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Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English (AJ English) is a Qatari-owned news channel, part of the Al Jazeera Media Network (Al Jazeera), headquartered in Doha, Qatar.
As part of the Al Jazeera network, AJ English has come under scrutiny by the U.S. State Department due to the Qatari government exercising “editorial and programmatic control” of its content.
In addition to being a news channel, AJ English has a significant social media following and has used its various platforms to spread anti-Semitism, whitewash terrorists and promote anti-Israel propaganda.
The channel broadcasts live online 24/7, rotating between broadcasting centers in Doha and London, England. Since 2016, AJ English's news coverage, shows, documentaries, podcasts and online content have been accessible online for free to viewers in the United States through the Aljazeera.com website.
Al Jazeera launched AJ English in 2006 as the first English-language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East. AJ English rose to prominence in 2011 as the result of their on-the-ground coverage of the inception of the Arab Spring in Tahrir square, when they were acknowledged by the U.S. State Department in 2011 for providing “real news.”
However, the Al Jazeera parent network has repeatedly been accused of spreading anti-Semitic and pro-terror propoganda. AJ English is geared to a Western audience and, as such, has been careful to distance itself from controversy involving Al Jazeera’s Arabic news channels. When caught minimizing the murder of Jewish Israelis, or publishing falsehoods that demonize Israel, AJ English has usually been quick to retract its statements.
As of November 2020, AJ English reportedly reached more than 270 million households in over 140 countries across the globe and had over 14.3 million Facebook followers. From November 2019 through January 2020, AJ English reportedly reached 174.5 million views on Facebook.
Al Jazeera and AJ English are owned by the Qatari government and are financed by Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.
The U.S. State Department noted in 2009 that the government of Qatar exercised “editorial and programmatic control of the [Al-Jazeera] channel through funding and selection of the station’s management.”
In 2008, David Marash — news anchor for AJ English since 2006 — resigned from the news agency, citing “an increased level of editorial control” by the government of Qatar as his reason for leaving the network.
Qatar is the principal financial backer of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). Qatar has also reportedly provided clandestine financial and logistic support to the Islamic State of the Levant (ISIL) and has been accused of channeling money to the Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate.
On May 31, 2017, AJ English tweeted an anti-Semitic meme, known as the “Happy Merchant” rubbing his hands together, saying: “He, He, He, my global warming, uh, I mean, climate change scam is working out perfectly for our long term Talmudic plan of world domination.”
Later that day, Al Jazeera deleted the tweet, apologized and called the post an “error.”
The Happy Merchant is an anti-Semitic cartoon caricature of a Jew with a black beard, long hooked nose, a hunched back, crooked teeth and wrung hands. The cartoon is often used in memes by white supremacists to spread conspiracy theories and harass Jews online.
On February 26, 2009, Marwan Bishara, AJ English senior analyst, alleged [00:18:58] in an episode of Empire, that the “so-called Israeli lobby or Jewish Lobby in Washington” dominates US foreign policy and is responsible [00:00:26] for “a peace process that continues to fail, successfully” between Palestinians and Israelis.
Decrying the influence of “the Israeli lobby” repeats an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about Jewish control over foreign governments, popularized in the book “The Israel Lobby” by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt.
The show then transitioned to a voice-over that claimed [00:21:08] that American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) is “one of the most feared lobbying groups” in the U.S.
The stated mission of AIPAC is to “strengthen, protect and promote the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the United States and Israel.” The implication that AIPAC buys political support for Israel has been described as playing into “anti-Semitic tropes” that led to “centuries of stereotypes about Jews using money to control the world.”
On July 13, 2017, AJ English tweeted: “BREAKING: At least three Palestinians killed in shooting in Jerusalem's Old City aje.io/yeh9.” The tweet linked to an AJ English article headlined “Jerusalem: Palestinians killed after 'shooting attack.'”
Terrorists murdered two Israeli police officers on July 14, 2017, outside the entrance to the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Israel responded by installing metal detectors and security checks at the entrance to the holy site.
Following criticism, Al Jazeera changed the title of the article to “Jerusalem: Israeli policemen killed in shooting attack.”
On May 30, 2017, AJ English tweeted: “Israel's brutal brand of apartheid and occupation aje.io/r85d.”
The tweet linked to an AJ English news article authored by Hamas-sympathizer Stanley L. Cohen celebrating the successful completion of a hunger strike by 1,500 Palestinian prisoners. Cohen labeled the prisoners “vanguards of national struggle to confront and dismantle the shroud of Israeli apartheid” and called for “determined resistance.”
Marwan Barghouti initiated the 2017 hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners known as the “Dignity Strike.” He headed the Palestinian Authority (PA) terrorist Tanzim force and founded the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. His organizations carried out many deadly attacks against Israeli civilians.
Barghouti financed the bomb used in the Sbarro Cafe bombing and was sentenced to five consecutive life terms in an Israeli civilian court for some of his crimes. Many of the over 1,500 prisoners who participated in the strike had also carried out terror attacks, including Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Secretary General Ahmad Sa’adat.
On May 10, 2017, AJ English published a feature article to its website promoting the hunger strike describing Marwan Barghouti as a “freedom fighter.” The article claimed Israel’s labeling of Barghouti as a terrorist is an “unfair designation” and that “western mainstream media is trying to discredit Barghouti.”
On October 15, 2015, AJ English published an article on its website characterizing the onset of the violent Knife Intifada as “a wave of Palestinian protests triggered by the provocative storming of al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem… by extremist Jewish groups.”
October 2015 saw an upsurge in violence across Israel incited by Palestinian political and religious leaders. The wave of stabbings — known as the “Knife Intifada” — saw young Palestinians throughout the country stabbing and attempting to stab Israeli civilians.
The attacks were sparked and fueled by Palestinian leaders propagating the libel that Israel intended to desecrate the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
On October 5, 2015, AJ English published a news article to its website, headlined “The controversial killing of Fadi Alloun.”
Fadi Alloun was shot by Israeli security forces after he stabbed a 15-year-old Israeli boy. Several hours before the attack, Aloon posted “Either martyrdom or victory” on his Facebook page.
The AJ English article featured family members of Alloun claiming or implying that the stabbing attack did not occur, or was a pretext for Israeli forces to kill him.
On October 3, 2015, AJ English tweeted: “Palestinian shot dead after fatal stabbing in Jerusalem; 2 Israeli victims also killed aje.io/vln5.”
The Palestinian referred to in AJ English’s tweet was Muhannad Halabi, who murdered two Israelis and injured two others, including a 2-year-old, during a stabbing spree. One day before his attack, Halabi posted on his Facebook page that “[t]he third Intifada is here” and wrote: “[w]ake up from your slumber and save al-Aqsa. Let the revolution erupt.”
On October 4, 2015, AJ English tweeted: “Editor's note: Al Jazeera regrets the wording of this tweet.”
The tweet linked to an editor’s note published that same day, reporting: "many people in our audience pointed out" that the tweet diminished the killing of the two Israeli victims and "leaves out the context that the Palestinian man was the attacker.”
On June 17, 2015, AJ English published an article about Khader Adnan, describing him as a member and activist with “the Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian political party considered illegal by Israel.” The article discussed Adnan undertaking an indefinite hunger strike.
Khader Adnan is a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist organization. A 2007 YouTube video showed Adnan praising and encouraging suicide bombings: "Who among you will carry the next explosive belt? Who among you will fire the next bullets? Who among you will have his body parts blown all over?”
On June 13, 2015, AJ English published an article to its website about Khalida Jarrar, described as “an influential female lawmaker and leader in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a leftist organisation considered illegal by Israel."
Khalida Jarrar is a senior member of the PFLP terror organization. In 2015, an Israeli military court sentenced Jarrar to 15 months in prison for calling to kidnap Israeli soldiers. Israel arrested her again in 2017, “on suspicion of involvement with terrorist activities and violent public disturbances.”
In May 2013, AJ English published an editorial by anti-Israel professor Joseph Massad titled “The Last of the Semites.” Massad claimed that the basis of Jews’ belief in the land of Israel as their homeland originated in “the Protestant Reformation with its revival of the Hebrew Bible”.
Massad also claimed that European anti-Semitism was the foundation of the Zionist movement and Jews’ desire to immigrate to Israel.
On August 13, 2014, AJ English broadcast a video production about Palestinian hunger strikers in 2012 and accused Israeli doctors of humiliating [00:41:32] and torturing [00:38:28] hunger strikers.
The production opens [00:00:37] with a dramatized [00:02:28] strip and cavity search and proceeds to depict [00:08:48] the gassing, beating [00:09:43] and abuse [00:39:07] of Palestinian prisoners. The scenes were interspersed [00:16:58] with interviews [00:17:34] of Irish Republican Army (IRA) hunger strikers.
The 2012 prisoners’ hunger strike included convicted terrorists such as Tha'er Halahleh and Bilal Diab — both membersof the terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Another hunger striker was Palestinian terrorist Samer Issawi — who received a 26 year prison sentence for shooting at Hebrew University students and Israeli police in 2002, as well as for manufacturing and distributing pipe bombs.
On February 23, 2015, Al Jazeera posted an article to its online edition, alleging that the Israeli government had opened dams in its southern region in order to intentionally flood parts of the Gaza Strip.
The article was retracted on February 25, 2015, and replaced with a statement saying that there were, in fact, no dams in southern Israel and that the article was false.
On May 24, 2017, AJ English tweeted: “Key facts and figures on the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, the Nakba: aje.io/f8jy.”
The tweet linked to an Al Jazeera article that claimed that Israel was founded through “a vicious process of ethnic cleansing” and “a series of mass atrocities, including more than 70 massacres.”
The article also claimed “In the years that followed the establishment of Israel, the state extended its systematic ethnic cleansing,” adding “the process of ethnic cleansing and displacement of Palestinians never stopped.”
On August 23, 2017, AJ English produced and published a documentary claiming [01:26:00] that Elena Zakusilo, a Ukrainian volunteer with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), “admitted to having killed civilians, including children.”
Al Jazeera claimed that Zakusilo appeared on the Ukrainian TV show "Lie Detector" in November 2013, saying "(t)he first time I killed was difficult for me. I threw the weapon and said I wasn't going anywhere. But I went."
The video clip was debunked in 2013. Ukrainian security services determined that the answers Zakusilo provided were entirely scripted by the show’s main editor. The Israeli foreign ministry further clarified that Zakusilo never served in a combat role in IDF and only held a junior administrative position.
As of November 2020, the episode was still available on AJ English’s website.
On September 29, 2017, AJ English published an Op-Ed titled “Right-wing Zionism, white supremacy and the BDS'' that described Israel-supporters as being ideologically similar to white supremacists in the United States.
The article likened Israel to apartheid South Africa, stating: “A system of first-class citizenship for Israeli Jews, second- or third-class citizenship for Israeli citizens of Arab descent and colonial subjugation for people living in the open-air prisons of the Palestinian Bantustans is not democracy. Rather, that is racism.”
On December 4, 2017, AJ English tweeted: “While Palestinians live under apartheid-like conditions, Israelis enjoy a sense of normality, guaranteed for them by their state.”
On August 31, 2020, Marwan Bishara authored an Op-Ed on AJ English’s website, where he claimed that Israel’s normalization with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is an attempt “at stifling democratisation anywhere in the region, which will lead to greater instability and violence.”
On August 23, 2017, AJ English published to its website a video glorifying Manal Tamimi, titled: “How to be a Palestinian supermom.”
Manal and her husband Bassem Tamimi are Palestinian propagandists and provocateurs, notorious for exploiting young children as political props in staged confrontations with Israeli soldiers.
Manal Tamimi has also tweeted anti-Semitic memes, including Nazi-era imagery. She has also tweeted in support of Palestinian terrorists, commenting on the murder of Jews with the hashtag #time_to_pay_the_price.
