A coalition of over 100 journalists, news outlets, and press freedom organizations has called on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to immediately halt American weapons sales to Israel. This demand comes as the official death toll from Israel’s ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip exceeds 40,000, with a devastating impact on Palestinian civilians and journalists alike.
The letter, organized by the Courage Foundation, Defending Rights & Dissent, and RootsAction, argues that Israel’s military actions are made possible by U.S. weapons, military aid, and diplomatic support. “Israel’s military actions are not possible without U.S. weapons, U.S. military aid, and U.S. diplomatic support,” the letter states. It further accuses the U.S. of complicity in one of the gravest affronts to press freedom today by providing the weapons used to deliberately target and kill journalists.
The coalition includes high-profile signatories such as Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Spencer Ackerman and Laura Poitras, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson, Tareq Hajjaj of Mondoweiss, and Ryan Grim of Drop Site News. The letter has also garnered support from influential news outlets like Current Affairs, In These Times, and Middle East Eye. These signatories represent a broad spectrum of the journalistic community, united in their condemnation of U.S. support for Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The letter’s release comes less than 48 hours after the U.S. State Department approved a $20 billion sale of additional weapons and military equipment to Israel, including dozens of F-15 fighter jets and tens of thousands of mortar shells. These sales, the letter argues, directly contribute to the violence in Gaza and the targeting of journalists. Chip Gibbons, policy director of Defending Rights & Dissent, emphasized the gravity of the situation: “By providing Israel the weapons it uses to kill Palestinian journalists, the U.S. is complicit in these horrifying crimes. It is not enough for the State Department to issue words of concern or request Israel investigate its own crimes. That is why in this historic move, journalists, news outlets, and press freedom groups are joining together to tell the State Department that the only way to support press freedom is to impose an arms embargo on Israel.”
An arms embargo against Israel is not a fringe idea. It has the support of a majority of the U.S. public, United Nations experts, and leading human rights organizations. This growing chorus of voices is demanding accountability for the human rights violations being committed in Gaza, particularly the targeting of journalists. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 109 Palestinian journalists have been killed since October 7, 2023. The CPJ has condemned the Israeli government for attempting to smear the journalists it has killed as “terrorists,” a narrative that human rights advocates say is being used to justify war crimes.
One of the most recent casualties was Al Jazeera reporter Ismail al-Ghoul, who, along with cameraman Rami al-Rifee, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on their car in Gaza City. Targeting journalists is a war crime under international law, yet the killings continue with impunity. Spencer Ackerman, a signatory of the letter, highlighted the double standard in U.S. foreign policy: “Journalism is not a crime, and must never be a death sentence. When Russia kills and imprisons journalists, the U.S. is appropriately vocal in condemnation, but when Israel does it, the U.S. falls silent. Yet every Palestinian, Lebanese, American—remember Shireen Abu Akleh—and other journalist that Israel has killed implicates its patron, the United States, which possesses the leverage to stop Israel’s onslaught.”
The coalition’s letter to Blinken goes beyond calling for an end to arms transfers. It also demands that the U.S. hold Israel accountable for its actions, citing violations of both international law and U.S. domestic law. The letter explicitly states, “The U.S. is providing the weapons Israel continually uses to target Palestinian journalists in Gaza. This is a violation of international law and U.S. domestic law. We urge you to immediately cease the transfer of all weapons to Israel.”
The U.S.’s continued military support for Israel has long been a point of contention among human rights advocates. The situation in Gaza has only intensified calls for a reevaluation of U.S. foreign policy. Critics argue that by enabling Israel’s military actions, the U.S. is undermining its own credibility on issues of press freedom and human rights.
The broader implications of the U.S.’s stance are significant. As the death toll in Gaza rises, so too does the scrutiny of America’s role in the conflict. The coalition’s letter is a reflection of this growing concern, emphasizing that the U.S. cannot claim to support press freedom while arming a government that targets journalists. The international community is watching, and the U.S. faces increasing pressure to align its actions with its stated values.
The letter’s demand for an arms embargo is a call for accountability, not just for Israel but for the U.S. as well. The coalition’s message is clear: the U.S. must stop fueling the violence in Gaza and take a stand for human rights and press freedom.
Spencer Ackerman’s stated: “Journalism is not a crime, and must never be a death sentence.”
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