Gatestone Institute..
04 June '20..
When Palestinian journalist Eyad Hamad criticized Israel, his employers at the Associated Press (AP) summoned him for a hearing, which ended only with a warning.
When Hamad criticized the Palestinian Authority, however, he received a letter from the AP informing him that "your employment has been terminated."
The dismissal of the 63-year-old Hamad from the AP -- an act that enraged Palestinian journalists as well as human rights and media groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip -- did not surprise those familiar with the way the foreign media has been covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Many foreign journalists seem to see the conflict along the lines of "good guys (Palestinians) versus bad guys (Israel)." They wake up every morning and search for any story that reflects badly on Israel. The foreign correspondents then hire Palestinians to assist them in spreading lies about Israel. Many of these Palestinians are not real journalists, but political activists who serve as propagandists for the PLO, Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups.
What is particularly disturbing about the dismissal of Hamad is that the AP knew one of its Palestinian workers was engaged in anti-Israel activities, but failed to stop him. Hamad even ignored repeated warnings from his employers against pursuing political activities.
"We have been forced to take this action due to your repeated violations of our policies governing social media, political activity and workplace conduct, even after numerous warnings and despite your undertakings in the past not to repeat such activities and violations," Josef Federman, News Director at the AP Bureau in Jerusalem, wrote to the Palestinian cameraman on May 27.
In his letter, Federman pointed out that Hamad, a Palestinian, had participated in anti-Israel protests while he was still working for AP.
"On November 17, 2019, you [Hamad] took part in a protest in support of a colleague who was injured by Israeli troops and then gave an interview to Al-Arabiya TV," the AP bureau chief wrote. "Neither the protest nor the interview was authorized by us, and you did not seek our permission, violating the AP's policies and previous undertakings."
The international news agency is openly admitting that one of its workers was engaged in anti-Israel activities. What did AP do to stop the worker? Hamad received several "warnings" -- which did not deter him from pursuing his anti-Israel activities.
A few weeks after that, on December 12, 2019, Hamad was invited for another meeting at the AP Jerusalem office and again warned that he had violated the news agency's policies on political activity. When Hamad was told that senior managers in New York would be involved, he insisted that he had done nothing wrong. "I don't care," he said.
Despite Hamad's determination to pursue political activities, he was nevertheless permitted to continue working for AP for 20 years. Palestinians are proud of Hamad because he used the AP for many years as a platform to spread lies about Israel.
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