Born 🇧🇩 Living 🇨🇦🆓🇨🇩🇵🇸🇸🇩

(The Cradle)

CPJ votes to retain journalist definition after backlash over Palestinian, Lebanese media protections

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has voted to reaffirm its existing definition of "who is a journalist" following an internal dispute over a proposal that could strip protections from Palestinian and Lebanese journalists killed by Israel.

The vote came just days after board member Dr. Nika Soon-Shiong was removed after publicly opposing the proposal.

Soon-Shiong had urged the board to hold a formal vote after warning that discussions were underway to reconsider whether journalists affiliated with what CPJ described as "state-backed propaganda outlets" or "militant- and designated terror-affiliated organizations" should continue to qualify for protection.

She argued that reopening the definition under political pressure would undermine CPJ's credibility and betray Palestinian journalists documenting what she described as the deadliest conflict for journalists on record, while pointing to Western media organizations whose staff have served in the Israeli military.

Following Wednesday's vote, CPJ Board Chair Jacob Weisberg said board members had voted to maintain the organization's current definition, adding that "it is not true that CPJ planned to change our definition of who is a journalist to exclude slain Palestinian and Lebanese press killed in the Israel-Gaza war."

He called claims to the contrary "unsubstantiated allegations" that undermine CPJ's documentation work and endanger Palestinian and Lebanese journalists reporting from the ground.

Historical Solidarity between Socialist countries like Yugoslavia and Poland with decolonizing countries in Africa

In the early weeks of 1961, news broke that sent a jolt through much of the decolonizing world: Patrice Lumumba, the Republic of the Congo’s first democratically elected prime minister, had been executed. Lumumba had become a powerful symbol of African independence after he led Congo to liberation from Belgian colonial rule in June 1960. But his time in office was short lived. Just months into independence, he was deposed in a coup backed by internal rivals and western powers. Captured and handed over to secessionist forces in Katanga with the complicity of Belgian authorities, Lumumba was killed on January 17, 1961.

His death was met with outrage in Socialist nations. In Yugoslavia, anger exploded into the streets. In Belgrade, a crowd estimated at 150,000 gathered to condemn what they saw as a brutal act of neo-colonial interference. Chanting slogans and carrying placards that read “Glory to Lumumba; Death to Colonialism,” the protestors marched with growing intensity. Clashes with police erupted, culminating in the storming and looting of the Belgian embassy. The protests were not isolated to the capital, they spread to other cities as well, with Congolese students studying in Yugoslavia joining in. That same year, Belgrade’s new student dormitory was named in Lumumba’s honor.

Other Socialists countries experienced similar reactions. In Poland on February 14th, 1961, the Belgian embassy was met with riots, when around a thousand students (mostly from the Warsaw Polytechnic Institute), gathered outside and chanted slogans, denouncing Belgium as responsible for Lumumba’s death. Polish authorities, far from suppressing the unrest, appeared to welcome the public outrage. Government officials issued statements condemning Belgium, and state-run newspapers published fierce denunciations of “imperialists” and “colonial murderers.” While Premier Jozef Cyrankiewicz even sent an official telegram of condolence to Congolese rebel leader Antoine Gizenga, recognizing him as the legitimate vice premier of the Congo. The night after that protestors stormed the embassy destroying it and covering Belgian officials with crimson paint.

(Quds)

Pro-Palestine activists protest outside Lockheed Martin office, for the company's complicity in Israeli genocide by supplying the Israeli military with F-35 fighter jets.

(The Cradle)

British Museum colludes with pro-Israel lobby to erase Palestine from historical exhibits

An investigation by Middle East Eye has exposed the British Museum for covertly removing the terms “Palestine,” “Palestinian,” and “Israeli occupation” from its historical displays following intensive lobbying by pro-Israel activists. Internal emails obtained via a freedom of information request reveal that the London institution rapidly altered descriptions of artifacts dating back to 7,500 BCE to appease political pressure groups, including the Board of Deputies of British Jews and high-profile figures.

While museum director Nick Cullinan publicly claimed the changes were part of a standard curation refresh and backed by audience testing, the newly released disclosures confirm that no visitor research regarding the term "Palestine" was ever conducted.

The internal correspondence details a frantic effort by museum staff to pacify complaints lodged between October and December 2024, with one directive explicitly ordering curators to remain hyper-conscious of the anniversary of 7 October. In one instance, a panel describing ancient rulers of “Palestinian descent” was scrubbed and changed to “Canaanite origin” within five hours of receiving a complaint from the Board of Deputies.

Middle East Eye cross-referenced the redacted emails to identify key lobbyists, including right-wing commentators and historians who weaponized access to the museum's leadership to argue that historical references to an ancient Israelite occupation would stoke modern antisemitism.

The targeted erasure has sparked a severe diplomatic and cultural backlash, with Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zumlot accusing the public institution of betraying its historical integrity to serve political ends. Cultural figures and human rights defenders have condemned the museum for complicity in what the United Nations classifies as an ongoing genocide in Gaza, noting that the bureaucratic deletion of Palestinian history in London directly mirrors the physical destruction of heritage sites on the ground.