„After years of tracking the Gaza Strip as a freelance photojournalist for The New York Times, I was told via an abrupt phone call that they will no longer work with me in the future,” Palestinian Hosam Salem tweeted earlier this month. Salem appears on Facebook to have glorified suicide bombers responsible for a deadly attack in 2004 in the Israeli port city of Ashdod. After reviewing his statements on social media, the Times decided to end its partnership with the photographer.
The decision of the American newspaper followed a publication by a Dutchman. This Akiva van Koningsveld works for HonestReporting, a pro-Israel NGO that claims to combat ideological prejudice in journalism and safeguard the truth in reporting on Israel. Critics mainly see a propaganda club that with half-truths suspects anyone who is critical of Israel of anti-Semitism and glorification of terrorism.
During the most recent revival of the conflict, last summer, between Israel and the radical Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, Van Koningsveld investigated which journalists were working in the Gaza Strip. He says it took him fifteen minutes to find their Facebook posts and then pass his verdict: “They cannot be trusted to report correctly about the Arab-Israeli conflict,” he tells. NRC. The Times also broke off cooperation with another freelance journalist after Van Koningsveld came across Hitler-glorifying reports from him.
The Dutch journalist Nasrah Habiballah was recently a target of the site. Her past was described in detail by Van Koningsveld on the site in September, shortly after her appointment as the new NOS correspondent in Israel and Palestine became known; from her studies in Palestine to her family’s ancestry. He blamed her bias, including for sharing a message on Twitter in 2017 that critics consider pro-Palestinian and for having worked for a Palestinian organization.
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According to Sara Hirschhorn, professor of Israel Studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey, it is difficult for media to determine who to trust in this conflict. In the Gaza Strip in particular, the media make extensive use of local journalists and so-called fixers, people who arrange transport and interviews, for example, and who may have prejudices that the media is not aware of. “Nowadays, you don’t have that much time to research everyone in a professional editorial office,” says Hirschhorn. And HonestReporting does have that time.
However, the site only tries to ensure fair reporting for one side, says Martijn de Rooi of The Rights Forum, an organization that stands up for the rights of Palestinians. “You will never hear HonestReporting mention pro-Israel calls to terrorism. If you want a neutral story, then you don’t have to be at Van Koningsveld. Moreover, they use the method of ‘shooting the messenger’. They try to take out the messenger and most of all they don’t respond to the message.” Van Koningsveld makes no secret of the fact that he is an editor at a pro-Israel organization and wants to counterbalance what he sees as anti-Israel sentiments in Western media.
He also confirms that HonestReporting is collaborating with the Israeli government. For example, the organization is in various WhatsApp groups with government representatives in which information is exchanged. Doesn’t that hinder the credibility of this NGO? According to Van Koningsveld, HonestReporting’s publications meet the highest journalistic quality standards. “To achieve our goal, we also maintain a constant dialogue with journalists, NGOs and governments.”
Terrorism or resistance
De Rooi emphasizes that a number of social media messages that Van Koningsveld raised are indeed offensive. For example, fixer and producer Fady Hanona wrote on Facebook in favor of “killing and burning Jews like Hitler did.” Among other things, The New York Times, The Guardian and the BBC partnered with him. With a third journalist accused by HonestReporting, the director Soliman Hijjy, decided The New York Times not to cut ties after analyzing his social media posts.
If you take a look at the HonestReporting website, you will see so-called ‘news reviews’. These are mainly aimed at Anglophone Western media. The majority consists of criticism of what they see as pro-Palestinian content in the news. Readers are urged to share examples of anti-Israel bias in the media.
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The social media history of journalists is also explored. Van Koningsveld: “Every journalist has an opinion, and there are a lot of Palestinian journalists who report correctly for foreign and Arab media, but when it comes to glorifying Adolf Hitler and justifying terrorist attacks, someone goes a red line about.”
De Rooi sees an organization that is quick to use words such as ‘anti-Semitism’ and ‘terrorism’. “What Van Koningsveld denounces as terrorism is legitimate resistance to the occupier for the average Palestinian.”
The question is whether the apparently neutral name HonestReporting covers the work of the NGO. Hirschhorn: “HonestReporting is clearly taking sides, but the organization’s title may suggest they have a broader view.” Van Koningsveld refers to several Palestinian organizations that use a similar methodology.
Professor Hirschhorn also sees a wide range of NGOs that want to check the reporting. “I don’t think anyone is happy with the coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” But in general, media watchdogs are good for democracy, she believes. “I don’t think there is any discussion whether press freedom is important, but at the same time I think criticism of the press is also important.”