Terrorists in Gaza using humanitarian aid bags to prop up rockets. Photo: Screenshot

In early July, when CNN fired Abdel Qader Sabbah due to his Hamas ties, he became the 11th antisemitic, Hitler- or Hamas-praising journalist reassigned, suspended, or fired, thanks to the work of HonestReporting in less than two years.

Because Soliman Hijjy of The New York Times was fired for praising Hitler in August 2022, outrageously rehired after October 7, 2023, and fired again shortly thereafter due to HonestReporting, we can count them as 12 biased “journalists” that have been fired.

But why does it matter?

Sabbah came to our attention for his article on the “famine” in Gaza. Among the many misrepresentations and lies he penned were:

• Israel continues its siege on Gaza, preventing aid groups getting enough food into the enclave…
  (Note: There is no siege on Gaza. Israel is not preventing aid, and international groups have actually recorded an increase in aid getting into Gaza).
• …southern Gaza could soon see the same “catastrophic levels of hunger” recorded previously in the north…
  (Note: The report he’s referring to here was corrected days before he published. There never were “catastrophic levels of hunger” in the north. There was a miscounting of how much aid was actually getting into Gaza.)
• Israeli attacks in Gaza have since killed 37,658 Palestinians and injured another 86,237…
  (Note: These numbers are given as fact, without explaining that they do not distinguish between combatant and civilian. They are inflated based on unconfirmed media reports based on claims by the Hamas terror organization, without corresponding names or even bodies to validate them.)

In short, the platform afforded to Abdel Qader Sabbah by CNN allowed him legitimacy to promote Hamas propaganda over fact.

And, it was entirely avoidable. Sabbah didn’t hide his affiliation with Hamas leaders. He bragged about it. He posted guidelines for how Palestinians could best protect the “mujahideen” who were firing rockets at Israeli cities.

CNN took swift action when they learned of Sabbah’s history, but CNN never should have hired him in the first place. Especially after being put on notice by 14 states attorneys general that “willful blindness” could not be an excuse for hiring those with terrorist connections.

That’s why we are reaching out to those attorneys general. Because this latest example is not an isolated case. Nor is it just a dozen reporters. Hamas is so embedded in Gazan society that it is almost impossible to find an independent Palestinian journalist who does not owe their livelihood to the terrorists who have controlled Gaza since 2007.

It’s time for these outlets to be held accountable for their shameful hiring practices, and the impact that has on their stated allegiance to the truth, and Jewish communities across the globe.

Jacki Alexander is the CEO of HonestReporting, and Gil Hoffman is the Executive Director and Executive Editor.