Letter by over 750 journalists condemns Western coverage of 'Israel'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Washington Post
10 Nov 2023 16:16
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The letter requests that newsrooms be held "accountable for dehumanizing rhetoric that has served to justify ethnic cleansing of Palestinians."

Posters with names and pictures of Sameeh Nadi, left and Esam Bashar, placed in mock coffins of Palestinian journalists who were killed, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Nov. 7, 2023. (AP)

According to The Washington Post, over 750 journalists from multiple news organizations have signed a letter published on Thursday to condemn "Israel's" killing of journalists in Gaza and criticize Western media’s coverage of the war.

The letter, which said newsrooms are "accountable for dehumanizing rhetoric that has served to justify ethnic cleansing of Palestinians", includes journalists from Reuters, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, and The Washington Post.

Some reporters have even been fired and let go from their positions for exposing bias within newsrooms.

Abdallah Fayyad, a 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist and former editorial board member at the Boston Globe, who signed the letter, said, “My hope for this letter is to push back on the culture of fear around this issue," adding, "and to make decision-makers and reporters and editors think twice about the language that they use."

Suhauna Hussain, a reporter at the Los Angeles Times, stated, "What it comes down to is just asking journalists to do their jobs... to hold power to account."

The letter argues that words like "apartheid", "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide" should be applied in reporting to describe "Israel’s" attacks, noting that these are "precise terms that are well-defined by international human rights organizations".

'Israel' intentionally targeted journalists

Fayyad stressed that although he wasn’t asking for the adoption of those terms for their own descriptions, "but it is a relevant fact to say that leading human rights groups have called Israel an apartheid regime," he said. "That’s the kind of double standard I hope this letter will call out."

Just recently, an investigation was conducted by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which concluded that an artillery shelling that killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and injured six others in southern Lebanon this month was intentional and came from "Israel".

Abdallah was martyred and six other journalists (two from AFP) were wounded in the shelling of the village of Alma al-Shaab in southern Lebanon on October 13. RSF said, "The initial findings of the investigation show that the reporters were not collateral victims of the shooting," adding, "One of their vehicles, marked 'press', was targeted, and it was also clear that the group stationed next to it was [comprised of] journalists."

'Racist and revisionist media'

Other journalist letters have been published such as that of The New York Review of Books, signed by well-known writers like Ta-Nehisi Coates, calling on the "international community to commit to ending the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza."

Another letter published by Artforum led to the firing of its editor. which prompted the magazine's publishers to release a statement that the letter was “not consistent with Artforum’s editorial process” and had been "widely misinterpreted as a statement from the magazine about highly sensitive and complex geopolitical circumstances."

In addition, a letter titled "Writers Against the War on Gaza", signed by over 8,000 writers, criticized "the silencing of dissent and … racist and revisionist media cycles."

New York Times writer Jazmine Hughes quit under pressure from management after signing the letter and colleague Jamie Lauren Keiles left the newsroom as well stating that it was "a personal decision about what kind of work I want to be able to do."

'The Art of Protest'

TV Reed, professor of English and American studies at Washington State University who studied protest movements and wrote the book "The Art of Protest" argued that open letters play a strategic role in protests.

"The power [of open letters] is in offering readers names they know and respect to identify with. And/or professions they respect and identify with," he noted, adding: "In this era of social media, where individual commentary is often excessive and harsh, a collective letter thoughtfully conceived can be more powerful."

Columbia University journalism professor, Bill Grueskin, expressed that although journalists have more leverage to speak on matters like the killing of journalists, he did warn that those who sign open letters on matters like these risk damaging their outlets.

"I think it’s worth having a real honest discussion in terms of the reputation of the institution they work for", he added.

Rivano Barros claimed that journalists “can and do criticize governments when they are infringing on press freedoms,” as he recalled the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“Gazan journalists are facing an unprecedented and rising death toll, Western newsrooms are directly benefiting from their work on-the-ground, and if we cannot call for their protection — that is perverse,” he stated.