Debate over why Israeli journalists' federation was expelled from IFJ

Posted by Emma Heald on August 3, 2009 at 5:05 PM

The decision to expel the National Federation of Israeli Journalists from the International Federation of Journalists was taken in early June. The Israeli federation had not paid any fees since 2005 and rejected an offer to waive past dues but to pay its set fee from 2009 onwards. It seems that there were protests over the fact that Israel is the only country in its region to be charged the same fees as European countries: the NFIJ wanted to pay the lower amount that is charged to the poorest countries.

Israeli journalist Adi Schwartz interviewed Aidan White, general secretary of the IFJ for Italian newspaper Il Foglio. White reiterated the explanation offered by the IFJ statement on the matter: that the expulsion was purely a question of money. He added that he hopes the expulsion is only temporary.

Schwartz and other Israeli journalists feel otherwise, however, insisting that the decision was in fact political. According to Schwartz, relations between the IFJ and the NFIJ had deteriorated following Israel's 2006 war with Lebanon and the Gaza conflict at the start of this year. The IFJ publicly criticised Israel for military strikes against media installations in these regions. Debate over the issue continued into July, with Italian journalists seemingly attempting to mediate a solution.

Source: International Federation of Journalists, Il Foglio, Jerusalem Post