Northwestern University quietly ends relationship with Al Jazeera: EXCLUSIVE
Al Jazeera has been called ‘the voice of Qatar’s regime.’
Northwestern ended its ties to Al Jazeera this July, according to an email obtained by Campus Reform.
Northwestern University has cut its ties to a controversial Qatari news group, Campus Reform recently learned.
A Northwestern spokesperson told Campus Reform that the school ended its Memorandum of Understanding with Al Jazeera in July.
Northwestern has previously faced criticism for its ties to Qatar and Al Jazeera, which has been called “the voice of Qatar’s regime.” The Illinois university has a branch in Qatar that signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Al Jazeera in 2013 “to better understand and develop media in Qatar and the region.”
“The agreement, which deepens ties between the two organizations that have worked together since NU-Q’s inception, will allow professionals and budding journalists from both sides to benefit from the combined expertise of the two institutions through joint research and strategic studies projects, training workshops, a co-designed lecture series, internships and faculty contributions as well as journalist-exchange programs,” Northwestern’s press release announcing the agreement said at the time.
The Coalition Against Anti-Semitism at Northwestern (CAAN), a group of Northwestern community members, alumni, and allies working to fight anti-Semitism, released a report in May, which was obtained by Campus Reform, calling on the Illinois-based university to cut its ties with both Al Jazeera and Qatar.
The report found that Al Jazeera “quite clearly betrays basic standards of journalism by being the sanctioned and singular voice on behalf of its government, in clear alignment with Qatar’s national priorities and interests.”
“Northwestern should do so not only for the moral reason that it is aiding and abetting the mouthpiece of Hamas, thereby endangering Israelis as victims of Hamas atrocities and Gazan civilians who are cynically used as human shields,” the report continued.
CAAN noted that “Northwestern is also endangering journalists around the world who may have their credentials questioned by less humane governments than Israel because of the way Hamas uses journalists as a cover.”
Al Jazeera recently found itself in controversy when it released a comedy skit mocking the Oct. 7 massacre, during which more than 1,000 Israelis were murdered.
The skit shows Hamas terrorists breaking into an Israeli base, chasing away troops, and abducting one Israeli soldier who does not resist and instead talks to the camera about the importance of a fictional “Apricot Dome” defense system.
Al Jazeera’s new comedy sketch about October 7th, now with AI-generated English subtitles https://t.co/ABRiP1mIcr pic.twitter.com/sFDmzcKjcO
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) October 3, 2024
In response to a request for comment, CAAN shared with Campus Reform the May 8 document calling on Northwestern to “immediately cease its relationship with Al Jazeera.”
