Emmys stands by Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda nomination for news award
The organisers of the News and Documentary Emmy Awards have defended the nomination of a video report by Bisan Owda, a Palestinian journalist in Gaza, after a campaign group called for her to be removed from the nominees.
Creative Community for Peace, a pro-Israel lobby group which campaigns against cultural boycotts of Israel, published an open letter on Monday urging the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) to rescind the nomination of the eight-minute documentary "It's Bisan From Gaza and I'm Still Alive".
In the video, Owda shows life under Israeli bombardment in late October, from a tent near al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. In the clip, she interviewed an 11-year-old boy whose parents were killed by an Israeli strike on their home.
The report was produced by AJ+, a digital platform of Al Jazeera.
Creative Community for Peace alleged that Owda was linked with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), stating that she spoke at the political group's events between 2014 and 2018.
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The PFLP is listed by the United States and the European Union as a terrorist organisation.
The open letter said that elevating Owda "not only legitimises a terrorist organisation, it undermines the integrity of the awards".
David Renzer, chairman of Creative Community for Peace said: "NATAS must decide - they can either condone the murder of innocent civilians or they can listen to the entertainment community, and stand in opposition to hatred and violence."
The letter was signed by 150 people in the entertainment industry.
In a response to Creative Community for Peace published on Tuesday, NATAS's chief executive Adam Sharp said he stood by the Emmy nominations.
He said that previous nominees across half a century had "been controversial, giving a platform to voices that certain viewers may find objectionable or even abhorrent", but that it was all "in the service of the journalistic mission to capture every facet of the story".
He added that the organisers were aware of "a then-teenaged Bisan Owda speaking at various PFLP-associated events between six and nine years ago", but that NATAS was unable to corroborate those reports and that it could not find any evidence that Owda was still involved with the PFLP.
"Most critically, the content submitted for award consideration was consistent with competition rules and NATAS policies," Sharp added.
Owda's short documentary has already received two prestigious awards, a Peabody Award and an Edward R. Murrow Award.
She remains in Gaza, and rose to prominence for her videos on social media that detailed life in the enclave since the beginning of Israel's war.
Owda dedicated her Peabody award in May to university students and others protesting for Palestine across the globe.
"To all the people who took to the streets. To all the people at home who are participating in boycotts. To all the people worldwide, regardless of their religion, colour, and ethnicity," she said at the time.
Israeli forces have killed over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, since war broke out on 7 October.
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