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Message
from the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director
Dear Friends,
This quarter has been full of successes for our team at HonestReporting.
The New York Times stopped employing three freelancers thanks to the forensic research of our editor Akiva Van Koningsveld, who discovered their social media postings endorsing terrorist attacks and praising Adolf Hitler.
Senior journalists at the Times lauded our efforts, noting that their publication and HonestReporting are “both in the truth-telling business” and admitted that we caught what they should have.
Several BBC Arabic journalists removed anti-Israel tweets from social media after they were revealed by our senior editor, Rachel O’Donoghue. Our editor Chaim Lax persuaded the Washington Post, Associated Press, Sky News UK and Sky News Australia to correct factual errors related to Israel in private communication behind the scenes.
We critiqued reporting on the nuclearization of Iran, US President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel and the threat to Israel emanating from Jenin. We diagnosed the impact on Israel of the passing of Queen Elizabeth. And we led coverage of the creation of a new Israeli Marvel superhero.
HonestReporting became much more involved in monitoring social media, where readers are increasingly getting their news, while remaining the top watchdog for Israel in the mainstream press. We held a successful event with social media influencers who will highlight our successes to their hundreds of thousands of followers.
If you’re interested in bringing HonestReporting to your synagogue or community, please reach out to [email protected]. If you’re not already doing so, please follow HonestReporting and us on social media.
Meanwhile, we hope you all had a good and sweet new year.
Sincerely,
- Notable Successes
Stopping Antisemitism in Its Tracks
- Articles
Gil Hoffman
Executive Director
Stopping BDS Cold: Five Lessons to Be Learned From Ben & Jerry’s Attempt to Cream Israel
Story updated on August 23, 2022: The attempt by ice-cream maker Ben & Jerry’s to stop sales of its products in Judea and Samaria was rejected
Why Biden’s Visit Proves Squad Losing On Israel
If the unofficial motto of news editors and producers remains “if it bleeds, it leads,” it is no wonder the visit of US President Joe
From Hitler and Stalin to Putin and Raisi: Why the Media’s Downplaying of Evil Is So Dangerous
In her new book, “The Newspaper Axis,” University of California, Davis history professor Kathryn S. Olmsted writes that many American and British newspapers failed to
Gidon Ben-Zvi
Senior Editor
Closet Zionist? Linda Sarsour’s On the Down Low Visit to Israel
Linda Sarsour made news in April when the Geico insurance company canceled a company event with the prominent pro-Palestinian activist with a record of trafficking
Why Was Ilhan Omar’s Antisemitism Erased by the New York Times and Washington Post?
Rep. Ilhan Omar won a surprisingly narrow victory last week in Minnesota’s 5th congressional district. But while the New York Times and Washington Post noted
Exodus vs. Birth of a Nation: Media Miss Mark on Jewish Self-Determination, Palestinian Nationalism
This week, new scenes were shot, edited, produced, and added to the ongoing double feature known as the Arab-Israeli conflict. President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday
Rachel O'Donoghue
Senior Editor
CNN Publishes Gushing Interview With Palestinian Provocateur Ahed Tamimi Who Called for ‘Stabbings and Martyrdom’
Glowingly described as a “freedom fighter,” the “face of Palestinian resistance” and a “heroine,” Ahed Tamimi is perhaps one of the most recognizable Palestinians in
The Blood Libel That Went Viral: Israel Blamed for Palestinian Islamic Jihad Rocket That Killed Children
A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on.” This quote — frequently attributed to American writer Mark
History Repeating Itself as Bethlehem’s Christians Face Extinction
Believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, Bethlehem is revered in the Christian faith and attracts more than a million pilgrims every year who
Akiva Van Koningsveld
Editor
70% Of Media Bury Lede as IDF Probe Confirms Soldiers Did Not Intentionally Fire at Al Jazeera’s Shireen Abu Akleh
Why are leading news outlets burying the lede in their coverage of the latest developments in the Shireen Abu Akleh case? Following a four-month investigation, the
The Cold, Hard Truth About Ben & Jerry’s
Almost a year after their “excruciating, car crash” interview with Axios on HBO went viral on social media, Bennett Cohen and Jerry Greenfield — the progressive co-founders and
‘From the River to the Sea’ and Beyond: 5 Trending ‘Palestinian Chants’ and Their Unreported Incitement to Genocide
Recently, media outlets have accused Israel of curtailing freedom of speech by banning pro-Palestinian chants in Jerusalem. However, rather than quoting the actual chants, journalists
Chaim Lax
Editor
Hijackers, Bombers and Masterminds: The Top 5 Most Popular Palestinian Terrorists in the West
One of the defining characteristics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been the use of terrorism by Palestinian organizations and individuals in order to harm Israeli
Jenin: The Palestinian Terror Capital & Its Threat to the Region
Between March and May 2022, Israel experienced its worst wave of terrorism in over six years, with 19 Israelis killed
Has Marvel Surrendered to Anti-Israel Pressure After Introducing Israeli Superhero?
Comics Giant Marvel announced over the weekend that it would take a “new approach” to the Israeli superhero Sabra after coming under fire from anti-Israel
- L'chaim to Digital Media Warriors
This quarter we focused on the digital innovation portion of our digital media strategy, by engaging and building relationships with key influencers in the Israel advocacy space.
To this end we held two successful influencers events: our L’chaim to Digital Media Warriors on September 8, and our Rosh Hashanah meet-up. Both of these events were well attended by influencers with followings ranging from 70K-400K.
See our recap reel here:
This fall we plan on rolling out an HonestReporting video series in collaboration with a number of the influencers from these events.
- Interns
Benjamin Amram
Benjamin Amram is a second year psychology student at the Raphael Recanati International School at Reichman University. Born in Chicago, he made Aliyah in 2017 at the age of 18. In the IDF, Benjamin served in the Golani Brigade and received the Northern Command Award of Excellence for his “exemplary performance and personal example to peers.” Afterwards, he worked for the US Embassy in Jerusalem as an armed guard and completed the 6-month Google Data Analytics Course focusing on data analysis, cleaning, and visualization. His areas of focus are the interplay between psychology, government, and emerging technology. He was accepted and will participate in the 2022-2023 academic year cohort of the Zvi Meitar Emerging Technology Program. It focuses on the legal, ethical, and moral applications of emerging technologies, and consists of a yearlong research thesis.
Women’s Rights in the Middle East: Iranian Oppression & Israeli Progression
Almost two weeks ago, a young woman was allegedly murdered by the Iranian regime for the crime of showing her hair. Yet as thousands of
Ruby Frank
Originally from London, Ruby recently graduated from the University of Birmingham with a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations with First Class Honors.
Prince of Peace? Royal Heir to Throne William’s ‘Lifelong Project’ is Ending Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Upon Queen Elizabeth II’s death on September 8th, her grandson William, Prince of Wales, moved up the British Royal Family’s line of succession to become
- Social Media Soars in Q2!
- Stats
Social Media stats for March 1 → June 30, 2021
- Quarterly Facebook stats
1.1M
Reach
- Quarterly Twitter stats
