Amos Schocken condemned by Diaspora Affairs Ministry for telling meeting at JW3 that Netanyahu 'doesn’t care about the cruel apartheid regime' in the West Bank.
By Lee Harpin
Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry has announced it has suspended all cooperation and advertising with the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper, citing claims that its publisher referred to the country’s “apartheid regime” in a speech delivered at London’s JW3 last weekend.
The ministry accused Amos Schocken of making a speech at the conference on Sunday that was as “deeply offensive and revealing a fundamental departure from core values, particularly as Israel conducts its most justified war, initiated in response to Hamas’s deadly October 7 attack”.
Jewish News attended last Sunday’s event at the north London venue, which was held in collaboration with UK groups including Yachad and the New Israel Fund UK, and reported that Schocken said “the Netanyahu government wants to continue the proliferation of settlements” and “doesn’t care about imposing the cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population”.
He added: “It dismisses the costs of both sides for defending the settlements… while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters that Israel call terrorists. The recourse with such disastrous government is to bring pressure to bear as they did in order to end apartheid in South Africa.”
The Haaretz publisher was applauded by sections of the 650-strong audience when he said “achieving a Palestinian state is only possible through sanctions targeting Israel, its opposing leadership, and settlers”.
Other speakers at the event included former UK prime minister Tony Blair, who delivered a video address, Lord Levy, and former Israel prime minister Ehud Olmert.
But the Diaspora Affairs Ministry’s director-general Avi Cohen-Scali announced it “will suspend all existing agreements” with Haaretz and halt any future partnerships with the organisation.
Cohen-Scali said Schocken’s statements included “extreme, baseless, and false statements, positioning [Haaretz] alongside the central drivers of delegitimisation” against Israel.
He also claimed that Haaretz referred to those involved in violent attacks on Israelis as “freedom fighters,” which he described as “serious and outrageous incitement”.
It was further claimed he labelled Israel’s actions in “the occupied territories and in part of Gaza” as a “second Nakba”.
But Jewish News did not hear this.
Schocken has bow clarifued his remarks saying:”Given the reactions to my labeling Palestinians who commit acts of terror as freedom fighters, I have reconsidered my words. Many freedom fighters around the world and throughout history, possibly even those who fought for Israel’s establishment, committed terrible acts of terrorism, harming innocent people to achieve their goals.
“I should have said: freedom fighters, who also resort to terror tactics – which must be combated. The use of terror is not legitimate.”
“As for Hamas, they are not freedom fighters as their ideology essentially states, ‘It’s all ours, others should leave.’ I have stated, though not in the conference speech but in an article, that the organizers and perpetrators of the October 7 attacks should be severely punished.”
Israel communications minister Shlomo Karhi reportedly proposed suspending ties with Haaretz.
He told Ynet: “It is worth noting that Haaretz is generously funded by Israeli citizens through advertisements and subscriptions purchased by the government.
“Halting the purchase of services from Haaretz by government bodies will ease the significant distress Israeli citizens feel, not only from the newspaper’s publications but also from being compelled to fund it with their tax money. This approach will mitigate the harm to Israeli citizens without disproportionately infringing on freedom of expression.”
Haaretz chiefs are understood to be meeting on Thursday to discuss their response to the government’s actions. The move against the newspaper followers a decision to ban the Qatari television station Al Jazeera from broadcasting from Israel over biased reporting since 7 October.
31/10/2024 by JEWISH NEWS
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