Gaza Fixers film screening and discussion

The Palestinian Ministry of Health documented 72,000 Palestinians killed throughout the course of Israel’s genocide in Gaza – statistics Israel initially denied, but which it now no longer contests.

Among this toll are the cases of no less than 260 Palestinian journalists who also perished.

The deliberate and systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists - who ultimately, were the only journalists in the Gaza Strip at the time, and who the world relied upon for information and analysis on what was taking place - has already been documented in various reports including those of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is also currently hearing cases related to the targeting of Palestinian journalists, while UN Special Rapporteur to the Occupied Palestinian Territories is soon expected to publish a report on the Israeli genocide as it pertains to media matters.

Indeed, as one report from the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs clarifies, more journalists were killed in Gaza than in both world wars, the Vietnam War, the wars in Yugoslavia and the war in Afghanistan combined.

The shocking and unprecedented manner in which the profession of journalism and the lives and livelihoods of journalists have been targeted demands our immediate attention.

Join us for a series of academic events that attempt to shed light on these matters and their relevance to world affairs, and our local communities. There will be an updated film screening of Gaza Fixer with discussion afterwards with director Mariam Shahin that covers the last 20 years of journalism in Gaza.

Accompanying the film screening there will be an exhibition all weekend in VioletLaidlaw of journalists killed during the conflict creates space for understanding the loss of human life, its intrinsic value and worth, and, the loss of truth, reported from Gaza by these journalists. This exhibit also stands as a site of remembrance for those who have been murdered and a site to resist the genocidal narratives that frame these victims as something other.

We end the week with the 'Killing the Messenger' panel discussion on Sunday that brings together the exhibition and the film screening into a wider academic conversation looking at how journalists report on political conflicts, while also being a part of the events. This relates to wider academic debates about the role of the media, the politization and policing of the media, and framing of journalists as ‘legitimate’ targets in combat zones. Discussants will look at the case study of Palestine where journalists were framed by Israel and its western allies, the narratives and discourses that delegitimised these journalists, with a focus on colonial and racial legacies.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher ASA People Fest