NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Amid a recent escalation in bloodshed between Israel and Palestine, a global media schism has sparked after several publications including BBC, CNN, and the New York Times refused to refer to Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Founded in 1987, Hamas is a Palestinian militant group, which has fought several wars with Israel since it took power in Gaza in 2007.
The organization, like the majority of Palestinian political groups and factions, maintains Israel is an occupying force that is trying to liberate the Palestinian territories, CNN reported.
Hamas or its military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades has been declared a terrorist group by several nations including Israel, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.
The militant organization recently drew global attention after bombarding nearly 2000 missiles on Israel and unleashing several ground attacks that left at least 900 Israelis dead and another 2,600 gravely injured.
Following the brutal attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally declared war against Palestine, promising that IDF would "use all its force to destroy Hamas's capabilities" and to take "mighty vengeance for this black day."
Global media refuses to refer to Hamas as terrorist organization
Despite the ongoing bloodshed in Israel, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) continued referring to Hamas as a 'militant' group and called the invasion a 'militant' attack.
In a news coverage on October 9, the BBC even referred to the attackers as 'the Hamas militant group', 'Hamas militants', and 'Palestinian militants,’ according to Daily Mail.
The media corporation’s guidelines have stated that using the word ‘terrorist’ may act as a "barrier rather than an aid" to readers' comprehension of news reports.
“We should convey to our audience the full consequences of the act by describing what happened. We should use words which specifically describe the perpetrator such as bomber, attacker, gunman, kidnapper, insurgent, and militant,” the BBC said, according to Deadline.
Just like BBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has also instructed its journalists to avoid using the term “terrorists” while reporting on Hamas’ deadly attacks.
“Do not refer to militants, soldiers or anyone else as ‘terrorists,’” George Achi, the director of journalistic standards for the Canadian public broadcaster, wrote in an email, which was obtained by the nonprofit group StopAntisemitism.
“Even when quoting/clipping a government or a source referring to fighters as ‘terrorists,’ we should add context to ensure the audience understands this is an opinion, not fact,” Achi added as per NY Post.
Additionally, CBC journalists were instructed not to refer to Israel's 2005 unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, in which the Jewish state abandoned settlements, and military posts and left the Gaza Strip under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
The New York Times and Reuters also blew the same horn and refused to use the words "terrorist" or "terrorism’" on their front-page coverage.
However, there are several media publications, including The Washington Post, Daily Mail, and the New York Post, that have continued to use the term “terrorists” while covering the ongoing war.
Publications slammed for not referring to Hamas as terrorist organization
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was speaking at the Future Resilience Forum security conference in London on October 08 when he slammed BBC for not using the term “terrorist” for the Hamas organization.
“This is not a time for equivocation, we should call it out for what it is,” the Prime Minister declared.
“Innocent teenagers at a festival of peace were gunned down in cold blood and the sickening evidence was posted online. It is inhuman – and it will not stand. Terrorism will not prevail,” he continued.
Former Labour MP Luciana Berger, who is Jewish, also blasted the BBC, saying "There's a responsibility on all the media. These people are terrorists. Hamas is a terrorist organization. Language matters. When you treat countries differently you exacerbate the problem."
“They need to get their act together,” said Stephen Pollard, the editor-at-large of the Jewish Chronicle newspaper, who described the corporation as being an “utter disgrace these last 24 hours.”
