NY Times fires Palestinian journalist for supporting Palestinian resistance

Palestinian photojournalist, Hosam Salem, has been fired by the New York Times over social media posts in which he expressed support for the Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation.

In another violation to the freedom of the Press by US mainstream media this week, Palestinian photographer Hosam Salem, just like Jewish American journalist Katie Halper who was fired by the Hill two days ago, can't voice his opinion on issues related to the Israeli apartheid regime and keep his job.

The Gaza-based journalist has worked as a freelancer for the US outlet for four years, but was fired after a pro-Israel organization alerted the paper to Facebook posts in which he had expressed support for Palestinian resistance.

"After years of covering the Gaza Strip as a freelance photojournalist for The New York Times, I was informed via an abrupt phone call from the US outlet that they will no longer work with me in the future," Salem wrote on Twitter.

Salem said that the Israel lobby organization Honest Reporting, which exists to attack the Palestinian narrative in the west, succeeded in discrediting him and two other Palestinian journalists who worked for the Times.

In the details, he said that the decision was made based on a report prepared by a Dutch editor - who obtained Israeli citizenship two years ago and works for Honest Reporting.

“My aforementioned posts also spoke of the resilience of my people and those killed by the Israeli military — including my cousin — who described Honest Reporting as ‘Palemian terrorists,'” Salem said on Twitter.

According to Salem, not only has Honest Reporting succeeded in terminating his contract with The New York Times, it has also actively discouraged other international news agencies from collaborating with him and his two colleagues.

He added, “What is taking place is a systematic effort to distort the image of Palestinian journalists as being incapable of trustworthiness and integrity, simply because we cover the human rights violations that the Palestinian people undergo on a daily basis at hands of the Israeli army.”

Since joining the Time in 2018, Salem has reported on critical events in Gaza, such as the weekly protests at the border fence with the Israeli occupation. He conducted an investigation into the Israeli killing of field nurse Razan Al-Najjar and, more recently, the May 2021 Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which killed at least 254 Palestinians, including 66 children, 39 women and 17 elderly people.

The sacking of Salem takes place only two days after Progressive Jewish American journalist Katie Halper was fired 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.

Halper, 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. 

Four years ago, Marc Lamont Hill was fired by CNN after he gave a speech at the UN, in which he called for Palestine to be free from Israeli occupation.

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