Ha’aretz sanctioned; another blow to Press Freedom
JVL Introduction
In a way I am surprised it took this long for the Israeli government to sanction Ha’aretz because it had not allowed any non-resident journalists into Gaza (except on rare and highly controlled occasions) and it closed the Al Jazeera bureau in Ramallah making reporting even more difficult. Many individual journalists and even Israel’s public broadcaster have been under attack and Ha’aretz see this sanctioning as part of Netanyahu’s masterplan to destroy press freedom in Israel.
Of course, it is not only Israel trying to silence voices that tell the truth about what is happening to Palestinians. In the UK and elsewhere there are several examples of attacks on journalists and even people who post on social media, all done under draconian “anti terrorist” laws whereby it is an offence, subject to a possible 14 years in prison to: “express an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation” . People who do not support Hezbollah or Hamas have been caught up for, eg reminding people of the right in international law for an occupied people to resist, including armed resistance.
Above all we must stand against the silencing of Palestinian voices. Their history, their experience and their perspective must be heard, giving the lie to the “Israel’s right to defend itself” line from so many mainstream politicians without ever considering the Palestinians’ right to self defence.
While many have accepted being silenced, or adopted the Israeli state narrative, Ha’aretz. activists, independent journalists and Palestinians are not going to stop.
LL
This article was originally published by Ha'aretz on Sun 1 Dec 2024. Read the original here.
Haaretz Will Not Be Silenced by Netanyahu
Netanyahu has never liked our reporting and our strong stance against his policy of occupation and annexation, and his overall denial of Palestinian rights. Now his political henchmen want to delegitimize and strangle us financially – but we are not alone in the government’s crosshairs
Loading article text…
It’s been a hard enough fight over the last 30 years for any newspaper worthy of the name to stay solvent. UK newspapers are mainly owned by moguls wealthy enough to meet the gap between the costs of running them and the income they earn from advertising and newspaper sales. The “terms of trade” for newspapers are constantly worsening, making the stand “Ha’aretz” and its staff have taken even braver and more selfless than many bystanders will have guessed.
What’s needed now is for friends and supporters of “Ha’aretz” to buttress its finances as quickly as possible. For reasons of internal politics, most of “Ha’aretz”‘s new advertising “business” has to come from within Israel (or the Jewish Diaspora).
Maybe lots of Israeli businesses and individuals who’ve suffered because of Netanyahu’s actions would now like to express their feelings by advertising in “Ha’aretz”?
Some “Ha’aretz” readers are already contacting friends and families to boost the numbers making paid subscriptions to the newspaper.
It’s also possible some of the international press associations and major newspapers could express their support for fellow journalists with series of suitable ads …
A brave stance by the admirable reportage and comment by Haaretz journalists that would shame Western mainstream media with their reticence and perpetuation of Israeli hasbara, also backed by the governments and menaced by the Israel lobby.
One point in this excellent article. The rape allegations have been found to lack credibility and strong evidence, as were the stories of executed babies. Also no mention about the friendly fire from Israeli tanks and helicopters who fired ruthlessly at the Festival and the kibbutzim killing many including hostages. A UN investigation was denied. Also that the Hmas intention was to take soldiers hostage in exchange for the thousands of Palestinian hostages who are imprisoned in the West Bank and Israeli torture Chambers and whose numbers increase every day.
So every support for Haaretz should be made by directly subscribing and by advertising.
He’s scared & desperate
I subscribe to Haaretz. We should organise a support fund for it.
JW above:
There is an English-language website.
It’s characteristic of tyrannical authoritarian regimes, that they control the media and deny dissenting voices. The British government are currently exercising their own version of censorship – using “D” Notices to prevent “Main Stream Media” reporting on the likes of the UK Government’s active participation in the Israeli Genocide, by sending UK troops onto the ground in Gaza and conducting daily spying – surveillance flights from RAF Akrotiri. Matt Kennard, [Double Down News: https://www.doubledown.news/watch/2024/june/6/what-uk-did-in-gaza-is-shocking-no-ones-allowed-to-talk-about-it%5D has been reporting about this censorship since the beginning of the genocide. History tell us, however, the more the state tries to silence those who tell the truth [like the Israeli assassination of journalists] means people who can, will amplify the reality to the world. The expulsion of Al Jazeera from reporting in Israel and its banning is a sign of weakness of the regime, and the fact that those who speak truth to power are winning. Far from weakening Haaretz, its censorship means it has demonstrated its credibility and standing in the quality of its journalism. It comes at a time when the zionist regime is becoming almost entirely isolated across the world.