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Hamas Documents Aren’t Substantiation — But the Media Doesn’t Care
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar looks on as Palestinian Hamas supporters take part in an anti-Israel rally over tension in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, in Gaza City, Oct. 1, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Treating Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif as a bona fide journalist — hunted and killed on account of his heroic pursuit of the truth — The Los Angeles Times’ Nabih Bulos dismisses information revealing that the slain purported newsman was the head of a Hamas cell and was responsible for rocket attacks (page one in Aug. 12 print edition, “Journalist slain in Israeli strike was a voice in war-torn Gaza,” and online here).
The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics exhorts media practitioners to “seek truth and report it.” In stubbornly promoting the dubious portrait of al-Sharif as a professional journalist faithfully doing his job under fire, Bulos degrades his own truth-seeker credentials.
“Israel’s military targeted a tent for journalists in Gaza City late Sunday, killing seven people, including Anas al-Sharif, a reporter for Al Jazeera who drew millions of followers on social media and emerged as a top voice in the Arab world for his chronicling of the war in Gaza over the last 22 months,” Bulos’ article begins.
The page-one headline likewise emphasizes that Al-Sharif “was a voice in war-torn Gaza,” and Bulos quotes an Al Jazeera statement in the article’s fourth paragraph: “The order to assassinate Anas al-Sharif, one of Gaza’s bravest journalists, and his colleagues, is a desperate attempt to silence the voices exposing the impending seizure and occupation of Gaza.”
Yet for all of Bulos’ apparent concern for the silencing of the “top voice,” The Los Angeles Times correspondent’s own work is a remarkable case of doing just that: In particular, Bulos spares not one word on al-Sharif’s myriad and unabashed pronouncements praising attacks on Israeli civilians and pro-terror sentiments, which belie The Times’ clumsily crafted portrait of a hunted journalist.
According to the findings of CAMERA Arabic, on 17 occasions from November 2021 until October 2023, Anas al-Sharif celebrated and justified Palestinian attacks which targeted and killed Israeli civilians, calling the perpetrators “heroes” and “martyrs,” and the attacks “heroic operations.” (A list of al-Sharif’s online praise for terror is appended to the bottom of this post.)
On Oct. 7, 2023, as thousands of terrorists still rampaged through southern Israeli communities, butchering, raping, burning, kidnapping and looting, “the top voice for in the Arab world for his chronicling the war in Gaza” could not contain his glee, sharing on social media: “9 hours and the heroes are still roaming the country and capturing … God, God, how great you are.”
Far from seeking the truth, Bulos silences the uncomfortable truth of the courageous “journalist” joyfully applauding terror. Rather than quoting or even mentioning any of al-Sharif’s numerous pro-terror outbursts, The Los Angeles Times perhaps alludes to them in the 14th paragraph, dismissing them as nothing more than a questionable Israeli accusation:
Sunday’s drone attack came weeks after Israel stepped up its attacks on Al-Sharif, with the military’s Arabic language spokesman accusing the Al Jazeera correspondent in July of spreading “propaganda” and taking part in “a false Hamas campaign on starvation.”
And it’s not only Bulos’ coverage of al-Sharif’s incitement that fails to pass another tenet of ethical journalism 101: “Provide context. Take care not to misrepresent or oversimplify in promoting, previewing or summarizing a story.”
Bulos buries the Israeli military’s information that al-Sharif headed a Hamas terror cell and was responsible for rocket attacks, waiting until the seventh paragraph to share:
Israel’s military confirmed it conducted the attack, issuing a statement shortly before midnight Monday saying it struck the terrorist Anas Al-Sharif who it said “posed a journalist” but “served as the head of a terrorist cell” in the militant group Hamas.
It claimed that “previously disclosed intelligence information” and “many documents found in the Gaza Strip” confirmed Al-Sharif’s involvement with Hamas. The documents, which the statement said included personnel rosters and lists of terrorist training courses, among others, “provide proof of the integration of the Hamas terrorist” within Al Jazeera.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col Nadav Shoshani also posted on X (formerly Twitter) screenshots of the relevant Hamas documents, a pertinent fact which Bulos chose to ignore.
STRUCK: Hamas terrorist Anas Al-Sharif, who posed as an Al Jazeera journalist
Al-Sharif was the head of a Hamas terrorist cell and advanced rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF troops.
Intelligence and documents from Gaza, including rosters, terrorist training lists and… pic.twitter.com/ypFaEYDHse— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 10, 2025
Ignoring that the Hamas documents are publicly available for all who choose to examine them, Bulos charges forward, writing: “Al Jazeera, along with a United Nations expert, the Committee to Protect Journalists and other groups cast doubt on the veracity of the documents.”
He continues:
The Israeli military has previously made unsubstantiated claims that journalists in targeted and killed in Gaza were terrorists. In March, Israeli killed Al Jazeera correspondent Hossam Shabat; in July 2024, it killed Ismail Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi.
As with Anas al-Sharif, the IDF released Hamas documents revealing the affiliation of its Beit Hanoun operative Hossam Shabat. Ditto for Ismail Ghoul, an engineer in Hamas’ Gaza City brigade. (According to the IDF and Shin Bet, Ghoul was a Nukhba terrorist who took part in the Oct. 7 massacre, but on this point we did not find publicly released documentation.)
If information backed up by publicly shared Hamas documents is “unsubstantiated,” as Bulos suggests, what could possibly constitute substantiation regarding “journalists” moonlighting as terrorists? Perhaps a broadcast statement from no less than (slain) Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, seen at left embracing Al Jazeera’s Al-Sharif?
Screenshot
Bulos applies a lower standard of substantiation to Israel’s accusers. Thus, he reports:
Health authorities in Gaza say 237 journalists have been killed since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023. The Committee to Protect Journalists says that at least 186 have been killed.
At no point does he qualify that the claims of the “health authorities” in the Gaza Strip and CPJ are “unsubstantiated.” Nor does he disclose that the Gaza Strip “health authorities” are run by Hamas.
Moreover, Bulos conceals the terrorist affiliations of others he mentions. Thus, he selectively reports:
Chief [Al Jazeera] correspondent Wael al Dahdouh lost his wife, son, daughter and grandson in an Israeli airstrike in October. Weeks after that, he was injured in a strike that killed Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa.
Bulos neglects to report that the IDF released Islamic Jihad documents revealing that Hamza Wael Dahdouh, Wael al Dahdouh’s son, was a member of the terror group’s electronic engineering unit. The IDF identified Abu Daqqa as the head of Hamas’ aerial unit in Gaza.
Independent researcher David Collier concluded in his 2024 report that, at the time, 50 percent of Palestinian fatalities in Gaza identified by Committee to Protect Journalists as “journalists” were affiliated with proscribed terror groups.
But that overlap of activity simply is not a notion that Bulos is willing to entertain. Untenable claims by Al Jazeera, CPJ and the United Nations are evidence enough for Bulos of one’s journalistic credentials in the Gaza Strip.
But documents originating from Hamas or Islamic Jihad listing the affiliations of their operatives? In Bulos’ eyes, that’s nothing more than evidence of an Israeli ruse.
Tamar Sternthal is director of the Israel office of CAMERA, where a version of this article first appeared.
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Scottish First Minister Faces Backlash Over Anti-Israel Stance as Jewish Community Warns of Rising Antisemitism
Palestinian supporters protesting outside a Scotland vs. Israel match at the a UEFA Women’s European Qualifiers at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland on May 31, 2024. Photo: Alex Todd/Sportpix/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Scottish First Minister John Swinney is facing fierce backlash after nearly 3,000 signatories accused his government’s anti-Israel stance of fueling antisemitism and endangering Jewish communities across Scotland.
Last week, Swinney announced that his government would halt new public contracts with arms companies supplying Israel, saying that “in the face of genocide, there can be no business as usual.”
In response to this latest anti-Israel move, the organization Scotland Against Antisemitism (SAA) sent Swinney a letter urging him to retract his “inflammatory language.”
“For the Scottish government to endorse this modern-day blood libel will not save a single innocent life in Gaza, but it will embolden those who now use the language of genocide to justify the harassment and intimidation of Jews here in Scotland,” the letter reads
The group also urged Swinney to engage with Scotland’s Jewish community and implement concrete measures to protect their safety amid a rising wave of anti-Jewish hate crimes and antisemitism.
“As you are no doubt aware, our small and increasingly vulnerable community is living in an extraordinarily hostile environment, one that has only worsened since Oct. 7,” SAA wrote in the letter, referring to the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel in 2023.
According to the group, Jews comprise less than one percent of Scotland’s population, yet they were the victims of roughly 17 percent of all religiously motivated hate crimes last year.
“That figure alone should be a matter of national shame,” SAA wrote.
Read our full letter to @scotgov and @ScotGovFM and sign here; https://t.co/J7KsOmaidJ pic.twitter.com/1oMpToxN0U
— Scotland Against Antisemitism (@SAA_scotland) September 4, 2025
Swinney’s announcement came after the Scottish Parliament voted to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly this month, joining a growing number of Western countries supporting such an initiative.
“Scotland stands proudly in solidarity with the people of Gaza in the face of genocide,” Swinney wrote in a post on X after the motion was passed.
I am proud that @ScotParl has overwhelmingly voted to call for the recognition of the State of Palestine.
Scotland stands proudly in solidarity with the people of Gaza in the face of genocide. pic.twitter.com/UyLXpitPWk
— John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) September 3, 2025
The government’s increasingly hostile stance toward Israel has drawn sharp criticism from members of Scotland’s Jewish community.
On Monday, a Scottish government spokesperson confirmed that Swinney met with members of the Jewish community following their request for assurances about their safety in Scotland.
“As the first minister made clear in setting out his statement to Parliament, the Scottish government deeply values our relationship with Scotland’s Jewish community and it is vital that they feel safe and supported,” the statement read. “There can be no place for antisemitism or hatred of any kind in Scotland.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), a UK-based charity, has released new research conducted by YouGov which showed that those characterized as embracing “entrenched” antisemitic attitudes in the UK had grown to 21 percent, the highest figure on record, showing a jump from 16 percent in 2024 and 11 percent in 2021.
The poll found that nearly half of Britons (45 percent) said Israel treats Palestinians like the Nazis treated Jews, up from 33 percent last year, and with 60 percent of young adults agreeing.
A striking 20 percent of young voters said that Israel does not have a right to exist as a Jewish state, while 31 percent disagreed. Similarly, 19 percent of British young adults justified Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities.
The data came after CAA earlier this year released a separate report revealing the extent of antisemitism experienced by the Jewish community across the UK.
In the past two years, half of Jews have considered leaving Britain due to rising antisemitism following the Oct. 7 atrocities, a figure that climbs to 67 percent among those aged 18 to 24.
According to the poll, 58 percent of British Jews choose to conceal their Judaism to avoid antisemitism, and 43 percent say they do not feel welcome in the UK.
In Scotland, almost 20 percent of Jews said they would not report an antisemitic hate crime to law enforcement, with almost two-thirds doubting that such acts would be prosecuted.
More than 80 percent of British Jews believe authorities are not doing enough to combat antisemitism. Three-quarters also voiced dissatisfaction with the way police have handled anti-Israel protests.
According to additional data provided by the Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, there were 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded.
In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, the country’s second worst year for antisemitism and an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.
In one of the latest instances of antisemitism, two Jewish comedians were dropped from a major arts and culture festival in Edinburgh after staff cited “safety concerns” over their pro-Israel views.
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Spain Follows Slovenia in Threatening to Withdraw From 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel Participates
Yuval Raphael from Israel with the title “New Day Will Rise” on stage at the second semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in the Arena St. Jakobshalle. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa via Reuters Connect
Spanish Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun has joined Slovenia’s national broadcaster in threatening to withdraw their country’s participation in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) if Israel is not banned because of its military actions in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Urtasun appeared Monday morning on the Spanish news show “La hora de La 1 on TVE” and reminded viewers that in May, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the ESC, to ban Israel from the international competition. Urtasun said on Monday that if Israel participated in the ESC “and we fail to expel it, measures will have to be taken,” as cited by the Spanish daily newspaper La Vanguardia. He said he believes Israel’s participation in the contest cannot be normalized and tolerated.
Urtasun, who is also a spokesperson for Spain’s left-wing alliance Sumar, additionally denied that it is antisemitic to denounce the so-called “genocide” taking place in Gaza and described Israel as a “genocidal government.” He also said he feels pride over Israel’s decision to ban Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz and Minister of Childhood and Youth Sira Rego from entering the Jewish state because of their antisemitic statements and criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced the sanctions early Monday against the Spanish politicians because of their “anti-Israel and antisemitic” comments and “support for terrorism and violence against Israelis.” Spain has condemned the move in a released statement. Sanchez is a longtime critic of Israel, and last year called for Israel to be excluded from all international cultural events, including the Eurovision, because of its military campaign targeting Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Spain’s national broadcaster RTVE will ultimately make the final decision regarding Spain’s withdrawal from the ESC.
Meanwhile, the director of Slovenia’s national broadcaster, RTVSLO, has announced that it will likely withdraw from the contest next year if Israel participates. Ksenija Horvat recently said that RTVE has reached out to EBU several times with concerns pertaining to Israel’s participation in the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest and next year’s competition.
RTVSLO called for the expulsion of Israel from Eurovision 2025 and Horvat sent a letter to members of the EBU’s executive board that RTVSLO shared online in May about Israel’s participation in next year’s competition.
“We sent some very specific questions and proposals, just like last year,” Horvat said recently. “Last year we were more or less ignored. This year is basically the same. So, we realistically think that we will not be able to go to the Eurovision Song Contest. If we won’t be able to reach an appropriate system of participation, we will not be there.”
Even the winner of last year’s Eurovision, Austrian singer JJ, has said that he wants Israel to be banned from the Eurovision next year. The 70th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in May 2026 at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria.
The EBU recently extended its penalty-free withdrawal deadline for broadcasters to mid-December, not long after the EBU’s General Assembly will convene and likely discuss Israel’s participation in next year’s competition.
Ahead of last year’s Eurovision, more than 70 former contestants, as well as public broadcasters around the world, called for the EBU to ban Israel from the competition. When the contest ended, and Israel finished in second place, Spain’s RTVE demanded an audit of the voting system after Israel was a favorite in the popular vote. The director of the competition and EBU’s executive supervisor of the ESC both denied accusations that voting was rigged in any way in favor of Israel.
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Jewish Voice for Peace Members Form New, More Radical Anti-Zionist Student Group
Pro-Hamas protesters led by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) demonstrate outside the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 14, 2024. Photo: Derek French via Reuters Connect
Some college students affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), an anti-Israel organization that has helped organize widespread demonstrations against the Jewish state during the war in Gaza, have announced that they are forming a new group, citing dissatisfaction with what they described as JVP’s insufficient efforts to “dismantle Zionism.”
The students announced on social media on Sunday the formation of the Anti-Zionist Jewish Student Front, an organization which they claim will take a more adversarial stance toward Zionism on campus.
“We work to dismantle Zionism in its entirety by confronting Zionist institutions on campus, to struggle for divestment, and to pursue the criminalization of Zionism as a white supremacist weapon of war,” the Anti-Zionist Jewish Student Front wrote on Instagram.
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A post shared by Anti-Zionist Jewish Student Front (AJSF) (@antizionistjewishstudentfront)
The group characterized the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel as a form of legitimate “resistance” and declared the Israeli military response as a “horrific expansion of the Zionist project” and a supposed “genocide.”
“In one month, we also mark two years of the strongest sustained resistance by the might of Palestinian journalists, doctors, men, women, and children, refusing to abandon national liberation and continuously defying vicious onslaught, backed by American dollars,” the group continued.
The Anti-Zionist Jewish Student Front claimed that it adheres to the Thawabit, a Palestinian nationalist framework that includes the so-called “right of return” for millions of Palestinians and their descendants to Israel, claims to Jerusalem as a Palestinian capital, and explicit support for so-called “resistance” against the Jewish state. Palestinian leaders and activists have described the Thawabit as a set of principles aimed at eliminating Israel and establishing a Palestinian state in its place.
Anti-Israel protests and antisemitism on university campuses exploded in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities, amid the ensuing war in Gaza. During this period, JVP, an organization that purports to fight for “Palestinian liberation,” has positioned itself as a leader of the anti-Israel movement.
Despite JVP’s name, a poll released earlier this year found that the vast majority of American Jews believe that anti-Zionist movements and anti-Israel university protests are antisemitic. The findings — part of a survey commissioned by The Jewish Majority, a nonprofit founded by a researcher whose aim is to monitor and accurately report Jewish opinion on the most consequential issues affecting the community — also showed that Jews across the US overwhelmingly oppose the views and tactics of JVP.
Meanwhile, StandWithUs (SWU), an organization which promotes a mission of “supporting Israel and fighting antisemitism,” released a report in January examining how the farl-eft JVP organization “promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories” and even partners with terrorist organizations to achieve its “primary goal” of “dismantling the State of Israel.”
According to the report, JVP weaponizes the plight of Palestinians to advance an “extremist” agenda which promotes the destruction of Israel and whitewashes terrorism, receiving money from organizations that have ties to Middle Eastern countries such as Iran.
JVP, which has repeatedly defended the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre, argued in a recently resurfaced 2021 booklet that Jews should not write Hebrew liturgy because hearing the language would be “deeply traumatizing” to Palestinians.
Critics of the organization often point out that many JVP chapters do not have a single person of Jewish faith. The organization does not require a Jewish person to found a chapter and has even helped orchestrate anti-Israel demonstrations in front of synagogues.