An Open Letter to Kathrine Viner, Editor in Chief at The Guardian Newspaper

Dear Kathrine

Re: Owen Jones’ article of October 3rd “What atrocity would Israel have to commit for our leaders to break their silence?”

On the day of the Jewish New Year, and as we approach the anniversary of the October 7th massacre, where over 1,200 were brutally murdered and thousands injured by Hamas in the south Israel, The Guardian has chosen to publish Owen Jones’ inflammatory article accusing Israel of “atrocities” and a "genocidal rampage." This accusation not only lacks factual basis but is a grotesque distortion of reality. It is perfectly legitimate to question Israeli tactics and policies in Gaza. War is brutal, and no side is immune from scrutiny. But it is utterly irresponsible to trumpet Hamas’s propaganda and lies as fact. I must ask, where is The Guardian’s commitment to quality, trustworthy journalism based on verifiable facts, rather than slanderous conjecture?

Jones accuses Israel of committing genocide, but such claims fall apart when faced with the facts.

Former British NATO Commander General Sir John McColl, who visited Gaza as a skeptic, yet, after observing the IDF’s operations, stated that their procedures are “as strong as ours” in terms of minimizing civilian casualties. McColl concluded that the IDF is doing their absolute level best to avoid civilian harm. This is a respected military leader attesting to Israel’s unprecedented measures in modern warfare. 

Other Military experts, including Colonel Richard Kemp, who led British forces in Afghanistan, and Major John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare Studies with the Modern War Institute at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, have consistently affirmed that the IDF has taken unprecedented measures to minimize civilian casualties. Israel has dropped leaflets, sent text messages, and made phone calls to civilians in Gaza before launching strikes. No other military in history has made such efforts! This is a long way from the “rampaging force” described by Jones.

Not to be deterred by facts, Jones parrots Hamas’s dubious casualty figures, treating them as objective fact. 

This is the same Hamas that butchered civilians in their homes, raped women, mutilated bodies, and burned victims alive on October 7th. For Jones to use Hamas’s casualty claims without scrutiny, nor caveat, is not only reckless but disgraceful. Hamas regularly uses civilians as human shields, hiding in hospitals, schools, and mosques, which tragically results in civilian casualties. One would assume that this is an important element to mention if one wished to impart the whole story.

Furthermore, Israel’s strikes on hospitals are not part of a genocidal campaign. They have been responses to Hamas using those facilities as terrorist command centers, rocket launch pads and for other terror activity. There is verifiable evidence that many healthcare workers and civilians have been complicit in terrorism, aiding Hamas and PIJ operations. Hamas uses ambulances to transport men and weapons, even hostages.  Yet Jones conveniently ignores all these facts in favor of eagerly casting Israel as a bloodthirsty oppressor.

His claim that Israel is deliberately starving Gaza is equally false. Israel has allowed humanitarian aid into Gaza. There has been more than enough aid delivered into Gaza. If we look at the numbers, accurate as of May 2024, 531,160 tons of humanitarian aid had been transferred to Gaza. Including: 380,550 tons of food, 33,900 tons of water, 23,110 tons of medical supplies, 59,600 tons of shelter supplies, 23,110 tons of mixed supplies, where the amount of aid has only increased since.

Jones chooses to ignore that fact that Hamas has been hijacking and stealing aid for its own purposes.  What it doesn’t need is then sold at exorbitant prices to the very civilians it was originally intended for. Hamas exploitation and corruption is the main cause of hunger and lack of medical supplies as well as other essentials for ordinary Gazan. But that doesn't fit with Jones’ perverted narrative.

He talks about the number of aid workers who have been killed. He neglects however, to mention the number of UNWRA staff and other “aid” workers who turned out to be active Hamas and PIJ operatives, or who facilitated or tangibly supported terror activities. Recently, an UNWRA Jeep was stopped by the IDF as it attempted to smuggle a Hamas operative back into the north of Gaza. 

As if more proof was needed of UN complicity in terror, the UN is fighting to gain immunity for UNRWA employees who were involved in the October 7 massacre. 

The UN claims “since the UN has not waived immunity in this instance, its subsidiary, UNRWA, continues to enjoy absolute immunity from prosecution.” Such is the impartiality and integrity of UNWRA. Incredibly, Jones makes no mention of terror, terrorists, or terrorism at all!

Nor does he mention Hamas’s intimidation of ordinary Gazans and aid workers. Just last week, aid worker, Islam Hejazy, the Gaza program manager for HEAL Palestine was murdered by Hamas. Her car was sprayed with more than 90 bullets, for refusing to hand over aid funds meant for ordinary Palestinians, to the terrorists. This is just one glaring example of the brutalization of ordinary Gazans by Hamas, that Jones conveniently fails to mention. Again, it simply doesn't fit his narrative.

Jones then has the audacity to downplay the 181 ballistic missiles, each with a payload of more than half a ton of explosives, fired at Israel by Iran, where apparently the absence of Israeli casualties somehow negates the seriousness of the attack. 

The fact that Israel’s advanced missile defense systems intercepted most of these missiles and that 9 million Israelis had to hide in bomb shelters, provided by the government, also a legal requirement in new buildings, to protect its civilians from such attack, is the only reason the Israeli death toll wasn’t in the thousands. As inconvenient as it might be for Mr. Jones, does Israel need to apologize for protecting its civilians from annihilation?

Jones claims there were no reported casualties, yet ironically there was one fatality, a Palestinian from Gaza, walking along the road in Jericho, killed by falling debris of an Iranian rocket.

Jones’ wild and enthusiastic accusations of war crimes, atrocities and genocide, including "snipers targeting infants" and "butchering families," are nothing but sensationalized conjecture. These baseless claims are ripped straight from Hamas’s disinformation playbook and presented with scant, or fabricated evidence. Joan Donoghue, president of the International Court of Justice, clarified that the court did not rule that there was a “plausible” claim of Israeli genocide in Gaza”.  Highly inconvenient I know, and Jones, once again ignores the facts and chooses to amplify these falsehoods, knowingly fanning the flames of hate.

Jones then turns to a dubious website, “Stats for Lefties”, to claim that public opinion of Israel has reached a new low. Is this what now passes for credible sourcing at The Guardian? Are we to believe that a fringe platform, with zero academic rigour or credibility is what passes as a source of reliable data at The Guardian?

If Jones truly cared about Palestinian civilians, he would be demanding that Hamas release the hostages and disarm.

This would end the conflict immediately, save countless lives, and end the suffering. Importantly, it would also mean that Hamas could no longer oppress, exploit and sacrifice ordinary Gazans. Sadly, it seems that Jones is less interested in the welfare and wellbeing of ordinary Gazans, and far more invested in delegitimizing and demonising Israel at all costs. That is of course, as long as it is the Palestinians, not he himself, who pay the price.

On the bright side, at least for Mr. Jones, such a scandalous and disingenuous article is sure to raise both his profile and his standing with his followers, and importantly for him, the number of subscribers on his social media channels.

It is particularly egregious that The Guardian would publish such a slanderous article on the Jewish New year and so close to the anniversary of October 7th.

This isn't just bad timing. It comes across as a deliberate insult to the memory of the massacre victims and an affront to journalistic ethics. By printing this piece, The Guardian is not just perpetuating falsehood, it is inciting further hatred, with very real consequences for Jewish communities both in the UK, and worldwide.

At what point will The Guardian demand even minimal ethical and professional standards from Owen Jones? 

How much more distortion, falsehood and unverified claims will it allow him to publish as fact, before it steps in and says enough is enough? Surely it is your responsibility, as a newspaper of high repute, to offer your readers facts, not propaganda, and to hold your contributors to the highest standards of journalistic integrity.

Your sincerely

Gary Cohen