Deposit photos Twitter’s new Middle East and North Africa (MENA) news curator has apologized for her past tweets voicing support for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan as well as for other anti-Israel tweets.
The Jewish Chronicle and Jewish News of Northern California reported Fadah Jassem––a former reporter for Al Jazeera, according to The Algemeiner––announced in a November 1 tweet that she is now Twitter’s Editorial Curation Lead for MENA. Since her announcement, various Jewish and pro-Israel groups and users unearthed some of her past tweets. Stop Antisemitism highlighted tweets from Jassem where she praised Farrakhan’s speeches as a “great example of faith transcending boundaries” and retweeted a tweet that called Jesus Christ a Palestinian and stated, “Free Palestine.”
“Is it too much to ask that @Twitter not hire employees… who promote antisemitic, homophobic bigots and erase the Jewish nation from the map?” Stop Antisemitism tweeted.
Is it too much to ask that @Twitter not hire employees (@FadahJassem) who promote antisemitic, homophobic bigots and erase the Jewish nation from the map? pic.twitter.com/01Vz4fkf9I
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) November 1, 2021
The Israel War Room Twitter account also noted that Jassem has shared several quotes from Farrakhan; another anonymous Twitter account using the name “GnasherJew” noted that in 2010, Jassem retweeted a tweet saying that Israel wasn’t “born… It was dropped like a bomb in the middle of Palestine.” Additionally, in her tweet announcing that she was joining Twitter, Jassem included several flag emojis––including the Palestinian flag––but did not include an Israeli flag.
“This is either woeful ignorance of the territory @FadahJassem is supposed to cover, or antisemitic erasure of the only Jewish state,” Israel War Room tweeted.
Hey, @Twitter, why did your new MENA Editorial Curation Lead not list Israel alongside its Middle Eastern neighbors? This is either woeful ignorance of the territory @FadahJassem is supposed to cover, or antisemitic erasure of the only Jewish state. pic.twitter.com/ieZMWd971L
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) November 1, 2021
She seems to be quite a fan… pic.twitter.com/xZfKLclDfg
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) November 1, 2021
We’ve just taken a closer look @twitter’s new MENA Editorial Curation Lead @FadahJassem
⛔️ She uses antisemitic Farrakhan quotes.
⛔️ Thinks “Jesus was a Palestinian”No wonder @TwitterSupport allow rampant antisemitism on their platform when they’ve got employees like her! pic.twitter.com/0qZVEbfUNZ
— GnasherJew®גנאשר (@GnasherJew) November 1, 2021
Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action Agenda at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Rabbi Abraham Cooper denounced Twitter’s hire of Jassem. “A person who erases Israel from the map cannot be Twitter’s Middle East gatekeeper,” Cooper said in a statement. “What’s next? Longtime Twitter user Ayatollah Khamenei on your Board? Twitter empowers every anti-Semite by elevating this bigot to censor Middle East news.”
Author and educator Ben Freeman similarly tweeted, “Hey @Twitter, your team is in serious need of some [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] training on Jews. I’d be happy to help.”
Hey @Twitter, your team is in serious need of some DE&I training on Jews.
I’d be happy to help. https://t.co/j465vc8VT5
— Ben M. Freeman (@BenMFreeman) November 2, 2021
The Israel Advocacy Movement tweeted that they found several instances of Twitter’s MENA Moments feed portraying Israel “as an aggressor, while other MENA countries get favourable coverage,” so Jassem “will fit right in.” “This isn’t an issue with one editor… it’s systemic,” they added.
So we had a closer look at @twitter's @momentsmena feed…@FadahJassem will fit right in.
Israel is almost always portrayed as an aggressor, while other MENA countries get favourable coverage.
This isn't an issue with one editor… it's systemic.https://t.co/oW4wbTFhSx pic.twitter.com/YUvsB1QQCz
— Israel Advocacy Movement (@israel_advocacy) November 1, 2021
As of this writing, Jassem’s tweets have been put on a private setting, but she did reply to a tweet from HonestReporting’s Emanuel Miller acknowledging that her past tweets were “ill-informed.” “I apologize for any offence I caused by these particular tweets,” Jassem tweeted, adding that she was also sorry for “forgetting” to include the Israeli flag in her announcement tweet. Miller replied to Jassem that he was “glad to hear it.” “A number of my colleagues remain concerned, citing pro-Israel accounts being blocked and a comment with the Israeli flag being hidden. Looking forward to productive, mutually respectful interactions going forward.”
Twitter did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment.
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