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Over 150 Entertainment Industry Figures Call on Emmys to Rescind Nomination of Journalist Tied to Terror Group
Bisan Atef Owda in a scene from “It’s Bisan From Gaza, I’m Still Alive After Six Months Of Bombing.” Photo: YouTube screenshot
More than 150 entertainment industry leaders signed an open letter urging the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) to rescind the Emmy nomination of Palestinian journalist and filmmaker Bisan Owda because of her connection to the US-designated terrorist organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The open letter was penned by the nonprofit organization Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) following Owda’s nomination for her documentary series “It’s Bisan From Gaza and I’m Still Alive” in the 2024 Emmy Awards for News & Documentary. She was nominated with the Qatari-owned media outlet AJ+ in the category of outstanding hard news feature story: short form. In the series, Owda reports from the Gaza Strip and documents Palestinian living conditions during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Owda’s affiliation with PFLP was exposed last month after her Emmy nomination was announced on July 25. Owda also regularly posts anti-Israel content on social media, such as accusing the Jewish state of committing genocide in Gaza and referring to Israel as “IsraHell.” She has also promoted violence against Israel.
In their open letter, members of the entertainment industry said Owda’s Emmy nomination “is deeply troubling, given the creator’s history of promoting dangerous falsehoods, spreading antisemitism, and condoning violence.” They explained that Owda’s nomination is in direct violation of the NATAS’s code of ethical conduct, which states that it has “zero tolerance for discrimination, harassment, illegal, dishonest, unethical, or otherwise harmful conduct.” The entertainment industry figures said Owda’s association with PFLP “raises serious ethical concerns that cannot and should not be ignored.”
“Honoring someone linked to an organization that has caused so much pain and suffering is not just irresponsible; it is a direct affront to the values we hold dear in the entertainment industry,” they added. “The Emmys are a prestigious entertainment institution, known for recognizing excellence in entertainment, often highlighting the unifying power of the arts. Choosing to elevate someone with clear ties to the PFLP not only legitimizes a terrorist organization, it undermines the integrity of the awards. We urge NATAS to rescind Owda’s nomination to prevent glorifying a figure associated with terrorism and ensure the Emmys remain a symbol of peace and artistic collaboration.”
“Only in rescinding this nomination, will NATAS uphold its code of ethical conduct,” they concluded their letter by saying.
The signatories included actors, studio executives, publicists, photographers, showrunners, screenwriters, composers, talent managers and agents, record producers, directors, lawyers, and NATAS members. Among those who signed the open letter were Selma Blair, Debra Messing, Rebecca De Mornay, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Disturbed frontman David Draiman, Saban Capital Group Chairman and CEO Haim Saban, Fox Entertainment President Fernando Szew, and “Grey’s Anatomy” co-executive producer Jamie Denbo.
“NATAS must decide — they can either condone the murder of innocent civilians or they can listen to the entertainment community, and stand in opposition to hatred and violence,” said CCFP co-founder and chairman David Renzer, who is also the former chairman and CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group.
Emmy winners will be announced during two ceremonies on Sep. 25 and 26 in New York City.
The post Over 150 Entertainment Industry Figures Call on Emmys to Rescind Nomination of Journalist Tied to Terror Group first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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UN Security Council Meets on Iran as Russia, China Push for a Ceasefire
Members of the Security Council cast a vote during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the 3rd anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at UN headquarters in New York, US, Feb. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/David Dee Delgado
The U.N. Security Council met on Sunday to discuss US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East.
It was not immediately clear when it could be put to a vote. The three countries circulated the draft text, said diplomats, and asked members to share their comments by Monday evening. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China to pass.
The US is likely to oppose the draft resolution, seen by Reuters, which also condemns attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites and facilities. The text does not name the United States or Israel.
“The bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States marks a perilous turn in a region that is already reeling,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Sunday. “We now risk descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation.”
“We must act – immediately and decisively – to halt the fighting and return to serious, sustained negotiations on the Iran nuclear program,” Guterres said.
The world awaited Iran’s response on Sunday after President Donald Trump said the US had “obliterated” Tehran’s key nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.
U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that while craters were visible at Iran’s enrichment site buried into a mountain at Fordow, “no one – including the IAEA – is in a position to assess the underground damage.”
Grossi said entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit at Iran’s sprawling Isfahan nuclear complex, while the fuel enrichment plant at Natanz has been struck again.
“Iran has informed the IAEA there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels at all three sites,” said Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran requested the U.N. Security Council meeting, calling on the 15-member body “to address this blatant and unlawful act of aggression, to condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
Israel‘s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement on Sunday that the U.S. and Israel “do not deserve any condemnation, but rather an expression of appreciation and gratitude for making the world a safer place.”
Danon told reporters before the council meeting that it was still early when it came to assessing the impact of the U.S. strikes. When asked if Israel was pursuing regime change in Iran, Danon said: “That’s for the Iranian people to decide, not for us.”
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Israel Rejects Critical EU Report Ahead of Ministers’ Meeting
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
Israel has rejected a European Union report saying it may be breaching human rights obligations in Gaza and the West Bank as a “moral and methodological failure,” according to a document seen by Reuters on Sunday.
The note, sent to EU officials ahead of a foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday, said the report by the bloc’s diplomatic service failed to consider Israel’s challenges and was based on inaccurate information.
“The Foreign Ministry of the State of Israel rejects the document … and finds it to be a complete moral and methodological failure,” the note said, adding that it should be dismissed entirely.
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Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’
FILE PHOTO: Pope Leo XIV holds a Jubilee audience on the occasion of the Jubilee of Sport, at St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican June 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo
Pope Leo on Sunday said the international community must strive to avoid war that risks opening an “irreparable abyss,” and that diplomacy should take the place of conflict.
US forces struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites overnight, joining an Israeli assault in a major new escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself.
“Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” Pope Leo said during his weekly prayer with pilgrims.
“No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future. Let diplomacy silence the weapons, let nations chart their future with peace efforts, not with violence and bloody conflicts,” he added.
“In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks being forgotten, where the need for adequate humanitarian support is becoming increasingly urgent,” Pope Leo said.
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