2022 Q1 Impact Report
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HonestReporting Editorial Team
Dear Friends,
In the first quarter of 2022, the big news around the world was the war in Ukraine.
We produced pieces and videos that called out depictions in the media that mischaracterized Israel’s actual role – both as a mediator attempting to end the conflict and as a significant source of humanitarian aid to people who are suffering as a result of Russia’s military campaign.
In January, HonestReporting was among a number of organizations and individuals that criticized the FBI’s premature and, frankly, perplexing inference that the attack on the Congregation Beth-Israel synagogue in Coleyville, Texas, was in no way motivated by a hatred of Jews. As a result, amendments to the coverage of this story were made.
In February, CEO Daniel Pomerantz appeared live on CBS News, where he discussed HonestReporting’s research on media coverage of hate crimes in the United States. This study was previously featured on Fox News, Newsweek, The Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel.
In March, after HonestReporting launched a campaign to help expose business entities linked to Hamas, a British lawmaker took action. In a written question submitted to parliament, Labour peer Lord Foulkes of Cumnock requested that the Home Secretary comment specifically on our revelations about the UK-designated Palestinian terror group’s financial dealings.
These are just some of the successes we achieved during Q3 that demonstrate HonestReporting’s growing influence.
With your support, together we will undoubtedly continue to go from strength to strength.
Sincerely,
HonestReporting Editorial Team
- In The Media
- We’re Breaking Through!
⸺ Originally published in Maariv newspaper, July 25, 2021
- Notable Successes
A Dutch lawmaker submitted parliamentary questions concerning a group with apparent links to EU-designated Palestinian terror organizations.
It follows HonestReporting’s efforts to hold The Rights Forum accountable, including calling on Dutch authorities to launch a probe into the group.
HonestReporting was among a number of organizations and individuals that criticized the FBI’s premature and, frankly, perplexing inference that the attack on the Congregation Beth-Israel synagogue in Coleyville, Texas, was in no way motivated by a hatred of Jews.
The New Yorker Magazine’s online crossword puzzle included a clue that referred to the Negev as a “desert that covers more than half of Palestine.”
An eagle-eyed follower of HonestReporting immediately notified us , and we took action – pointing out that the Negev actually encompasses almost 60 percent of Israel’s landmass.
We called out the Encyclopedia Britannica after noticing a particularly troubling definition of “anti-Semitism,” specifically that the term is “especially inappropriate as a label for the anti-Jewish prejudices, statements, or actions of Arabs and other Semites.”
The claim that Arab people cannot be called antisemitic is, of course, absurd.
Jewish groups in the UK, along with HonestReporting, refused to allow the BBC to absolve itself of its duty to report the news with accuracy and impartiality about a group of Jewish youths celebrating Hanukkah in central London that was subjected to a tirade of antisemitic abuse by several men performing Nazi salutes and spitting at them.
- Groundbreaking HonestReporting Study
Jews are victims of more hate crimes per capita than all other groups in the United States, as tracked by the FBI. However, anti-Jewish hate crimes receive disproportionately little news coverage, by a disturbingly large margin.
Our research was carried out using professional media intelligence tracking software and the FBI Hate Crime Statistics database.
We found that while Jews are one of the smallest minority groups in the US, they have been the targets of the most hate crimes per capita during the period 2018-2020. By contrast, hate crimes against Muslims received the most news coverage of any group by a large margin.
- 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
The PA’s condemnation of a conference aimed at promoting regional stability, and furthering the cause of peace, is the latest example of a chronic Palestinian refusal to drop maximalist positions that serve to function as a prelude to negotiations with Israel.
In an article in The Guardian Peter Beinart compares Russia’s incursion into Ukraine with Israel’s defensive actions during the 1967 Six-Day War. He then suggests that the US should no longer continue providing the Jewish state with military aid.
Akiva Van Koningsveld
Editor
HonestReporting published a piece that amplified an exposé on Hamas’ secret foreign investment portfolio reportedly worth some $500 million.
Soon after we took action, Hamas’ financial portfolio reportedly suffered a “severe blow” after London-based financial institution Lloyd’s warned against doing any business with the terror group.
An official report released by Israel’s Intelligence Ministry — first translated into English in full by HonestReporting — outlines how Brussels is bankrolling the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) illegal “takeover” of areas that are internationally recognized as being under Israeli control.
Rachel O'Donoghue
Senior Editor
The International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School has teamed up with the Palestinian NGO Addameer, accused of being a front for terrorism, to produce a report that arrived at an egregious conclusion: Israel is an “apartheid” state.
Deutsche Welle was thrust into the headlines when it announced it had sacked five journalists, who were all of either Palestinian or Lebanese descent. Yet, a key point that has yet to be addressed by the broadcaster is how long it was aware of allegations of antisemitism by some of its employees.
Emanuel Miller
Writer / Social Media
CBS used syndicated content taken from the Associated Press wire service, but changed the headline in a way that fundamentally warped the story.
While the original piece was titled “Israeli jets hit militant targets in Gaza after rocket fire,” CBS editors elected to run the same exact content under the words, “Israel hits Gaza with airstrikes.”
After the BBC refused to retract and apologize to victims of an antisemitic assault in central London for insinuating that they had leveled “anti-Muslims slurs” at their attackers, it then emerged that the British national broadcaster was demanding that the Jewish teenagers who were targeted reveal their identities.
- Videos
The Palestinian leadership was seemingly inciting violence against Israelis just as it did prior to last May’s conflict. Data indicate that there have been major surges in Palestinian terrorist attacks during Ramadan, which this year began on April 2.
Yet the media is silent.
Even as Israel has taken the lead in diplomatic efforts to help end the bloodshed — while providing humanitarian assistance to Kiev and condemning Moscow — many outlets have misrepresented Jerusalem as insufficiently invested.
Meanwhile, not one of these same media have addressed the Palestinian Authority’s near-total silence regarding the crisis.
Virtually all major news outlets covered the case of Palestinian prisoner Hisham Abu Hawash, a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, who ended his hunger strike after some 140 days. In stark contrast, the fate of a child from the Gaza Strip was entirely ignored by the media.
- HonestReporting Expanding: New Staff
Raquela Karamson - Digital Media Specialist
Following her IDF service Raquela spent nearly a decade working in communications, media and public relations and crisis management. 10 months ago Raquela moved back home to Jerusalem from Washington, DC and now leads digital media at HonestReporting.
Helena Garson - Graphic Designer
Helena Garson graduated with a degree in Advertising from Casper Libero College, where she also focused on Graphic Design. Originally from Brazil, Helena has experience in Content Production, Digital Marketing, and Graphic Design. In 2018 Helena moved to Israel with her twin sister. Upon making Aliyah, she worked at two organizations that develop and promote opportunities to celebrate and strengthen the personal connection with Israel. In 2022 Helena joined the HonestReporting Team as its Graphic Designer, driving excellence in quality, design, color, layout, typography, and brand consistency.
- Social Media Highlights
- Stats
Social Media stats for March 1 → June 30, 2021
- Quarterly Facebook stats
1.1M
Reach
- Quarterly Twitter stats
