Al-Jazeera Banned in the West Bank
Al-Jazeera television has been banned from operating in Palestinian territory.
The Qatar-based Arabic news channel was banned in the West Bank by the Palestinian Authority Wednesday, after the government accused it of incitement for broadcasting allegations against PA President Mahmoud Abbas, according to news reports.
The allegations broadcast Tuesday and attributed to a senior Fatah official claimed that Abbas conspired with Israel to kill Yasser Arafat in 2003.
The Palestinian news service Ma’an quoted the Palestinian Authority Information Ministry as saying in a statement: “Al-Jazeera has always dedicated a wide portion of its transmission to incite against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority. Despite repeated requests to be impartial in its coverage of Palestinian affairs, the station continued to incite against the PLO and the PA. The latest false news was aired yesterday.”
“We expect all media outlets operating in Palestine to practice their work in a way that does not contradict the Palestinian national interest and sovereignty of law,” the statement continued.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
