"How Did the Gaza Attacks Affect Academic and Media Freedom in the West?" by the Ibn Khaldun Center for Social Sciences and Humanities at Qatar University. A panel titled:
Many academics and researchers from various universities, as well as students and members of the press, attended the panel held in the capital Doha.
Dr. Naef Nahar al-Shammari, Director of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Social Sciences and Humanities, who made the opening speech of the panel, criticized the biased attitude of the Western media in Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip and stated that intellectual and academic values were put to a great test in this period.
Stating that the attacks launched by the Netanyahu government on the Gaza Strip on October 7 were recorded as completely violating the basic principles of human rights and international law, Shammari emphasized that the academy and the media world have a great responsibility in this process.
Shammari pointed out that Anadolu Agency and Al Jazeera reporters have been performing their duties under very difficult conditions since the first day of Israel's Gaza attacks, recording the war crimes committed and announcing them to the world.
Pointing out that the USA supports Israel's attacks, Shammari said, "The meeting between Biden and Netanyahu, especially in the first days of the war, showed us that the USA was unquestionably on Israel's side."
"GAZA ATTACKS EXPOSED THE GUARDIANSHIP"
The panel was moderated by Qatar University Gulf Studies Center Director Prof. Mahjoob Zuwairi.
"We consider what happened in Gaza as a turning point that will open the door to new developments that will change the balances in the region," Zuwairi said.
Zuwairi pointed out that Western countries have established tutelage over the media and academia, and emphasized that Israel's attacks on Gaza once again revealed this fact.
Speaking at the panel, University of Texas Law Professor Prof. Michael Young said that the US media has not been impartial for many years, and the ongoing attacks in Gaza reveal this once again.
"ACADEMICS IN THE USA ARE AFRAID TO TALK ABOUT GAZA"
Northwestern University Middle Eastern Studies Professor Khalid al-Al Hurub criticized the silence of academics on Gaza, emphasizing that the ongoing Israeli occupation of Gaza did not start on October 7 and that the West turned a blind eye to the occupation that has been going on for years.
Professor Hurub stated that human rights violations in Gaza have been continuing for many years.
"The US media focuses on October 7, ignoring the context of the events. Isn't there an October 6 date for these events?" Hurub said.
Reacting to the silence of Western academics on Gaza, Hurub said, "According to the results of a survey conducted with approximately 1000 academics in the USA on December 5, 81 percent of academics in this country are hesitant to talk about Gaza. For the Western media, the 180 Israeli prisoners held by HAMAS are more worth talking about than the more than 17 thousand Gaza civilians killed."
"RELEASED ISRAELI CAPTIVES EXPOSED TO A CENSORSHIP"
One of the panel participants, Arab Digest Editor and former BBC Middle East analyst, journalist William Law, evaluated the attacks of the US and Western media, which could constitute Israel's war crimes, as self-defense.
He said that people in Gaza are trying to portray small actions taken to defend themselves as "terrorist actions".
Describing the Israeli attacks as genocide, Law said, "While one side sees the Gaza attacks as Israel's right to self-defense, the other side describes what happened there as genocide. I also believe that the events constituted genocide."