A call for editorial standards on Palestine/Israel
#SayEthnicCleansing
#CallItApartheid
To sign on: tinyurl.com/SayEthnicCleansing
As journalists, scholars, antiracism and human rights advocates, we are appalled at the abject failure of US media to report factually on Israeli state violence against the Palestinian people. We join the growing call for basic editorial standards of context, accuracy, and antiracism to be applied to stories on Palestine and Israel.
We have watched in horror as news outlets reduce Israeli efforts to seize the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah — part of a seven-decade project of colonization and expulsion — to “conflict” between “Arab mobs and Jewish mobs.” We have been outraged at reporting on Israeli strikes in densely-populated Gaza — often called an open-air prison — that repeats claims from Israeli army spokespeople that the residential buildings, journalists’ offices, schools, universities, and hospital access roads are legitimate targets.
We have also watched as Palestinians take to social media to report what they are experiencing and witnessing — and then again been horrified as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter suspend or throttle their accounts. We have heard reports of journalists pulled from covering Gaza because they called for newsrooms to “include historical and social context, reporters with knowledge of the region and, crucially, Palestinian voices.” We have seen leaked editorial standards that explicitly disallow the term “colonialism” in reporting on Israel’s colonization of Palestine.
Media integrity is shattered by such refusals to report on Israeli state violence and by the silencing of those who try to report it. These dishonorable actions make the media not only complicit, but a powerful tool for the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.
We call on newsrooms across the United States and the world to adopt editorial standards that reflect historical context and factual accuracy, and protect against the racist framings of Palestinians propagated by Israeli state sources.
Call it apartheid.
Palestinian communities have long made this argument. Both Human Rights Watch and the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem issued reports characterizing the Israeli state’s systemic discrimination and violence as apartheid, despite tremendous political pressure from the state of Israel and its supporters.
Don’t “both-sides” a colonial power and the people resisting it.
Euphemizing terms like “conflict,” “clash,” and “flare-up” operate like the passive tense or “weasel words.” They hide the power differences between Israel — one of the most heavily militarized states in the world — and a Palestinian population resisting colonization, dispossession, ethnic cleansing, and lethal violence. Palestinian resistance to this violent system of occupation and apartheid is a legal right.
Use and center Palestinian sources.
Palestinian journalists are on the ground and reporting under incredible duress, but instead we are constantly presented with Israeli army spokespeople as sources — a slant that would be unimaginable if not for our parallel experience of media using police sources to report on police violence against US Indigenous communities, Black and other communities of color. This practice has an enormous impact. A study of the 2008 Israeli assault on Gaza found that “the New York Times covered 431% of Israeli deaths and only 17% of Palestinian deaths, a ratio of 25:1.” Another 2018 “sentiment analysis” of five newspapers shows the skewed reporting that results from the vast overrepresentation of Israeli sources. This puts to rest any claim that US reporting based on those sources is neutral.
Don’t use racist or obscuring language.
Israeli sources frequently use racist, essentializing terms that minimize Palestinian identity, and US newsrooms habitually echo them. Refer to Palestinians in the language they determine for themselves. Palestinian citizens of Israel are not “Israeli Arabs.” Palestinian identity is not interchangeable with Arab identity of other lands. The absence of US reporting on Israeli violence against Palestinians inside or outside of Israeli borders does not mean a period of “relative quiet.” Hamas is currently the duly elected, governing party of Gaza, not “militants.” Consult with Palestinian sources on appropriate, accurate language.
Don’t conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
Some institutions that excuse or defend Israeli apartheid and ethnic cleansing have called on media to tar as “antisemitic” those who oppose it. The IHRA definition of antisemitism is currently the primary tool for claiming that criticism of Israel is discriminatory — despite the fact that the author of the IHRA definition (and an international group of Jewish scholars) has rejected such claims. If you require an alternative, use these Five Principles for Dismantling Anti-Semitism.
Report on the growing global movement against the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians
The violence of May 2021 has catalyzed mass marches against Israeli ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, new political organizing among Palestinian youth, and new gestures of solidarity and interconnectedness among Palestinians, people of color, indigenous people, Jews opposing Israeli apartheid, and many others. Just as overemphasizing Israeli sources places a thumb on the political scale, failing to cover these connections results in skewed, mischaracterized reporting that empowers and prolongs Israeli state violence.
*This open letter for journalists, scholars, and antiracism/human rights advocates was initiated by the Jewish Voice for Peace Academic Advisory Council.
The undersigned:
[List in formation. SIGN ON at: tinyurl.com/SayEthnicCleansing]
Rabab Abdulhadi, Director and Senior Scholar, Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies, San Francisco State University
Abigail Abysalh-Metzger, NGO representative
Shannon Al-Wakeel, Attorney
Laura Albast, Independent Journalist, Editor
Heshmat Ali, Human, attorney, civil rights advocate, human rights advocate
Jasmine Alkhatib, Clinical psychology doctoral student
David Alvarez, Professor of English
Bench Ansfield, PhD Candidate in American Studies, Yale University
Gloria Antonetti, Concerned citizen
Elisabeth Armstrong, Professor
Todd Ayoung, Cultural Worker
Alexandre Azzalini, Engineer
Benjamin Balthaser, Associate Professor of Multi-Ethnic Literature, Indiana University, South Bend
Vanessa Banti, Librarian, activist
Sari Bashi, Research Director, Democracy for the Arab World Now
A.J. Bauer, Assistant Professor of Journalism, University of Alabama
Dalit Baum, Israeli activist
Joel Beinin, Professor of History, Emeritus, Stanford University
Lara Bitar, Editor in Chief, The Public Source
Benay Blend, Independent/Retired Scholar, American Studies
Lisa Bloom, Adjunct Professor, Media Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Anne Bluethenthal, Human rights artivist
Inga Boegershausen,
Steven Botticelli, Adjunct clinical faculty, NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis
JB Brager , Gender Studies & History scholar
Naomi Braine, Professor of Sociology
Madeline Brigell, Human Rights Advocate
Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht, PhD Candidate, UCSC Anthropology
Bernadette J. Brooten, Scholar of Religion
Rachel Ida Buff, Writer and advocate for border abolition
Emma Carlisle, Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation
Barbara Chasin, Professor Emerita, Sociology, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ
Kathleen Christison, Writer
Annia Ciezadlo, Author and journalist
Em Cohen , Jewish Writer
Deborah Cohler, Professor
Merrill Cole, Professor of English and Queer Studies; Poet
Sarah Combellick-Bidney, Political science professor at Augsburg University
Kim Compoc, Scholar-activist, University of Hawaii West Oahu
Andrew Courtney, Artisit/Photo-Journalist
Elyse Crystall , Assoc Prof of English & Comp Lit
Ziad Dallal, Scholar of Arabic and Comparative Literature
Lydia Dana, Scholar: Sociology
Toni Dang, Human rights advocate
Marisol de la Cadena, Anthropologist UC Davis
Lara Deeb, Professor of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies
Nancy Diehl, Human rights advocate
Coy Dionco, Professor of Theology
Mary Ann Doane, Professor of Film and Media
Dany Doueiri, Professor, California State University
Emily Drabinski, Librarian
Michael Drexler, Professor of American Literature, Bucknell University
Lisa Duggan, Professor, New York University
Gabriella Edwards, Student
Akhtar Ehtisham, Surgeon
Kareem El-Hosseiny, Director of Government Affairs, CAIR-Georgia
Lara Elborno , International Human Rights Lawyer
Pamela Etheridge,
Nava EtShalom, Literature scholar
James C Faris, Retired teacher
Rimal Farrukh, Journalist
Bo Fauth, Lawyer
Gordon Fellman, Professor of Sociology
Anthony Fernandes, Human rights advocate
Jeff Fort, Professor of French and Francophone Studies
Cynthia Franklin, Professor of English
Emmaia Gelman, American Studies scholar
irene gendzier, independent scholar; retired prof BU
Andom Ghebreghiorgis , Former Congressional Candidate in NY-16
Terri Ginsberg, Film scholar
Don Goldstein, Emeritus Professor of Economics, Allegheny College
Inderpal Grewal, Professor, Gender studies
Sarah Grunwald, Travel writer
John Gunkel, Physician
Rani H, Student
Jean Halley, Professor of Sociology
Isaac Hand, PhD Candidate, NYU
Michael Harris, Professor of mathematics
Jessica Hatrick, Communication scholar
Glenn Hendler, Professor of English and American Studies, Fordham University
Doug Henwood, Journalist/broadcaster
Robert Herbst, Human Rights Lawyer
Katie Herman, Book editor, poet
Robert Herrera, Concerned
Moath Herzallah, Palestinian in diaspora
feras hilal, writer and performer
Khader Humied, Professor of Architecture
Sarwat Husain, Human Rights
Rachel Jennings, professor of English
Lynne Joyrich, Professor of Modern Culture and Media, Brown University
Alex Kane, Journalist
Caren Kaplan, Professor Emerita, American Studies, UC Davis
Assaf Kfoury, Boston University
Laleh Khalili, University Professor
Moiz Khan,
Ayaz Khan, Physician
Ibrahim Khan, Human rights advocate
Z Khan, Human rights advocate
Maryam Khan , Journalism undergraduate student
Maryam Khan , Journalism undergraduate student
John King, Composer/cultural worker
David Klein, Professor of Mathematics, California State University Northridge
Lisa Maya Knauer, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Chairperson of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Kimberly Knight, Teacher, activist
Olga Kopenkina, scholar, curator
Julie Kosowski, Human Rights Advocate, Jewish, Daughter of another European Genocide
Astrid Kosowski , Human rights advocate
Kathryn Kueny, Scholar, Islamic Studies
Rachel Kuo, Scholar, Co-leader Asian American Feminist Collective
Sergio Laforgue,
Savannah Landau, Jewish American human rights advocate
Nanette Le Coat, Human rights advocate
Ellen Leopold,
Michael Levin, Musician
jil levin deheeger, advocate
Mark LeVine, Professor of history, journalist
Alan Levine, Human rights lawyer
Zachary Lockman, Professor, New York University
Scott Long, Ph.D., Human rights activist/advocate
Alex Lubin, Professor of African American Studies
Yasmine Lucas, PhD candidate, Anthropology, University of Toronto
John Maclean, Medical practitioner
Charles Manekin, Professor of Philosophpy
Curtis Marez, Scholar
Eli Massey, Independent journalist, former editor at Current Affairs magazine
Jeffrey Melnick, Historian
Haynes Miller, Professor of Mathematics
Susette Min, Associate Professor, Asian American Studies, UC Davis
Susette Min, Associate Professor, Asian American Studies, UC Davis
Narjes Mish, Human rights advocate
Husain Misherghi, Fellow human and American citizen
Siraj Mowjood, Physician
Bill Mullen, Scholar
Rossa Mullin, Documentary Filmmaker
John Munroe, Concerned Citizen
Carol Muskin, Northwestern University, School of Education and Social Policy Adjunct Faculty
Rima Najjar, Retired professor of English literature (Al-Quds University, West Bank), Blogger (Palestinian and righteously angry — Medium), OC member of USACBI.
Jamal Nassar, Dean Emeritus
Anjali Nath, American Studies scholar
Elizabeth Neoman, Journalist/human rights advocate
Ezra Nepon, Author, Justice Justice Shall You Pursue: A History of New Jewish Agenda
Sheryl Nestel, Independent Scholar/Activist
Donna Nevel, Community psychologist/educator
Aaron Niederman, Reconstructionist Jew
Benjamin Nolan, Doctoral Candidate, UMass, Amherst
Judith Norman, Philosophy professor
John Oakes, Publisher, The Evergreen Review
Joseph Oesterlé, Emeritus Professor in Mathematics, Sorbonne University, Paris
Hannah Osland, University of Hawaii, Marine Lab Technician
A. Naomi Paik, Associate Professor of Global Asian Studies and Criminology, Law, and Justice at University of Illinois, Chicago
Laurie Palmer, Artist and Professor
David Palumbo-Liu, Scholar, human rights activist, writer, Stanford University
Shailja Patel, Scholar
Leah Pearlstein, Member of JVP Westchester
Rosalind Petchesky, Scholar, activist (Distinguished Professor Emerita — Hunter College & Graduate Center CUNY)
Jenny Polak, Artist
Mehr Qayyum, Blogger, Data Scientist -Governance Metrics
Madeline Reed, Concerned American Jew
Ru Ren,
Cheryl Riggs, Emeritus Professor of History, California State University San Bernardino
Fluffy Robin, A Muslim that can’t stand what’s happening
Stephen Roddy, Professor of Modern & Classical Languages, USF
Paula Roderick, Attorney, human rights advocate
Dylan Rodriguez, Professor, Ph. D.
Lisa Rofel, Professor, University of California
Bruce Rosenstock, Jewish Studies scholar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Meredith Ryan, Human and civil rights advocate
Mariko Sakurai, Care worker
Mays Salamah, Freelance Editor, performer
Leslie Salzinger, Scholar, Sociology and Gender Studies
Aseel Sawalha, Fordham University
Emily Schacter, Grants manager for sexual and reproductive rights
Abdallah Scheib, MD
Heike Schotten, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Boston
Sarah Schulman, Distinguished Professor, City University of New York
Susan Schuppli, Director, Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths University of London
Daniel Segal, Professor of Anthropology and History
Arif Shaikh,
Arif Shaikh,
Orrin Shindell, Assistant Professor of Physics
Lincoln Z. Shlensky, Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Victoria
Kristina Shull, Assistant Professor of US and World History
Bobbi Siegelbaum, Retired Health/FamilyLivingEducator, Human Rights Advocate
Seth Sieger, Jewish American student
Richard Silverstein, Journalist
Sarah Sklaw, History PhD Candidate, NYU
Jeffrey Skoller, Assoc. Professor, Film & Media, UC Berkeley
Newland Smith, Member, Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Israel Network
Abba Solomon, Researcher in American Zionism
Dean Spade, Professor of Law, Seattle University
Dr. Michael Spath, Executive Director, Indiana Center for Middle East Peace
Virginia Spatz, Journalist, We Act Radio
Christopher Stone, Associate Professor of Arabic Hunter College (CUNY)
Shelley Streeby , Professor of literature and ethnic studies UCSD
Thomas Suarez, Historical researcher, British Mandate period
Rebecca Subar, Peace and conflict studies scholar
Fadi Tahrawi, Human rights advocate
Lia Tarachansky, Journalist & Documentary Filmmaker
Urooj Tarar, Journalist
Barry Trachtenberg, Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History, Wake Forest University
Chloe Truong-Jones, PhD candidate in American studies
Katie Unger, Advocate
Eli Valley, Comic artist
Ayelet Wachs-Cashman, Legal Assistant
Alan Wald, H. Chandler Davis Collegiate Professor Emeritus,University of Michigan
Gordon Ward, Concerned Jew
Dror Warschawski, Research associate, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
Nan Warshaw, Human rights advocate
Kyla Wazana Tompkins , Associate Professor, Pomona College
Elizabeth Weed, Scholar, feminist studies
Julie Weiner, Advocate for human, civil, voting and election-integrity rights
Alistair Welchman, University of Texas at San Antonio
John Westerfield-Moses, Human Rights Activist
Catharine White , Independent writer and editor
Lesley Williams, Human rights advocate, JVP and the International Jewish Collective for Justice in Palestine
John Willoughby, Professor Economics, American University, Washington, DC
Gill Wing, Journalist
Rabbi Alissa Wise
Will Wolfson, Neuroscientist
Rain Wright , Scholar, English
Isra Yazicioglu, Professor of Religious Studies
William Youmans, Scholar of Media Studies
Gabriel Young, Scholar, Middle Eastern Studies
Yousra Zaheer, Human rights advocate
Omar Zahzah, Education and Advocacy Coordinator — Eyewitness Palestine; Independent scholar
Ana Zeiger, Jewish antiracist organizer
Nina Zhiri, Professor of Literature, University of California San Diego
Sulafa Zidani, Scholar of Media Studies and Communication