RSS
Israel’s Eden Golan Reveals She Was Forced to Conceal Identity, Wear Disguise in Sweden During Eurovision
Eden Golan, Israel’s representative at the Eurovision Song Contest, reacts during a press conference following the official unveiling of Israel’s song submission, in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Eden Golan, Israel’s representative in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, shared on social media on Thursday that she had to hide her identity outside her hotel during the song competition in Malmo, Sweden, earlier this year because her safety was being threatened by anti-Israel activists who were opposed to Israel’s participation in the contest.
“It’s been exactly two months since the Eurovision Song Contest, and as I was scrolling through my camera roll the other night, I came across this pic and really wanted to share it with you guys,” Golan wrote in the caption of a photo she posted on Instagram, which shows her wearing a wig to disguise herself while in Malmo.
“At the moment, I thought it was funny but didn’t realize how scary and dangerous it really was,” Golan added in the caption, written in both Hebrew and English. “Many people know that we were surrounded by the best security but didn’t know about those moments when I had to dress up for the little time we did spend outside the hotel.”
Golan came in fifth place in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest with her song “Hurricane.” She made it to the top five after being booed on stage by anti-Israel protesters, facing death threats and having one of the competition’s jury members refusing to give her points because of his personal opposition to Israel’s military actions during the ongoing war targeting Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
“It’s sad that we have returned to a time where a Jewish Israeli woman has to hide parts of her identity to avoid being harmed,” Golan further wrote in the Instagram post on Thursday. “It’s definitely a moment I will never forget for the rest of my life. I know there are better days ahead of us.”
Thousands of anti-Israel activists and supporters of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel protested in Malmo, including outside the singer’s hotel room, because they were opposed to the Jewish state’s involvement in the competition. Golan was also ordered by Israel’s national security agency Shin Bet to mostly stay in her hotel room during the anti-Israel demonstrations for her safety, except to attend performances, and the Israeli delegation repeatedly faced hostility from other participants.
For several months before the Eurovision finals took place in May, anti-Israel activists attempted, unsuccessfully, to convince artists to withdraw from the song contest because of Israel’s participation and to pressure the European Broadcasting Union to remove Israel from this year’s competition.
Golan’s song for the Eurovision Song Contest was originally titled “October Rain” and initially included lyrics that referenced the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in Israel. However, that song was disqualified for being too political.
A number of Jewish organizations criticized the fact that Golan was forced to conceal her identity for her safety while competing in the Eurovision.
“It’s appalling that more than 80 years after the Holocaust, Jews must again hide their identity in Europe. Unchecked antisemitism is to blame,” said the American Jewish Committee.
The nonprofit entertainment industry organization Creative Community for Peace said it’s “sad that a Jewish singer needs to hide like this,” while the Combat Antisemitism Movement called it “tragic and wrong.”
The post Israel’s Eden Golan Reveals She Was Forced to Conceal Identity, Wear Disguise in Sweden During Eurovision first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
How Reuters and Getty Images Platform a Gaza Photojournalist Kissed by Hamas’ Sinwar

Yahya Sinwar, head of the Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City on April 14, 2023. Photo: Yousef Masoud / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
On October 7, 2023, Gazan photojournalist Hassan Eslaiah held a grenade in one hand and a camera in the other, documenting Hamas’ massacre inside Israel. His exposure by HonestReporting, which brought to light a cozy photo of Eslaiah and former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, led to the end of his employment at CNN and the Associated Press.
Yet more than a year later, his work was still being offered for sale by Reuters and stock photo agency Getty Images, along with other compromised photojournalists in Gaza. (Getty only removed his work last week after an initial version of this story was published on HonestReporting’s website — and it remains available on Reuters).

Hassan Eslaiah (r) with former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (l)
An HonestReporting investigation revealed that the two media companies have been distributing the tainted content in collaboration with state-run Turkish agency Anadolu — an arrangement that seems to enable their profit without liability. Both companies have a global reach, with Reuters as one of the world’s largest news agencies and US-based Getty Images as one of the world’s largest image licensing companies.
Their databases also present images by Anadolu freelancers Ashraf Amra and Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, who Reuters officially distanced itself from after HonestReporting’s investigative team exposed Amra’s close relations with former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and his shared call with Abu Mostafa to invade Israel.
One of Abu Mostafa’s images, which is still for sale on the Reuters platform, has, according to Anadolu, been used as evidence in the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Unethical Content Distribution
Reuters partnered with Anadolu, which also collaborates with AFP and DPA to distribute its content, back in 2019. Reuters said that “these partnerships will help us create the most comprehensive collection of real-time, multimedia news content anywhere in the world.”
Anadolu’s partnership with Getty Images started in 2013, with Getty’s Senior Director of photography for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa saying at the time: “I am very excited at the prospect of seeing the Anadolu Agency represented by Getty Images around the world … I believe that the Anadolu Agency and Getty Images will benefit greatly from this partnership.”
Indeed, the partnership proved useful not only for the companies, but also for the compromised Gazan photojournalists who can no longer work directly for Western media.
Currently, Reuters offers for sale over 200 Anadolu photos by Hassan Eslaiah (spelled Hasan Eslayeh on their platforms). Most of the photos show Hamas’ hostage release ceremonies, including the barbaric handover of terrified Israeli hostage Arbel Yehud amid a mob of terrorists (which other Western media also picked up):
Eslaiah’s easy access and proximity to the action isn’t surprising. He enjoyed the same conditions on October 7, 2023 when he infiltrated with Hamas into Israel:
And here is footage of Eslaiah after he crossed into Israel and took photos of a burning Israeli tank. He then captured infiltrators entering Kibbutz Kfar Azza.
Note that he is not identifiable as a member of the press. But AP & CNN deemed it acceptable to use his services. pic.twitter.com/fA0VI2df2i
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 8, 2023
The fact that Eslaiah was fired from CNN and AP after we exposed him in November 2023 seems not to have affected his livelihood, with Reuters and Getty Images distributing his propagandist material under the cover of the partnership with Anadolu.
And until last week, Getty Images had no qualms about charging $175-499 dollars for each photo, presumably also including a cut for Anadolu and Eslaiah himself.
Reuters keeps the pricing confidential, but adds a disclaimer distancing itself from the content. The disclaimer seems like a cop-out because on its collaborations page, where Anadolu is listed, Reuters praises its partners’ “compelling content.”
In other words — Reuters and Getty Images make a profit, while abdicating responsibility for spreading the manipulative photos of a Hamas sympathizer, whose pockets are presumably also lined.
Platform for Manipulation
The same business model also seems to work for Gazan photojournalists Ashraf Amra and Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa. Reuters officially cut ties with them after we exposed in January 2024 that Amra was honored by former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and hosted an Instagram Live with Abu Mostafa in which they called on Gazans to infiltrate into Israel on October 7.
Here’s Amra getting a kiss from Haniyeh in 2023 and receiving an honor from the unlamented Hamas leader in 2012. pic.twitter.com/VdWXN6wB32
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 23, 2025
But as Anadolu contributors, Amra and Abu Mostafa are both featured on the Reuters platform — Amra with over 5,000 photos and Abu Mostafa with over 300. On Getty, Amra is less prominent but over 150 photos of Abu Mostafa are offered for sale, including video clips.
These photos don’t just sit in the databases. Reuters and Getty are among the world’s largest digital distribution platforms used by thousands of media clients worldwide.
Recently, Getty clients like The Times of London and the Daily Express were happy to buy Amra’s Anadolu photo showing the moment when Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov “kissed” the head of his Hamas captor:
CNN did the same with Amra’s Anadolu photos of Israeli hostages Eli Sharabi and Or Levy via Getty Images.
And last year, Anadolu weaponized one of Abu Mostafa’s photos — still on sale in the Getty Images and Reuters platforms — as evidence at the ICJ case accusing Israel of committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
According to Anadolu, the photo “shows the mass burial of the Fatayer family members in a designated area in Gaza due to the lack of available space in some cemeteries.”

Fayq’s photo in Getty Images database

Fayq’s Photo in Anadolu website

Fayq’s Photo in Reuters Database
Sadly, the court didn’t know the photo was taken by a “journalist” who was thrilled by the massacre of Jews and called on Gazans to infiltrate the border, to enjoy the abduction of “settler” women.
But more Reuters and Getty’s own responses, it may be time for US Attorney General Pam Bondi to take an interest. In December 2023, following HonestReporting’s exposure of photojournalists who infiltrated Israel on October 7, 14 state attorneys general wrote a letter to The New York Times, AP, CNN, and Reuters calling them out for using hires with ties to Hamas and reminding them that providing material support to terrorists and terror organizations is a crime.
The letter even specifically mentions the case of Hasan Eslaiah and ends by calling on the media outlets to “ensure that you are taking all necessary steps to prevent your organizations from contracting with members of terror organizations. We urge you in the strongest terms to take care that your hiring practices conform to the laws forbidding material support for terror organizations.”
Despite whatever action may be taken, these propagandists have found a deceitful way to continue spreading their lies to the international media.
And the international media can, for at least the time being, enjoy the “goods” without getting their hands dirty.
UPDATE
Within a few hours of publication of this article on HonestReporting’s website, Getty Images, to their credit, removed all content that was flagged by HonestReporting, including a Ramzi Adel video that called Jews “dogs,” and content from Hassan Eslaiah, Ashraf Amra, and Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa.
The same cannot be said for Reuters, however, which gave us the following statement referring to the Connect platform it operates: “Reuters Connect is a commercial marketplace with content from more than 100 news organizations, allowing media customers the option to select the content that is most relevant to their news cycle. This content is clearly labeled and is not endorsed by Reuters.”
HonestReporting is a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post How Reuters and Getty Images Platform a Gaza Photojournalist Kissed by Hamas’ Sinwar first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Palestinian Authority Pays February Terror Salaries — Abbas Continues ‘Pay-for-Slay’

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appoints Mohammad Mustafa as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA), in Ramallah, in the West Bank March 14, 2024 in this handout image. Photo: Palestinian president office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Last week, the Palestinian Authority (PA) announced that it is paying February’s monthly “allowances.”
Two similar announcements appeared, as can be seen in the chart below — with the PA Postal Service laconically announcing the payments in general and the “PA employees’ salaries” Telegram channel noting that these were the monthly payments for “Martyrs, wounded, and prisoners”:
Palestine Post, Facebook page, March 5, 2025 | “PA employees’ salaries”, Telegram, March 5, 2025 |
“Palestine Post announces the beginning of payment of the monetary allowances tomorrow morning, Thursday, March 6, 2025, at the main post offices and through the ATMs … The allowance payments in the Jenin and Tulkarem districts will be made through the nearest payment center in the other nearby districts due to the security situation.
#PalestinePost” |
“Palestine Post: The payment of salaries to the families of the Martyrs, wounded, and prisoners begins on Thursday morning [March 6, 2025]. In Jenin and Tulkarem, the payment will be made through the nearest payment center in the adjacent other districts.” |
While the Palestine Post announcement did not mention for whom the payments were in particular, the employees’ channel understood that these payments were for terrorists — the Pay-for-Slay payments that the PA had said it had stopped.
Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) is certain that these are terror salaries, because the PA postal service never made payments for the PA prior to April 2021. The postal service started making payments only after PA banks closed 35,000 terrorist bank accounts, following PMW’s warning to the banks that their continued acceptance of the PA terror rewards would constitute a violation of Israeli law, and expose them to civil and criminal liability:
The decision to pay the prisoners’ salaries through the post office branches was … after the banks refused to accept the salary sheets of the prisoners and released prisoners due to the Israeli threats (i.e., PMW’s warning letters) to harm and sue them.
[Ma’an, independent Palestinian news agency, April 5, 2021]
From that first terror payment in April 2021 through August 2024, the PA postal service announcements explicitly said that the payments were for the “Martyrs, prisoners and wounded,” just like the current post in the PA employees’ salaries’ Telegram group.
After August 2024, the announcements became more general, possibly due to international condemnation when PMW exposed these continued payments.
PMW has verified that the postal service made no announcements of any payments of any kind before April 5, 2021, the month the PA moved the terror salaries from the banks to the postal service. In other words, the only payments the postal service makes are terror rewards, which continued this month.
The payments made by the PA postal services are proof that the Pay-for-Slay payments to terrorists continue, despite Mahmoud Abbas’ presidential decree changing certain structures, as anticipated by PMW.
Itamar Marcus is Palestinian Media Watch (PMW)’s Founder and Director. Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch. A version of this article originally appeared at PMW.
The post Palestinian Authority Pays February Terror Salaries — Abbas Continues ‘Pay-for-Slay’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Smotrich Says Defense Ministry to Spur Voluntary Emigration from Gaza

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel’s new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
i24 News – Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Sunday that the government would establish an administration to encourage the voluntary migration of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
“We are establishing a migration administration, we are preparing for this under the leadership of the Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] and Defense Minister [Israel Katz],” he said at a Land of Israel Caucus at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. “The budget will not be an obstacle.”
Referring to the plan championed by US President Donald Trump, Smotrich noted the “profound and deep hatred towards Israel” in Gaza, adding that “sources in the American government” agreed “that it’s impossible for two million people with hatred towards Israel to remain at a stone’s throw from the border.”
The administration would be under the Defense Ministry, with the goal of facilitating Trump’s plan to build a “Riviera of the Middle East” and the relocation of hundreds of thousands of Gazans for rebuilding efforts.
“If we remove 5,000 a day, it will take a year,” Smotrich said. “The logistics are complex because you need to know who is going to which country. It’s a potential for historical change.”
The post Smotrich Says Defense Ministry to Spur Voluntary Emigration from Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.