Photo taken by Jenna Martin of graffiti art near Qusra in the West Bank.
My name is Jenna Martin, I work as an independent foreign affairs journalist and photographer, splitting my time between Montana and the Middle East. This year my work brought me to Egypt, Jordan and the West Bank. Considering the nature of this work, and the hostile treatment of journalists who report on issues of Palestine, by both the Israeli government and my own, I felt it was necessary this year to have additional support and decided to join a union for the first time in my career. After researching countless options, I chose the NWU because of its strong support for journalists working in Palestine. I am now a proud member of the NWU and International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
To say Palestine is a dangerous place for journalists is a massive understatement. Journalists in Palestine are regularly beaten, shot, detained, and of course killed. Our equipment is seized or destroyed. I’ve been personally detained by the Israeli military more than once, the last time by an IDF soldier – with an American accent, no less – who told me he would “shoot me with the gun I paid for.”
And yet, my very white, obviously American face provides a level of protection Palestinian journalists are not afforded. These are the most courageous and dedicated people I have ever met. I stop short of calling them “fearless,” because they are risking their lives to tell their peoples’ stories in spite of fear, in the face of fear.
As an example, just two months ago I watched a Palestinian journalist live broadcast while Israeli soldiers forcefully pushed all of us off a Palestinian olive farm. The soldiers surrounded both he and his cameraman, guns raised, and screamed at them to stop recording.
They never stopped recording.
Moments like these highlight why it’s so important to support Palestinian journalists. Our financial assistance not only shows commitment to our colleagues, but also to the Palestinian people, by ensuring they will always have someone on the ground, with the resources they need, ready to share their stories.
I’m forever grateful for anyone and everyone who donates in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine. يعطيكم العافية
This post was written by NWU member Jenna Martin. NWU made our first $10,000 contribution to the IFJ Safety Fund in December 2023. Make a personal contribution to the IFJ Safety Fund at bit.ly/ifjsafetyfund.
