Small local media outlets often find a local angle for national or international stories. So it is the case with the Jersey Evening Post, which serves one of the Channel Islands located between the UK and France.
So how did the Jersey Evening Post’s report on a local activist protesting an arms fair in London turn into a free promotion and fundraiser for the local branch of an anti-Israel and arguably antisemitic organization?
According to the newspaper, Jersey resident Natalie Strecker
was one of hundreds trying to stop vehicles delivering equipment and arms to the ExCel London exhibition centre ahead of the Defence and Security Equipment International event.
The international exhibition taking place this week includes an Israel National Pavilion where 15 leading Israeli defense companies will be showcasing their products while another 15 will be participating in the exhibition.
Which is presumably why Natalie Strecker decided to travel from Jersey to London:
During the protest, Ms Strecker, the founder of the Jersey Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, wore a white lab coat, stained with imitation blood, and held a placard bearing the name of Rouzan al-Najjar. The 20-year-old Palestinian paramedic was killed by the Israeli Defense Forces while volunteering as a medic during the 2018 Gaza border protests.
She was fatally hit by a bullet that ricocheted from a shot on the ground.
Fairly neutral so far but then the Jersey Evening News’ journalist switches from reporting to advocacy:
Ms Strecker said she would be dissolving the Jersey Palestinian Solidarity Campaign following its event later this month – a talk by Dr Ghada Karmi on US President Donald Trump’s so-called ‘Deal of the Century’ – an American peace proposal intended to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
The free event is due to take place on Thursday 26 September at the Old Magistrate’s Court building on Seale Street. Donations are welcome.
That a Jersey branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign even exists is testament to the disproportionate and frightening amount of attention that even people on a small island give to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
What the Jersey Evening News, while plugging a free event, won’t tell you is how the PSC as an organization has been exposed as riddled with antisemitism and Holocaust denial. As for the Jersey branch, researcher David Collier noted examples of antisemitism on its Facebook page, concluding:
Natalie Strecker appears to be one of those who screams about fighting ‘racism’, but doesn’t notice it when it is on her side. Shameful.
As for the Jersey PSC event itself, Dr. Ghada Karmi has a long and sorry history that certainly doesn’t deserve free advertising in the local newspaper. A significant figure in the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign in the UK, an interview in 2018 has her on record saying that: the Palestinians are victims of genocide similar to Jews under Nazi rule, and that European Jews are all ‘converts’ from other religions – thus those of European Jewish descent living in Israel are not “real” Jews.
Of course, you won’t know any of this from the Jersey Evening Post nor the background of the Jersey PSC and its affiliation to such a dubious organization. Instead, Jersey PSC and Natalie Strecker are treated as brave human rights activists.
Even though the Karmi event is free, the Jersey Evening Post states that “Donations are welcome.”
This isn’t a charity event to feed starving children or raise money for cancer research. This is an event for an anti-Israel organization. Since when is it acceptable or ethical for a journalist or media outlet to casually pitch for donations for a clearly politicized organization?
We’ve sent a complaint to the Jersey Evening Post. Watch this space.
