RSS
Media Distortion: The AP Turns Hamas Member into Innocent Victim
Israeli military vehicles are lined up on a beach, amid the ongoing ground operation of the Israeli army to destroy Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip as seen in a handout picture released by the Israel Defense Forces on November 13, 2023. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
The Associated Press prides itself on “expand[ing] the reach of factual reporting,” but that reach has its clear limits.
Last week’s 1200-word feature on the overnight Jan. 5 fatal shooting of Palestinian Osaid Rimawi once again demonstrates the boundaries of AP’s commitment to “advancing the power of facts” (“Video appears to show the Israeli army shot 3 Palestinians, killing 1, without provocation“).
About 17-year-old Osaid Rimawi, described as “a high school student studying to become a barber,” the AP’s Julia Frankel reported: “Security camera video from a West Bank village shows a young man standing in a central square when he is suddenly shot and drops to the ground.”
Frankel recounted that, according to a witness, Rimawi had gathered cardboard boxes and scraps of paper and was preparing to light them to keep warm when Israeli troops shot him dead, unprovoked. He slipped something into his pocket right before he was shot dead. His brother later found Osaid had been carrying a lighter, 20 shekels, and a pack of cigarettes in his pocket when he died. His brothers Mohammed and Nader, who were also wounded in the shooting, normally work in a factory, packaging prepared salads. They will not be able to work until they can walk again.
Indeed, Frankel provides an abundance of details and facts in her 1200 investigative piece.
But it’s more what Frankel neglects to report which exposes the AP’s curbed commitment to factual reporting.
At no point does the long, in-depth investigative piece share with readers that the aspiring young barber already had some beyond-his-years experience under his belt: he was a member of Hamas, a designated terror organization which just three months ago carried out one of the worst massacres in recent history with thousands of barbaric atrocities targeting civilians, including women, children, people with special needs, and the elderly.
@AP describes 17-year-old fatality Osaid Rimawi as “a high school student studying to become a barber.” You know what @FrankelJulia doesn’t say about Rimawi in her 1200+ word piece? He belonged to a designated terror org. Here he is in @AP photo w/Hamas headband https://t.co/HAPWCYobxJ pic.twitter.com/zNhCfacriT
— Tamar Sternthal (@TamarSternthal) January 10, 2024
While Frankel seemingly left no stone unturned analyzing both a video of the fatal incident obtained from a nearby smoke shop, along with social media postings about the deadly shooting, she completely ignored the AP’s own photographs from Osaid Rimawi’s funeral. Those photographs show Rimawi’s body decked out with a Hamas headband adorning his head, testifying to his affiliation in the designated terror organization.
Notably, the AP’s devotion to expanding the reach of factual reporting stops at the factual description of Hamas as a designated terror organization. Its style guide encourages its reporters to refrain from calling the Oct. 7 massacre terrorism, and from referring to Hamas as terrorists, directives which have prompted a bipartisan Congressional rebuke.
But in this story, Frankel doesn’t even share that Rimawi was a Hamas “militant,” as the AP urges its writers to whitewash.
Instead, she “cleaned up” the Hamas terrorist, presenting him as nothing more than an uninvolved high school student with dreams of being a barber. His affiliation with the terror organization is highly relevant to any factual reporting of his death given that it casts doubt on Frankel’s carefully constructed narrative of Rimawi’s innocence in the allegedly unprovoked shooting.
Indeed, in the accompanying video, the AP goes all the way with its “unprovoked” allegation, stating the unproven scenario as fact without any kind of qualification (1:59 into the video):
The unprovoked shooting is part of a pattern Palestinians say has worsened since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza three months ago.
Thus, instead of expanding the reach of factual reporting, the AP expands the definition of factual reporting to include unproven suppositions.
Indeed, the “unprovoked shooting” was not the only time today in which the AP repackaged unfounded assumptions as fact. In a separate Associated Press article, veteran reporter Edith M. Lederer alleges (“US defends its veto of call for Gaza cease-fire while Palestinians and others demand fighting stop“):
As a sign of the growing division among Jews over the war, three dozen rabbis from the group Rabbis 4 Ceasefire came to the U.N. as tourists to protest Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
American Jews are overwhelmingly united in support of Israel continuing its ground operation in Gaza and also approve of President Joe Biden’s response to the war, according to a new survey commissioned by the Israel on Campus Coalition.
The poll, conducted by Schoen Cooperman Research (SCR), found that 81% of American Jews support Israel continuing its military operation to “recover all Israeli hostages and remove Hamas from power.” Only 12% of respondents said they preferred “an immediate ceasefire to save Palestinian lives, even if that means “Israeli hostages aren’t recovered and Hamas remains in power.”
Unless there are two polls taken at different times to demonstrate the alleged “growing division among Jews over the war,” factual reporting requires a correction. Moreover, absent such substantiation, factual reporting dictates noting that the radical fringe Rabbis 4 Ceasefire represents no one beyond their miniscule membership.
Tamar Sternthal is the director of CAMERA’s Israel Office. A version of this article previously appeared on the CAMERA website.
The post Media Distortion: The AP Turns Hamas Member into Innocent Victim first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
US State Department Revokes Visas of UK Punk Rap Act Bob Vylan Amid Outrage Over Duo’s Chants of ‘Death to the IDF’
Bob Vylan music duo performance at Glastonbury Festival (Source: FLIKR)
The US State Department has revoked the visas for the English punk rap duo Bob Vylan amid ongoing outrage over their weekend performance at the Glastonbury Festival, in which the pair chanted “Death to the IDF.”
The State Department’s decision to cancel their visas would preclude a planned fall concert tour of the US by the British rappers.
“The [US State Department] has revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants. Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on X/Twitter on Monday.
During a June 28 set at Glastonbury Festival, Bob Vylan’s Pascal Robinson-Foster ignited a firestorm by leading the crowd in chants of “Death, death, to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces. He also complained about working for a “f—ing Zionist” during the set.
The video of the performance went viral, sparking outrage across the globe.
The BBC, which streamed the performance live, issued an on‑screen warning but continued its broadcast, prompting criticism by government officials for failing to cut the feed.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and festival organizers condemned the IDF chant as hate speech and incitement to violence. The Israeli Embassy in London denounced the language as “inflammatory and hateful.”
“Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC’s output but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive,” the BBC said in a statement following the event.
“These abhorrent chants, which included calls for the death of members of the Israeli Defense Forces … have no place in any civil society,” Leo Terrell, Chair of the US Department of Justice Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, declared Sunday in a statement posted on X.
Citing the act’s US tour plans, Terrell said his task force would be “reaching out to the U.S. Department of State on Monday to determine what measures are available to address the situation and to prevent the promotion of violent antisemitic rhetoric in the United States.”
British authorities, meanwhile, have launched a formal investigation into Bob Vylan’s controversial appearance at Glastonbury. Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they are reviewing footage and working with the Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether the performance constitutes a hate crime or incitement to violence.
United Talent Agency (UTA), one of the premier entertainment talent agencies, dropped the duo, claming “antisemitic sentiments expressed by the group were utterly unacceptable.”
The band defended their performance on social media as necessary protest, stating that “teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place.”
The post US State Department Revokes Visas of UK Punk Rap Act Bob Vylan Amid Outrage Over Duo’s Chants of ‘Death to the IDF’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Dem House Leader Hakeem Jeffries Urges Mamdani to ‘Aggressively Address’ Antisemitism in NYC if Elected Mayor
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
US House Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY) urged Democratic nominee for mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani to “aggressively address the rise in antisemitism” if he wins the general election in November.
“‘Globalizing the intifada’ by way of example is not an acceptable phrasing,” Jeffries said Sunday on ABC’s This Week. “He’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward.”
“With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development,” he added.
Jeffries’s comments come as Mamdani has been receiving an onslaught of criticism for defending the controversial phrase “globalize the intifada.”
Mamdani first defended the phrase during an appearance on the popular Bulwark Podcast. The progressive firebrand stated that he feels “less comfortable with the banning of certain words.” He invoked the US Holocaust Museum in his defense, saying that the museum used the word intifada “when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic, because it’s a word that means ‘struggle.’”
The Holocaust Museum repudiated Mamdani in a statement, calling his comments “offensive.”
Mamdani has continued to defend the slogan despite ongoing criticism, arguing that pro-Palestine advocates perceive it as a call for “universal human rights.”
Mamdani, the 33‑year‑old state assembly member and proud democratic socialist, defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other candidates in a lopsided first‑round win in the city’s Democratic primary for mayor, notching approximately 43.5 percent of first‑choice votes compared to Cuomo’s 36.4 percent.
The election results have alarmed members of the local Jewish community, who expressed deep concern over his past criticism of Israel and defense of antisemitic rhetoric.
“Mamdani’s election is the greatest existential threat to a metropolitan Jewish population since the election of the notorious antisemite Karl Lueger in Vienna,” Rabbi Marc Schneier, one of the most prominent Jewish leaders in New York City, said in a statement. “Jewish leaders must come together as a united force to prevent a mass Jewish Exodus from New York City.”
Some key Democratic leaders in New York, such as US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul, have congratulated and complimented Mamdani, but have not yet issued an explicit endorsement. Each official has signaled interest in meeting with Mamdani prior to making a decision on a formal endorsement.
The post Dem House Leader Hakeem Jeffries Urges Mamdani to ‘Aggressively Address’ Antisemitism in NYC if Elected Mayor first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel Eyes Ties With Syria and Lebanon After Iran War
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar attends a press conference with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (not pictured) in Berlin, Germany, June 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
Israel is interested in establishing formal diplomatic relations with long-standing adversaries Syria and Lebanon, but the status of the Golan Heights is non-negotiable, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday.
Israeli leaders argue that with its rival Iran weakened by this month’s 12-day war, other countries in the region have an opportunity to forge ties with Israel.
The Middle East has been upended by nearly two years of war in Gaza, during which Israel also carried out airstrikes and ground operations in Lebanon targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah, and by the overthrow of former Syrian leader and Iran ally Bashar al-Assad.
In 2020, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco became the first Arab states to establish ties with Israel since Jordan in 1994 and Egypt in 1979. The normalization agreements with Israel were deeply unpopular in the Arab world.
“We have an interest in adding countries such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the circle of peace and normalization, while safeguarding Israel‘s essential and security interests,” Saar said at a press conference in Jerusalem.
“The Golan will remain part of the State of Israel,” he said.
Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 after capturing the territory from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. While much of the international community regards the Golan as occupied Syrian land, US President Donald Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over it during his first term in office.
Following Assad’s ousting, Israeli forces moved further into Syrian territory.
A senior Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Syria would never give up the Golan Heights, describing it as an integral part of Syrian territory.
The official also said that normalization efforts with Israel must be part of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and not carried out through a separate track.
A spokesperson for Syria‘s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The 2002 initiative proposed Arab normalization with Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from territories including the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and Gaza. It also called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Throughout the war in Gaza, regional power Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said that establishing ties with Israel was conditional on the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel‘s Saar said it was “not constructive” for other states to condition normalization on Palestinian statehood.
“Our view is that a Palestinian state will threaten the security of the State of Israel,” he said.
In May, Reuters reported that Israel and Syria‘s new Islamist rulers had established direct contact and held face-to-face meetings aimed at de-escalating tensions and preventing renewed conflict along their shared border.
The same month, US President Donald Trump announced the US would lift sanctions on Syria and met Syria‘s new president, urging him to normalize ties with Israel.
The post Israel Eyes Ties With Syria and Lebanon After Iran War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.