AFP Captions Cover Up for Islamic Jihad's Khader Adnan
By: Tamar Sternthal July 14, 2015
When Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Khader Adnan was released from Israeli prison Sunday following a 56-day hunger strike in protest of his administrative detention, international news agencies swooped in to cover the emotional homecoming in his West Bank village. A survey of photo captions from the three major news – Reuters, the Associated Press and Agence France Presse – revealed that one of the leading news organizations failed to note Adnan's leadership with Islamic Jihad, a designated terror organization.
In photo captions, AFP, the influential French news agency consistently omits mention of this essential information. Examples of AFP's incomplete photo captions follow:
The caption states:
Khader Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner who staged a 56-day hunger strike while being detained for a year without charge by Israeli authorities, hugs a relative as he arrives in the West Bank village of Arraba after his release early on July 12, 2015. Adnan, 37, was detained a year ago, shortly after the kidnapping and murder of three young Israelis, which triggered the arrests of hundreds of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The caption is:
Khader Adnan (C), a Palestinian prisoner who staged a 56-day hunger strike while being detained for a year without charge by Israeli authorities, reflects with his daughters in the West Bank village of Arraba after his release on July 12, 2015. Adnan, 37, was detained a year ago, shortly after the kidnapping and murder of three young Israelis, which triggered the arrests of hundreds of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
In contrast, both Reuters and the Associated Press captions clearly indicate Adnan's top position in Islamic Jihad. AP's captions, for instance, note: "The senior member of Islamic Jihad had been held for more than a year. . ."
Likewise, Reuters captions refer to "Islamic Jihad leader Khader Adnan" and attribute information to Islamic Jihad sources in the West Bank, further clarifying his affiliation with the designated terror organization.
Reuters' caption states:
Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Khader Adnan poses with his daughters during a rally honoring him following his release, near the West Bank city of Jenin July 12, 2015. Israel on Sunday released Adnan from jail from a deal last month in which he agreed to end a 56-day hunger strike, Islamic Jihad sources in the West Bank said. (Emphases added.)
It should be noted that as recently as this past June, AFP did publish a photo caption which identified Adnan as "a senior member of Islamic Jihad."
AFP News Story Also Falls Short
AFP's news story about Adnan's release also falls short compared those by Reuters and AP, which clearly note that he is a senior Islamic Jihad member. In contrast, AFP qualifies his membership as no more than an Israeli claim which apparently cannot be independently verified. Thus, AFP reports:
Khader Adnan was greeted to a hero's welcome in his village near Jenin, in the northern West Bank, that included fireworks, songs and flags for Islamic Jihad, the militant movement to which Israel says he belongs. (Emphasis added.)
Reuters' article, unlike AFP's, reports Adnan's Islamic Jihad position as fact, not just an Israeli claim:
Israel on Sunday released an Islamic Jihad leader, Khader Adnan, from jail following a deal last month in which he agreed to end a 56-day hunger strike, Islamic Jihad sources in the West Bank said.
Similarly, AP reports:
With Islamic Jihad itself giving statements to journalists about the release of Adnan, a leader in their organization, his affiliation is not merely an Israeli claim. The following October 2007 YouTube footage shows Adnan speaking at a funeral for a senior commander of Islamic Jihad's Quds Brigades, urging his followers: "O Quds Brigades, strike a blow. . . Who among you is the next suicide bomber? . . . Who among you will have your body parts blown all over?"
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Tamar Sternthal Tamar Sternthal is director of CAMERA's Israel Office. She monitors both U.S. publications and English-language Israeli publications, and heads up CAMERA's "Haaretz, Lost in Translation" project. Her columns have appeared in numerous American and Israeli publications, including the Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post, Ynet, Algemeiner, Philadelphia Daily News, St. Petersburg Times, and the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Sternthal is interviewed on radio about the media's coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict and regularly participates in panels about the media, hosted by universities and think tanks in Israel.
Twitter handle: http://twitter.com/TamarSternthal
Agence France-Presse (AFP)