By Nurah Tape – The Palestine Chronicle  

“The call for the Emmy nomination to be rescinded is nothing more than an attempt to deny an important perspective to the global audience on the war and its devastating impact on innocent civilians.”

The National Academy for Television and Arts and Sciences (NATAS) has rejected a call from a pro-Israel organization, supported by more than 150 actors and producers, to revoke an Emmy nomination for a documentary featuring Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda.

Owda, 25, was nominated in the News and Documentary category of Outstanding Hard News Feature Story Short Form, for ‘It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m Still Alive,’ produced by AJ+, part of the Al Jazeera Media Network.

The eight-minute documentary follows Owda’s journey as she is forced to leave her home in Gaza City after October 7 and is displaced several times amidst Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on the Strip.

Terrorist Allegations

Signed by members of the entertainment industry, including actresses Debra Messing and Selma Blair, a letter released by the Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) organization alleged that Owda had “documented ties” to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), “a United States-designated terrorist organization.”

The non-profit also accused Owda of having “disseminated antisemitic content” and said the “Emmys cannot allow their prestigious award show to be hijacked by terrorists.”

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The CCFP’s mission includes “to galvanize support against the cultural boycott of Israel,” according to its website.

In response, NATAS CEO and President Adam Sharp said in a letter that the News & Documentary Emmys “have recognized excellence in television journalism for nearly half a century.”

He said some of the “honored programs and reports” have “been controversial, giving a platform to voices that certain viewers may find objectionable or even abhorrent.

“But all have been in the service of the journalistic mission to capture every facet of the story,” Sharp emphasized.

He pointed out that in every case, submissions to the News & Documentary Emmys are judged by experienced journalists from across multiple news organizations, serving in an independent, volunteer capacity.

Independent Judges

‘It’s Bisan From Gaza and I’m Still Alive’, Sharp said, was reviewed by two successive panels of independent judges, including senior editorial leadership from each significant US broadcast news network.

“It was selected for nomination from among more than 50 submissions in one of the year’s most competitive categories,” he noted.

 

The piece was also recognized for journalistic achievement by the Peabody Awards and the Edward R Murrow Awards, “each administered by processes and organizations wholly separate from and independent of NATAS and the News & Documentary Emmys.”

NATAS, he said, was aware of reports, cited in the CCFP letter and “initially surfaced by a communications consultant in the region, that appear to show a then-teenaged Bisan Owda speaking at various PFLP-associated events between six and nine years ago.”

However, NATAS “has been unable to corroborate these reports, nor has it been able, to date, to surface any evidence of more contemporary or active involvement by Owda with the PFLP organization.”

“Accordingly, NATAS has found no grounds, to date, upon which to overturn the editorial judgment of the independent journalists who reviewed the material,” Sharp stressed.

‘Baseless Allegations’

Al Jazeera has also defended Owda in what the network called “efforts to silence her reporting from Gaza.”

“These baseless allegations are an attempt to silence Bisan, and present a real threat to her safety on the ground,” the network said in a statement.

“The call for the Emmy nomination to be rescinded is nothing more than an attempt to deny an important perspective to the global audience on the war and its devastating impact on innocent civilians,” it added.

Since October 7, the network said, Bisan has been propelled onto the global stage.

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“Amidst 11 months “of war and carnage, she continues to tell the stories of ordinary Palestinians in Gaza who have endured untold suffering, death, and destruction,” Al Jazeera emphasized.

“The Emmy nomination is a testament to her fearless journalism and her ability to narrate the struggles of her people,” the network stated.

More than 160 journalists, including three from Al Jazeera, have been killed by Israeli forces in the past few months.

“We urge the international journalistic community to support Bisan and other media professionals, ensuring they can carry out their essential work without fear of being targeted, intimidated or killed,” Al Jazeera said.

(The Palestine Chronicle)