Pro-Palestinian US journalist Katie Halper 'sacked' for calling Israel an 'apartheid state': report

American journalist Katie Halper has been reportedly fired from her post at The Hill, a US newspaper and digital media company, for allegedly calling Israel an "apartheid state".

Halper, 41, who is Jewish-American and has been described as left-wing, is known for pro-Palestinian views.

The journalist was sacked on Friday from The Hill’s political morning program 'Rising', according to a report by The Intercept, a US-based news organisation.

The journalist said had drafted a monologue where she denounced the ongoing attacks on Palestinian-American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who recently stated that "support for Israel’s apartheid government" is incompatible with "progressive values".

The bad news: I was censored and fired by The Hill over defending Rashida Tlaib & labeling Israeli apartheid “apartheid.” The good news: I shot the censored video with an actually independent media outlet (see below) https://t.co/ZY4spNh48P

— Katie Halper (@kthalps) September 30, 2022

In the show, Halper also intended to echo Tlaib’s sentiments, but was then told that her segment would not be aired and that her invite for the show’s next episode was annulled.

Tlaib, who is the US representative for Michigan’s 13th congressional district, made the comments during an online seminar held last month by the non-profit Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action).

Halper had been part of the show for three years, having hosted once-weekly weekend shows, as reported by the US magazine Jacobin.

She confirmed her sacking from The Hill on various platforms - including her Twitter account, her own 'Katie Halper Show' and the podcast 'Useful Idiots', which she co-hosts alongside Matt Taibbi.

She also confirmed that she was fired from her weekly contributor role, her scheduled guest hosting spots as well as a show for which she shot the pilot for, alongside journalist Rania Khalek, activist Abby Martin and political commentator Briahna Joy Gray.

Her co-host Taibbi said that Halper’s firing shows a "gaping flaw" in US media, where one "can’t speak honestly" about Israel.

Moreover, there has been changeover in ownership of The Hill, according to Jacobin, which was sold to media conglomerate Nexstar Media Group, Inc., for $130 million last August. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd., an investment firm based in Tel Aviv, bought 6,100 shares in Nexstar this month, amounting to more than $1 million.

Halper said she recorded the uncensored segment, which can be heard on The Katie Halper Show as well as the independent outlet Breakthrough News. In another segment where she discusses her firing, Halper exclaimed "Free Palestine" and urged listeners to support independent media.

The journalist is not the first victim of Palestinian censorship in US media. Academic and activist Marc Lamont Hill, who is also known for his pro-Palestinian views, was fired from CNN, where he featured regularly as a commentator. Lamont Hill made a speech at the UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in 2018, where he defended the Palestinian cause and called for justice for the Palestinian people.

The New Arab has contacted The Hill for a comment on the matter, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.