Open letter from Australian journalists, media workers, writers and commentators

(AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Open letter from Australian journalists, media workers, writers and commentators.

May 14, 2021.

In the past fortnight, the world has been appalled at Israeli settler organisations threatening Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem with forced expulsions and assaulting worshippers in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam. As Israeli vigilante mobs attack Palestinians, the Netanyahu government has unleashed a new, brutal war against the besieged population of Gaza. 

We note that, seventy-three years after the Nakba, the 1948 forced expulsion by Israel of 750,000 Palestinians, both Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Israeli human rights NGO B’Tselem have declared that Israel maintains an apartheid regime against Palestinians. HRW is calling for targeted sanctions against complicit, Israeli individuals.

We also note the important statement by the International Federation of Journalists about Israel deliberately targeting the media, including by destroying the Al-Jawhara tower in Gaza (known by the IDF to be housing 13 media institutions and NGOs). 

We recognise a growing dissatisfaction, both in this country and elsewhere, with the media’s treatment of Palestine.

As journalists, reporters and other media workers, we know that the media can do better. Many of us are seeking change but lack sufficient power in our organisations to push back against the status quo.

We believe that the coverage of Palestine must be improved, that it should no longer prioritise the same discredited spokespeople and tired narratives, and that new voices are urgently needed.

To that end, we call on editors and publishers to:

  • Consciously and deliberately make space for Palestinian perspectives, prioritising the voices of those most affected by the violence;
  • Avoid the ‘both siderism’ that equates the victims of a military occupation with its instigators;
  • Reject frameworks that rely on passive formulations and weasel words (clashes, etc) to obscure the reality of a violence disproportionately endured by Palestinians; 
  • Respect the rights of journalists and media workers to publicly and openly express personal solidarity with the Palestinian cause without penalty in their professional lives.

    Signed: 

SIGNATORIES:


Jennine Khalik
Randa Abdel-Fattah
Sara Saleh
Maher Mughrabi
Samah Sabawi
Hazem Shammas
Patrick Abboud

John Pilger
Antony Loewenstein

Osman Faruqi
Omar Sakr
Sami Shah
Amy McQuire
Amy Remeikis
Greg Jericho
Ben Eltham
Jess Hill
Tom Ballard
Paddy Manning
Bernard Keane
Rick Morton
Benjamin Law
Bridie Jabour
Marieke Hardy
Stephanie Convery
Jeff Sparrow
Yumi Stynes
Antoun Issa
Nayuka Gorrie
Dylan Welch
Bridget Brennan

Sisonke Msimang
Ben Schneiders
Aamer Rahman
Matilda Boseley
Nino Bucci
First Dog on the Moon  
Jon Kudelka
Joan Westenberg
Rae Johnston
Mary Kostakidis
Amani Haydar
Louise Adler
Ben Butler

Clementine Ford
Josh Taylor
Patrick Lenton
Mahmood Fazal
Lizzie O’Shea
Evelyn Araluen
Nadine Cohen
Alison Whittaker
Michelle Law
Gina Rushton
Rachel Hocking
Jonathan Dunk
Joshua Martin
Scott Ludlam
Rob Stott
Mostafa Rachwani
Ben Smee
Talullah Brown
Claire Corbett
Jack Latimore
Isabelle Oderberg
Jodan Perry
Roj Amedi
Jared Richards
Jim Malo
Jack Fisher
Max Walden
Luke Pearson
Natalie Cromb
Zoe Daniel
James Hennessy
CJ Werleman
Jeremy Worrall
Rosie Waterland
Meghna Bali
Kishor Napier-Ramen
Maddison Connaughton
Erwin Renaldi
Ahmed Yusuf
Jerome Doraisamy
Nikki Stevens
Alan Vaarwerk
Jake Evans
Mariam Zahr
Lisa Cox
Tom Tanuki
Mike Carlton
Mitch Alexander
Caitlin McGregor
Tony Armstrong
Rashna Farrukh
Michael Mohammed Ahmad
Brianna Morris-Grant
Frances Mao
Dan Ilic
Stephanie Youssef
Caitlin Chang
Mariam Veiszadeh
Scott Mitchell
Dominic Kelly
Kerri Worthington
Melissa Maykin
Helen Davidson
Jake Evans
Dominique Bayens
Alex McKinnon
Al Scott
Terri-ann White
Vanessa Giron
Ruth Dawkins
Catherine Bouris
Joshua Badge
Maxine Beneba Clarke
Stevie Zhang
Ali Russell
Brad Nash
Rayane Tamer
Sheree Joseph
Ben Madden
Fergus Ryan
Harry Sadler
Farid Y. Farid
Matt Abbott
Cam Wilson
Marc Sidarous
Caleb Cluff
Meriki Onus
Shahni Wellington
Priya Kunjan
Isabella Bull
Drew Ambrose
Erin Handley
Lucas Baird
Peter Tregear
Cassie Tongue
Sam George-Allen
Usha Rodrigues
Martin Hodgson
Dunja Karagic
Christopher Elliott
Deirdre Fidge
James Colley
Waqar Ali
Evie Potter
Dominic Bossi
Benjamin Millar
Sarah Ayoub
Patrick McKenzie
Douglas Smith
Albert Santos
Roqayah Chamseddine
Danny Teece-Johnson
Zac Crellin
Jenny Noyes
Laurence Barber
Lyndal Rowlands
Fiona Katauskas
Rebecca Bauert
Alison Croggon
Tito Ambyo
Katherine Wong
Jackson Langford
Asher Wolf
Naama Carlin
Yassmin Abdel-Magied
Tim Robertson
Benita Kolovos
Jack Callil
Dr Yves Rees
Daniel Lopez
Leonardo Puglisi
Scheherazade Bloul
Laura Banks
Joanne Lahood
Kara Schlegl
Patrick Marlborough
SL Lim
Rosie Isaac
Ben McKay
Caitlin Cassidy
Nick Wray
Ben Hillier
98.9FM
Honi Soit
Tharunka
Anwen Crawford
Aicha Marhfour
Belinda Smith
Johnny Lieu
Sam Wallman
Kemal Atlay
Michele Esteves
Tarang Chawla
Max Chalmers
Lisa Divissi
Hannah Ryan
Rosa Ritchie
Brietta Hague
Shakira Hussein
Matthew Elmas
Terry Plane
Jennifer Mills
Sarah Malik
Micaela Sahhar
Roz Bellamy
Will Cox
John Buckley
Neryssa Azlan
Anthony Hawwa
Brett Tweedie
Ryan Dell
Dzenana Vucic
Leona Hameed
Marty Smiley
Maks Sipowicz
Jini Maxwell
Aaron Flanagan
Jordy Silverstein
Paula Abood
Sherene Idriss
Jarni Blakkarly
Jessica Brackin
Amanda Simpson
Mollie Gorman
Zachariah Kelly
Jack Montgomery-Parkes
David Rimi-Cheng
Fergus Halliday
Nikki Escalante
Alison Evans
Joe Koning
Eileen Chong
Olivia Rousset
Ben Ice
Sia Duff
Lee Tulloch
Jenna Guillaume
Walter Marsh
Alexandra Anastassiou
Jessica Friedmann
Sara El Sayed
Alan Baxter
Caitlin Welsh
Jocelyn Hungerford
Michael Lucy
Jinghua Qian
Shane Withington
Damon Young
Corey J. White
Cher Tan
Isaac Nellist
Saman Shad
Jacob Gillard
Bertin Huynh
Ariel Riveros
Anthony Morgan
Joanne Crompton
Shane Maloney
Patrick Allington
Triana Butler
A Bogle
Kirstie Innes-Will
Melanie Cheng
Sarah Peters
Paul Syvret
Mark S Holsworth
Kaite McKenna
Nicola Heath
Melissa Carlill
Padraic Gibson
Anna Spargo-Ryan
Lee Tran Lam
Diana Sayed
Kowther Qashou
Aarti Betigeri
Scott Burchill
Andrew Brooks
Blake Howard
Sunili Govinnage
Marigold Bartlett
Robin Eames
Cheyne Anderson
Elias Jahshan
Peter Hollo
Vanamali Hermans
3CR Community Radio
Carly Findlay
Jed Wells
Alana Calvert
Rhoderick Gates
Nick Riordan
Rebecca Harcourt
Zowie Douglas-Kinghorn
Ailish Hallinan
Simon Ondaatje
Cameron Welsh
Ella Donald
Mark Patrick
Jes Layton
Bee Spencer
Peter Wixx
Cathy Ross
Bryan Dawe
Rebecca Starford
Kate Davison
Joseph Pugliese
Phuong Tran
Keren Lavelle
Nick Parmeter
Nicholas Felvus
Natalie Osborne
Jo Khan
Sara Dowse
Isabella Trimboli
Anita Senaratna
Royce Kurmelovs
Stuart Hay
Ali Rae
Naima Ibrahim
Lucy Williams
Mikele Prestia
Mark Bahnisch
Alex Barry
Emma Shortis
Rashad Seedeen
Thomas Mayor
Tim Levinson
Michelle Mashuro
Tahmina Ansari
Jessica Alice
Mireille Juchau
Katherine Benson
Laura Elizabeth Woollett
Michael Bradley
Ashleigh Piles
Claire Cao
Joumana Awad
Marisa Wikramanayake
Maha Ismail
Steve Duck
Miriam Cosic
Heather Formaini
Diana Prichard
Antony (Tony) Walker
Tom Ravlic
 Ellena Savage
Joanna Cruickshank
Jonno Revanche
Jessica Murdoch
Nick Evershed
Kate Walton
Simone Amelia Jordan
Dani Valent
Stephanie Hanna
DJ Huppatz
Neha Kale
Ewen Bell
Meg Mundell
Jarryd Bartle
Mark Anning
Ben Downie
Julianne Negri
Charandev Singh
Leah Jing McIntosh
Joshua Mcdonald
Felicity Castagna
Shane Elson
Maria Giannacopoulos
Simon Copland
Millie Baylis
David Glanz
Rachel Thomas
Dylan Storer
Natalie Sekulovska
James Arbuthnott
James Macaronas
Lindy Burns
Kristen Zornada
Ben Brooker
Kristine Ziwica
Eve Vincent
Stuart McDonald
Emma Kersey
Samara-Jade Sendek
Federico Fuentes
Declan Rurenga
Travis Johnson
Anai Wiche
Alex Kidman
Ruby-Rose Pivet-Marsh
Giovanni Torre
Josh Green
Emma Rusher
Mel Campbell
Dara Conduit
Joshua Cory
Samantha Brown
Miki Perkins
Felicity Gray
Terri Ann Quan Sing
Matthew Clayfield
Max Easton
Heidi Pett
Drew Rooke
Russ Radcliffe
Lisa Radford
Ali Jane Smith
Effie Karageorgos
Laura Currie
Joanna Mendelssohn
Walt Curnow
Iain Scott
Brent Davidson
Maddison Stoff
Claire Sullivan
Suzana Jacmenovic
Dan Golding
Ebony McKenna
Nate Cochrane
Dominic Guerrera
Anna Carlson
Peter Logue
Isobel Cootes
Kelly Gardiner
Nehal Dalgliesh
Mary Varvaris
Brett Martin
Fatima Measham
Jess Walton
Fiona Wright
Angus Mackintosh
Mike Bilbe-Taylor
Matthew Sainsbury
Sonia Nair
Ana Tiwary
Eliza Janssen
Declan Fry
Genevieve Siggins
Michelle Cahill
Isha Bassi
Angela Skujins
Elizabeth Weiss
Alex Whisson
Sara Glaoua
Jude Ellison
David Brophy
Duncan Blachford
Jaclyn McRae
Ahmed Salama
Ariadne Starling
Jonathan Tjhia
Clare Millar
Madison Howarth
Susan Metcalfe
Alexander Te Pohe
Lyn Bender
Danny Silva Soberano
Dima Zitoun
Suzy Monzer
Andi Guillen
Caitie Gutierrez
Gayatri Nair
James Valent
Megan Maurice
David Stavanger
Kishani Selvadurai
Michael Richardson
Sam Vincent
Bernard Zuel
Elizabeth McCarthy
Harry Tucker
Abbir Dib
Rob Harrison
Selena Repanis
Tim Dunlop
Nardi Simpson
Sophie Raynor
Shastra Deo
Jerico Mandybur
Tilly Lawless
Shu-Ling Chua
Divya Venkataraman
Julie Macken
Shaad D’Souza
George (Kev) Dertadian
Suzanne McCourt
Sue Bond
Case Navarro
Fred Siggins
Michelle Macklem
Laura McPhee-Browne
Hannah Reardon-Smith
Gok-Lim Finch
Stasi Kapetanos
Daanyal Saeed
Emily Graetz
Jack Murphy
A.H. Cayley
Jennifer Macey
Nadiah Abdulrahim
James Bradley
Elle Marsh
Tim Slade
Steph Harmon
Catherine Kelleher
Julia André
Judith White
Wendy Bacon
Rosaleen Kehoe
Hameda Nafiz
Danielle Binks
Rebekah Holt
Daz Chandler
Elizabeth Flux
Ann Deslandes
Ian Mannix
Alex Robert Mitchell
Adele Perovic
Alex Mitchell
Jennifer Down
Bianca Nogrady
Chris Nash
Fiona Wood
Tom Flood
Amanda Tattersall
Claude Jabbour
Nicky Minus
Tia Kass
Donna Lu
Matthew Wade
Maeve Marsden
Richard Watts
Charlie Carey
Adam Christou
Laura Elvery
Suneeta Peres da Costa
Francis Chalmers
Phillip Frazer
Tyron Butson
Brendan Day
Michele Seminara
Fahad Ali
Claudio Marcello
Martin Bannard
Chloe Ward
Dan Hogan
Mohamad Tabbaa
Elly Kohistani
Alastair Harris
Tim Groenendyk
Fawaz Chawk
Suzy Garcia
Rania Ghandour
Fethi Mansouri
Jemma Birrell
Tom Scott
Ryma Tchier
Jess Lilley
Ayub Ahmadzai
Isabella Corbett
 Nicholas Payne
Catriona Menzies-Pike
Chris Cunneen
Nick Jarvis
Eleanor Scott
David Bloom
Inga Stunzner
Latifa Elmrini
Denham Sadler
Clare Wright
Sarah Myles
Nick Chesterfield
Paul Connolly
Kerrod Trott
Else Kennedy
Andy Hazel
Waqas Ahmed
Andrew Levins
Lech Blaine
Manuel Ribeiro
Euan Black
Dr Elena Jeffreys
Jonathan Green
Peri Strathearn
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Andrew Stafford
Bruce Hutchison
Amos Roberts
Nathan Stitt
Calla Wahlquist
Erin Delahunty
Emily Wind
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Lucie Morris-Marr
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Fahad Akhand
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Lur Alghurabi
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Adalya Nash Hussein
Meg Wilson
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