Suffering of Palestinian children is something both sides can agree on” (Ha’aretz, September 17, 2010), you cite a 2009 report by Save the Children-UK, entitled “Life on the Edge,” alleging that “the rate of malnutrition of the children in Area C is higher even than that in Gaza, and many kids are not only developmentally stunted, but are dying from related illnesses.”

Having read this Save the Children-UK publication, we did not find data or findings that refer to specific levels of malnutrition, illness, or development in Area C.

We are therefore asking that you provide the relevant quotes and data from the Save the Children- UK report.

Given the political campaigning directed at Israel, which often exploits false or unverifiable claims such as this, NGO Monitor will examine this information on an independent and systematic basis.

Additionally, we note that the report itself questions the value of its conclusions about children: “Save the Children UK acknowledges the weakness of the survey methodology with regards to capturing the perspective of children and ensuring gender balance.” This caveat highlights the need for an independent assessment of the allegations.

We look forward to your response and the opening of a dialogue on these important issues.

Sincerely,

Naftali Balanson
Managing Editor
NGO Monitor

2. Letter to Save the Children-UK, asking for more information on the sources of Atwood’s claims (September 20, 2010)

Phoebe Greenwood
Middle East, South America, Eastern Europe Desk
Save the Children-UK

Dear Ms. Greenwood,

In an article published in Ha’aretz, (“Suffering of Palestinian children is something both sides can agree on,” September 17, 2010), Canadian author Margaret Atwood cited a 2009 report by Save the Children-UK, entitled “Life on the Edge,” alleging that “the rate of malnutrition of the children in Area C is higher even than that in Gaza, and many kids are not only developmentally stunted, but are dying from related illnesses.”

Having read this publication, we did not find data or findings that refer to specific levels of malnutrition, illness, or development in Area C.

Can you provide the relevant quotes and data from your report? If the information is not from “Life on the Edge,” is there another Save the Children-UK report that is the basis for Ms. Atwood’s claims?

We look forward to continued dialogue with Save the Children-UK on these important issues.

Sincerely,

Naftali Balanson
Managing Editor
NGO Monitor

3. Response of Save the Children, noting that Atwood failed to specify “herder and Bedouin communities” in her article (September 29, 2010)

Dear Naftali

Thanks very much for your email.

Margaret Atwood’s article in September 17 issue of Ha’aretz refers to Save the Children’s Life on the Edge report, circulated in June 2010 with an opening email which highlights complementary findings from a joint UNRWA/UNICEF/ WFP household survey: Food Security and Nutrition Survey For Herding Communities In Area C (attached). The findings of this survey underscored the urgency and relevance of Life on the Edge [first published in October 2009].

The survey found that among the Bedouin and herder communities surveyed in the West Bank, 44% of children have diarrhoea and 48% suffer from acute respiratory infections. It also finds that 79% of the surveyed Bedouin and local Palestinian herders in Area C are food insecure. The level of food insecurity for these herding communities is higher than in Gaza (61%).

According to UNICEF and the World Health Organisation, diarrhoea and pneumonia are the biggest killers of children under five in the world.

When referring to the UNRWA, UNICEF and WFP survey, Save the Children specifies that it is referring to "children in herder and Bedouin communities." Atwood’s article does not make this distinction.

I hope this will help answer your query. Please don’t hesitate to come back if you’d like any further information.

With best wishes

Phoebe Greenwood

4. NGO Monitor reply to Save the Children, inquiring about whether the NGO contacted Atwood to correct the record (October 4, 2010)

Dear Phoebe,

Thank you for your detailed response.

I have a few follow-up questions:

  1. Did Save the Children contact Ms. Atwood to clarify that the survey referred specifically to “children in herder and Bedouin communities”? If so, when was this brought to her attention?
  2. If Save the Children did not communicate on this issue with Ms. Atwood, why not?
  3. Will Save the Children make a public statement on the misleading details of Ms. Atwood’s article, which were attributed to the “Life on the Edge” report?

We look forward to continued dialogue with you on these important issues.

Sincerely,

Naftali Balanson
Managing Editor
NGO Monitor

5. Save the Children’s response (October 8, 2010)

Dear Naftali,

Thank you for your email. In response to your further queries, Save the Children did not contact Ms Atwood directly and is not responsible for her statement.

Whenever we have made referrence to it, Save the Children has clearly indicated that the data regarding prevalence of malnutrition, diarrhoea and acute respiratory infection in children among Bedouin and herder communities in the West Bank was gathered by UNRWA/UNICEF/ WFP in their household survey.

Sincerely
Phoebe Greenwood