Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera on Sunday announced its decision to suspend two of its journalists “over violations of its editorial guidelines” for an Arabic-language video about the Holocaust.
“Al-Jazeera completely disowns the offensive content in question,” said Yaser Bishr, executive director of the broadcaster’s digital division. “Al-Jazeera would not tolerate such material on any of the Network’s platforms.”
The video was flagged by social media users, who noticed that the broadcaster’s English and Arabic videos about the Holocaust offered different views. The videos were produced by AJ+, the broadcaster’s social media-driven channel.
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‘Shocked’
The Arabic-language video suggested that the Jewish community was able to “put a special spotlight” on the suffering of Jews because of its alleged access to “financial resources (and) media institutions,” reported Agence-France Press.
“That video was reprehensible and violates every ethical and journalistic standard I believe,” said Dena Takruri, senior presenter on AJ+. “I’m honestly shocked and condemned it wholeheartedly. At AJ+ English, we have long honored and upheld the stories of Holocaust survivors and believe in facts that are undebatable.”
The English-language video showed an interview with a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor who supports asylum seekers in the US.
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‘Pernicious evil’
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon condemned the video in a tweet, saying it represented “the worst kind of pernicious evil.”
“That’s how Al-Jazeera brainwashes young people in the Arab world and perpetuates hatred of Israel and the Jews,” Nahshon said on Saturday.
He later said it was “good” that the Qatari broadcaster deleted the video content, adding that “this Holocaust denying video should not have been produced at all.”
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