Gaza: The litmus test exposing the West’s press freedom myth

Press conferences at the European Commission rarely go viral. Yet on 13 October, Italian journalist Gabriele Nunziati made headlines after asking Paula Pinho, the Commission’s chief spokesperson: “You have been repeating several times that Russia should repay for the reconstruction of Ukraine. Do you believe Israel should repay for the reconstruction of Gaza, since they have destroyed almost all of the strip and civilian infrastructure?”

The clip spread quickly across social media. Little did Nunziati know that this question would cost him his job. Less than two weeks later, Agenzia Nova terminated his contract after only one month in the role.

The agency justified the dismissal by claiming his question was “technically incorrect,” arguing that Russia invaded a sovereign country unprovoked, whereas Israel was responding to an attack. According to the agency’s spokesperson, the situation was “made worse” when the video was amplified by Russian nationalist Telegram channels and media outlets linked to political Islam, allegedly causing them “embarrassment”.

As absurd as this may sound, Nunziati’s case is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to censorship faced by journalists in Italy—and across the West—on the question of Israel and Gaza.

A pattern of silencing journalists

Just weeks earlier to Nunziati’s firing, CBS News journalist Debora Patta was laid off months after facing backlash for an interview with former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee on Gaza.

In spring 2024, Sangita Myska, a former LBC host, was removed from her role shortly after a tense exchange with Israeli government spokesperson Avi Hyman—sparking speculation that the timing was no coincidence.

Similarly, Antoinette Lattouf, a respected Australian radio host and long-time advocate against racism in media, was taken off air by ABC after only three shifts, over a social media post about Gaza. A judge later found that her removal was the result of a “clear orchestrated campaign” by pro-Israel lobbyists.

Other journalists feel they have been left with no choice but to leave the outlets they work for over their coverage of Gaza. For example, photojournalist Valerie Zink quite her job with Reuters after 8 years with the outlet because of “its role in justifying and enabling the systematic assassination of 245 journalists in Gaza”.

In Italy, journalist Raffaele Oriani resigned from la Repubblica after 12 years in his post. In his resignation letter, he wrote: By turning a blind eye or offering only token condemnations, journalists render the unspeakable horrors invisible and become complicit in this atrocity.”

Oriani later published a book exposing how media narratives sanitize civilian massacres in Gaza and bury stories of atrocities, questioning the silence of most of his colleagues.

 

 

 

 

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Disturbing the status quo

It is difficult to pinpoint why Gaza remains such a uniquely contentious subject for journalists. Some argue it stems from the close political and military alliance between most Western governments and Israel; others point to the historical and cultural weight of the Holocaust in Europe, or perhaps a tendency to align with the US position on the issue. I would contend that, above all, Gaza has laid bare the colonial mindset embedded within cultural and media systems—systems that have never truly regarded Arab (and non-Western) lives as equal to Western ones.

Journalists who dare to expose these double standards and the underlying hypocrisy—such as Nunziati, who posed a legitimate question—are swiftly punished and made examples of, serving as a warning to all others.

After decades of lecturing the world on values like freedom of speech and freedom of the press, one must ask: do these freedoms only matter when they serve to uphold the status quo? Do they suddenly lose significance when invoked to challenge the world order presented to us as the sole just and moral one?

Perhaps even the way we exercise these freedoms needs to be decolonised.

It is, in a sense, unsurprising that what some have called  “the last of the settler colonies” of the West has so vividly exposed the contradictions at the heart of Western democracies.

The crackdown over questioning Israel’s actions isn’t limited to the newsrooms, however. In Germany and France academics have been targeted for daring to address the subject and entire events have been cancelled.

The UK government’s decision to proscribe the direct action group Palestine Action under terrorism legislation drew warnings from the UN Human Rights Chief, who cautioned that such measures risk undermining fundamental freedoms.

In the US, Gaza has become the ultimate barometer of free speech—especially on university campuses. Students protesting US complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza through sit-ins and conferences, follow a long tradition of campus activism that dates back to the civil rights movement, and has continued until the recent Black Lives Matter protests. Yet today, these movements face bipartisan efforts to suppress them. Liberals often rely on security pretexts to cancel events, while conservatives push for criminalisation, calling for suspensions and expulsions.

This climate of repression culminated in the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a leading activist during Columbia University’s Gaza protests in spring 2024. Arrested under the Trump administration and held in a Louisiana immigration facility for three months, Khalil was only freed after a federal judge blocked his deportation.

Certainly, Gaza has become the litmus test for freedom of speech in the West—a test we repeatedly fail. Journalists are silenced for asking hard questions. Students are punished for exercising their rights. Even celebrities risk careers for speaking out—think Gary Lineker, or Susan Sarandon.

But no group pays a higher price than Palestinian journalists themselves. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, since October 7, 249 Palestinian journalists have been killed, 162 injured and nearly 100 were imprisoned.

Those who survive know they are targets, yet they persist. If they can continue under such peril, shouldn’t Western journalists at least be free to ask the questions that matter?

Randa Ghazy is an Italian Egyptian journalist and writer based in London. She has published several books with Italian publisher Rizzoli, including "Dreaming of Palestine" at the age of 15, which has been translated into 16 languages. She has worked as a TV producer at Pan-Arab network Al Araby TV, and led the Gaza media response at Save the Children International, where she held the role of Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe Media Manager.

Follow Randa on X: @ghazy_r on Instagram: @randa_ghazy

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Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.