UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee Meets in Krakow, Poland. Photo: Screenshot

The World Press Photo Foundation — which has partnered with UNESCO to promote its vision of a “fairer world with a free press and freedom of expression” — recently peddled the claim that Israel suppresses the civil liberties of Palestinians in the eastern part of its capital, as well as the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

This, as the world prepares to mark the 30th UNESCO World Press Freedom Day on May 3. The annual observance serves as a show of support for news organizations that have been unfairly targeted by authorities, and implores governments around the world not to restrict journalists’ freedom to report the truth.

In a Middle East characterized by authoritarian regimes, and in the face of ongoing conflict with Arab neighbors, Israel’s unwavering commitment to free media is something to be celebrated. In fact, Freedom House, a nonprofit that researches and promotes democracy worldwide, in its 2023 Freedom in the World report ranked the Jewish state’s reputation on press freedom among that of much older democratic nations, including Australia.

Yet in a topsy-turvy distortion of the facts, the five-member World Press Photo jury praised the World Press Photo 2023 Regional Winner for Asia — an Associated Press (AP) picture of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh’s contentious funeral in Jerusalem, arguing that the image “represents multiple aspects of the ongoing occupation of Palestine [sic]– the lack of press freedom and the inability for Palestinians to lay their dead to rest and mourn,” adding: “For the jury, the image serves as an emotional reminder of the continued fight for press freedom and a world where journalists are noncombatants who should be able to depict truth.”

In addition, the highly political website entry falsely asserted that the International Criminal Court (ICC) launched an investigation into Abu Akleh’s May 11, 2022, death. While Qatar-funded Al Jazeera filed a complaint in The Hague four months ago, the Office of the Prosecutor has yet to take any action in response.

World Press Photo winner | Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral. pic.twitter.com/mp1AsPuzEt

— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) April 24, 2023

The jury’s suggestion that the case of Shireen Abu Akleh is somehow emblematic of the struggle for press freedom, and that Israel poses a genuine threat to journalists’ safety, is beyond absurd. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022 was the deadliest year in recent memory for journalists and other media workers. Most of the 67 deaths occurred in only three countries: Ukraine, Mexico, and Haiti.

The Arab-Israel conflict accounted for just one fatal casualty. Abu Akleh, the first reporter to die covering the West Bank in almost a decade, was tragically shot in crossfire during an Israel Defense Forces counterterrorism raid in Jenin. Investigations by the US State Department and others concluded that Israeli forces likely fired the deadly shot, but that there was no indication the IDF willfully targeted her.

Contrary to the claim made by the World Press Photo Asia jury, Abu Akleh’s May 13, 2022, funeral procession took place in Israeli-controlled eastern Jerusalem rather than in “Palestine.” The winning photo was taken after violent rioters seized the coffin and prevented it from being loaded onto a hearse, violating the wishes of the Abu Akleh family and prior arrangements with Israeli authorities.

Crucially, Arab reporters working in eastern Jerusalem enjoy the same rights and freedoms as their Israeli colleagues. Palestinian outlets like Al-Quds, Al-Qastal, and Quds+ generally operate without restrictions, despite having incited violence against Israelis on countless occasions.

Meanwhile, Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip stifle any and all dissent by routinely detaining and torturing journalists over bogus charges like “insulting public officials,” “creating sectarian strife,” “harming the revolutionary unity,” and “misuse of technology.” In 2022, the US-designated Hamas terror group, which rules Gaza, warned local producers working with international outlets they must “demonstrate national spirit, defend the Palestinian narrative and reject the foreigner’s bias to the Israeli narrative.”

When powerful institutions like the World Press Photo Foundation fail to hold the Palestinian leadership to account, they do a disservice to the very cause they pretend to champion. To paraphrase The Washington Post’s slogan: a free press dies in darkness — sometimes quite literally, in the case of reporters detained by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.

On World Press Freedom Day, the United Nations urges media professionals to critically reflect on issues surrounding press freedom and professional ethics. Is it too much to ask that its partner organizations do the same?