By Wesam Bahrani

U.S. silencing pro-Palestine voices

June 8, 2024 - 21:23
Popular news host fired after criticizing Israel

TEHRAN - In the so-called land of the free, it appears that freedom of speech has its limits in America when TV presenters criticize the Israeli war on Gaza.

The United States has been fueling the Israeli air and ground assault on Gaza's 2.2 million population through many different measures. 

Apart from arms shipments to Tel Aviv that are being dropped on civilians in Gaza as well as diplomatic and political backing, news coverage of the war in the mainstream media has been accused of being very one-sided in support of the Israeli occupation regime. 

It may therefore not have come as a surprise when the Washington-based news outlet, The Hill, fired Briahna Joy Gray, the co-host of a daily morning show. 

The presenter has been a vocal critic of the Israeli narrative surrounding the events on October 7 and has repeatedly condemned the mass slaughter of women and children in Gaza. 

The headlines say she was fired for rolling her eyes on air when speaking to the sister of a captive taken on October 7. 

Gray had joined the chorus of critics who have long accused the Israeli regime of fabricating the events of October 7 to justify the mass killing of Palestinian women and children following extraordinary intelligence and security failures on October 7 that shook the Israeli security apparatus and its regional image of a superpower.  

In December she said "Zionists are asking that we believe the uncorroborated eyewitness account of men who describe alleged rape victims in odd, fetishistic terms. Shame on Israel for not seriously investigating claims of rape and collecting rape kits."

Following her dismissal, Gray wrote on social media: "It finally happened. The Hill has fired me. There should be no doubt that The Hill has a clear pattern of suppressing speech -- particularly when it's critical of the state of Israel".

The dismissed TV host added, "This is why they fired Halper and it was only a matter of time before they fired me."

Last year, The Hill also fired the political commentator Katie Halper after she branded the Israeli occupation as an apartheid state.

Many TV presenters and newspaper columnists have been fired or removed from their jobs in mysterious circumstances after voicing criticism of the Israeli regime or defending the Palestinian cause Since October 7. 

Some have had extreme Israeli animosity towards them and Briahna Gray is no exception. 

Gray has spoken about the hostility of Israeli rulers towards the younger American student generation that has led the huge pro-Palestine movement in the United States. 

In March, amid government efforts to ban the social media app TikTok for allegedly allowing China to influence the U.S. election through the phone app, Gray wrote on her social media accounts that "a foreign government is influencing the 2024 election. I'm not talking about China, but Israel". 

"In a leaked recording, ADL head Jonathan Greenblatt admitted that Israel had a ‘TikTok problem.’ Suddenly, a divided Congress agrees on one thing: A social media ban," she added. 

It was during this time that speculation rose about the Israelis increasing their attempts to take Gray off the airwaves and silence her voice. 

Experts say many Americans have been fired from their jobs for criticizing the Israeli government on social media but dropping a bombshell revelation would not even keep the most prominent figures in their jobs. 

Over the past months, reports have circulated that suggest the Israeli lobby in Washington DC, AIPAC, is spending a huge amount of money to damage the reputation of pro-Palestine American lawmakers seeking reelection in November.  


 

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