The Washington Post’s decision to downplay the pro-Hamas rhetoric of some Americans has critics, including some of their own fellow establishment media “journalists,” in a frenzy.
On Thursday, five days after Hamas’ brutal terror attack in Israel, the Post published a piece about how “online posts about [the] Israel-Gaza” war were “costing some people their jobs.”
The headline was correct. As has been previously reported, some people have indeed lost their gigs because of their pro-Hamas rhetoric.
Israel-bashing reporter ‘taken off of reporting duties’ while AP investigates https://t.co/hYnYI1ZNak via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) October 14, 2023
The problem with the Post’s piece, however, is that it downplayed this rhetoric by labeling it nothing more than “criticism of Israel.”
“The Israel-Gaza war is still in its first week, but some people in the United States and around the world have lost their jobs, or have faced discipline or backlash, for their criticism of Israel. The backlash has been directed toward people of different backgrounds, from a law student and an airline pilot to a basketball writer and an adult-content influencer,” the piece reads.
Take Jackson Frank, a now former PhillyVoice basketball reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers. After the terror attack, the team posted a solidarity message to X.
“We stand with the people of Israel and join them in mourning the hundreds of innocent lives lost to terrorism at the hands of Hamas. #StandWithIsrael,” the totally benign message read.
Yet evidently, the message triggered Frank, because he reposted the team’s tweet and added the following words: “This post sucks! Solidarity with Palestine always.”
Solidarity even after Palestinian terrorists butchered over 1,000 men, women, and children? Apparently so …
Look:
Jackson Frank, who recently became the Sixers beat writer for PhillyVoice, was let go following a tweet showing “solidarity” with Palestine in response to the team’s remarks about Israel.
“Mr. Frank is no longer employed by https://t.co/8HRAUM3hY7 as of today,”
(Via @nypost ) pic.twitter.com/3jyBSW0Aul
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 9, 2023
Then there’s NYU Law School Student Bar Association president Ryna Workman. She lost a job offer after she published a notice in a school-wide newsletter accusing Israel of bearing the blame for the attack.
“I want to express, first and foremost, my unwavering and absolute solidarity with Palestinians in their resistance against oppression toward liberation and self-determination,” the notice reads.
“Israel bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life. This regime of state-sanctioned violence created the conditions that made resistance necessary. I will not condemn Palestinian resistance,” it continues.
This is a message from the NYU president of student union. This is an abhorrent statement claiming support for Hammas and throwing responsibility for thousands dead, women kidnapped and raped, babies murdered, on Israel. This is, in face, supporting new Nazis. #HammasIsIsis pic.twitter.com/VaPMYyuUwI
— Yotam (@yotamwo) October 10, 2023
Last up is former Playboy model Mia Khalifa. The Post went out of its way to really, really, really downplay her rhetoric.
“The backlash to people’s Israel posts has stretched to all corners of the internet — including Playboy’s Centerfold, a platform similar to OnlyFans that connects content creators to their fans. Hours into the war, Mia Khalifa, a Lebanese American adult-content influencer who had partnered with Playboy, began criticizing Israel to her more than 5.7 million followers on X,” the Post’s piece reads.
That’s all she did, huh?
As proof of her “criticism,” the Post quoted just ONE of Khalifa’s many tweets: “If you can look at the situation in Palestine and not be on the side of Palestinians, then you are on the wrong side of apartheid and history will show that in time.”
There was just one problem.
“What wasn’t mentioned by The Post, however, was the comment that actually landed Khalifa in hot water. In the now-deleted X post from Saturday morning, she referred to Hamas terrorists as ‘freedom fighters’ and urged the ones who filmed their atrocities against Jews and shared on social media to ‘flip their phones and film horizontal,'” according to Fox News.
The deleted tweet reads as follows: “Can someone please tell the freedom fighters in Palestine to flip their phones and film horizontal.”
That was definitely more than just “criticism of Israel.”
As a result of the Post’s biased reporting, it’s now facing backlash, including even from former New York Times opinion page editor Adam Rubenstein, who posted the following tweet about Workman’s so-called “criticism.”
Your lede disproves your piece. This person was not “criticizing Israel”, she was justifying a terrorist organization’s mass slaughter of Jews. https://t.co/J2pnMUO1aQ pic.twitter.com/D4ITRQQGsH
— Adam Rubenstein (@RubensteinAdam) October 12, 2023
“Criticism of a country usually doesn’t include supporting the terrorists who decapitate and incinerate Jewish babies. Would the Washington Post hire such job candidates? Never mind. I’m afraid I already know the answer to that question,” Jewish educator Joel Petlin wrote in his own tweet.
See more backlash below:
Not for their criticism of Israel, but for their support of Hamas and their heinous murder of Jews.
— LincolnHillsFrau (@bayareahausfrau) October 12, 2023
You’re kidding right? After the massacre of babies and the rape of women, you’re worried about a little cancel culture for the first time?
— Jeff Cunningham (@cunninghamjeff) October 12, 2023
Knowing that you newspaper is going under brings me joy. Legacy media final self destruction was defending the butchering of babies and rape of women.
— Kate Austin (@KateAus1976) October 12, 2023
“Why is Washington Post failing financially and having to lay off 240 employees?”
Siri: “Here. This is what I found….”— Pam D (@soirchick) October 13, 2023
If you’re wondering why there are upcoming layoffs/buyouts for employees of this publication, you can start with this article and see exactly why they’re losing relevance with their audience and the need to downsize their enterprise.
— Kunu is Hawaiian for Chuck (@sgtregionrat) October 12, 2023
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.