Leaders of more than 100 news organizations around the world, including Muwatin, have joined an open letter on Thursday affirming that they “stand united with Palestinian journalists in their call for safety, protection, and the freedom to report.”
The letter, coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) with the support of the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), emphasizes the perilous environment for members of the press covering the Israel-Gaza war, the deadliest conflict for journalists ever documented by CPJ.
“For nearly five months, journalists and media workers in Gaza – overwhelmingly, the sole source of on-the-ground reporting from within the Palestinian territory – have been working in unprecedented conditions,” the letter reads. “These journalists – on whom the international news media and the international community rely for information about the situation inside Gaza – continue to report despite grave personal risk.”
The letter reminds the international community that journalists are civilians and authorities must protect journalists as noncombatants, according to international law.
Read the full letter below:
Open letter on journalists in Gaza
We, the undersigned, stand united with Palestinian journalists in their call for safety, protection, and the freedom to report.
For nearly five months, journalists and media workers in Gaza – overwhelmingly, the sole source of on-the-ground reporting from within the Palestinian territory – have been working in unprecedented conditions: at least 89 have been killed in the war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, more journalists than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year.
These journalists – on whom the international news media and the international community rely for information about the situation inside Gaza – continue to report despite grave personal risk. They continue despite the loss of family, friends, and colleagues, the destruction of homes and offices, constant displacement, communications blackouts, and shortages of food and fuel.
Journalists are civilians and Israeli authorities must protect journalists as noncombatants according to international law. Those responsible for any violations of that longstanding protection should be held accountable. Attacks on journalists are also attacks on truth. We commit to championing the safety of journalists in Gaza, which is fundamental for the protection of press freedom everywhere.
Signatories
- Kim Godwin, President, ABC NEWS
- Phil Chetwynd, Global News Director, Agence France-Presse
- Hossam Kanafani, Editor-in-Chief, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed
- Sami Al-Haj, Director, Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties and Human Rights, Al Jazeera Media Network
- Sasmito, President, Alliance of Independent Journalists, Indonesia
- Nora Younis, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Al-Manassa, Egypt
- Alaa al Ghatrevy, Editor-in-Chief, Al Masry Al Youm, Egypt
- Elsy Moufarrej, Coordinator, Alternative Press Syndicate, Lebanon
- Ghassan Hajjar, Managing Editor, An-Nahar, Lebanon
- Rawan Damen, Director General, ARIJ (Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism)
- Stefano Corradino, Director, Articolo21, Italy
- Shiro Nakamura, President, The Asahi Shimbun, Japan
- Nicole Dungca, President, Asian American Journalists Association, United States
- Julie Pace, Executive Editor, Associated Press
- Simon Spanswick, Chief Executive, Association for International Broadcasting
- Nancy Prager-Kamel, Chairperson, Association of Foreign Press Correspondents, United States
- Mohamed Shoair, Editor in Chief, Bab Masr website (Wlad al Balad Institution), Egypt
- Sam Jahan, Convener, Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media
- Deborah Turness, CEO, BBC News
- Hikmet Adal, Editor, Bianet, Turkey
- Ronalyn V. Olea, Editor-in-Chief, Bulatlat, Philippines
- Rozina Breen, Editor in Chief and CEO, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
- Ingrid Ciprián-Matthews, President, CBS News
- Mark Thompson, Chairman and CEO, CNN Worldwide
- Daoud Kuttab, Director General, Community Media Network, Jordan
- Carlos Eduardo Huertas, Founder and Director, CONNECTAS
- Branko Brkic, Editor-in-Chief, Daily Maverick, South Africa
- Alia Ibrahim, Co-founder and CEO, Daraj, Lebanon
- Jakub Patočka, Editor-in-Chief, Denik Referendum
- Dirk Kurbjuweit, Editor-in-Chief, Der Spiegel, Germany
- Barbara Junge, Editor-in-Chief, Die Tageszeitung, Germany
- Ulrike Winkelmann, Editor-in-Chief, Die Tageszeitung, Germany
- Khaled Elbalshy, President, Egyptian Journalists Syndicate
- Mohamed Saad Abdel Hafiz, Egyptian Journalists Syndicate / Managing Editor, Al-Shorouk, Egypt
- Carlos Dada, Director, El Faro
- Jazmín Acuña, Editor in Chief, El Surtidor, Paraguay
- Ricardo Gutiérrez, General Secretary, European Federation of Journalists
- Patrick Mayoyo, Director Editorial Innovations, Eyewitness Africa, Kenya
- Roula Khalaf, Editor, Financial Times, UK
- Laurent Richard, Founder and Executive Director, Forbidden Stories, France
- Giuseppe Di Maula, Editor-in-Chief, FotosIntensi, Italy
- Laurie Hays, Editor-in-Chief/CEO, The Fuller Project
- Priti Patnaik, Founding Editor, Geneva Health Files, Switzerland
- Emilia Díaz-Struck, Executive Director, Global Investigative Journalism Network
- Andrea Crossan, Executive Director, Global Reporting Centre
- Katharine Viner, Editor-in-Chief, The Guardian, UK
- Julia Montfort, Editor-in-Chief, Guiti News, France
- Aluf Benn, Editor in Chief, Haaretz
- Marc Saikali, Chairperson, Ici Beyrouth and This is Beirut, Lebanon
- Geordie Grieg, Editor in Chief, The Independent, UK
- Elena Cosentino, Director, International News Safety Institute, UK
- Frane Maroević, Executive Director, International Press Institute
- Elisa Lees Muñoz, Executive Director, International Women’s Media Foundation
- Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, Chairperson, Inquirer Group of Companies, Philippines
- Deirdre Veldon, Managing Director, The Irish Times, Ireland
- Rachel Corp, Chief Executive, ITN, UK
- Andrew Dagnell, Editor, ITV News, UK
- Patrick Michel, Editor in Chief, Le Mauricien, Mauritius
- Amir Rotem, Editor-in-Chief, Local Call
- Terry Tang, Interim Executive Editor, Los Angeles Times
- RK Anand, Executive Editor, Malaysiakini, Malaysia
- Mohammed Al-Fazari, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Muwatin Media Network
- Pamella Sittoni, Group Managing Editor, Nation Media Group, Kenya
- Yvette Cabrera, President, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, United States
- Rebecca Blumenstein, President, Editorial, NBC News
- Emily Wilkins, President, National Press Club, United States
- Edith Chapin, SVP and Editor-in-Chief, NPR, United States
- Rameeza Nizami, Managing Director, Nawaiwaqt Group, Pakistan
- Ebele Okobi, CEO, The New Humanitarian
- David Remnick, Editor, The New Yorker
- AG Sulzberger, Publisher, The New York Times
- Coizta Grecko B, Director, Ojos de Perro vs. la Impunidad, Mexico
- Maha Al Bahnasawi, Managing Director, ONA Media Services, Egypt
- Martha Ramos, President, World Editors Forum / Chief Editorial Officer, Organización Editorial Mexicana, Mexico
- Miranda Patrucic, Editor-in-Chief, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
- Amalie Kestler, Managing Editor in Chief, Politiken, Denmark
- Hans Väre, Editor in Chief, Postimees Grupp, Estonia
- Musikilu Mojeed, Chief Operating Officer/Editor-in-Chief, Premium Times, Nigeria
- Alan Rusbridger, Editor, Prospect magazine, UK
- Lara Bitar, Editor in Chief, The Public Source, Lebanon
- Jon Sawyer, CEO & President, Pulitzer Centre on Crisis Reporting
- Ritu Kapur, CEO, The Quint, India
- Marcela Turati, Co-Founder, Quinto Elemento Lab, Mexico
- Maria Ressa, CEO and Co-Founder, Rappler, Philippines
- Alessandra Galloni, Editor-in-Chief, Reuters, UK
- Ayman Mhanna, Executive Director, Samir Kassir Foundation, Lebanon
- Alejandro Páez Varela, CEO, SinEmbargo, Mexico
- Kamal Siriwardana, Editor-in-Chief, SMN24Media, Sri Lanka
- Maryan Seylac, Executive Director, Somali Media Women Association, Somalia
- Nwabisa Makunga, Editor-in-Chief, The Sowetan, South Africa
- Ramsey G. Tesdell, CEO, Sowt Media, Jordan
- Esther Ng, Chief Content Officer, Star Media Group Berhad, Malaysia
- Wolfgang Krach, Editor in Chief, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Germany
- Wafaa Haidar, Director, Tele Liban, Lebanon
- Wahyu Dhyatmika, CEO, Tempo Digital, Indonesia
- Anne Marie Owens, Editor-in-Chief, Toronto Star, Canada
- Lyas Hallas, Co-founder and CEO, Twala, Algeria
- Fernando Belzunce, Editorial Director, Vocento, Spain
- Assaad Maroun, Chairperson and General Manager, Voice of Lebanon
- Sally Buzbee, Executive Editor, The Washington Post
- Vincent Peyrègne, CEO, World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)
- Ghousoon Bisharat, Editor-in-Chief, +972 Magazine
