My experience as a Palestinian-American journalist in Los Angeles is a role that I do not take lightly. Since the start of the most recent genocide, I have felt an unwavering call to dedicate not only my career, but nearly every facet of my life, to the liberation of Palestine and exposing the truth about Israel to the world. Living in an ardently Zionist country that not only funds the slaughter of my people but also works to silence and censor anyone who dares to speak out against Israel or defend Palestinian rights, has placed many Palestinian journalists like myself at risk.
Throughout mainstream media, our voices are constantly dismissed or ignored. Very rarely are we the leading pioneers of our own movement. Many times, our ideas or perceptions are not validated unless they are backed up by a Jewish voice. Too often, we are forced to audition for the world’s sympathy, subjected to relentless scrutiny, and constantly berated by corporate media and other journalists and political commentators.
After two years of death and destruction in Gaza, Israel continues to make excuses for genocide. It has revealed itself to be a monstrous pariah state with no end to the violence ensued, as the death toll of Palestinians continues to stagger.
Endless images and videos of Palestinian men, women, and children, completely burned, butchered, and obliterated by Israeli bombs floods social media outlets daily. This mass extermination campaign we are witnessing is boasted about and cheered on by its perpetrators. Israelis are proud of their actions, calling for the expulsion of Palestinians in Gaza as the international community is unequivocal in its dismissal and disregard, in order to protect Israel.
Over the past two years, the state of Israel has expressed time and time again its intention to wipe out Palestinians and reoccupy the Gaza strip, displacing the over two million Palestinians residing there. This is a flagrant call for ethnic cleansing.
Just a bit ago, Canary Media came out with a staggering report claiming that over 680,000 Palestinians have been slaughtered by Israel, including an unconscionable 380,000 infants. What’s also been increasingly alarming is Israel’s relentless attack on journalists, as Al Jazeera reported that over 274 journalists have also been killed by Israel.
These are targeted attacks on the media, free speech, and the truth. Israel does not want the world to see the horrors that it is ensuing in the Gaza strip. For Palestinians, the work of journalists is a lifeline, revealing the truth of Israel’s prolonged occupation and genocide that has now persisted for nearly seven decades. Much of what has been shared of the barbarity happening in Gaza is being shared by civilians themselves. International journalists are barred from entry into Gaza, destructing the truth, and imposing censorship on a well-documented genocide.
As multiple deals have been proposed and accepted by Hamas, Israel has proven it is not to be trusted, repeatedly breaking ceasefire negotiations, committing violations under international law. It is the only state that can bomb four countries in 24 hours and still play victim, all while unequivocally being backed and supported by the United States and the European Union.
On August 10, Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif was murdered by Israel alongside four of his colleagues, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, Momen Aliwa, and Mohammed al-Khalidi. All were journalists staying in a tent located just outside Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital. Sharif and his colleagues murder has sparked outrage, as Israel continues to target the press with impunity and without any consequences whatsoever. Before his death, Sharif shared in a conversation with one of his colleagues, “I will not leave Gaza except for Jannah (Paradise).”
Corporate media outlets such as AP news and Reuters, completely dismissed the murder of their employees, once again making excuses for the Zionist state just like multiple media outlets before them. Both media outlets have been known for publishing Israeli propaganda, completely complicit in the murder of their own press.
In response, journalists such as Valerie Zink, who working at Reuters as a photojournalist, destroyed her press credentials, refusing to associate herself with a media team that does not protect nor defend its employees that are reporting amidst a genocide, where their lives are completely at risk.
Zink stated, “When Israel murdered Anas Al-Sharif, together with the entire Al-Jazeera crew in Gaza City on August 10, Reuters chose to publish Israel’s entirely baseless claim that Al-Sharif was a Hamas operative — one of countless lies that media outlets like Reuters have dutifully repeated and dignified.”
Corporate media has made it abundantly clear that it censors its journalists, while constantly espousing Hasbara talking points and uplifting Israeli propaganda.
With that, some of the most well known media outlets alongside AP news and Reuters, such as CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, have utterly paved the way for Israel’s genocide, neglecting the truth, while putting millions of lives at risk on the ground. These media outlets work to completely devoid Israel of all wrongdoing and give them a slap on the wrist for its inherent targeting of journalists and media workers.
Israel’s control of the media in the United States has been made crystal clear, as prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu recently hosted a gathering for Zionist American social media influencers in New York City, stating the need to control social media apps like TikTok and X in order to continue silencing free speech and censoring any criticism of Israel. It is quite concerning that the prime minister of a foreign government can exude such power and demand that citizens of the United States push forward with dangerous propaganda so that Israel can continue its slaughter campaign in peace.
In Ukraine, we find international journalists flooding the scene, reporting on Russia’s continuous attacks and war crimes, whereas a livestreamed genocide is shutoff from the rest of the world. According to multiple sources, including The Committee to Protect Journalists, more journalists have been killed in Gaza than any other genocide nor conflict in history. This fact should concern the international community and the media industry worldwide. There is an assault on the truth and a chilling intention to silence.
Anas Al Sharif, and like many others, anticipated his own murder. In his final words to the world Sharif stated on X, “Do not forget Gaza . . . And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.”
The murder of Shireen Abu Aqleh, a senior journalist at Al Jazeera, shocked the world, as she was known to cover Israel’s occupation in Palestine for decades. The international community seems to have forgotten how Israel functions when it is caught redhanded as Israel once again made excuses and got away with her murder.
First Israel denied killing her, blaming Palestinians. Then, they claimed they’d launch an open investigation, which revealed that it was their fault, and then came out saying that it was an accident. This is the same dog and pony show that Israel constantly espouses in order to get away with its intentional murder of the press.
We all know that the murder of all of these journalists was not accidental. This is intentional targeting and a strategy on Israel’s part, to further silence the truth and to hide the essence of their barbarity. Throughout the darkest events of history, we have seen this on replay. Nazi Germany comes to mind, where countless journalists were manipulated and silenced, many arrested and even murdered as well. It makes total sense why Israel is killing truth tellers, when the number of women and children they have killed continues to stagger exponentially to an appalling number.
The reporting happening on the ground in Palestine is not just a profession, it is an act of survival. As a Palestinian journalist in the diaspora, it is on me and my colleagues to push for justice and unequivocal liberation for a land that has been occupied for far too long. As journalists, it is on us to not succumb to corporate media pressure. It is on us, as honest and ethical journalists, to ensure that the truth that we are revealing lives on and is protected, from the hands working so hard to destroy and distort it.
