Jewish American journalist Katie Halper
Washington, October 7 (RHC)-- Jewish American journalist Katie Halper has been sacked by the corporate-owned US media outlet The Hill over defending a Congress member’s portrayal of Israel as an apartheid regime based on a list of facts.
The 41-year-old journalist, known for her podcast titled “Rising” for The Hill TV, had drafted a factual monologue in defense of Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib against attacks on the Michigan lawmaker’s over her new anti-Israel comments.
Tlaib found herself in hot water in the Democratic camp and among pro-Israel lobbying groups by saying recently: “I want you all to know that among progressives, it becomes clear that you cannot claim to hold progressive values yet back Israel’s apartheid government.”
In the monologue for “Rising,” Halper, who was the program’s co-host, argued that the backlash against Tlaib was “outrageous” and criticized Israel’s unjust laws and brutalization of Palestinians. The monologue also included the definition of apartheid according to international law and quotations from human rights organizations such as Israel’s B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, which have all accused the occupying regime of committing the crime of apartheid.
Initially, executives at The Hill TV blocked Halper from broadcasting the segment. She was, however, fired from her job later as she spoke publicly about the censorship. The good news, according to Halper’s twitter account, is that she had shot the censored video with an actually independent media outlet which was then hosted by New York-based BreakThrough News.
In the monologue based on facts, Halper criticized the lash against Tlaib, telling colleagues and representatives who attacked Tlaib that “apartheid is not about feelings but rather about facts.”
“I’m not a Jewish colleague of Tlaib, but I am a Jew and I am outraged. Not by Tlaib, but by the attacks on Tlaib. Rashida Tlaib is saying that Israel is an apartheid state and that people who claim to have progressive values cannot support an apartheid state. No matter how loose a definition of progressive we use, it certainly excludes supporting a racist apartheid system,” Halper said in the video.
In the monologue, she also mentioned the definition of apartheid provided by the UN’s International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Aparthied in Article II, which describes apartheid as “the inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them.”
Harper also referred to the different organizations and figures who identify Israel as an apartheid entity, including al-Haq, the al-Mezan center for human rights, Adalah, Addameer Association, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
She quoted former Israeli officials describing the entity as an apartheid regime. Halper’s video was showered with comments, many congratulating her on her bravery in telling the truth. Reactions also poured in from activists and journalists who expressed solidarity with Halper.
In response to the sacking of Halper, Maximillian Alvare, a guest contributor at Halper’s show, announced his resignation through a tweet. “After 3 years as a regular guest contributor, I have notified the Hill that I will not be going on Rising anymore. I stand in solidarity with Katie Halper & our oppressed Palestinian siblings, & I stand resolutely against the top-down decision to censor/fire Katie for telling the truth,” read the tweet.
In turn, journalist Chuck Modi from Washington DC said in a tweet that Katie Halper’s coverage is “most basic “water-is- wet” reporting. “Her firing, like Marc Lamont Hill at CNN, is latest message to journos that if you want to keep your job, you must keep lying. Appreciate Katie putting facts & justice above all.”
Famous actress Susan Sarandon also showed consolidation with Halper by re-tweeting the video. She wrote,“This is What Got Katie Halper Censored & Canceled By The Hill: Israel Is An Apartheid State – YouTube”.
Four years ago, Marc Lamont Hill’s was fired by CNN after he gave a speech at the UN, in which he called for Palestine to be free from Israeli occupation.
Nexstar Broadcasting Group, which owns The Hill, is the largest owner of television broadcasters in the United States, owning 197 different television stations, most of which are affiliates of major news networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox.
