US media experts demand review of New York Times story on sexual violence by Hamas on Oct. 7

US media experts demand review of New York Times story on sexual violence by Hamas on Oct. 7
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Updated 03 May 2024
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US media experts demand review of New York Times story on sexual violence by Hamas on Oct. 7

US media experts demand review of New York Times story on sexual violence by Hamas on Oct. 7
  • 64 American journalism professionals sign letter accusing the newspaper of failing to do enough to investigate and confirm the evidence supporting the allegations in its story
  • It concerns a story headlined ‘Screams Without Words: Sexual Violence on Oct. 7’ that ran on the front page of the newspaper on Dec. 28

CHICAGO: Sixty-four American journalism professionals signed a letter sent to New York Times bosses expressing concern about a story published by the newspaper that accused Palestinians of sexual violence against Israeli civilians during the Oct. 7 attacks.
It concerns a story headlined “Screams Without Words: Sexual Violence on Oct. 7” that ran on the front page of the newspaper on Dec. 28 last year.
In the letter, addressed to Arthur G. Sulzberger, chairperson of The New York Times Co., and copied to executive editors Joseph Kahn and Philip Pan, the journalism professionals, who included Christians, Muslims and Jews, demanded an “external review” of the story.
It is one of several news reports by various media organizations that have been used by the Israeli government to counter criticisms of the brutal nature of its near-seven-month military response to the Hamas attacks, during which more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed and most of the homes, businesses, schools, mosques, churches and hospitals in Gaza have been destroyed, displacing more than a million people, many of whom now face famine.
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by Arab News, states that “The Times’ editorial leadership … remains silent on important and troubling questions raised about its reporting and editorial processes.”
It continues: “We believe this inaction is not only harming The Times itself, it also actively endangers journalists, including American reporters working in conflict zones, as well as Palestinian journalists (of which, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports, around 100 have been killed in this conflict so far).”
Shahan Mufti, a journalism professor at the University of Richmond, a former war correspondent and one of the organizers of the letter, told Arab News that The New York Times failed to do enough to investigate and confirm the evidence supporting the allegations in its story.
“The problem is the New York Times is no longer responding to criticism and is no longer admitting when it is making mistakes,” he said. The newspaper is one of most influential publications in the US, he noted, and its stories are republished by smaller newspapers across the country.
This week, the Israeli government released a documentary, produced by pro-Israel activist Sheryl Sandberg, called “Screams Before Silence,” which it said “reveals the horrendous sexual violence inflicted by Hamas on Oct. 7.” It includes interviews with “survivors from the Nova Festival and Israeli communities, sharing their harrowing stories” and “never-before-heard eyewitness accounts from released hostages, survivors and first responders.”
In promotional materials distributed by Israeli consulates in the US, the producers of the documentary said: “During the attacks at the Nova Music Festival and other Israeli towns, women and girls suffered rape, assault and mutilation. Released hostages have revealed that Israeli captives in Gaza have also been sexually assaulted.”
Critics have accused mainstream media organizations of repeating unverified allegations made by the Israeli government and pro-Israel activists about sexual violence on Oct. 7, with some alleging it is a deliberate attempt to fuel anti-Palestinian sentiment in the US and help justify Israel’s military response.
Some suggest such stories have empowered police and security officials in several parts of the US to crack down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations, denouncing the protesters as “antisemitic” even though some of them are Jewish.
New York Mayor Eric Adams, for example, asserted, without offering evidence, that recent protests by students on college campuses against the war in Gaza had been “orchestrated” by “outside agitators.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the protests against his country’s military campaign in Gaza are antisemitic in nature.
Jeff Cohen, a retired associate professor of journalism at Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, told Arab News The New York Times story was “flawed” but has had “a major impact in generating support for Israeli vengeance” in Gaza.
He continued: “Israeli vengeance has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of civilians. That’s why so many professors of journalism and media are calling for an independent investigation of what went wrong.
“That (New York Times) story, along with other dubious or exaggerated news reports — such as the fable about Hamas ‘beheading babies’ that President Biden promoted — have inflamed war fever.”
Cohen said the US media “too often … have promoted fables aimed at inflaming war fever,” citing as an example reports in 1990 that Iraqi soldiers had removed babies from incubators after their invasion of Kuwait. The assertions helped frame anti-Iraqi public opinion but years later they were proved to be “a hoax,” he added.
“On Oct. 7, Hamas committed horrible atrocities against civilians and it is still holding civilian hostages,” Cohen said. “Journalists must tell the truth about that, without minimizing or exaggerating, as they must tell the truth about the far more horrible Israeli crimes against Palestinian civilians.
“The problem is that the mainstream US news media have a long-standing pro-Israel bias. That bias has been proven in study after study. Further proof came from a recently leaked New York Times internal memo of words that its reporters were instructed to avoid — words like ‘Palestine’ (‘except in very rare cases’), ‘occupied territories’ (say ‘Gaza, the West Bank, etc.’) and ‘refugee camps’ (‘refer to them as neighborhoods, or areas’).”
Mufti, the University of Richmond journalism professor, said belligerents “on both sides” are trying to spin and spread their messages. But he accused Israeli authorities in particular of manipulating and censoring media coverage, including through the targeted killing of independent journalists, among them Palestinians and Arabs, and said this was having the greatest impact among the American public.
“Broadly speaking, a lot of the Western news media, and most of the world news media, do not have access to the reality in Gaza,” he said. “They don’t know. It is all guesswork.
“They are all reporting from Tel Aviv, they are reporting from Hebron, they are reporting from the West Bank. Nobody actually knows what the war looks like. It is all secondhand information.
“Most of the information is coming through the Israeli authorities, government and military. So, of course, the information that is coming out about this war is all filtered through the lens of Israel, and the military and the government.”
Mufti said the story published by The New York Times “probably changed the course, or at least influenced the course, of the war.”
He said it appeared at a time when US President Joe Biden was pushing to end the Israeli military campaign in Gaza “and it entirely changed the conversation. It was a very consequential story. And it so happens it was rushed out and it had holes in it … and it changed the course of the war.”
Mohammed Bazzi, an associate professor with the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, told Arab News the letter demanding an “external review” of the story is “a simple ask.”
He added: “This story, and others as well, did play a role” in allowing the Israeli military to take action beyond acceptable military practices “and dehumanize Palestinians.” Such dehumanization was on display before Oct. 7, Bazzi said.
“In the Western media there seemed to be far less sympathetic coverage of Palestinians in Israel’s war in Gaza as a consequence of these stories,” he continued.
“We have seen much less profiles of Palestinians … we are beyond 34,000 Palestinians killed but we don’t have a true number or the true scale of the destruction in Gaza — there could be thousands more dead under the rubble and thousands more who will die through famine and malnutrition. This will not stop, as a consequence of what Israel has done.”
Bazzi said the Western media has contributed to the dehumanization of Palestinians more than any other section of the international media, while at the same time humanizing the Israeli victims.
“The New York Times has a great influence on the US media as a whole and sets a standard” for stories and narratives that other media follow, which is “more pro-Israel and less sympathetic to Palestinians,” he added.
Bazzi, among others, said The New York Times has addressed “only a handful of many questions” about its story and needs to do more to present a more accurate account of what happened on Oct. 7.
The letter to New York Times bosses states: “Some of the most troubling questions hovering over the (Dec. 28) story relate to the freelancers who reported a great deal of it, especially Anat Schwartz, who appears to have had no prior daily news-reporting experience before her bylines in The Times.”
Schwartz is described as an Israeli “filmmaker and former air force intelligence official.”
Adam Sella, another apparently inexperienced freelancer who shared the byline on the story, is reportedly the nephew of Schwartz’s partner. The only New York Times staff reporter with a byline on the story was Jeffrey Gettleman.
Media scrutiny of the story revealed that “Schwartz and Sella did the vast majority of the ground reporting, while Gettleman focused on the framing and writing,” according to the letter.
The New York Times did not immediately respond to requests by Arab News for comment.


MSNBC axes Israel critics Ayman Mohyeldin, Joy Reid in internal shake-up

MSNBC axes Israel critics Ayman Mohyeldin, Joy Reid in internal shake-up
Updated 26 February 2025
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MSNBC axes Israel critics Ayman Mohyeldin, Joy Reid in internal shake-up

MSNBC axes Israel critics Ayman Mohyeldin, Joy Reid in internal shake-up
  • Shake-up was described by US media as “bloodbath of non-white anchors,” after cuts disproportionately affected Black and minority presenters
  • Mohyeldin and Reid are known for amplifying Palestinian perspectives in their show

LONDON: US news network MSNBC has canceled the shows of presenters Ayman Mohyeldin and Joy Reid, both known for their critical coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, following an internal restructuring.

The sweeping shake-up, announced by Rebecca Kutler, the network’s new president, also saw the cancellation of shows hosted by Alex Wagner, Jonathan Capehart, and Katie Phang.

Described by some US media as a “bloodbath of non-white anchors,” the changes disproportionately affected Black and minority presenters, as well as outspoken critics of former President Donald Trump and Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Some have been made redundant, while others await editorial decisions on their future roles.

Mohyeldin, the Egyptian-born host of “Ayman Mohyeldin Reports,” will air his final episode on April 20, while Reid, who has hosted “The ReidOut” since 2020, presented her last show on Monday after Kutler confirmed rumors of its cancellation.

Both presenters have been praised for amplifying Palestinian perspectives, offering what some experts have called a rare counterbalance to the dominant pro-Israel narrative in US media.

“My show had value,” Reid said during a YouTube stream on Sunday night, listing the range of topics her team tackled each day. “Whether it was the Black Lives Matter issues … (or) talking about Gaza and the fact that we as the American people have … a right to object to little babies being bombed … I am not sorry that I stood up for those things.”

Mohyeldin has yet to comment, but MSNBC said he would remain at the network in a less prominent role.

Joy Reid has hosted The ReidOut show on MSNBC since 2020. (AFP/File)

The network cited declining ratings as the reason for canceling Mohyeldin’s and Reid’s shows. However, some observers speculated that the decision was part of a broader trend of sidelining pro-Palestinian voices.

Commenting on the reshuffle, former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan — whose show was canceled in late 2023 after he refused the network’s request for “more straight news coverage” of the Gaza war — expressed disappointment.

He described the cancellations as a “big loss for MSNBC viewers,” adding that the two anchors “talked about issues — racism, fascism, Gaza — that other hosts have avoided.

The internal shake-up comes at a turbulent time for MSNBC, which saw its ratings plummet after the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7.

While viewership has rebounded — rising 77 percent since Trump’s inauguration last month — analysts suggest the changes signal MSNBC’s intent to consolidate its progressive brand for an older audience, despite earlier reports that parent company Comcast sought to appeal to more Republican viewers.


White House takes control of the press pool covering Trump

White House takes control of the press pool covering Trump
Updated 26 February 2025
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White House takes control of the press pool covering Trump

White House takes control of the press pool covering Trump
  • The move follows Trump administration's decision to bar AP from being in the press pool

WASHINGTON: The White House said on Tuesday it would decide which media organizations participate in the press pool that covers the president, wresting control away from the group of journalists that has done so for decades.

Karoline Leavitt, President Donald Trump's spokeswoman, said that while traditional media organizations would still be allowed to cover the president, the administration plans to change who participates. The pool system allows select television, radio, wire, print and photojournalists to cover events in smaller spaces such as the Oval Office and share their reporting with the broader media.

The move follows the Trump administration's decision to bar the Associated Press from being in the press pool because it has declined to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, the name Trump has assigned the body of water, or update its widely followed stylebook to reflect such a change.

"For decades, a group of D.C.-based journalists, the White House Correspondents' Association, has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the president of the United States in these most intimate spaces. Not anymore," Leavitt said at a news briefing.

"Moving forward, the White House press pool will be determined by the White House press team," she said, referring to White House staff.

The WHCA, which has previously coordinated the pool rotation, said it had done so to ensure consistent professional standards and fairness in access on behalf of the public.

"This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president. In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps," WHCA President Eugene Daniels said in a statement.

Reuters is a member of the press pool and Reuters reporters are members of the WHCA.

Leavitt said the five major cable and broadcast television networks would continue to hold their rotating seats in the pool while the White House would add streaming services. Rotating print reporters and radio reporters would continue to be included, while new outlets and radio hosts would be added.

“We’re going to be now calling the shots,” Trump said at a gathering of reporters in the Oval Office later in the day when asked about the move.

A federal judge on Monday denied a request by the AP to immediately restore full access for the news agency's journalists to pooled events in the Oval Office and on Air Force One, where Trump regularly holds question-and-answer sessions with reporters.


Firas Maksad joins Eurasia Group as Managing Director for MENA

Firas Maksad joins Eurasia Group as Managing Director for MENA
Updated 26 February 2025
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Firas Maksad joins Eurasia Group as Managing Director for MENA

Firas Maksad joins Eurasia Group as Managing Director for MENA
  • He will oversee a team of analysts focused on covering the region’s geopolitics and macroeconomics

DUBAI: Firas Maksad has joined Eurasia Group, a leading global research and advisory firm, as the new Managing Director, Middle East and North Africa, it was announced on Wednesday.

He will oversee a team of analysts focused on covering the region’s geopolitics and macroeconomics, as well as US foreign policy towards the Middle East.

Maksad is a recognized expert on the politics of Lebanon and Syria, the geopolitics of the Arab Gulf states, and the broader dynamics of the Middle East.

Before joining Eurasia Group, he was a senior director and senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, a leading Washington-based think tank. He also managed his own boutique political consulting firm and has been an adjunct professor at George Washington University's Elliott School for International Affairs. Earlier in his career, Firas worked for Eurasia Group as an analyst in the Middle East and North Africa practice.

Maksad’s writings have appeared in leading publications such as the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, and the Los Angeles Times. He frequently offers expert commentary on US politics and the Middle East for global news networks, including CNN, the BBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, and others.


Jaffa theater appeals to Israeli High Court over Palestinian film ban

Jaffa theater appeals to Israeli High Court over Palestinian film ban
Updated 25 February 2025
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Jaffa theater appeals to Israeli High Court over Palestinian film ban

Jaffa theater appeals to Israeli High Court over Palestinian film ban
  • Theater cites abuse of power, infringement of artistic freedom
  • Mahmoud Abu Arisha: ‘We will fight for our creative space’

LONDON: A theater in Jaffa has appealed to Israel’s High Court of Justice after police banned the screening of Palestinian films.

Jaffa’s Al-Saraya Theater argued that the ban constituted an abuse of power and an infringement of artistic freedom, accusing the authorities of overreach and censorship.

Mahmoud Abu Arisha, the theater’s manager, said: “We will fight for our creative space and not accept any entity with pretensions of being a self-appointed censor of artistic creativity and freedom of speech.

“We must not accept the grim reality that the police are trying to shape, in which artists and cultural institutions live under the direct threat of interference in artistic content.”

The theater is seeking an explanation for the police intervention, assurances against future interference, and clarification on any enforcement action taken against the venue or its management.

The appeal follows multiple disruptions of screenings of two controversial documentaries, “Lyd” and “Jenin, Jenin 2,” since August 2024.

“Jenin, Jenin 2,” a sequel to Palestinian filmmaker Mohammad Bakri’s 2002 documentary on the Battle of Jenin during the Second Intifada, examines Israeli military operations in the West Bank city in 2023.

Its screening was blocked in August after police deemed it incitement, summoning Abu Arisha for questioning on suspicion of “disrupting public order.”

Authorities also suspected him of planning to show “Jenin, Jenin,” which was banned in 2021 following a libel suit by an Israeli soldier who appeared briefly in the film.

Abu Arisha argued that the ban on the original film did not apply to its sequel and accused the authorities of exceeding their legal mandate.

Police again summoned Abu Arisha in October, this time ordering him to cancel the screening of “Lyd” — a film exploring an alternate history in which the Nakba never occurred — after Israel’s Culture Minister Miki Zohar raised concerns about its potential impact.

While authorities initially justified blocking “Lyd” by citing an unresolved complaint from Israel’s film rating board, the documentary was eventually shown as part of the Solidarity Film Festival at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque.

Zohar asked Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to review the Cinematheque’s funding following the screening, suggesting that festival films may have violated Israel’s so-called Nakba Law, which authorizes the minister to withdraw state funds from any institution or body that commemorates “Israel’s Independence Day or the day on which the state was established as a day of mourning.”


Saudi Media Forum president engages with global production experts to shape media’s future

Saudi Media Forum president engages with global production experts to shape media’s future
Updated 25 February 2025
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Saudi Media Forum president engages with global production experts to shape media’s future

Saudi Media Forum president engages with global production experts to shape media’s future
  • Riyadh meeting aimed to explore strategic collaborations and innovative content production opportunities
  • Attendees included David Abraham, CEO of Wonderhouse Studios; Amanda Palmer, Founder of ArtCinema; Rob Leighton, SVP of Global Liberty; Jordi Molla, Multi-Award-Winning Director; and Kazuko Ishikawa, President of Nippon Animation

RIYADH: In a groundbreaking discussion on the future of global media production, the President of the Saudi Media Forum, Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi, met with a distinguished group of international experts and industry leaders. The high-profile meeting, held in Riyadh, aimed to explore strategic collaborations and innovative content production opportunities that align with Saudi Arabia’s vision of becoming a global media powerhouse.

Among the attendees were David Abraham, CEO of Wonderhouse Studios; Amanda Palmer, Founder of ArtCinema; Rob Leighton, SVP of Global Liberty; Jordi Molla, Multi-Award-Winning Director; and Kazuko Ishikawa, President of Nippon Animation. The discussions revolved around co-production models, investment in high-quality content, and the integration of advanced technologies in media production.

President Al-Harthi emphasized Saudi Arabia’s commitment to fostering a dynamic media ecosystem, highlighting the country’s investment in accelerators, incubators, and production funds designed to support international partnerships. “The future of media is built on collaboration, innovation, and cross-border content creation. We are excited to work with global leaders to shape a new era of storytelling,” he stated.

The meeting also addressed the importance of AI in content creation, the evolving landscape of streaming platforms, and the role of Saudi Arabia as a hub for global media projects. The experts expressed enthusiasm about potential partnerships, particularly in film, animation, and immersive media experiences.

This dialogue marks a significant step in strengthening Saudi Arabia’s position in the global media industry, paving the way for co-productions, content distribution agreements, and knowledge exchange between local and international players.