Milwaukee Leaders Accuse Media of Bias in Israel-Palestine Conflict Coverage

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Some Milwaukee Muslim and Jewish leaders are criticizing the news coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict for failing to remain impartial and for contributing to dehumanization of civilian populations in Gaza.

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas surprise offensive and the following Israeli counter-offensive, more than 11,000 have reportedly been killed, many of whom were civilians, and many more have been injured or displaced. Across the world and in Milwaukee, people have taken sides, and many protests and demonstrations have taken place, calling either for solidarity with Israel or a free Palestine.

Oct. 11 Free Palestine Solidarity Rally as the march begins in Zeidler Union Square in Milwaukee.

“The campaign of disinformation that we are hearing and seeing every day is nothing new. In every war, it is well known, the first strategy of war is deception,” said Janaan Atta Najeeb, President of the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition. 

The Oct. 11 march continues down West Michigan Street with at least 300 people taking part.

A pro-Palestine meeting was held on Oct. 13 at the Islamic Society of Milwaukee’s community center. Community leaders with the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Anti-War Committee, American Muslims for Palestine, the Milwaukee Women’s Coalition and Jewish Voices for Peace came together to pray, support Gaza and call for action from Congress. The room was filled with a couple-hundred people who came to show their support and hear what was said.

Among the sadness and anger expressed about what was happening to Palestinians, and disappointment in US government officials for their consistent support of Israel and ignorance of Palestinians, was also much disappointment in how national media has covered the conflict. 

Israel Media Bias Claims Focus on the Beheaded Babies Story

Najeeb continued talking about the role disinformation has played, mentioning the allegedly unsubstantiated story about 40 beheaded Israeli infants in Kfar Aza.

This story was first reported on Oct. 10 by i24 News reporter, Nicole Zedek, citing comments from IDF soldiers. The story was covered by many major news companies and went viral on platforms like X. On Oct. 11, an Israeli government spokesperson confirmed this detail, but the next day CNN reported the Israeli government was no longer confirming it and has since avoided addressing specifics, leading CNN anchor Sara Sidner to issue an apology.

Zedek has continued to defend the reportage, saying on The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show that it is “sickening” people continue to deny it.

A few other journalists have been to the village, such as Oren Ziv with +972 Magazine the day after Zedek visited. He wrote on X that he did not see evidence of beheaded babies nor did soldiers mention anything about it. He added, “This doesn’t mean that war crimes were not committed. The scene in Kfar Aza was horrific, with dozens of bodies of Israelis murdered in their homes.”

Multiple US politicians have used the story to argue for support of Israel or to condemn Hamas, such as Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who used the story to say on X, “Anyone that is pro-Palestinian is pro-Hamas.” On Oct. 11, President Biden claimed to have seen confirmed photos of the beheaded infants, but it was later clarified by the White House that he had not seen any such pictures.

Najeeb compared this story and the effects it had on public opinion to the 1990 false testimony of Nayirah Al-Sabah about Kuwaiti babies being killed by Iraqi soldiers, which was used to help justify US involvement in the Gulf War.

Othman Atta, Executive Director of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, also brought up disinformation in the media, saying “What Israel is doing right now is dehumanizing the Palestinian civilian population of Gaza.” 

After the speeches were done, he addressed national media more specifically, commenting “I mean all of the major channels, it’s just one point of view basically parroting Israeli talking points, Israeli propaganda, and not really getting another point of view. That’s been really disappointing.”

Atta went on to differentiate how local media has done, saying “here locally, I am happy. Right from the beginning, we’ve had members of the media that are at least trying to get a different perspective so we’re happy about that.” WISN-12 and Fox 6 were present for the event, and many speakers thanked them for being present.

This sentiment was expressed by others as well, such as Will Perry, Executive Director of the Milwaukee Islamic Dawah Center, who was critical of the “one-sided” national media but added that “the local media is doing pretty good, being pretty fair.”

Also present was UWM professor Dr. Lorraine Halinka Malcoe and Dr. Jodi Melamed who spoke on behalf of Jewish Voices for Peace. Dr. Malcoe spoke against “extremists who are weaponizing Jewish faith to commit mass starvation, forced location and genocide,” and asserted that “every Israeli war crime is a US war crime.”

After the event, Dr. Melamed talked about how the media often fails to differentiate between the Israeli state and Judaism, saying that “Judaism has many traditions that include anti-Zionism.”

Outside this event, many more have voiced their feelings about the media coverage of the conflict, such as Palestinian UWM student Fridarose Hamad, who is frustrated about how so many journalists are reporting from places like Tel Aviv compared to places heavily affected by the war. “Where are the CNN reporters in Gaza city? Or the Rafa border? Or my city of Beit Hanoun? How can you expect impartial coverage when you aren’t even showing the ‘other side,’” she said over the phone. 

“We’ve seen the headlines with ‘Israelis killed’ versus ‘Palestinians dead’ countless times,” Hamad added. “Palestinians don’t just die…There is a clear bias when it comes to active and passive voice that influences the information being passed to readers and if the media does not get more careful with its word choice and overall coverage, they will be complicit in the further dehumanization of Palestinians that Israel is pushing for.”

Others have been more positive of the news coverage, such as Rabbi Gil-Ezer Lerer of Milwaukee’s Temple Menorah synagogue, who said he thought the news has done a decent job presenting the conflict, specifically noting Fox News.

Rabbi Lerer also voiced his frustrations about rising levels of antisemitism, saying over the phone that the media has “100%” played a role, and that “What is going on in the college campuses today is awful and disgraceful.”

Some news coverage has also been criticized by the Israeli government, such as the Qatari news company, Al Jazeera. On October 17th, the Israeli Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karhi, posted on X plans to censor Al Jazeera’s coverage, accusing it of being “used for Hamas propaganda, incitement, and damage to the security of the state during the war.”

This announcement was met with opposition from many, including The Committee to Protect Journalists, with the CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, Sherif Mansour, responding that the “CPJ urges Israel not to ban Al-Jazeera and to allow journalists to do their jobs. A plurality of media voices is essential in order to hold power to account, especially in times of war.” 

The CPJ also notes that Al Jazeera is “one of the few global media outlets with a physical presence both in Gaza and Israel.”

The Israeli government has not yet followed through with such threats, and Al Jazeera continues to report on the conflict.

The CPJ has also reported at least 40 journalists have been killed covering the conflict since Oct. 7.

Groups such as the Anti-Defamation League, which has been a vocal supporter of Israel, have also called for the media to do a better job, and have blamed a lack of caution in reporting for increased incidents of antisemitism.

The ADL has reported that incidents of antisemitism have risen 388% between Oct. 7-23 compared to the same time period last year. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has reported a 216% increase of Islamophobic or anti-Arab incidents in the US since Oct. 7 compared to last year.