Expulsion and Readmission of Israeli Journalists
In June 2009, the IFJ expelled the 800-member National Federation of Israeli Journalists for not paying dues, but claims against the former General Secretary Aidan White have been made that the expulsion was politically motivated. This has always been strongly disputed by the IFJ. A representative of the NFIJ believes tension between Israeli journalists and the IFJ began during the Second Lebanon War. During the war the Israeli Defence Forces began a bombing compaign of Al-Manar, Hezbollah's state-run media. The International Federation of Journalists condemned Israel's attack on Al-Manar headquarters, claiming it "threatens the lives of media staff, violates international law and endorses the use of violence to stifle dissident media." It was reported that the IFJ did not offer any condemnation after Israeli journalists were wounded by Hezbollah militants. Israel and the European Union considers Al-Manar to be a vehicle for Hezbollah propaganda and has since banned their programs from satellite.
It was reported that the IFJ published a report criticizing Israel's policy on foreign journalists during the Gaza War and also rebuked its involvement in the conflict. According to Haim Shibi, the report about Gaza was compiled without "consulting a single Israeli source." He believes the IFJ's decision "reflects the European sentiment to portray Israel as an aggressor and support the Arab world." After a meeting in Tel Aviv at the beginning of November 2009 and with the assistance of mediation from IFJ affiliates in Italy and Germany, an agreement was reached between the IFJ and the NFIJ on the payment of fees and future co-operation. The NFIJ was readmitted to the IFJ on November 14, 2009. In 2010 the NFIJ played a full part in the IFJ world Congress in Cadiz where efforts were made to promote new dialogues between IFJ affiliates on both sides of the Middle East divide.
In February 2012, The National Federation of Israeli Journalists threatened to end ties with the IFJ after the organization said the country had been singled out for criticism. The IFJ sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon stating Israel as one of 6 countries where women journalists "face threats, political pressure, violence, rape and abuse either due to their gender or simply for doing their jobs.” The other countries included Mexico, the Philippines, Somalia, Russia, and Nepal. In all of the other countries mentioned in the letter, women have actually been shot or killed during work. Danny Zaken, chairman of the Journalists Association in Jerusalem, said "I demand answers for the outrageous false paper the IFJ issued about violence toward women journalists in Israel." Zakan said over the past few months IFJ President Jim Boumelha mentioned areas of gender inequality in violence in Israel without hard evidence that suggests female journalists are particularly targeted. Boumelha has so far declined to comments on the matter and turned down requests to provide further information on the claims of Israel's alleged mistreatment of female journalists
Read more about this topic: International Federation Of Journalists
Famous quotes containing the words expulsion and, expulsion, israeli and/or journalists:
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