Quaker group cancels planned ads with NYT for failure to refer to Israeli 'genocide'

A US-based Quaker organisation working for peace and social justice announced they would be cancelling their planned advertising with The New York Times (NYT) after the outlet "refused to allow an ad referring to Israel's genocide in Gaza".

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker-founded organisation established in 1917 to assist civilian victims of the First World War, made the statement on Wednesday.

The original planned ad, which was rejected, read: "Tell Congress to stop arming Israel’s genocide in Gaza now! As a Quaker organisation, we work for peace. Join us. Tell the President and Congress to stop the killing and starvation in Gaza."

Joyce Ajlouny, the general secretary of the organisation, slammed the decision and described it as an "outrageous attempt to sidestep the truth".

"Palestinians and allies have been silenced and marginalised in the media for decades as these institutions choose silence over accountability. It is only by challenging this reality that we can hope to forge a path toward a more just and equitable world."

This comes as Israel’s war on Gaza, ongoing for over 14 months, has killed over 46,000 Palestinians and wounded over 109,378 others while decimating the enclave’s infrastructure and plunging it into a deep humanitarian crisis.

According to AFSC, a representative from the NYT advertising team suggested they use the word "war" instead of "genocide" which they said is a "word with an entirely different meaning both colloquially and under international law".

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other rights groups have carried out investigations which determined that Israel was carrying out genocide in Gaza.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in January last year also issued a provisional ruling which found evidence that Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to "plausible genocide".

However, the NYT’s Ad Acceptability Team reportedly sent an email stating that "various international bodies, human rights organisations and governments have differing views on the situation".

Layne Mullet, director of media relations for AFSC, called the reasoning "absurd" adding that they "advertise a wide variety of products and advocacy messages on which there are differing views. Why is it not acceptable to publicise the meticulously documented atrocities committed by Israel and paid for by the United States?".

The group has been supporting aid efforts in Gaza since 1948, when the Israeli state was founded causing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee or be killed at the hands of Zionist militias.

They also have staff in Gaza, Ramallah and Jerusalem and regularly pressure the Biden administration to agree on a ceasefire deal and further access to emergency aid in the Strip.

"Our ad campaign aims to shed light on these atrocities while urging people in the U.S. to pressure the President and Congress to halt weapons shipments to Israel and advocate for an end to the genocide" Ajlouny continued, adding their staff in Gaza witness "daily horrors".

Cato Pedder, the media officer for Quakers in Britain, told The New Arab that while they are a separate organisation to AFSC, "we uphold the right to speak out on their discerned position".

"Quakers in Britain affirmed in October last year that there is a plausible risk that the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza, in alignment with the ICJ rulings on Israel and occupied Palestine" a statement from them added. 

The group is responsible for the management of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel in the UK and Ireland on behalf of 17 human rights organisations. 

Online, many praised the Quakers for their decision, with some calling it a principled stance.

"They have a school in Ramallah older than the first Zionist congress. They know what they are talking about" one person wrote.

"I salute the integrity of the Quakers,” another commented, while another said: "The Quakers were among the first to mobilise against the Slave Trade. Good to see their moral compass is still working three hundred years later".

Who are the Quakers?

Quakerism has roots in Christianity and believes firmly in peace and justice.

In the UK, the group started in 1643 and became closely associated with pacifism - advocating for peace and rejecting violence

Another key belief Quakers hold is that people can feel the inner light or voice of god themselves, without needing a priest or Bible.

Over time, they have campaigned for social justice movements and the rights of the incarcerated. They have also historically been part of efforts to mediate conflicts and refuse to fight in wars.

Regarding Israel's ongoing war on Gaza, the Quakers in Britain issued a statement saying: "The scale of the violence and harm to civilians is unprecedented and unlike anything in living memory. Hospitals, schools, places of worship, roads, and homes have been decimated, and civilians have been targeted."

They also promoted vigils and protests around the UK in support of the plight of Palestinians and penned many statements and open letters to MPs and rights groups.