On Sunday July 17, at 3 pm ET, join a discussion, “Journalism Under Occupation: In Memory of Shireen Abu Akleh.” Register at tinyurl.com/VFHL-July2022, watch two short films, then join the Zoom event, sponsored by Voices from the Holy Land and co-sponsored by the Virginia Coalition for Human Rights and Green Mountain Solidarity with Palestine.
Abstracts: “The Distortion & Death Behind Israel/Palestine Coverage” - Abby Martin of “The Empire Files” takes a look at how the so-called "Israel-Palestine conflict" has been covered by the mainstream press and the variety of tactics employed by the state of Israel to control the narrative. “From Sheikh Jarrah to Gaza: Journalism Under Apartheid” - Al Jazeera’s The Listening Post looks at Israel’s crackdown on reporters in East Jerusalem and at international journalists calling out their own media operations for sanitizing the oppression of Palestinians.
Panelists: * Maha Nassar, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona. Her book, “Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World” (Stanford University Press) received a 2018 Palestine Book Award for academic titles. In it, she examines how Palestinian intellectuals in Israel connected to global decolonization movements through literary and journalistic writings. Maha’s analysis and opinion pieces have appeared in The Washington Post, The Conversation, +972 Magazine, and elsewhere. She is currently working on her next book, a social and cultural history of Palestine’s people. * Yumna Patel is the Palestine News Director at Mondoweiss, a U.S.-based organization focused on providing news and analysis unavailable through the mainstream media regarding the struggle for Palestinian human rights. Yumna is based in the city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, and has been reporting in Palestine for six years on stories that affect the everyday lives of Palestinians under occupation. Prior to joining Mondoweiss, Yumna wrote for the English Desk at Ma'an News Agency, and wrote and produced videos for organizations like Middle East Eye, AJ+, Defense for Children International-Palestine, and others. Yumna is an alumnus of the NYU School of Journalism. * Lia Tarachansky is an Israeli-Canadian journalist and filmmaker. Born in the former Soviet Union, Lia immigrated to Israel at age six and grew up in Ariel, one of the largest Israeli colonies in the heart of the Palestinian West Bank. Later she moved to Canada where she completed her studies before returning to Israel/Palestine in 2009 to pursue journalism and filmmaking. In 2012 Lia co-directed a BBC-World documentary about Israel's Social Justice (J14) movement and the wave of self-immolations by Israeli citizens in protest of the harsh economic realities many of them faced. Her award-winning documentaries include “On the Side of the Road” and “Ethnocracy in the Promised Land: Israel’s African Refugees.” Lia’s work is frequently featured in publications such as +972 Magazine, Mondoweiss, USA Today, Al Jazeera English, and others.
