World

Sheikh Jarrah Activists Included in Time Magazine’s Most Influential List

September 17, 2021
Bharat Times English News

Palestinian activist siblings Mohamed al-Kurd and Muna al-Kurd were inducted into the prestigious time journal Reviving the heavy criticism of the twins, the list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2021, which was published on 15 September.

Time magazine chose the al-Kurd siblings for their list because they were the most recognizable, “charismatic and courageous” activists, speaking about the tensions surrounding the Sheikh Jarrah property dispute, which is rising. It was one of the contributing factors for the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The Walls operation ended in the Guardian.

In a statement posted on Twitter on Wednesday, Mohamed said while it was positive that he and his sister made it to the list, it was merely symbolic, and not enough to advance the Palestinian cause alone, al- Jazeera said.

Inclusion of El-Kurdish Siblings time journal The list is not well received by some NGOs and Israeli activists.

“The only credible way for Time to promote the El-Kurdish twin would be in the face of socially acceptable antisemitism.” Adam Levick, co-editor of CAMERA UK, explains Jerusalem Post. “The effect of the pair – Mohamed in particular – is that they demonstrate how the language of ‘anti-racist’ is used to propagate a racist agenda towards Jews.”

A woman takes a selfie with prominent Palestinian activist Muna al-Kurd in the courtyard of Muna's home in Sheikh Jarrah's East Jerusalem(Credit: Reuters/Ammar Awad) A woman takes a selfie with prominent Palestinian activist Muna al-Kurd in the courtyard of Muna’s home in Sheikh Jarrah’s East Jerusalem(Credit: Reuters/Ammar Awad)

“The fact that Muna and Mohamed al-Kurd have a history of circulating some of the most hateful anti-terrorism and pro-terrorism sentiments on social media is clearly not of much interest for the time being,” israelicool Blogger David Lang told Post. “The fact that they are photogenic and ready to curse Israel at every opportunity.”

According to TimeBiography of the 23-year-old siblings, el-Kurds “challenges existing narratives about the Palestinian resistance through viral posts and interviews, humanizing their neighbors’ experiences and pushing back against suggestions that violence is primarily from the Palestinians.”

El-Kurd Biography, written by Time Reporter Sanya Mansoor has also received backlash.

Emily Schrader, a research fellow in Tel Aviv, said, “Saying that they are pushing against the current narrative that the Palestinians are responsible for the violence, especially in the context of Operation Guardians of the Wall, when we have received more than 4,000 attacks from Hamas.” Rocket met, absurd.” Institute and social worker told to combat online hate speech Post.

“Time repeats the fragmented narrative that the war started by Hamas was actually instigated by Israel.” Emanuel Miller, media analyst for Honest Reporting, told Post. “There is no justification for Hamas’ decision to fire” rockets on civilians, and portraying it as a response to the Israeli policing of rioters on Temple Mount – which has been incorrectly described as an attack on worshipers – essentially spreads Hamas propaganda. Misrepresenting the maintenance of law and order as an attack on worshipers by the Israeli army is a surprising reversal of reality.”

In an article about his decisions for his 2021 selections, Edward Felsenthal, editor-in-chief and CEO of Time explained that they largely sought to involve “extraordinary leaders from around the world working to build a better future”. The 18th Most Influential List is “a community of leaders whose energy and commitment we hope inspire others to do the same.”

“Mohammed and Muna el Kurd are not influential or famous, but rather they are infamous for their extremism and radical rhetoric. This is not something that should be rewarding time,” Schrader said. Post.

NS Sheikh Jarrahi The property dispute is a 50-year battle about the homes of 28 families in East Jerusalem Palestinians who claim ownership of land according to a Jordanian project prior to the 1967 Six-Day War. However, Jordan never registered the properties. Israeli Jewish property owners also claim the homes, based on deeds and former residence in the houses prior to the 1949 Armistice. Israeli courts have upheld the claims of the Jewish owner, but the eviction order has been delayed due to a political dispute.
In June, Muna was Arrested For suspicion of “disturbing the peace and participating in riots” during the pending eviction protests. Later, Mohammed was also taken into custody under the same charges. He was released several hours later.

Mohamed al-Kurd and Muna al-Kurd rose to prominence through social media activism debating their position on the Sheikh Jarrah property disputes and were behind the popular hashtag #SaveSheikhJarrah. At the time of writing, Muna has 1.6 million followers on Instagram and 232 thousand followers on Twitter. The siblings gained more prominence when invited by mainstream media outlets to interview about the controversy.

Critics allege that al-Kurds have used their social media presence to promote terrorism and dehumanize Israelis.

“Muna has repeatedly supported convicted terrorists, and Mohammed openly supports violence against civilians,” Schrader said.

“An honest assessment of Mohamed al-Kurd’s record of comments online would include his opposition to the existence of a Jewish state within any limits, his support of terror, his call to ethnically purify Israeli Jews, and a tweet that could reasonably be interpreted as justification for the mass murder of Jews,” Levick pointed out. Post, citing several controversial tweets from Mohamed’s account.
“The demonic rhetoric towards Israel and Jews used by Kurds and fellow activists is one of the factors that led to the alarming surge in anti-Semitism during May. War between Israel and Hamasi. Levick continued, TIME’s failure to refer to his anti-Semitic rhetoric is a surprising moral discard.

StopAntisemitism.org said, “The al-Kurdish twins spread terrifying lies about the Jewish state, whitewash the actions of Hamas and glorify jailed terrorists.” Post.

Mohamed al-Kurd was given the name of The Nation”Palestine correspondenceOn Tuesday, which has also sparked controversy. The nation responded to negative reactions about al-Kurd’s new status with a statement saying they were not “intimidated” to silence “Palestinian voices”. Will be afraid

NGO Monitor’s Eaton Fischberger said, “Mohammed al-Kurd is a classic example of media and political NGOs advocating Palestinian activists despite their questionable motives and tactics.” Post. “Al-Kurds regularly spread lies perpetrated by Palestinian NGOs that seek to illegalize Israel in the international arena. Al-Kurds, NGOs and partisan media outlets all promote each other’s work. We are looking at a group of activists engaged in a political war, aiming to influence how Israel is perceived internationally.”

Several other controversial influential figures were included in the list. Iran’s new President Ibrahim Raisi and the Taliban’s acting deputy prime minister, Abdul Ghani Baradar.

Prime minister Naftali Bennett was also included in the list. Bennett shares top spot for The Jerusalem Post with Yair Lapid top 50 The Most Influential Jewish People of 2021.

Time magazine first made its list of the 100 most influential people in 1999, and as a symbol of prestige, it is received with fanfare every year.

Khalid Abu Tomeh and Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.