Haaretz publisher: ‘Palestinians are freedom fighters’

Haaretz publisher: ‘Palestinians are freedom fighters’

Speaking during a conference in the UK capital, London, Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken said Israel is ‘fighting the Palestinian freedom fighter it calls terrorists’. He went on to call for global action to impose sanctions… pic.twitter.com/C9ss81PTjx

— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) November 1, 2024

Israel has launched a crackdown against Haaretz, one of the region’s oldest newspapers founded in 1919 in historic Palestine nearly three decades before the creation of the Israeli state, after its publisher described Israel as imposing an “apartheid regime” on Palestinians and characterised the current military assault in Gaza as a “second Nakba.”

The ministries of interior, education and diaspora affairs announced they would sever ties with the newspaper following comments made by publisher Amos Schocken at a Haaretz conference in London on Sunday. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has gone further, proposing a comprehensive government-wide boycott that would end all state advertising and cancel subscriptions for employees across government institutions, including the military, police and prison service.

Speaking at the London conference, Schocken delivered a stark critique of the ultra-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu while describing the Palestinian resistance as “freedom fighters”.

“The Netanyahu government doesn’t care about imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population,” said Schocken. “It dismisses the costs to both sides for defending the [illegal West Bank] settlements while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters that Israel calls terrorists.”

Schocken described the current situation in the occupied territories and in Gaza as “a second Nakba”, referencing the mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians during Israel’s establishment in 1948. He also called for international pressure on Israel, arguing that “the only way to establish a necessary Palestinian state is to apply sanctions against Israel, against the leaders who oppose it, and against the settlers.”

Following the backlash, Schocken issued a clarification. “I’ve reconsidered what I said,” he stated. “There are many freedom fighters in the world and through history, perhaps also on the path to the establishment of the State of Israel, who carried out shocking and dreadful terrorist activities and harmed innocent people in order to achieve their goals.”

He added that he should have said “freedom fighters who also use terrorist methods and need to be fought against”, emphasising that “the use of terrorism is not legitimate.” Schocken also distinguished between Hamas and other Palestinian actors, noting that figures like Mahmoud Abbas had “renounced terror and pursue only a diplomatic path.”

The publisher concluded his clarification by defending his broader critique, arguing that “Israel’s long-term victory will be achieved through the release of all hostages and the establishment of a Palestinian state, ending both apartheid and terrorism.”

The government’s move against one of Israel’s most respected newspapers has raised concerns about press freedom and the increasing intolerance of dissenting voices in Israeli society, particularly amid the ongoing military assault in Gaza where the Occupation State is accused of carrying out genocide against Palestinians.

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