It's not enough that Israel has been murdering journalists in Gaza, the West Bank, and other parts of occupied Palestine, they have extended the aggression inward, too. On November 23rd, the Israeli news outlet Haaretz was threatened by their own government due to their news coverage of the atrocities happening in Gaza.
When I read the letter several state Attorney Generals sent to New York Times, Reuters, Associated Press, and CNN on December 4th, I felt chills, truly. I guess I can't be too shocked when members of Congress sent a similarly threatening letter to Reuters on November 21st.
Assaults on the freedom of press cannot be tolerated. You have been consistently attacking my freedom of speech, and now you want to take away freedom of the press, too. I never thought I'd live in a time where news outlets like the New York Times would be threatened by state governments or Reuters being attacked by the federal government, but here we are. What are you going to do to stop this?
I demand that you:
- Call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the West Bank, and all areas the Israeli military is murdering or otherwise violating the human rights of Palestinians
- Call for the immediate end of genocide, apartheid, and occupation, and support Palestinians in their fight for freedom, peace, and their human rights
- Call for the immediate release of Palestinian “prisoners” (hostages) held captive in Israeli military prisons
- Permanently end all monetary and military aid given to Israel by correcting our budget and enforcing Leahy Law
- Reallocate all funds given to Israel to ongoing humanitarian relief for Palestinians to help them rebuild, care for the sick & injured, bury the dead with dignity, and ensure all of their basic needs are taken care of
- Repeal all federal anti-BDS laws and pass legislation that voids all state-level anti-BDS laws
- Restore my right to free speech and the freedom of the press by condemning all discrimination or harassment for criticizing any government or political ideology (including zionism) and by doing everything possible to prevent future assaults to my rights, including governmental control and/or censorship of the Internet
- Stop the militarization of our police by ending all cross-training done with the Israeli military, ceasing the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, and all other ways this is accomplished
- Pass legislation that prohibits any governmental action that would target any ethnic, religious, or other minority group (including Palestinians), either in the U.S. or abroad, by restricting humanitarian or financial aid, infringing on their human rights, or other actions that would otherwise bring harm or cause undue burdens on said groups
