Fourteen American State Attorneys General, under the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) – have embarked on an alarming assault against the bedrock of American democracy—freedom of the press, in order to support the genocidal apartheid state of Israel at the expense of the Palestinian people’s human and national rights. Fateh’s Reformist Democratic Faction staunchly condemns this egregious overreach, which attempts to silence the extremely rare balanced voices in mainstream global media calling to end the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Dimitri Diliani, the spokesperson for Fateh’s Reformist Democratic Faction, expresses concern: “After owning the Senate and Congress, AIPAC flexes its influence to muscle down the freedom of the press through corrupt Attorneys General it owns.”
These Attorneys General have signed a threatening letter sent to media outlets, including the New York Times, Reuters, CNN, and AP News. The letter insidiously puts these organizations on notice, asserting that providing ‘material support’ to perceived anti-Israel entities is illegal. Despite the absence of evidence linking these news organizations to any such activities, the threat of prosecution looms ominously.
The overly broad definition of ‘material support’ outlined in the letter extends to any form of assistance including advice, making the hiring of individuals susceptible to prosecution if they have unknowingly interacted with someone loosely affiliated with any anti-Israeli group. This directive forces media organizations into an untenable position, fostering discriminatory practices that contravene established laws.
In the words of Diliani, “This letter criminalizes freedom of the press and puts pressure on media organizations not to hire or cooperate with Palestinians, Arabs, or anyone who holds a perfectly humane stance against the genocidal apartheid state of Israel, therefore stifling our voices.”
The list of State Attorneys General who have aligned themselves with this dubious AIPAC agenda include Republicans from Iowa, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Texas, Louisiana, Utah, Montana, Virginia, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Tennessee.
