July 30, 2024 2:00pm by David Farrar

Media deride parents of hostage

The Washington Post, which has been widely criticized for its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, is under scrutiny again this week for publishing a news story on Thursday that appeared to criticize the parents of Israeli American hostage Omer Neutra for not discussing the suffering in Gaza, despite interviewing the mother and father and including comments in the story from them that the situation in Gaza is “horrible.”

The article, written by national correspondent Joanna Slater, details Ronen and Orna Neutra’s visit to Milwaukee to speak at the Republican National Convention on behalf of their son, who has been held hostage by Hamas since Oct. 7. The piece carries a sub-headline inaccurately describing Omer as “missing,” rather than being held in Gaza, before delving into his parents’ advocacy, which the story criticizes for a lack of focus on Palestinian suffering.

“When the Neutras speak publicly, they don’t talk about the ferocity of Israel’s counterattack, which has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians and left nearly 90,000 injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Swaths of the territory have been pulverized and international experts have warned of looming famine,” the story reads, citing death toll figures from the GHM without including in the article or an editor’s note that the organization is a Hamas-run entity.

“What’s happening in Gaza is ‘horrible,’ Orna said, but Hamas could end it by releasing the hostages. Ronen echoed that sentiment: Hamas is ‘not only holding hostage our son, they’re also holding hostage the people of Gaza,’” it immediately continues, appearing to disprove the previous paragraph’s assertion that they don’t “they don’t talk about the ferocity of Israel’s counterattack.”

Bashing the parents of a hostage because they were not perceived to condemn the country trying to rescue their son is so tone deaf.