"The headline is incredibly misleading. It completely reverses the point I was making. Rather than highlighting my explicit distinction between Zionist organizations and Jewish partners in justice, it collapses that distinction and leaves readers with the false impression that I accused British Jews collectively of complicity in Israel’s crimes. This is precisely the kind of framing that has made speaking about Palestine so difficult for so many years. It is not only manipulative; it fuels the false narrative that criticism of Israel is criticism of Jews." Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac - Jul 23, 2026

 When Headlines Distort the Truth

What The Telegraph Got Wrong About My Response

Munther Isaac

Jul 23, 2026

“Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac is Director of the Bethlehem of Institute for Peace and Justice and co-author of Kairos Palestine II.

I was recently approached by The Telegraph, a newspaper in the United Kingdom, to comment on the Church of England’s recent decision to receive and engage with Kairos Palestine II, among other Palestinian Christian documents. I was also asked to respond to the criticism directed at the Church by the Board of Deputies of British Jews. 

 

READ THE LETTER 

Now notice something important. I clearly distinguished between those promoting Zionism and the many Jewish voices working for justice. In fact, I explicitly called on churches to listen to and amplify those Jewish voices. That distinction was not incidental—it was central to my response.

So what did The Telegraph do with it? It published the following headline: “British Jews complicit in Israel crimes, say Palestinian Christians.”

That is simply not what I said. It is not what Kairos Palestine II says. It is not what Palestinian Christians are saying.

The headline is incredibly misleading. It completely reverses the point I was making. Rather than highlighting my explicit distinction between Zionist organizations and Jewish partners in justice, it collapses that distinction and leaves readers with the false impression that I accused British Jews collectively of complicity in Israel’s crimes.

This is precisely the kind of framing that has made speaking about Palestine so difficult for so many years. It is not only manipulative; it fuels the false narrative that criticism of Israel is criticism of Jews.

Our position has been clear and consistent. The problem is not Jews. The problem is not Judaism. The problem is support for oppression, occupation, apartheid, and now genocide—whether that support comes from Jews, Christians, Muslims, or anyone else.

Likewise, those standing for justice include Jews, Christians, Muslims, and people of no faith. As I said in my response, and as Kairos Palestine II explicitly affirms, we welcome and encourage partnership with Jewish voices committed to truth and justice.

Perhaps most troubling of all, this kind of reporting distracts attention from the real issue. Instead of engaging with the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, or with the overwhelming evidence presented by international legal, human rights, and medical bodies, the conversation is redirected toward a manufactured controversy... READ MORE https://bipj.substack.com/p/when-headlines-distort-the-truth?r=62vmcy&triedRedirect=true

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"We live in an age saturated with Holocaust books, films, documentaries, and lessons that teach us how dangerous dehumanization can be. We are reminded time and again that before people can be mistreated, displaced, or killed on a mass scale, they are first stripped of their humanity through words and imagery. And yet, when similar language is used today to describe Palestinians, much of the world remains silent—or worse, offers its support. If history has taught us anything, it is that when human beings are reduced to weeds, thorns, insects, or any other nuisance, the groundwork is being laid for people to accept what would otherwise be unacceptable. That is why the language matters. And that is why the silence is so troubling." ~ Mike Odetalla

Mike Hanini Odetalla

tspoSnerodf2f7m4000m15847f1l64fh32m5a97380l7tu1f0g4u14518m4f  ·

Morning reflections regarding Gaza with coffee as I look over my yard:

6/08/26

I can't look at my lawn without thinking about the terminology that has been used over the years to describe military assaults on Palestinians.

"Mowing the lawn" was one such phrase used to describe repeated assaults on Gaza, reducing Palestinian men, women, and children to little more than blades of grass to be cut down.

More recently came "Field of Thorns," a term associated with the current Israeli leadership, where Palestinians are once again reduced to an unwanted nuisance that must be removed.

What I find most disturbing is not merely the language itself, but the world's reaction to it.

We live in an age saturated with Holocaust books, films, documentaries, and lessons that teach us how dangerous dehumanization can be. We are reminded time and again that before people can be mistreated, displaced, or killed on a mass scale, they are first stripped of their humanity through words and imagery.

And yet, when similar language is used today to describe Palestinians, much of the world remains silent—or worse, offers its support.

If history has taught us anything, it is that when human beings are reduced to weeds, thorns, insects, or any other nuisance, the groundwork is being laid for people to accept what would otherwise be unacceptable.

That is why the language matters.

And that is why the silence is so troubling.

~ Mike Odetalla

 https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10166147366441977&set=a.10150390714236977

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Holocaust Remembrance Day 2026 "The genocide did not begin with concentration camps and gas chambers; it started with apathy and silence in the face of injustice, and with the corrosive dehumanization of the other. Today, and always, we need to remember this." Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

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https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/01/high-commissioner-turk-international-holocaust-remembrance-day-we 

International Holocaust Remembrance Day invites us not only to look at our past, but to reflect on our present, and to safeguard our future.

To some, 1945 may seem like distant history. It is difficult to fathom that within living memory, a group of deluded killers inflicted unspeakable atrocities on millions of Jews and members of other minorities. The Nazi regime persecuted them, stripped them of dignity, and ultimately murdered them with the horrific efficiency of an assembly line. Systematically, openly, and without consequences.

The history of the Holocaust offers striking lessons.

This appalling cruelty was not born in medieval darkness, but in the broad daylight of a supposedly modern society. The genocide did not begin with concentration camps and gas chambers; it started with apathy and silence in the face of injustice, and with the corrosive dehumanization of the other.

Today, and always, we need to remember this.

In a disturbing trend, threats and assaults against Jews have risen sharply in recent years. The heinous attacks in Sydney and Manchester made headlines around the world. But countless daily abuses that don’t make the news leave lasting scars on people and communities.

Hatred and dehumanization are creeping into our daily lives, including through our social media feeds.

But here is reason for hope: Today, we are far better equipped to resist these patterns.

We are equipped with the memory of how exclusion can turn into annihilation, if we look away.

We are equipped with education and unprecedented access to information to seek truth and to understand our differences.

And we are equipped with human rights, backed by international law – forged from the ashes of war to protect humanity from repeating its darkest chapters.

We need to use these tools at all times against the plague of racism, antisemitism, and dehumanization.

We need laws that prohibit discrimination in all its forms. We need politicians who do not polarize by calling out difference, but unite by calling out injustice.

We need education about the Holocaust and human rights for all ages. And we need robust, inclusive systems to moderate digital content, so that people can express their concerns without fear.

Above all, we must stand up for our shared humanity – each and every day.

The history of the Holocaust abounds with stories of rescue and selflessness that illuminate the immense power of reason and compassion.

Year after year, the last survivors are leaving us – most recently Eva Schloss, a tireless advocate of tolerance and Holocaust education. But their stories live on. They guide and inspire us.

Together, we must challenge exceptionalism, supremacy, and bigotry wherever we encounter them: at the dinner table; at our workplaces; on social media. Each of us can be an architect of a world free from discrimination and intolerance.

As Eva’s stepsister Anne Frank taught us, nobody needs to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. 

Promoting and protecting human rights for all 

"Difficult to function while a genocide in Gaza – which is still ongoing – and accelerated ethnic-cleansing in the West Bank unfolds. And it has been difficult to wrestle with the ways in which the media is complicit in what is happening. More than 200 Palestinians journalists have been killed in Gaza by Israel since 7 October; far too many journalists in the West have been silent about this. The scale of carnage in Gaza simply wouldn’t have been able to take place without the media dehumanizing Palestinians and manufacturing consent for atrocities...."

" For example: one of the biggest and most inflammatory talking points after 7 October – one which helped convince people there wasn’t a single innocent Palestinian civilian – was that Hamas beheaded 40 babies. Hamas committed verified atrocities, but this was a lie. It was one, however, which plenty of journalists, including CBS news correspondent and a CNN anchor, spread without properly confirming. The CNN anchor later apologized; CBS did not." Arwa Mahdawi

READ MORE  

 https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/dec/15/its-the-medias-job-to-hold-power-to-account-this-year-too-many-got-into-bed-with-it-instead 

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A protestor in Los Angeles, California. Photograph: David Swanson/Reuters

It’s the media’s job to hold power to account. This year, too many got into bed with it instead

Arwa Mahdawi

 The lines between advertising, public relations and journalism have become dangerously blurred

 Funded by readers, the Guardian’s fierce independence is guaranteed. Please help us reach our year-end fundraising goal

Enough time has passed now, I think, that I can safely tell you about one of the stupidest things I have ever done. Almost a decade ago I decided to quit my well-paid job in advertising in order to pursue a precarious career in freelance journalism. The merits of that decision are up for debate but the real stupidity is in how I quit my job: I wrote a rather cringeworthy column for the Guardian about my “meaningless job in advertising” and publicly proclaimed that I’d decided to quit. My boss saw the piece and, well, he obviously wasn’t happy. (Sorry, Sean!)

I bring this embarrassing anecdote up because I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting recently on the reasons why I left advertising. Maybe this sounds twee, but I was sick of selling people things they didn’t need. I wanted to do something meaningful.

You know what, though? While selling underwear and vodka to the masses may not be entirely fulfilling, it’s better for the soul than selling people wars and genocide... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/dec/15/its-the-medias-job-to-hold-power-to-account-this-year-too-many-got-into-bed-with-it-instead

Buying Time for Genocide - The US & Israel never wanted a ceasefire — blocking efforts for months while the US kept supplying weapons. #ARMSEMBARGONOW ... GAZA STRIPPED... and KILLING THE STORY anti-Palestian racism in media justifying Israeli violence & censoring rights-based language

Visualizing Palestine

@visualizingpal

“Buying Time For Genocide.” The US & Israel never wanted a ceasefire — blocking efforts for months while the US kept supplying weapons. In the latest talks, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff helped Israel strip all guarantees to end the genocide. #ARMSEMBARGONOW

 

May 15 2025 marks 77 years since the Nakba—amid ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza and intensifying violence across Palestine. Our new visual with

@AlMezanCenter

traces Gaza’s history of enclosure, shaped by British colonialism and sustained by Zionist settler colonialism. #Nakba

Killing The Story

https://visualizingpalestine.org/visual/killing-the-story-april-2025/

This visual in our series on anti-Palestinian racism captures the dehumanization of Palestinians in mainstream media, where they are constantly silenced, discredited, and excluded.

Anti-Palestinian racism is one tool that reinforces a structure designed to weaken Palestinian resistance and narrative, and obscure global awareness of the Palestinian struggle for justice and liberation.

Explore the other three visuals in the series, one of which offers a framework for recognizing Anti-Palestinian racism as a distinct form of racism, The other visual highlights case studies from primary and secondary education. The third highlights case studies of anti-Palestinian racism on college campuses.  https://visualizingpalestine.org/visual/anti-palestinian-racism-in-the-media/

 https://visualizingpalestine.org/

More Than 65 Palestinian Filmmakers, Including Hany Abu Assad, Elia Suleiman and Farah Nabulsi, Sign Letter Accusing Hollywood of ‘Dehumanizing’ Palestinians

A group of almost 70 Palestinian filmmakers — including two-time Oscar nominee Hany Abu Assad, acclaimed director Elia Suleiman and recent BAFTA winner Farah Nabulsi — have signed a strongly-worded letter in which they accuse Hollywood of “dehumanizing” Palestinians on screen over decades, a factor they assert has helped enable the ongoing devastation in Gaza.

https://variety.com/2024/film/global/palestinian-filmmakers-accuse-hollywood-dehumanizing-gaza-israel-1236120786/

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We, Palestinian filmmakers, appreciate and thank the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) for standing up to pressure and insisting on freedom of expression by upholding Bisan Owda’s 2024 News and Documentary Emmy nomination for the documentary, “It’s Bisan From Gaza and I’m Still Alive.” 

This film is narrated by the award-winning and inspiring 25-year-old Palestinian journalist, Bisan Owda, who has risked her life to share with the world reports and stories about the resilience, resistance and survival of ordinary Palestinian families in the face of Israel’s ongoing, livestreamed genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip. 

Trying to censor Bisan’s voice is only the latest repressive attempt to deny Palestinians the right to reclaim our narrative, share our history, and in this case bring attention to the atrocities our people are facing in the hopes that we can bring an end to them. We well understand the power of image and cinema, and for far too long we have been outraged at the inhumanity and racism shown by some in the Western entertainment industry towards our people, even during this most difficult of times. 

Through our films, we have tried to present alternative narratives, depictions and images to reverse the stereotypical, dehumanizing “worthless, disposable beings” image which enables the whitewashing and/or justification of the crimes perpetrated for decades against Palestinians. But why must we always put on our “boxing gloves” to defend our art against ruthless censorship that targets us merely on the basis of our identity, not our creativity? 

We wholeheartedly welcomed the nomination of Bisan Owda’s film for an Emmy as an indication that, after so many years of Israel’s apartheid and settler-colonial rule over the Palestinian people, the relentless, decades-old dehumanization of Palestinians on small and big screens in the U.S., in Hollywood in particular, was beginning to give way to a more ethical stance. The censorship attempt against the film, though, was a reality check of sorts. We must still contend with and fiercely challenge the anti-Palestinian and generally anti-Arab racist propaganda that remains all too prevalent in Western entertainment media.  

Although we are deeply concerned at how this dehumanization is a danger to our very existence as Palestinians, we are cognizant of how it also puts many racialized communities around the world, including in the West, at risk of a similar fate as the “might makes right” credo prevails. 

We call on our international colleagues in the film industry, visionaries for the kind of world we would like to live in, to speak out against this genocide and the erasure, racism and censorship that enable it; to do everything humanly possible to stop and end complicity with this unspeakable horror; and to stand against working with production companies that are deeply complicit in dehumanizing Palestinians, or whitewashing and justifying Israel’s crimes against us. 

This has to stop. Now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Ground Zero is a 2024 anthology film directed by 22 different Palestinian directors.^[1] The film is made up of 22 short films, including documentaries, fiction, animation and experimental films about the current situation of the people of Gaza  

• "Out Of Frame", Directed by Nidaa Abu Hasna
• "Hill Of Heaven", Directed by Kareem Satoum
• "Charm", Directed by Bashar Al-Balbeisi
• "Awakening", Directed by Mahdi Karirah
• "Jad and Natalie", Directed by Aws Al-Banna
• "No", Directed by Hana Awad
• "Everything is fine", Directed by Nidal Damo
• "Taxi Waneesa", Directed by E’temad Weshah
• "24 Hours", Directed by Alaa Damo
• "Selfies", Directed by Reema Mahmoud
• "No Signal", Directed by Muhammad Alshareef
• "Soft Skin", Directed by Khamees Masharawi
• "Flash Back", Directed by Islam Al Zrieai
• "Fragments", Directed by Basil Al-Maqousi
• "Offerings", Directed by Mustafa Al-Nabih
• "School Day", Directed by Ahmed Al-Danf
• "Farah and Meryam", Directed by Wissam Moussa
• "Overburden", Directed by Ala’a Ayob
• "The Teacher", Directed by Tamer Najm
• "Recycling", Directed by Rabab Khamees
• "Echo", Directed by Mustafa Kallab
• "Sorry Cinema", Directed by Ahmad Hassouna