Democrats press Blinken to protect press freedom in Gaza

More than two dozen House Democrats are pressing the Biden administration to take concrete steps to protect the safety of journalists — and the freedom of the press — in the Gaza Strip, where foreign reporters are essentially barred and civilian deaths have soared during Israel’s war on Hamas.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the lawmakers express concerns that Israel’s strict limitations on press freedom in Gaza — combined with the physical dangers inherent in covering the conflict — have left the world with a narrow view of what’s actually happening in the region. 

They’re asking Blinken to work with leaders in both Israel and Egypt to do more to protect reporters and civilians from physical harm, while granting journalists more freedom to roam the region and report their findings. 

Such protections are vital, they said, to ensure “accurate reporting on the full scale of the war.”

“With more journalists killed in three months than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year, we remain concerned that not enough steps have been taken to safeguard the lives of the civilian population in Gaza, including journalists,” the lawmakers wrote.

“We are grateful for your continuous work to address the unbearable conditions and high number of civilian casualties including by ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians,” they continued, “but more must be done to address the unique challenges journalists in Gaza face.”

The letter is spearheaded by Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), and endorsed by 23 other House Democrats, including Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the senior Democrat on the Oversight Committee; Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the ranking member of the Rules Committee; and André Carson (D-Ind.), one of just three Muslims in Congress. 

The letter arrives almost five months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel left roughly 1,200 people dead and saw hundreds more taken hostage. Democrats in both Congress and the White House have been virtually united in endorsing Israel’s right to defend itself in the wake of those atrocities.

But the ensuing hunt for Hamas militants has led to more than 29,000 deaths in Gaza — most of them women and children, according to Gazan and U.N. officials — and the ever-rising figure has fueled increasing calls from liberals on and off of Capitol Hill for a ceasefire. 

In their letter, the Democrats noted that at least 88 members of the media have been killed in the conflict — including two Israelis, three Lebanese and 83 Palestinian journalists — representing a vast majority of all reporter deaths across the globe over the last year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

 Blinken has addressed the issue directly, writing in December that the administration will “underscore” to Israel and others “that journalists must be protected from harm.” 

“We stand unequivocally for the protection of journalists during armed conflict and mourn those who have been killed or injured,” he wrote at the time. 

But the Democrats say more must be done. They’re urging Blinken to press partners in Israel and Egypt to adopt a series of specific steps to ensure that those promises are translated into action. 

That list includes assurances that foreign journalists have the freedom to enter and exit Gaza at will, not just under escort by the Israeli military; a commitment that all members of the press, including Palestinians already in Gaza, have access to protective gear; and vows to protect communications infrastructure, whenever possible, to ensure the free flow of information in and out of the region. 

“At the heart of every democracy, there is a right to free expression and journalists are allowed to do their jobs without interference,” the lawmakers wrote. 

The conflict has become a huge political headache for President Biden, who has urged Israeli leaders to take greater steps to protect Gazan civilians while stopping short of insisting on the ceasefire that many liberals in his party have demanded. Those tensions were on full display on Tuesday during primary voting in Michigan, where Biden’s position on the Israel-Hamas war is deeply unpopular with the state’s sizable Muslim population. 

In Tuesday’s voting, exasperated liberals sought to send the message that they’re no rubber stamp in supporting Biden for reelection in November unless the president takes immediate steps to end the fighting in Gaza. More than 100,000 of those voters cast ballots for “uncommitted” — a significant number in a state Biden carried by roughly 150,000 votes in 2020.  

Biden had steered clear of Michigan heading into the contest. But one of his most vocal supporters, the liberal Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), had visited with the president’s disgruntled detractors in an effort to mend fences. The takeaway, Khanna told The New York Times, was that Democrats “cannot win Michigan with status quo policy,” and that a new approach to Gaza had better happen in “weeks, not months.” 

Khanna was among the 25 Democrats to endorse this week’s letter calling for more press protections in the region.