Summary
Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, an American citizen, was shot dead while covering a raid in a Palestinian refugee camp in the Israeli-occurpied West Bank. The 51-year-old Palestinian-American journalist was a household name across the Middle East for her coverage of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. On Friday, Israeli riot police beat pallbearers at Abu Akleh ’s funeral for allegedly singing nationalist songs, causing them to drop the casket and prompting international outrage by leaders across the globe. The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world’s longest-running conflicts dating back to the mid-20th century. Many attempts to broker a two-state solution, involving the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel have failed. Click here for the transcript .Five Facts
- Who is Shireen Abu Akleh and why is she significant?
- Where and when was Akleh killed?
- What was Akleh doing in the area at the time of her death?
- Why are there fears that Akleh’s killing could escalate into violence?
- How do Israeli and Palestinian leaders’ differ in their reaction to Akleh’s killing?
Focus Questions
- What steps should be taken to ensure that a full investigation of Shireen Abu Akleh’s death is conducted? Why are some citizens doubtful that a complete investigation will occur?
- How does state-sanctioned violence against journalists affect the objectivity and accuracy of news coverage?
- Check two or three other U.S. news outlets to see their coverage of Akleh's death and ask students: What do they see? What do they think? What do they notice?
- Then ask students to check two or three news outlets to see how they covered the attacks on pallbearers at Akleh's funeral. What do they see? What do they think? What do they notice?
- Do they notice a pattern or specific perspectives that are included? How about perspectives that are not included? Who is interviewed for the story? What do you notice about the headlines from the various news outlets?
- If time allows, check international news outlets like the BBC to see how it compares with U.S. news outlets.
For More
Samia Mers, an intern for NewsHour Classroom and a rising freshman at George Mason University, wrote today's Daily News Lesson with editing by Vic Pasquantonio.
