Are WaPo reporters’ journalists or propagandists?

In yet another anti-Israel hit piece, the Washington Post complains that Israel doesn’t give reporters enough access to Gaza. In a country that has probably more journalists anywhere in the world per capita, Israel is constantly under a microscope with journalists looking for any possible missteps.

In “Let reporters cover Gaza freely” (1/26/24), Israel is damned if it does and damned if it doesn’t. Israel is both lambasted for the number of deaths of journalists in Gaza while also being lambasted for not letting enough into Gaza to cover the conflict. The Washington Post has all bases covered against Israel. The Post finds and quotes one Israeli reporter who mentioned on air that more journalists in Gaza would be a public relations nightmare. Cherry-picking one comment from what one reporter said one time is not news: it’s supporting an agenda. And with the way the Washington post covers Israel, of course any coverage will blast Israel and assuredly paint Israel in an unfavorable light. The Post consistently paints Israel as being in the wrong and manipulates information to get to that end.

The author of this particular hit piece, Clarissa Ward, ironically writes: “in a conflict where information has been weaponized … and misinformation is thriving, international journalists can add an invaluable perspective.” In Ward’s case, her “perspective” is manipulative. She repeats the known smear on Israel, that “more than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza of whom an estimated 70% are women and children according to Gaza’s health ministry.” What she deliberately doesn’t tell her readers is that at least 9,000 were Hamas combatants, according to Israeli sources. Ward also conveniently omits that the ratio of civilian casualties to combatants is lower than any war on record, backing up Israel’s claim that they care for the lives of Gazan civilians and take every measure to protect them.

The Post article also leaves out the fact that 16 and 17-year-olds (considered children in Hamas’s calculation) and women were part of the Hamas war effort. Testimonies of released hostages support this along with video of those who entered Israel from Gaza on October 7 showing participation of women and teenagers actively involved in the pogrom against Israel. Plus there were many Gazans killed by errant Hamas rockets. An estimated one quarter of the thousands fired from Hamas landed within Gaza.

It is journalistic malpractice not to mention that the number of casualties presented by the Gaza Health Ministry must be cleared by the terrorist organization Hamas which rules Gaza. And that Hamas is actively trying to win a propaganda war since winning a military war is clearly unattainable. So shouldn’t a disclaimer be published with any information coming out of Gaza? It would seem obvious to most.

Ward knows that if you repeat a lie over and over again, it becomes the truth. So is she and the Washington Post journalists or propagandists?