The Guardian Criticized for Vaccine Article about Israel

The British newspaper The Guardian was criticized for a headline stating that Palestinians have been “excluded” from Israel’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout. The January 3 headline states in full: “Palestinians excluded from Israeli Covid vaccine rollout as jabs go to settlers,” which was tweeted out from The Guardian’s Twitter account.

American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris tweeted that the headline was “malicious.” “Palestinians aren’t ‘excluded from Israeli Covid vaccine rollout,’” Harris wrote. “They rejected Covid cooperation w/ Israel. They’re in charge of own health care under Oslo Accords. They spurned UAE’s [United Arab Emirates] Covid aid -They’re awaiting millions of doses of Russian vaccine. An apology?”

Malicious!

Palestinians aren’t “excluded from Israeli Covid vaccine rollout.”

-They rejected Covid cooperation w/ Israel

-They’re in charge of own health care under Oslo Accords

-They spurned UAE’s Covid aid

-They’re awaiting millions of doses of Russian vaccine

An apology? https://t.co/YouiU1gHA0

— David Harris (@DavidHarrisNY) January 4, 2021

The Simon Wiesenthal Center similarly tweeted that the allegation that Israel is excluding Palestinians from obtaining COVID-19 vaccines is a “new anti-Israel libel.” “@guardian newspaper buries one inconvenient fact: Palestinian Authority is in charge of Palestinians in their territory,” they wrote. “It made NO request for #Israel for vaccine. Any doubt Israel would help if asked?”

In a subsequent tweet, the Wiesenthal Center added: “Corrupt PA’s [Palestinian Authority] official policy no cooperation with Jewish state ever – bars sick [Palestinians] from Israeli treatment except top sick PA and Hamas officials.”

Corrupt PA’s official policy no cooperation with Jewish state ever – bars sick Pals from Israeli treatment except top sick PA and Hamas officials.

— SimonWiesenthalCntr (@simonwiesenthal) January 4, 2021

International human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky tweeted that those criticizing Israel for not giving COVID-19 vaccines to the Palestinians should know that the “PA specifically asked [Israel] not to, as they want to themselves” and noted that “perhaps if PA wasn’t paying hundreds of millions $$$ in terrorist salaries, they could do this faster.”

To all those parroting the 'why is #Israel not giving #Palestinians #COVID19 vaccines':

1. Israel not obliged.

2. PA specifically asked not to, as they want to themselves.

3. Perhaps if PA wasn't paying hundreds of millions $$$ in terrorist salaries, they could do this faster.

— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) January 4, 2021

The Guardian article does state later on that the PA “has not officially asked for help from Israel. Coordination between the two sides halted last year after the Palestinian president cut off security ties for several months.” It continues to say that “Israeli officials have suggested they might provide surplus vaccines to Palestinians and claim they are not responsible for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, pointing to 1990s-era interim agreements that required the authority to observe international vaccination standards.”

The article also quotes an Israeli human rights NGO named Gisha stating that Israel still has an “ultimate responsibility toward Palestinians under occupation.”

A spokesperson from The Guardian said in a statement to the Journal, “The story in question reported the concerns of human rights groups, including an Israeli human rights group.”

The Jerusalem Post’s Lahav Harkov noted in a January 4 article that several media outlets have repeated the claim that Israel is excluding the Palestinians from the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, including PBS, NPR and Al Jazeera. Harkov also noted that The Guardian didn’t mention that the PA cut off dialogue with Israel on the matter until about “halfway through” the story.

“Israel had been willing to help before the Palestinians cut ties,” Harkov wrote. “Health Minister Yuli Edelstein last month told The New York Times it is in Israel’s interest to help stop the virus from spreading among Palestinians, adding that he has ‘no doubt it will be done.’”

Harkov also noted that the 1993 Oslo Accords state that the PA is responsible for all healthcare-related matters — which would include vaccinations — in the West Bank and that Israel has already been vaccinating Palestinians in East Jerusalem and plans to vaccinate Palestinians that are currently in Israeli prisons.

“It looks like some reporters are being led by the nose by activists with a certain point of view,” Harkov wrote. “The accusation that Israel is to blame for the PA’s slower vaccine rollout has trended on activist and NGO social media in recent weeks. The reporters follow these activists, and the seed gets planted in their minds.”

She later stated, “It should be reporters’ and editors’ jobs to see through people who are looking for any way to portray Israel in a negative light, rather than amplify their biases.”