Journalism Is Not a Crime - Remembering Shireen Abu Akleh

Over two years ago, on May 11, 2022, the world started mourning Al Jazeera Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by an Israeli sniper.

What’s Al Jazeera?

Al Jazeera Media Network is a Qatari digital news agency that reports on news worldwide but mostly focuses on Asia and Africa. Correspondents from these regions give a voice to journalists from regions typically not represented in Western media.

Who was Shireen Abu Akleh?

Abu Akleh was a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank but she grew up in occupied East Jerusalem. For 25 years, she worked on Al Jazeera reporting on the decades-long lived experience of Israeli apartheid in the West Bank and how it affects Palestinians every day.

On May 11, she was reporting as usual on an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp on the edge of the occupied West Bank. Abu Akleh was dressed in a blue vest labeled “PRESS,” yet, she was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper. Abu Akleh was highly respected across Palestine which caused a large turnout at her funeral. However, Israeli forces attacked mourners and Abu Akleh continued telling her story even after death.

Why is this important?

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been bombing and invading the Gaza Strip as well as having severe raids on the occupied West Bank with Palestinians in the heartland facing even more discrimination. Many journalists such as Bisan Odwa, Noor Harazeen, Wael Al Dahdouh, Abod B, Nida Ibrahim, and others have been reporting and documenting the atrocities committed on them. Many of them are part of Al Jazeera and share some of the colleagues that Abu Akleh had. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that since October 7, at least 160 Palestinian journalists and at least 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, but estimates show that number might be higher due to how many missing there are.

As we pass the anniversary of Abu Akleh's death and Israel’s war on Gaza as a whole, it’s clear that journalists are being unjustly targeted simply for reporting the atrocities that they live through. This is a way of making sure that Israeli war crimes and Palestinian experiences of apartheid are not made visible on our screens. This censorship of journalists without punishment will normalize it and show other countries being repressive that it’s okay to do and will lead to journalists all over the world being targeted.. This will then trigger the normalization of oppression everywhere in the world including in our homes. That is why Israeli targeting of Palestinian journalists matters all around the world.

The RSF (Reporters Without Borders) is an organization that fights for press freedom around the world and states in its safety guide that “under Article 79 of Additional Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions, which codifies a customary rule, journalists in war zones must be treated as civilians and protected as such, provided they play no part in the hostilities.” Gaza is considered a war zone, and international organizations classify it as a genocide. As said, journalists are protected by the Geneva Conventions, which makes the Israeli targeting of them a war crime.

Additionally, it wasn’t just when she was out in the field reporting; it was also her funeral, where her story was told after her death. Many mourners there were holding Palestinian flags and praying for her and her family. She was a Christian and her family wanted to escort her casket from a hospital to a Palestinian Catholic Church in East Jerusalem. However, at the funeral Israeli police attacked mourners, displaying Abu Akleh’s story even in her death.

Israel has yet to launch an investigation of Abu Akleh’s death. But, in May 2023, army head spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on CNN, "[I] think it's an opportunity for me to say here that we are very sorry [for] the death of the late Shireen Abu Akleh." Israel has stated that it was an “accident.” However, since the nakba of 1948, Palestinian journalists have been targeted for reporting on Israeli crimes as a part of a pattern that has been going on for years. Hagari also said, "we want journalists to feel safe in Israel, especially in war time, and even if they criticise us." That brings us to the current war on Gaza. On May 3, 2024, Gaza media reported that 140 Palestinian journalists had been killed in the region. Despite what Israel would like you to think, about five journalists a week reporting on Israeli war crimes are dying in the Strip. Whether Abu Akleh’s death was on purpose or not, there is an apparent targeting of Palestinian journalists at the moment.

Journalism is not a crime, and it’s important to remember that during a time of war when journalists’ freedoms are most likely to be violated despite their increased importance.