Palestinian photojournalist Hosam Salem has been fired by the New York Times for expressing support for Palestinian Resistance against Israeli occupation.
Details of his dismissal were revealed by Salem himself in a statement posted on social media, a copy of which was sent to The Palestine Chronicle.
“After years of covering the Gaza Strip as a freelance photojournalist for the New York Times, I was informed via an abrupt phone call from the US outlet that they will no longer work with me in the future,” Salem wrote.
My statement following numbers dismissed by the New York Times a month ago. pic.twitter.com/h7gMHBqviF
— HosamSalem (@HosamSalemG) October 5, 2022
The Gaza- based journalist, who has been working as a freelancer for the American outlet since 2018, was dismissed after a dossier compiled by a pro-Israel group, accusing Salem of antisemitism, was presented to the NYT.
“As I understood later,” he said, “the decision was made based on a report prepared by a Dutch editor – who obtained Israeli citizenship two years ago – for a website called Honest Reporting.”
Salem added that “not only has Honest Reporting succeeded in terminating my contract with The New York Times, it has also actively discouraged other international news agencies from collaborating with me and my two colleagues.”
What is taking place is a systematic effort to distort the image of Palestinian journalists as being incapable of trustworthiness and integrity, simply because we cover the human rights violations that the Palestinian people undergo on a daily basis at hands of the Israeli army
— HosamSalem (@HosamSalemG) October 5, 2022
“What is taking place,” Salem concluded, “s a continuous and systematic effort to distort the image of Palestinian journalists as being incapable of trustworthiness and integrity, simply because we cover the human rights violations that the Palestinian people undergo on a daily basis at the hands of the Israeli army.”
(PC, MEMO, SOCIAL)
