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Gaza Terrorist Spokesperson Reveals How Media Falls for Terror Group’s Lies
People inspect the area of Al-Ahli hospital where Palestinians were killed in a blast from an errant Islamic Palestinian Jihad rocket meant for Israel, in Gaza City, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot
When Pinocchio lied, his nose grew longer. His falsehoods were too obvious to be ignored.
But media outlets barely raised an eyebrow after a Big Lie was exposed last week, perhaps because it also exposed them as wooden marionettes.
On Monday, April 8, it was revealed that Gaza terror organizations have been deliberately spreading false narratives on the Israel-Hamas war, and that international media outlets have been playing an unwitting, or even willing, role in enabling this mass manipulation.
Unsurprisingly, the foreign press ignored the exposure, even though everyone received the announcement distributed by the IDF.
Israel released a video that showed the interrogation of Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesperson, Tariq Salami Otha Abu Shlouf, who had been captured during the IDF’s recent raid on Gaza’s Shifa hospital.
During his conversation with the interrogator, which amounts to an incriminating account concerning news coverage of Gaza, Abu Shlouf reveals how the well-oiled media manipulation machine of Islamic Jihad and Hamas operates:
Top figures in the group decide on a beneficial narrative, such as focusing on the humanitarian angle rather than the military one.
The message is circulated to news outlets.
Reporters uncritically echo what the terror group says, to avoid harming ties with sources.
The chilling testimony of an Islamic Jihad spox revealed how terrorist orgs manipulated the media to blame Israel for acts it did not do in this war.
It’s a day after the IDF released the testimony & neither @AP nor @Reuters have mentioned him at all. pic.twitter.com/eKT3IXeR5b
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 9, 2024
Abu Shlouf references the Al-Ahli hospital incident as an example: he admits his group decided to falsely blame Israel for the deadly strike, in order to erase the fact it had been caused by an Islamic Jihad rocket — a fact known to local reporters.
He also tells the interrogator how the “humanitarian angle” is being pushed to pliant reporters, with specific messages fed to international news outlets:
Abu Shlouf: The international media differs from the Arab ones, they focus on humanitarian issues, we don’t speak to them in the language of violence, destruction, and revenge. They come and say “let’s talk for a minute or two, but only talk to me about the humanitarian side, meaning, for instance, you’d say “it’s our right to live,” “we want the situation to return to normal, and our children to live like other children in the world,” “we have the right to receive capabilities and institutions.” This is the humanitarian side. And the other side, some of the international media organizations automatically address events like al-Ahli, when an event happens, they turn to us.
He adds that terrorist officials even vet news stories before publication. And he describes how “interviews” are conducted with international media reporters:
Abu Shlouf: They like to do interviews with figures from the political bureau, senior figures, like Khaled al-Batsh. There were a few international media outlets that conducted interviews with him. He sits with someone, then the journalist starts asking him questions, because it’s under the table, the humanitarian situation doesn’t interest the journalist. Only three things interest him: was the fallen rocket yours? Khaled al-Batsh, of course, answers him “No, it’s from the occupation.” Of course, the journalist knows that the rocket is indeed ours and not yours.
Interrogator: Even though the journalist knows, does he still echo what is said by the organization [Islamic Jihad]?
Abu Shlouf: Yes, because they ask him to review the article before publication, telling him to send it to us before he can publish it so we can review it.
Interrogator: And if it’s not to your liking, it doesn’t get published?
Abu Shlouf: No, of course not, because he [the journalist] needs us for more interviews.
Media outlets might argue that Abu Shlouf’s account as an IDF prisoner had been given under duress. But it seems — even with the video cuts — that rather than giving short answers, he willingly provided elaborate details and names. And that also suggests it’s true.
The foreign press can also argue that what he said about al-Ahli and terrorists’ use of hospitals and ambulances isn’t new. But that’s why it may be even more incriminating, as further proof that Gaza reporters have most likely known about it all along and kept silent.
The unavoidable conclusion from Abu Shlouf’s account is this: People in his position are constantly contacted by foreign press reporters to quote data, request interviews, and get reactions. So the editorial line on Gaza news is not being decided by the local reporter or his/her editors in Jerusalem or London. It first passes through the terrorists’ filter.
Is this not worth reporting? Don’t news consumers deserve to know the truth?
These questions are important because media outlets have published many stories focused on their Gaza reporters throughout the war — from their personal safety concerns to their electricity challenges. But when it now comes to focusing on the actual work they do, the media silence is deafening.
This is also defining the foreign press’ inability to carry out any self-reflection. If they care so much about the truth they purport to pursue, these media outlets ought to be the first to acknowledge that a huge shadow of doubt has just been cast on the professionalism of every reporter in the Hamas-run Strip. And it also hovers over their vetting procedures of new hires in Gaza.
HonestReporting has questioned the journalistic ethics of Gazan reporters since the beginning of the war. We exposed how some of them infiltrated into Israel with Hamas on October 7, as hundreds of Israelis were slaughtered.
Now, when it’s become even clearer that everything we see and read from Gaza is being manipulated by terrorist propagandists, it’s time for a media reckoning.
Pinocchio managed to transform into a responsible human being.
Why can’t journalists covering Gaza see who is pulling their strings, and do the same?
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
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Munich Residents Form Human Chain to Protect Synagogue From Anti-Israel Protest Marked by Antisemitic Chants
Anti-Israel protesters march through Munich’s city center near the main synagogue during Shabbat prayers. Photo: Screenshot
Munich residents formed a human chain around a local synagogue in a show of solidarity with the Jewish community in Germany, as an anti-Israel protest marched through the city center during Shabbat prayers.
On Friday night, around 750 people protested against the war in Gaza in central Munich, rallying near the main synagogue at Jakobsplatz as Shabbat prayers took place inside — a demonstration that sparked fear among members of the Jewish community and prevented some from attending services, German media reported.
Organized under the slogan “Stop the Genocide. Free Palestine,” the protest was marked by openly antisemitic chants, as demonstrators shouted “Death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces],” “Zionists are fascists, child murderers, and racists,” and “There is only one state: Palestine.”
„Wir müssen wieder in Angst und Schrecken leben“, so Charlotte Knobloch vorhin an der Synagoge. Aktuelle Bilder aus München nur wenige hundert Meter vom Jakobsplatz entfernt. pic.twitter.com/uKjDv3dYVy
— Sandra Demmelhuber (@SDemmelhuber) July 18, 2025
Participants in the demonstration not only deny Israel’s right to exist but also dismissed the suffering of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas as a “lie,” minimizing the atrocities perpetrated by the Palestinian terrorist group
One speaker at the rally asserted that the hostages are “mostly Israeli soldiers” and characterized them predominantly as war criminals.
In response to the anti-Israel demonstration, hundreds of Munich residents gathered to form a human chain around the synagogue, rallying under the slogan “Protect Our Synagogue.”
Hier à Munich des citoyens ont formé une chaîne humaine autour de la synagogue pour la protéger d’une manif pro-
qui voulait intimider la communauté juive locale.
S’il y en a pour reconnaître le vieux démon malgré ses nouveaux habits, c’est les Bavaroispic.twitter.com/Ufg08URY6l
— Fennec des Fagnes
(@FennecdesFagnes) July 19, 2025
According to local media, one of the speakers at the protest dismissed the human chain around the synagogue as a staged performance by “friends of Zionists and fascists,” claiming that “Zionists are the real antisemites.”
The speaker also asserted that those participating in the human chain were trying to “buy their freedom” from the crimes of their parents’ generation.
Local law enforcement later took over synagogue security, deploying around 150 officers from the Munich Police Department, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported.
Charlotte Knobloch, a Holocaust survivor and president of the Jewish Community of Munich (IKG), sharply criticized local authorities for allowing the protest to take place and condemned the demonstration as a “deliberate attempt at intimidation.”
She also expressed her gratitude to the “Munich is Colorful” alliance and the group “Grandmothers Against the Right” for their efforts to protect the synagogue and show solidarity with the Jewish community.
“This human chain sends an important message, especially to the city. Once again, they have proven they can be relied upon — they take action when it matters,” Knobloch said.
Bernhard Liess, the city council chairman, also criticized the decision to allow a pro-Palestinian demonstration with anti-Israel slogans to take place during Shabbat.
Even though demonstrations only require registration and not approval, local authorities can consult with organizers to discuss possible changes if any issues are anticipated.
Germany has experienced a sharp spike in antisemitism since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct.7, 2023.
The number of antisemitic incidents in Germany almost doubled last year, the semi-official German body that tracks antisemitism reported last month.
The Federal Research and Information Point for Antisemitism (RIAS) said it had registered 8,627 incidents of violence, vandalism, and threats against Jews in Germany, almost twice the 4,886 recorded in 2023, and far ahead of 2020’s 1,957.
In just the first six months of 2024 alone, the number of antisemitic incidents in Berlin surpassed the total for all of the prior year and reached the highest annual count on record, according separate figured from RIAS.
The figures in Berlin were the highest count for a single year since the federally-funded body began monitoring antisemitic incidents in 2015, showing the German capital averaged nearly eight anti-Jewish outrages a day from January to June last year.
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), police registered 5,154 antisemitic incidents in Germany in 2023, a 95 percent increase compared to the previous year.
However, experts believe that the true number of incidents is much higher but not recorded because of reluctance on the part of the victims.
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Ocasio-Cortez Campaign Office Vandalized With Anti-Israel Message Amid Backlash Over Iron Dome Funding Vote
US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on March 21, 2024. Photo: Craig Hudson/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
A New York campaign office for US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was vandalized with what appeared to be red paint resembling blood and an anti-Israel message on Sunday night, amid backlash from fellow progressives following her vote last week against an amendment aimed at blocking US funding for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system.
“AOC funds genocide in Gaza,” was written in red paint on the office windows, using the lawmaker’s popular nickname. The vandals also spread paint all over the building’s entrance. Police arrived to the scene early Monday morning.
A group calling itself the Boogie Down Liberation Front claimed responsibility, saying it “stands with the Palestinian people and condemns AOC’s hypocrisy.”
Overnight, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Bronx office was vandalized. A fringe group calling itself the Boogie Down Liberation Front claimed responsibility and left behind this note:
“The Bronx is sick and tired of people like AOC and Ritchie Torres using us as a stepping… pic.twitter.com/ctwKoV0uOF
— Stu (@thestustustudio) July 21, 2025
The vandalism came after Ocasio-Cortez on Friday voted against an amendment to the US House’s defense appropriations bill that would have cut funding for the Israeli Cooperative Program — an agreement through which the US provides Israel $500 million for missile defense programs including Iron Dome, which protects against from rockets and missiles launched by neighboring terrorist groups, such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The amendment was overwhelmingly defeated in the House by a vote of 422 to 6.
While Ocasio-Cortez ultimately voted against the broader appropriations bill (which ultimately passed the House), her decision not to support the stand-alone measure cutting funding to Israel’s missile defense has drawn strong criticism from fellow progressives, who argued that the left-wing lawmaker betrayed the pro-Palestinian movement.
In a post on the X social media platform, Ocasio-Cortez wrote that the amendment to the military funding bill “does nothing to cut off offensive aid to Israel nor end the flow of US munitions being used in Gaza. Of course I voted against it. What it does do is cut off defensive Iron Dome capacities while allowing the actual bombs killing Palestinians to continue.”
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), a prominent far-left organization, repudiated AOC’s vote, accusing the congresswoman of assisting Israel carry out what it falsely described as a “genocide” in Gaza.
“Providing any aid to Israel as they carry out a genocide with US support is completely unacceptable,” DSA said in a statement. “This is even more true of military aid of any kind. Any funds that go to Israel assist this brutal genocide. Any support for Israel legitimizes its eliminationist campaign against the Palestinian people. The fact that Representative Ocasio-Cortez acknowledges that Israel is carrying out this genocide makes her support for military aid all the more disappointing and incongruous.”
DSA and Ocasio-Cortez have recently maintained a rocky relationship. Last year, the organization rescinded its endorsement of the congresswoman, citing her insufficient level of commitment to “Palestinian liberation.” The organization took umbrage with the lawmaker over her decision to co-host an event with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), a Jewish organization that champions progressive policies. DSA also rebuked Ocasio-Cortez for a previous House vote which labeled “denial of Israel’s right to exist” as a form of antisemitism.
On Monday, Ocasio-Cortez took a shot at those criticizing her vote against the amendment, noting she opposed the broader appropriations bill.
“Google is free,” she posted on social media. “If you’re saying I voted for military funding, you are lying. Receipts attached. Drag me for my positions all you want, but lying about them doesn’t make you part of the ‘left.’ If you believe neo-Nazis are welcome and operating in good faith, you can have them!”
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Jewish Groups Applaud Major Teachers’ Union’s Rejection of ADL Ban
Rebecca S. Pringle, president of the National Education Association, speaks on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, US, Aug. 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar
Jewish groups this week commended the National Education Association (NEA) teachers union for refusing to adopt as policy a ban on the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) voted for by the group’s Representative Assembly during an annual conference held in Portland, Oregon earlier this month.
“We welcome the NEA Executive Committee’s decision to reject this misguided resolution that is rooted in exclusion and othering, and promoted for political reasons,” said a joint statement issued on Friday by the leaders of the ADL, the American Jewish Committee, the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, and the Jewish Federations of North America. “This resolution was not just an attack on the ADL but a larger attack against Jewish educators, students, and families.”
The statement added, “We are urging educators across the United States to recognize and act on the importance of education about Jewish identity, antisemitism, and the Holocaust that reflect the perspectives and experiences of the vast majority of the American Jewish community … divisive campaigns to boycott, reputable, centrist Jewish organizations and educators normalize antisemitic isolation, [and] othering.”
Passed by a razor thin majority, the ban would have proscribed the union’s sharing ADL literature which explains the history of antisemitism and the Holocaust. In the lead up to the vote, a website promoting the policy, titled #DroptheADLFromSchools, attacked the ADL’s reputation as a civil rights advocate and knowledgeable source of information about antisemitism, the very issue the group was founded to fight.
“Analysis by scholars and journalists makes it clear that the ADL systematically distorts people’s understanding of antisemitism by including criticism of Israel as an indicator of hatred toward Jews,” the website said. “We further urge you to join in nationwide efforts to drop the ADL from schools … Cut all ties with the ADL, including use or endorsement of their curricular materials, participation in their programs, and engagement in their professional development offerings.”
The ban garnered the support of extreme far-left groups — such as Black Lives Matter, Faculty for Justice in Palestine, and Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) — and others which have praised the use of terrorism in Israel and across the Western world to advance a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which necessitates destroying the Jewish state. Its approval by the Representative Assembly prompted the ADL to say that the activists behind it were attempting to “isolate their Jewish colleagues and push a radical antisemitic agenda on students.”
In two statements following the vote, one issued by union president Becky Pringle, the NEA said it remains committed to fighting antisemitism and said it had foreclosed the idea of disassociating with the ADL altogether.
“Following the culmination of a thorough review process as governed by NEA rules, including a vote by NEA’s Executive Committee earlier this week, NEA’s Board of Directors — representing the broad and diverse membership of the NEA including representatives from every state — voted not to implement this proposal,” the union, which is the largest teachers labor group in the US, said in a statement on Friday. “After consideration, it was determined that this proposal would not further NEA’s commitment to academic freedom, our membership, or our goals.”
It added, “There is no doubt that antisemitism on the rise,” while noting that its decision to reject the proposal “is in no way an endorsement of the ADL’s full body of work” and implying that the ADL is hostile to “free speech and association.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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