Okay, calm down. I wanted to just really quickly talk about the journalists who were have been murdered. Katie, I mean, especially Anna Al Sharief.
28 years old. 28 years old, you know? I mean, to think of how young that is and how horrific it is that Israel smeared this young man as a Hamas operative.
And even if he was, nothing justifies extrajudicial murder. That's what courts are for. Okay, so all of this is sick.
Even if you're running on the premise that someone equals Hamas equals justified murder, that is sick. But let's just look at Annal Sharif. What a long con, right?
Because this man graduated from Gaza City's Alaka University with a mass communication degree. He specialized in radio and television in college. Then he volunteered for a media network.
And then he won best young journalist in Gaza in 2018 for his amazing diligent reporting on the ground. This was a man who dedicated his entire adult life to investigative journalism and reporting even before he got the job with Alazer. So you know and it's the same with Ismile Oul.
I mean, he obtained a bachelor's degree in journalism at the Islamic University of Gaza. And then he studied media and journalism. He was 27.
27 years old. I mean, just wrap your mind around that. Ham Shabbat was 23.
23. 23 years old. I mean, it's just sick.
It's sick that you could have press outlets repeating, regurgitating IDF press releases about these young heroic men being Hamas operatives. How dare you? How dare you?
Where is the outrage? Where is the outcry? You know, these Western journalists will never even fathom what heroism is, what selflessness is, because journalists in Gaza are the bravest human beings alive.
They know that their work is a death sentence because Israel openly hunts them and threatens to kill them. But they do it out of duty to their people. Not only out of duty to their people, but out of defiance to the world that ignores their suffering, gaslights them, denies their reality, right?
And they do it regardless. And that's something that I don't think anyone can really wrap their mind around. It's unfathomable.
It's incomprehensible. And so if people like Clarissa Ward who leave that Tik Tok and just think, "Yep, I did my part, checked a box," right, you will never understand. Years into it, years into it, years into it.
Yeah. Um, you know, uh, it is also the the rank hypocrisy of, um, like imagine someone from a Muslim country calling, um, BBC journalists mouthpieces for state terror and then accusing them of being bankrolled by terrorists, then beginning to murder these journalists. Like, do you think that the the media, Western media would be okay with that?
I mean, it's the whole framework of the the people who work for my enemy are deemed enemy combatants. I mean, the fact that, you know, people like me and Chris Hedges and Lee Camp, we were all considered people who could have their entire body of work removed from the internet because we were unsaavory characters working for Russian media. I mean, it's so funny.
That's exactly what they'd say like the Russians are the communist, you know, they're literally disappearing people from the internets. Yeah. Disappearing people from the internet.
And I hate to even compare that to what's going on in Palestine. Obviously, there's no comparison at all, but it's just the idea that Al Jazer employs people and those people are journalists and they are our colleagues, but because it's Al Jazer. I mean, let's not for let's not forget what even the CIA and State Department did after 911.
They paid tens of millions, potentially more than that, to decipher the the Cryions and lower thirds of Alazer because they were so concerned that it was terrorist messaging. I mean, this is how cartoonish it's become. Look at France 24, BBC, Voice of America.
Those are all arguably, you know, all the journalists working for those outlets, not only are they statef funded and you know, they could be called agents of the state according to the same logic. But those states are actually genocide. I mean, these are the states committing genocide, colonialism, imperialism, war, right?
So, I mean, just by the same logic, it is just absolutely insane and horrific that anyone can co-sign to this, you know? I mean, like two years into this and the silence, the egregious, deafening silence from all of the journalists in the world about the systematic slaughter of Palestinians who work in media. I can't wrap my mind around it, Katie.
The only thing I can rationalize is that they don't think Palestinians are human, right? They are bigots and racists and they are so comfortable with their status that they don't want to lose their job. You know, times are tough, Katie.
So, that that letter sent out by the BBC with 200 200 BBC employees, I was very pleasantly surprised. I just thought finally almost two years into this, we finally have a mass letter by BBC journalists signing about how horrific it is that their network is co-signing all this horrific genocide propaganda. Well, consider my shock when I opened the letter and it was 200 anonymous anonymouses.
I was like, "Yeah, wow. Really brave. " Wow.
Really brave, guys. Really brave. And look at the New York Times.
The day after five five reporters were bombed in a journalist tent outside Alshiba hospital. What did the what did the New York Times say? They published an article that said, "What is Al Jazzer?
What is this this network that Israel keeps targeting as a terrorist mouthpiece? Let's find out. " Well, the network denies it, but let's really dig in here.
I mean, this is complicity. Yeah, of course. manufacturing consent for the systematic slaughter of your colleagues, right?
Yeah. And Reuters putting in Hamas, you know, uh, killed a journalist, uh, Israel said was Hamas operative. Like, you put that in the headline.
Like, don't you aren't shouldn't you be better at being like state synographers? Like, don't there's an art to it. You want to be a little subtle.
You don't want to be that obvious. Well, Reuters and AP are supposed to be like press wires. It's like, "Okay, we get it, but you're not just supposed to literally reprint the IDF press release, Reuters.
" Like, use some goddamn discernment. Yeah. Um, there's actually one a clip I wanted to show um that features, I think, a framing that we never see before.
I was actually really shocked that CNN let this uh clip remain on air. So, it's it's foreign Press Association President Ian Williams being asked about um the killing of Anasal Sharif and whether he's Hamas. Um, and let's let's take a listen.
Association says it's outraged by the targeted killings of journalists in Gaza. Let's bring in Ian Williams, the president of the association. Ian, welcome to the program.
As we've noted, we've seen repeated calls uh for Western journalists to be allowed into Gaza as the war approaches its 2-year mark. Um just talk about to tell our viewers why that is so important to have Western journalists there uh to observe what is going on on the ground throughout the war and what the reaction has been and the justification when you reach out to the Israeli government demanding as much. Well, the one of the points is we should trust Palestinian journalists as well, but there's, you know, profound sort of racism and the Israeli government has basically said if you're Palestinian, you're not to be trusted.
Whereas I think the foreign press, the press in general are now beginning to learn that whatever the Israeli government says has to be taken with a 100 weight of salt because there's, you know, it what they say bears no relation to reality. And they use key words like, you know, the Hamas Ministry of Defense. Hamas controls the place.
And I mean the Ministry of Health, uh, Hamas controls the place. journalists. Uh, frankly, I don't care whether Asharif was in Hamas or not.
We don't kill journalists for being Republicans or Democrats or in Britain Labor Party. Uh, Hamas is a political organization as well as a terrorist organization perhaps, but it's not permissible to go killing people. And this was the distinct uh change now is the IDF actually boasted that this was a targeted killing.
And the reason they're doing that is they're not letting foreign journalists in. So Palestinian journalists are the only ones who are there, the only ones who can tell what's happening there. And what they're saying completely contradicts what's coming from Israeli spokesman in Israel and across the world.
Uh you know, it's quite clear. They've documented the ongoing massacres and it's the Israelis don't like it. What do you mean by not caring whether Anasal Sheriff was part of Hamas?
Because the Israelis uh have produced what they say is evidence and have long-standing uh uh statements where they say he was not only part of Hamas, but he was leading a Hamas cell. In your view, that doesn't make him fair game for Israeli targets. Well, first of all, I don't believe it.
He's been working 24 hours on journalism. He doesn't have going He doesn't have time to work in a cell on the side. Second point is I basically don't believe anything the Israeli government says about this.
They've lied and lied and lied. They buried a whole medical team. I mean, by the way, before I'm going to keep playing this, but um this woman, her name is um Banna Goladraga, and she uh has pushed the uh Hamas rape hoax a lot.
Um you know, people could say that she has blood on her hands. Well, what what longstanding documents? She said they produce longstanding documents.
Yeah. Yeah. What?
Yeah. Can she I would love to see that lady. This long st What does that even mean?
Longstanding. Longstanding documents. herbara talking points are like fried in her brain.
She can't even like reach for the good has borrowed talking points. So disgusting. They've lied and lied and lied.
They buried a whole medical team after denying it. They went and destroyed the evidence. They bombed hospitals claiming the Hamas facilities underneath which weren't there.
And the only way to con conclusively disprove them was to let foreign journalists in. and they won't do that. So now they're basically saying if foreign journalists are allowed in now, I would I would make sure they compose their wills before they go.
These are two separate the IDF has no compunction. The these are two separate issues you raise. I think the majority of journalists around the world and I would imagine a lot of our viewers would support uh allowing Western journal journalists into Gaza to see Wow, that is so big of you.
What a what a a principled person that you think that they should allow Western journalists in that is so brave. Wow. You must have gone to journalism school to to understand the power of journalism so well because what an amazing thing to say for themselves and report for themselves what is happening in this war.
But when you say you don't believe a word Israel is saying, you know, there's been a lot of uh accusation thrown at Israel for not producing evidence to uh to confirm some of the claims they've made. If they then produce evidence and you say, "I don't believe it. " Where does that leave things?
Well, also, what evidence are you talking about? Like, it is absolutely the right thing to do to assume Israel lies by default. like you should never believe it until not only should they produce evidence but like it needs to be cross-cheed because I don't believe anything.
That's again an inverse of reality. It's like you should the dubiousness is on Hamas instead of Israel. The notorious pathologically lying nuclear armed state committing genocide.
Yeah, great journalism. Yeah, I don't believe it. Where does that leave things?
Also, poor Israel. They've been accused of not having evidence. Come on.
How can you you're going to accuse of not having evidence about the slaughtering 200 plus journalists and their families. Yeah. Yeah.
They're really in a bind. It's really hard for them. Well, it leaves things.
We work on the balance of proof. Our job is to challenge authority. The authority here is denying access to independent witnesses.
Nobody else is allowed to go into Gaza. International organizations aren't allowed into Gaza. Journalists aren't allowed into Gaza.
Reuters, AP, CNN, BBC are not allowed into Gaza. Now, what does that give a sort of more than a little hint that things are going on there that the Israeli government doesn't want you to know about or doesn't want you to witness? What other conclusion are you going to give?
You know, there's a presumption in favor of Israel in a lot of this which is totally unjustified after recent experience, I think. Um, and they they've targeted journalists before in the West Bank as well. By the way, we're looking at Gaza, but uh, journalists have been assaulted and killed in in the West Bank as well for witnessing what the settlers are doing, let alone what the IDF is doing.
So, I I think we're really, you know, it's not it it doesn't do Israel any great favors for basically making everything they say totally questionable. All right, Ian Williams will have to leave it there. Thank you so much for the time.
Uh, president of the Foreign Press Association. I bet she like cried after that or threw up. Wow, that was really heavy.
That was really heavy because it's just in the face of nothing. The grasping at straws. I mean, I just wish that he could have just said, "What was the evidence?
" Him posing posing with Sinoir. Yeah. because there's a long list of Israelis that have hung out with Netanyahu and worked for Netanyahu and interviewed Netanyahu and all the lunik I mean it is so horrific.
So all of those journalists are completely fair game to be extrajudicially assassinated along with their families and hey you know if you kill 500 people in the apartment building but hey you were trying to get that journalist who interviewed Netanyahu one time. I mean where does this end? I don't think that uh Biana would be cool with that.
Something tells me it's so disgusting.
