Ramallah (31/05/2020) - The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms “MADA” organized a digital panel discussion on self-censorship in the media and its impact on media freedoms in Palestine through ZOOM program. Representatives of various media outlets and CSOs and a group of male and female journalists participated in it. It should be mentioned that this discussion is part of “A Step Forward towards Promoting Freedom of Expression in Palestine” funded by the European Union.

Participants in the meeting stressed the need to work to provide a legal environment that protects journalists from prosecutions in connection with their professional work, and to ensure professionalism in media work, to intensify training courses and capacity building for journalists and media personnel, especially new graduates on real, professional and objective media work, and to include the topic of censorship in the media education courses in universities, in addition to the need for the Palestinian journalists to be bold and courageous in their work.

Mousa Rimawi, Director General of “MADA” Center, said that self-censorship is the most dangerous form of censorship, explaining that its roots go back to the years of the occupation that preceded the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority, when direct censorship was severe during carrying out the press work.

Additionally, Rimawi emphasized that the self-censorship in Palestine is very high, as previous studies and surveys conducted by the center showed that about 80% of Palestinian journalists exercise self-censorship on their work, the reasons for which are the prosecution of the occupation and the security services in addition to social reasons.

Rimawi also pointed out that self-censorship has severe negative effects on freedom of opinion and expression and the development of the media in Palestine, and this censorship increased after the division in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, due to the impact of harsh prosecution campaigns against journalists and the media, it also increased in light of the state of emergency, which it was announced in the Palestinian territories following the spread of the Corona virus.

Sharif Haj Ali, a project coordinator at “MADA” Center, touched on the concept and definition of self-censorship, its causes and divisions, and stressed that self-censorship negatively affects freedom of expression and the professional level of the Palestinian press, noting that societal censorship also promotes self-censorship. Haj Ali also referred to the bodies that exercise censorship on the journalistic and media work in Palestine represented by the Israeli occupation, the ruling authorities, the management of press and media institutions (editorial oversight), self-censorship from journalist on what he /she publishes, community censorship, in addition to financial control that is represented by advertisers and funders.

For his part, journalist Saleh Al-Masry pointed out the impact of media censorship and self-censorship by the journalist on the reality and future of the Palestinian media, by touching on historical Israeli occupation practices that transgress and violate media freedoms and the Palestinian media, stressing that the Palestinian division is one of the most dangerous threats. The Palestinian division affects journalists, media and media freedoms in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian journalists review their writings and media production dozens of times before publishing because of the fear of prosecution or arrest. This is in addition to the control of capital, which has come to control what the media organization publishes, stressing that the financial independence of the media institution will lead it to exercise its professional and real media work away from fear or hesitation.

The Director General of the Ma'an News Network, Raed Othman, stressed the necessity of keenness on professionalism in journalistic and media work, noting that despite the presence of occupation and division and their impact on the media situation in Palestine, a large part of the challenges facing the local press are the journalists themselves, as the control of journalists increased on their other colleagues. There has become a great fear among some journalists from publishing information or a scoop to prevent them from being criticized by their colleagues. Othman also indicated that the profession of journalism in Palestine is in real danger as a result of financial threats faced by newspaper and media institutions, and he also struck the reservoir walls calling for an end to the attack on Palestinian journalists, and the need to provide them with legal protection.

A number of journalists participating in the discussion reviewed aspects of their experiences and practical experiences with regard to external control and self-censorship of their journalistic work, speaking about its causes and limits of its prevalence and its most prominent manifestations and negative repercussions on the type of media material presented to the public, stressing the importance of harmony and complementarity of the work of media institutions and their mutual support with what It encourages bold remedies for various subjects and lowers fear and self-censorship.

Dr. Ahmed Hammad, from “MADA” Center in the Gaza Strip, who moderated the session, indicated that this meeting comes among the many activities implemented by the center in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with the aim of enhancing media and press freedoms in Palestine. Also, these activities aims to raise the capabilities of the Palestinian journalist and limit the violations facing him, explaining the importance of the meeting through which a group of journalists and institutions from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank meet, which aims to discuss self-censorship in the media, its types and causes, the control of institutions and their impact on the reality and future of the media.

The participants came out with a set of recommendations that would address the threat of self-censorship for journalistic and media work:

1. The necessity of working to provide protection for journalists through laws and legislations or through a media charter agreed upon by media organizations. Also, to develop laws related to the media.

2. Developing local laws and legislations and aligning them with international treaties to ensure the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to freedom of information and press work.

3. The necessity of working to end the Palestinian division, due to its negative impact on media freedoms.

4. Providing support to the local Palestinian media to get rid of the power of capital.

5. The Palestinian journalist should bold and courageous in his/her work.

6. Providing training courses and capacity building for Palestinian journalists.

7. Media institutions and journalists should adhere to the rules of media professionalism and social responsibility.