2021 Annual Report
We believe that news organizations must cover Israel objectively.
Given the media's ability to shape public opinion, we work to empower people to identify and respond to bias.
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Message
from the Managing Editor
Dear Friends,
With your support, for which we are grateful, together we will undoubtedly continue to go from strength to strength.
Sincerely,
Charles Bybelezer
- Key initiatives
On January 3, HonestReporting, in conjunction with UNRWA: Stop Teaching Hate, launched a “We the People” White House petition with the goal of inducing the US State Department to reveal the real number of Palestinian refugees alive today that were displaced during the 1948 war following Israel’s declaration of independence.
We also produced a related video that has garnered well over 1 million views and spurred people to action at the grassroots level.
And, it worked. The truth was exposed by former secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
Our exclusive research revealed that the Western-backed Palestinian Authority and its ruling Fatah faction are actively backing antisemitic extremists. In fact, a senior Palestinian official praised them just hours after they had set alight a swastika. Two days later, Fatah’s legislative body held a meeting in Beita to “support the popular resistance.”
A journalist with a history of antisemitic social media posts is no longer employed by the BBC, after HonestReporting prompted the corporation to launch an investigation. In May, HonestReporting exposed Halawa, leading to reports in well-known media outlets including The Daily Telegraph, Fox News, The Daily Mail, The Spectator, and The Independent.
The facts were clear from the outset: a group of Jewish youths celebrating Hanukkah in central London in late November was subjected to a tirade of antisemitic abuse by several men performing Nazi salutes and spitting at them. However, the BBC inaccurately claimed the victims had been heard using “racial slurs.”
Israel-Hamas Conflict
HonestReporting Steps Up During 'Operation Guardian of the Walls'
ARTICLES
During the conflict with Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces targeted a building in the Gaza Strip that housed the local offices of international media outlets such as Associated Press and Al Jazeera. It is also the location from where the IDF said that members of Hamas’ intelligence unit had been operating.
Thousands of Muslim worshippers chanted slogans such as “Ya Qassam, Ya Habib/Bomb, bomb, Tel Aviv,” as rioting broke out on the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site and also where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located. The media failed to report that the violence was pre-planned, with videos of ensuing clashes showing Arabs using fireworks as weapons, forcing Israeli border police to shift into riot mode.
As thousands of rockets rained down on Israel , another disturbing development got less attention in the mainstream media. For days on end, Arab Israelis carried out what were described as “pogroms” in Lod, Acre, Jaffa, Haifa and other so-called mixed communities.
Gaza Strip-based terrorist groups, led by Hamas, caused a spike in anti-Jewish violence around the world. Omitted from the media’s reporting is that the Hamas Charter outlines its ideological commitment to quite literally killing every Jew on Earth.
A video from the New York Times lambasted the Jewish state while letting Hamas — “the group that governs Gaza” — off the hook. The “visual investigation” focuses almost entirely on Israel’s alleged misdeeds while ignoring the fact that Hamas deliberately places Palestinians in harm’s way. Meanwhile, the NYT’s working theory was not only biased but also produced no clear-cut conclusions.
The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC, CNN and other major media outlets produced misleading headlines about the conflict, many of which totally ignored Palestinian terrorism. We set the record straight.
VIDEOS
As Hamas and other US-designated terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip fired over 4,500 rockets at Israeli civilians, another worrying trend developed: Jews in the United States, Europe and around the world were attacked simply for supporting Israel’s right to exist.
The streets of Jerusalem for weeks were plagued by violence. News reports, however, downplayed Palestinian attacks on Jews. HonestReporting helped expose the truth.
Amid the conflict, the Jewish state reopened one of the country’s crossings with the Gaza Strip to allow for the transfer of humanitarian aid. The media for the most part ignored Jerusalem’s approval of the transfer of medical equipment and other supplies for civilians in the Palestinian coastal enclave.
IN THE MEDIA
Thousands of rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel after Hamas used mass rioting by Palestinians in Jerusalem as a pretext for escalation. Daniel Pomerantz, CEO of HonestReporting, took on Hanan Jarrar, Palestinian Ambassador to South Africa, on Newzroom Afrika’s AM report.
As Israel continued to defend itself against incoming rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, HonestReporting was invited to speak on Israel’s Channel 20 about how our organization has a real impact on both journalists as well as the formulation of news itself.
HonestReporting CEO Daniel Pomerantz explained on the Knesset Channel not only about how we defend Israel in the press and hold the media to account, but also about the importance of documenting what’s really happening in order to call out false claims against the Jewish state.
- IN THE MEDIA
- TAKING CENTER STAGE
⸺ Originally published in Maariv newspaper, July 25, 2021
- SURVEY
After showing individuals a brief HonestReporting-produced video explaining May’s Hamas-initiated conflict, one-third of respondents (Americans aged 18-44) said they felt more supportive of Israel. This includes the critically important 18-24 cohort, in which there was a 32 percent rise in positive sentiment.
Check our website for updates in the near future, including the release of the survey results and information about an upcoming project to reach young people.
- WEBINARS
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry recently released its annual report on antisemitism, which warned of a resurgence of Jew-hatred worldwide in 2021. HonestReporting has for two decades been exposing and countering the prevalence of the scourge in the media, which manifests in many tangible ways, including in the often interchangeable form of anti-Israelism.
On February 21, we co-hosted, in conjunction with UN Watch and the Jewish International Connection of New York, an exclusive webinar that explored the manner in which the dissemination by news outlets of antisemitic tropes, as outlined by the widely accepted IHRA definition, bleeds into many spheres, perhaps most importantly the diplomatic one.
This webinar provided some 400 registrants with the tools required both to identify and oppose antisemitism when it appears in the media, and inform them of the possible consequences on the formulation of policy at the international level.
Palestinian children born generations after Israel’s establishment are still being educated to envision themselves as residents of cities stolen by Jews, and as refugees temporarily living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They are brought up believing that in the future they will “liberate” modern-day Israel, effectively ending Jewish self-determination. This eye-opening webinar exposed one of the primary reasons the Palestinians continue to reject peace.
Itamar Marcus, Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), is one of the foremost authorities on Palestinian ideology and policy. Marcus has published hundreds of reports and articles on Palestinian society, education and media highlighting the Palestinian Authority’s promotion of terrorism across many spectrums. PMW’s work has changed the way many people view the PA.
Marcus has made numerous presentations to legislators, governments and other decision-makers. His book Deception, co-authored with Nan Jacques Zilberdik, was acclaimed by the founder of Human Rights Watch, Robert Bernstein, as “one of the most important books you’ll handle in your lives.”
Marcus was appointed to represent Israel in negotiations on incitement with the PA in 1999. He has received awards from the ZOA, Israel Media Watch, and EMET, and was recognized as being among the world’s “top 100 people positively influencing Jewish life or the State of Israel” by The Algemeiner.
On May 20, US President Joe Biden promised that his administration would help replenish Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which “saved the lives of countless Israeli citizens, both Arab and Jew” during May’s Hamas-initiated war against the Jewish state.
Indeed, according to Israel Defense Forces data Iron Dome shot down roughly 90 percent of all projectiles launched at Israeli towns and cities.
Nevertheless, when the time came to fulfill President Biden’s vow, an earth-shattering event happened in Congress: A few extreme House Democrats forced the removal of $1 billion earmarked for Iron Dome from an emergency funding bill.
While the assistance was later reinserted in a different bill, the question remains: How could a supposedly “fringe” group of lawmakers wield so much power? And why would they oppose Israel’s defensive system that weakens terrorists and protects civilians?
Because for those politicians it’s not about saving lives, it’s about narrative.
- ARTICLES
An earth-shattering event happened in Congress: House Democrats passed an important budget bill but removed $1 billion in emergency funding for Israel’s Iron Dome: that is, the defense system that protects Israeli communities from rockets and missiles fired, most typically, by US-designated terror organizations in the Gaza Strip. Echoing House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called the move a mere “technical delay.” It is not.
What Ben & Jerry’s is planning to do in the case of Israel is illegal, and is constitutionally analogous to a private act of war against a US ally. This is exactly what AirBnB attempted to do in November 2018 when it removed listings of properties owned by Israeli Jews in the West Bank, prompting a number of organizations, including HonestReporting, to take actions that helped put a swift end to their misguided and illegal adventure.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Wednesday, March 3 announced that she was opening an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Israel and the Gaza-Strip based Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Charles Bybelezer
Managing Editor
In August, AFP reported on a terrible incident that deserved to be recounted. Yet the global news agency failed to do a modicum of due diligence in order to provide conclusive facts about how a young Palestinian boy had actually been hurt. For while the article notes that “the Shabans say Mohammed was injured by a missile fired by the Israelis,” immediately thereafter it contains the modifier, “although AFP could not independently verify it.”
Newly minted New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief Patrick Kingsley has effectively called for the replacement of Israel with a bi-national state. In his latest article — ‘Palestinians and Israelis Both Vote Soon. The Differences Are Stark’ — Kingsley not only conflates the democratic process in Israel with the authoritarianism that pervades the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but goes so far as to insinuate that Palestinians should have the right to vote in the March 23 Israeli national elections.
A thorough examination of the claims reveals that the entire foundation upon which the report was constructed is flawed. HRW’s “investigation” — which essentially recycles allegations from other unnamed NGOs and The New York Times — fails to present any concrete evidence to support its accusations. At the same time, Hamas, the US-designated terrorist organization that rules the Gaza Strip, is exonerated of all responsibility for the deaths of civilians in militarized areas under its control.
Gidon Ben-Zvi
Senior Editor
On June 13, 2021, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-ever serving prime minister, was removed from power.
In the immediate aftermath of “King” Bibi having been dethroned after 12 consecutive years at the political helm, major media outlets embarked on a campaign of historical revisionism.
Numerous major news organizations in March acted to expose US lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene’s support for bizarre antisemitic conspiracies and related comments she made before being elected to the House of Representatives.
However, the silence surrounding Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s participation at an event that featured several known supporters of Jihad is troubling.
Imagine if one of the world’s leading news publications in a headline referred to Washington DC merely as a ‘City on the Potomac River.’ Yet this is exactly what The Associated Press did in November.
Beyond diminishing the Jewish people’s historic connection to Hebron, AP also chose to ignore Hamas’ threat of violence against the city’s Jewish residents that was made.
Emanuel Miller
Writer / Social Media
The BBC was under the microscope once again in October as a result of a TV series description on its website that characterized Alfred Dreyfus as a “notorious Jewish spy.”
HonestReporting, after verifying that the false description indeed appeared on the BBC website, called the corporation out on Twitter.
In September, notorious anti-Israel activists Muna and Mohammed El-Kurd, who each have a record of supporting terrorism, were included in TIME Magazine’s annual list of the 100 most-influential people in the world.
Mohammed has repeatedly disseminated baseless anti-Israel smears and clear-cut antisemitic tropes while inciting violence on social media. Muna, too, has posted antisemitic, terror-supporting content.
France’s highest court ruled in April that a man who had savagely attacked and killed his Jewish neighbor by throwing her out of the window of her Paris flat was not criminally responsible, and therefore would not stand on trial.
The decision sparked outrage, with many Twitter and Facebook users taking to social media to express their disgust at the miscarriage of justice.
Akiva Van Koningsveld
Editor
In June, Vice released yet another one-sided anti-Israel documentary. The propaganda piece includes a shockingly uncritical interview in which Hamas’ claims that it “doesn’t want fighting” and has tried “peaceful resistance” are left unchallenged.
It is not the first time that Vice’s bias has been evident, with HonestReporting having critiqued the outlet numerous times over the past months.
In August, Palestinian rioters from the West Bank village of Beita burned a makeshift Nazi swastika juxtaposed against a Star of David. The perpetrators, who have been described as “protesters” by foreign journalists, repeated the antisemitic act.
Responding to worldwide condemnation, residents of Beita proclaimed that Nazism and Zionism are “two sides of the same coin.”
On May 13, at the height of the 11-day Hamas-initiated conflict against the Jewish state, The New York Times published a guest essay by Refaat Alareer that falsely alleged that the Israel Defense Forces hit targets in the Gaza Strip with “no strategic value.”
The piece implied that Israelis “draw straws” or “roll a dice” to decide “which block to annihilate” — essentially promoting a modern-day blood libel.
Rachel O'Donoghue
Senior Editor
In August, HonestReporting exposed Mariam Barghouti, whose work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian and Newsweek. She has been interviewed by CNN and, seemingly, the BBC.
Mariam Barghouti is, then, a relatively well-known “go-to” voice on Israeli-Palestinian affairs.
She is also an antisemite.
An August 23 article from The Associated Press detailed how the Rafah crossing between the Sinai Peninsula and the coastal enclave was closed following violent Palestinian rioting.
HonestReporting tweeted about this piece, calling out AP on its egregious use of the word “activists” to describe individuals who fired explosives at Israel, as well as someone who, armed with a deadly weapon, attempted to murder an Israeli soldier.
In September, the University of California, Berkeley, took the top spot in the annual Forbes rankings of America’s top colleges.
Despite these plaudits, the college has been struggling with a deeply unpleasant problem for some years now: namely, rising antisemitism and a culture of anti-Israel bigotry on campus.
- Videos
In an interview with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour seemingly failed the most basic test of journalism.
In the 15 minute long TV segment that aired in February, she barely challenged the man who has become the international face of a regime accused of lying again and again about its nuclear program.
Another journalistic faux pas: CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour in April failed to properly characterize Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian viewed by many as the mastermind behind the Second Intifada.
In a segment of her show Amanpour & Co., she described the arch-terrorist as a “Palestinian activist and leader who’s in jail inside Israel.”
Anti-Israel activists used the COP26 climate change summit in November as a platform to falsely accuse the Jewish state of “Greenwashing” its alleged pollution of Palestinian-claimed territories.
Meanwhile, Israel’s CO2 emissions account for a mere 0.16% of the total global output, and Jerusalem is still taking dramatic steps to reduce its carbon footprint. The same cannot be said about the Palestinian leadership.
In a report on May’s Hamas-initiated war against Israel, Vice News parrots terrorist propaganda claiming that the IDF’s defensive actions somehow breached international law.
In the video, correspondent Isobel Yeung repeatedly charged Israel with targeting Gazans during a May 14 operation to destroy Hamas’ network of attack tunnels.
In May, Human Rights Watch put disaffected and oppressed peoples across the globe in a precarious position by manipulating the meaning of apartheid
HRW’s “definition” is so broad that if you applied it fairly and rigorously then almost every person in every nation would be guilty of it, in one way or another.
We had an interesting Twitter conversation in March with New York Times columnist Peter Beinart.
In a February column, Peter objected to US secondary sanctions on Iran, saying it would harm civilians. But he recently wrote an entire book about how the world should put sanctions on Israel.
- HonestReporting Expanding: New Staff
Originally from Miami, Florida, Maya moved to Israel in December 2014. Before joining HonestReporting, she worked as a core team member at the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center and, most recently, in hi-tech, where for four years she was a Project Manager and Data Analyst specializing in identifying and tracking antisemitism on social media platforms.
Maya holds a B.A. in History from the University of Florida with a focus on Holocaust Studies and Jewish Studies. In 2020, she received an M.A. in Political Science, with an emphasis on security and diplomacy, from Tel Aviv University, where she graduated with honors.
- Stats
Social Media stats for March 1 → June 30, 2021
- Quarterly Facebook stats
1.1M
Reach
- Quarterly Twitter stats
