South African journalists protest against the murder of Palestinian reporters

Dozens of South African journalists embarked on a protest to stand against Israel’s brutal murders of Palestinian reporters in Gaza.

The protest took place at Cape Town's Sea Point and was organised by Journalists Against Apartheid (JAA), in solidarity with protesters around the world who have condemned Israel’s killings. 

This follows the assassination of six journalists, including prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif, in a targeted attack on a media tent outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on August 10.

A total of 269 Palestinian journalists have been killed so far, according to Al Jazeera’s data from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists and shireen.ps.

The CPJ believes that at least 26 of them, including Al-Sharif, were deliberately targeted for being journalists.

Israel has for years accused Al-Sharif of being a terrorist but provided no credible evidence, according to the CPJ.

JAA was formed last year in honour of the journalists who have been killed. 

The organisation said powerful governments failed to protect Al-Sharif from this assassination, and as a result, 'on Sunday night, Israel took away a father, husband, and son simply for doing his job'.

“Israel admitted to targeting Al-Sharif, remaining silent on the five other journalists it killed in the same attack,’’ said the group.

“These journalists are an inspiration to us. They have been working in the harshest conditions for 22 months, without respite. Despite the lack of significant international action, the unfolding genocide, and forced starvation, they keep reporting on the horrors they themselves are victims of,’’ JAA said.

"Israel's history of false accusations against journalists is distressing. The CPJ’s 2023 “Deadly Pattern” report details five claims of terrorism or militant activity against journalists killed by Israeli forces between 2004 and 2018, and how many journalists Israel has accused of being members or suspected members of militant organisations - all with questionable "evidence" or none at all."

JAA spokesperson Deshnee Subramany said: “We are enraged by Western media that have repeated Israeli lies without scrutiny while silencing Palestinian voices, permitting this genocide to continue.

"Many media outlets have contributed to Israel and the United States' disinformation campaign against Palestine, flouting basic journalistic principles,’’ she said, adding that the organisation demands that these media houses cease this disastrous propaganda.

Subramany also condemned South African media organisations who have undertaken “sponsored propaganda trips to Israel and published this propaganda” without declaring how these trips were funded. 

“This falls far short of journalism ethics, and is shameful in a country where the media's bravery was central to dismantling apartheid.

"We stand in solidarity with protesters around the world who have condemned Israel's reprehensible killings.’’

She said that governments must take action immediately to protect the remaining Palestinian journalists before all of Gaza’s media workers are killed. 

“We stand with international human rights organisations who recognise that Israel's military actions and policies in Palestine amount to apartheid and genocide,’’ Subramany said.

manyane.manyane@inl.co.za