Spiking Palestinian voices is racism

A screengrab of Maha Hussaini being interviewed in Gaza for Democracy Now!

AT THE July London Freelance Branch meeting I moved a motion protesting the decision of the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) to withdraw the Courage in Journalism award that it bestowed on the Gazan frontline reporter Maha Hussaini (@MahaGaza) on 10 June 2024. I noted that the NUJ issued a statement expressing its deep alarm at a “clearly concerted campaign to discredit and impugn Maha Hussaini”. Maha had received the Courage in Journalism Award for her reporting on the ground from Gaza, covering the devastating Israeli siege and relentless bombardment of all that sustains life and culture in Gaza since October 2023.

Maha Hussaini wrote in Middle East Eye: “Over the past decade as a journalist and war reporter, I have come to understand why many do not continue in this profession, especially in Palestine… in addition to immense challenges and ongoing physical targeting, there are extensive, systematic and well-organised efforts by pro-Israel organisations to intimidate and silence Palestinian journalists.

“These tactics aim to push journalists to abandon their work, which is crucial for exposing flagrant human rights violations and advancing the pursuit of accountability. Throughout my career in journalism, I have been awarded two prizes, both of which were followed by extensive smear campaigns and calls from Israeli groups and individuals urging the awarding organisations to rescind them.

“During this period, I was forcibly displaced three times, moving from one shelter to another. My home was bombed, and I endured months of starvation, blackouts and ongoing bombardment. At times, I had to resort to using a pen and paper to send my reports via text messages after Israel cut fuel and electricity supplies and bombed the infrastructure of Gaza’s main telecommunications companies.”

Excellent company

Maha Hussaini is in excellent company. Palestinian writer and essayist Adania Shibli was due to be awarded the LiBeraturpreis literature prize at the Frankfurt international book fair on 16 October. Her award was “indefinitely postponed” by the festival’s director, Juergen Boos, in his headlong rush to make a political statement regarding the events of 7 October.

Boos said “special events” would be held to “make Jewish and Israeli voices particularly visible” at the Fair. As president of Litprom, the body that funds the festival with the German government, he felt justified in punishing Adania Shibli for the sins of Hamas. Her novel deals with the rape of a Bedouin woman during the Nakba that saw hundreds of thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes.

The decision to postpone Shibli’s award was condemned by Pen International. An open letter, signed by more than 350 authors, including the Irish novelist Colm Tóibín, the American-Libyan Pulitzer winner Hisham Matar, the British-Pakistani novelist Kamila Shamsie and the British historian William Dalrymple, admonished the organisers of the Frankfurt book fair, the world’s largest trade fair of its kind, saying it has “a responsibility to be creating spaces for Palestinian writers to share their thoughts, feelings, reflections on literature through these terrible, cruel times, not shutting them down”.

Arab publishers due to take part in the Frankfurt book fair withdrew, with the Sharjah Book Authority saying: “We champion the role of culture and books to encourage dialogue and understanding between people. We believe that this role is more important than ever.”

The Emirates Publishers Association also pulled out of the event, and the president of the Arab Publishers’ Association in Egypt, which represents more than 1000 regional publishers, said: “We certainly denounce any attack on a civilian from any side but viewing the case from a single angle and accepting this injustice that the Palestinian people have been subjected to for decades is a big mistake.”

Routinised censorship

Palestinian journalists, writers and academics reporting on and studying the impacts of everyday violence in the occupied Palestinian territories are victims of what can be seen as a routinised censorship across the Western cultural industries. The current Israeli onslaught on the Gazan civilian population and destruction of all infrastructure necessary for life in Gaza has seen more Palestinian writers and journalists being made scapegoats for the sins of Hamas.

The western discrediting and silencing of Palestinian voices operates on a routinised and industrial scale and appears to be standard policy among the western world’s news services, social media platforms, cultural events and award ceremonies. Since 2022 a specific term for these policies has existed: Anti-Palestinian racism (APR) defined as “the distinct form of prejudice and persecution Palestinians face on account of their ethnic, racial, and religious identity, as well as their indigeneity to historic Palestine”.

While APR has long existed, it has become increasingly recognisable in the current context of the genocide in Gaza. According to the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association, APR is a form of racism that “silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, defames or dehumanises Palestinians or their narratives”.

APR takes various forms and can be directed towards those perceived to be Palestinian as well as their allies. However, it is always the Palestinian identity that is under attack.

The motion moved at July’s Branch meeting asks the Branch committee to discuss with all appropriate bodies, including the NUJ National Executive and the Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU), the possibility of setting up a new press freedom award in Maha Hussaini’s name and nominating her for an appropriate award in recognition of her courage and bravery – and to begin a process within our sector to dismantle the routinised culture of what has come to be termed anti- Palestinian racism.

Remembering journalists killed in the Israel-Gaza war