514 American journalists: Our news must reflect the realities of the Israeli occupation

514 American journalists: Our news must reflect the realities of the Israeli occupation

More than 500 American media journalists demanded in a joint message that news in the United States reflect the realities of the Israeli occupation and its policies in Palestine.

According to the Turkish Anadolu Agency, the letter, signed by 514 journalists, and titled “An Open Letter on the American Media’s Dealing with Palestine” called for an end to “the concealment of the Israeli occupation and its systematic suppression of the Palestinians” in news production.

Among the signatories to the letter are journalists from leading media outlets in the United States such as the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times.

The letter said: “Finding the truth and holding the powerful to account are fundamental principles of journalism. But for decades, our news industry has abandoned these values ​​in news about Israel and Palestine.”

“We failed our readers with a narrative that obscured the essential aspects of the story: the Israeli military occupation and the apartheid regime,” the journalists said in their letter.

The journalists pointed to the need to put an end to these decades-old bad press practices, and urgently change the course of journalism.

The letter added: “The evidence of Israel’s systematic oppression of the Palestinians is too numerous and that news should not be sterilized anymore.”

She drew attention to the 213-page Human Rights Watch report published on April 27 on the crimes of apartheid and persecution of the Israeli authorities, explaining that the aforementioned report documented the Israeli authorities´ commission of crimes against humanity through the policies of apartheid.