New York Times Pulitzer-Winning Photographer Describes Terrorists as ‘Martyrs’ and Israel as ‘Occupation’

The New York Times photographer, Saher Alghorra, who was awarded a Pulitzer Prize this week for his work in Gaza, has described uniformed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists as “martyrs” and called Israel an “occupation” force responsible for “the war on Gaza’s children,” a comprehensive review of his social media postings and photo captions found.

“Alghorra’s rhetoric makes clear he is not a neutral documentarian, but rather aligned with the Hamas forces that have provided him with extensive access to work in areas under their control both before and after Oct. 7, 2023,” the Free Beacon’s Adam Kredo writes.

In April 2023, for example, Alghorra wrote that Palestinians who set fire to tires along the Gaza border had done so “in rejection and denunciation of the violations committed by the Israeli army in Al-Aqsa Mosque,” though in reality the Israeli police raided the mosque after Palestinians barricaded themselves inside. Months later, in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre, Alghorra “repeatedly expressed solidarity with the many Palestinian ‘martyrs’ killed in the war while portraying Israelis as part of an occupation force targeting civilians and causing starvation and suffering.”

On October 7 itself, Alghorra posted photos of missiles flying from Gaza into Israel to his Instagram account with the caption, “The Palestinian resistance in Gaza fires thousands of missiles towards the occupied territories in response to settlers’ attacks and incursions into Al-Aqsa mosque.”

“The postings are likely to generate further questions about Alghorra’s work—and the Times’s decision to champion him—after the media watchdog group Honest Reporting accused him of earning his Pulitzer ‘on staged scenes, a manufactured “famine” narrative, and intimate access to Hamas terrorists,’” Kredo writes. The Times defended Alghorra, saying he performed “intrepid photojournalism at personal risk,” though the paper has cut ties in the past with contributors who have used similarly biased language.

We’re not holding out breath, and cheers to Alghorra for reminding us what journalism prizes are really about.

Kinkaid School headmaster Jonathan Eades announced his resignation on Wednesday. Though the school’s board said in a letter that he had been weighing the decision for over a year, sources familiar with the situation told the Free Beacon that the board moved swiftly to push him out as Eades and Kinkaid faced scrutiny over an award teachers gave to a pro-Palestinian student group during the school’s recent “Culture Fest.” The event features booths and exhibits on various cultures and countries and this year, a booth on “Palestine” referred to Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank as “Palestine,” effectively denying the existence of the Jewish state.

When the booth and its accompanying award went viral—Sen. Ted Cruz called the ordeal “deeply disappointing”—Eades pointed the finger at the social media postings, writing in a May 2 letter to the school community, “These posts and their associated comments go against everything that Kinkaid stands for and how we teach our students civil discourse.” Eades also took issue with what he called “misinformation” about the incident and said the school had “launched an investigation and is taking appropriate action.”

“He did not specify what that action was, and the most immediate fallout has been Eades’s own resignation,” writes Ross.