Why the 'only democracy in the Middle East' shut down Al Jazeera

Honestly, when you think of international TV news channels, what else is there other than BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera? The last to join this list is the only one which does not originate in the Global North. 

Launched in 1996, Al Jazeera is the first independent TV news channel in the Arab world. It currently has over 70 bureaus around the globe, and more than 3,000 employees from more than 95 countries – including Israel. 

But Israel's decision to officially shut down Al Jazeera's local offices on Sunday (5 May), take it off the air and later raid its offices, has many critics calling it "a dark day for the media." 

If we are to look even an inch deeper into Israel's decision to shut down Al Jazeera at the time of "war," a few things surface. It's an attack on journalism for one; and how this decision makes a mockery of Israel's branding as "the only democracy in the Middle East." Most importantly, though, it is another example of how Israel is conducting this war.  

Al Jazeera and Israel

Israel is often dubbed as the only democracy in the Middle East. It is an identity, worn by Israel like a name tag, bestowed by the West. More often than not, this name tag – words really – is boldly used in defence of Israel, its establishment and the whole nine yards of its history. 

However, in the interest of time, we can look at only two examples from the recent past to understand how Israel functions as a democracy — which is supposed to uphold freedom of the press, among other things. 

On 11 May 2022, Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead by Israeli fire while she was covering a raid by the IDF at the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. There was uproar. There is also video footage of how the Israeli Defence Forces soldiers attacked her funeral procession. 

Israel did not admit to the killing of the journalist, rather vehemently denied it. 

Later in the same year, a report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory found Israeli forces used "lethal force without justification" when they shot and killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

A year earlier in May 2021, a building that housed international media offices, including Al Jazeera, in the Gaza Strip was hit by an Israeli air raid. The building also housed residential apartments and the Associated Press bureau. 

In response, Israel said its "fighter jets attacked a high-rise building which hosted military assets belonging to the military intelligence of the Hamas terror organisation."

Al Jazeera offers a lens and broader coverage of the Palestinian plight, which is absent in the mainstream media outlets in the West – and at the same time, it has acquired a credible space in the global arena of journalism, meaning it reaches far more people than its regional counterparts.  

Is this reason enough to single them out? 

Things drastically escalated post 7 October. Al Jazeera came under attack in more ways than one – perhaps telling of Israel's conduct of war as well. 

Can you recall when Israeli politicians and officials, even at the UN, were claiming that Hamas — the Palestinian group which attacked and killed over 1,000 Israelis on 7 October 2023 – is ISIS? 

The notion was, and continues to be, that the comparison can make the news consumer believe that Hamas is the same and equivalent to ISIS – the extremist Islamic terrorist group which rose to international prominence in 2014. 

In doing so, this 'Hamas is ISIS' argument establishes the justification for the military actions to decimate the group.   

In the same vein, many would also say – for instance, officials in the Knesset (Israeli parliament) where a bill was proposed to ban Al Jazeera, which eventually passed and became a law on 5 May — Al Jazeera is "terrorist." 

One captured video footage by journalist Hind Hassan in the West Bank is a glaring example. In April, Hassan posted the video on her social media. At the time she was interviewing Hagit Ofran from the Israeli rights group 'Peace Now' for Al Jazeera's upcoming documentary 'People & Power: Israel's Foreign Army'. 

You can see IDF soldiers interrupt the interview and say "They sent terrorists from Al Jazeera. We need to make sure you are not." 

Mind you, Al Jazeera journalist Hamza Dahdouh and Al Jazeera's cameraman Samer Abudaqa have been killed by Israel since 7 October. Hamza Dahdouh's father, Wael Al-Dahdouh has been seriously injured in an Israeli attack. The Gaza bureau chief Wael is only one of the many journalists whose families had been targeted and killed. 

Journalism is not a crime

Israel's attack on journalists has been unprecedented and it broke a record for seeing the highest number of journalists killed in any conflict. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) recorded a number higher than 90. 

CPJ is also one of the several groups to issue a statement condemning Israel's decision to shut down Al Jazeera. 

This brings us back to Israel's name tag – 'the only democracy in the Middle East.' People in the free democratic world and advocates for democracy would have us know that journalism is not a crime. But can Israel wear its name tag and target journalists? 

After engineering laws to ban it, why and when does a state shut down a media outlet if not to control the narrative?

Recent examples of similar events bring Maria Ressa to mind. The Philippines government ordered the news site Rappler to shut down in 2022. Its CEO Maria Ressa had been critical of President Duterte's crackdown on drug dealers. 

In February 2023, there was a raid by the Indian government on the New Delhi BBC offices. According to the Guardian, "The raids come as the BBC is at the centre of a controversy in India over a two-part documentary series, 'India: The Modi Question', which focused on the role that Modi, who was then the chief minister of Gujarat, played in violent Hindu-Muslim riots that ripped through his state in 2002 and left more than 1,000 people."

There have been other similar cases. But in the time of "war," silencing Al Jazeera by citing a "national security threat" risk is blatantly anti-democratic at face value. Especially given Israel's relationship with Al Jazeera, the treatment of journalists since 7 October and Israel's conduct of war. 

This decision is yet another example of Israel's impunity in silencing critics.

Covering Gaza

Rafah, where Palestinians across Gaza have been ordered to move into by Israel over the last several months, is currently on the brink of a full ground invasion by the Israeli military. 

Footage and photos from Rafah show tents in the thousands where the displaced Palestinians shelter. This was believed to be the last "safe" haven sanctioned by Israel for Palestinians during their military campaign against Hamas. 

While the international courts examine if Israel is in fact committing genocide, the Palestinian death toll and destruction continue to break records — and it has captured and sustained the world's attention. 

Many argue that it had happened because of the Palestinian journalists on the ground. They documented and published raw footage on social media amassing a huge following. This kind of exposure to Gaza caused and sustained the global solidarity movement for Palestinians.  

In the United States – Israel's strongest ally – public opinion has seen a drastic shift in its support of Israel over Palestine, and this has many in the government concerned. 

MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin pointed out a telling conversation between US Senator Mitt Romney and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken at a think tank event in Arizona, US – available on YouTube. 

Speaking of the "war" and crisis, Blinken said Israel and the US have been ineffective in the PR war because "social media has allowed people to circumvent mainstream media outlets" where people watch video clips and images of what's happening on the ground void of context. This in turn is having an impact on the US and Israeli narratives. 

To which Romney replies, this is why the TikTok ban was so vital. 

Narrative is important, lens is also important – both of which Al Jazeera offered the world and to Israelis – who, according to experts, are not exposed to what is actually happening on the grounds of Gaza. 

Israel's decision to shut down Al Jazeera will have ripple effects detrimental to journalism. But perhaps more importantly, especially with the Rafah invasion on the horizon, once again, Israel has proven its autonomy and power to wield its narrative and silence those who challenge it.