Magnus Ranstorp criticizes SR's Gaza coverage, accusing it of bias. SR's foreign chief Anders Pontara defends the journalists, highlighting the challenges of reporting from Gaza and the necessity of local sources.
SR's Foreign Chief Responds to Criticism Over Gaza Reporting
SR's Foreign Chief Responds to Criticism Over Gaza Reporting
SR's coverage of the Gaza conflict is one-sided and undermines trust in public service, wrote terrorism researcher Magnus Ranstorp in a SvD column on Wednesday, targeting SR employees Cecilia Uddén and Sami Abu Salem. Now, SR's foreign chief Anders Pontara strikes back.
– We certainly do not share the picture he paints in the column.
In a column on SvD's editorial page, Magnus Ranstorp harshly criticizes SR employees Cecilia Uddén and Sami Abu Salem, who have been awarded the Great Journalism Prize for their reporting from the Middle East.
It is wrong for Swedish Radio to use Sami Abu Salem as a "witness of truth" because he also works for the Palestinian Authority's news agency Wafa, argues Magnus Ranstorp.
"The result is stories that carry as much politics as facts. Abu Salem wages a journalistic war – while Hamas wages a military one," he writes.
Magnus Ranstorp also believes that Cecilia Uddén often portrays Palestinians as victims and Israelis as perpetrators in her reporting.
SR's foreign chief Anders Pontara is critical of Ranstorp's column.
– Regarding Sami Abu Salem, I think he goes far and, in principle, between the lines, accuses him of being a Hamas supporter, says Anders Pontara.
He emphasizes that Sami Abu Salem has, many times during the 15 years he has worked for SR, conveyed voices and testimonies critical of Hamas.
Lacks Context in SvD Column
Anders Pontara finds Magnus Ranstorp's text "tendentious and difficult to understand." He notes that international media is not allowed into Gaza, making reliance on local journalists necessary.
– It is clear that they work under difficult conditions, but the entire context is absent in Ranstorp's column.
That Sami Abu Salem also works for Wafa is, according to the SR chief, "not ideal."
– But the situation for journalists in the West Bank and especially in Gaza is not like in Sweden. You cannot choose and pick among employers or decide to work with media that are free and independent. Here we have journalists who need to work for their livelihood.
The SR chief also believes that Magnus Ranstorp's criticism of Cecilia Uddén's journalism is completely incorrect.
– Few have such knowledge and such a network on all sides of this conflict as Cecilia has, and few have depicted the Israeli perspectives over the years as deeply as she has. That is often forgotten.
"Got the Chronology Wrong"
Cecilia Uddén has signed the controversial Gaza appeal for journalists and said that a Facebook post by Sami Abu Salem – where he urges international journalists to protest against not being allowed into Gaza – inspired her to do so.
In the SvD column, Magnus Ranstorp writes that the timeline does not match, as the appeal was published on Expressen's debate page two days before Abu Salem's Facebook post.
For Anders Pontara, Cecilia Uddén has explained that she had been in contact with Sami Abu Salem all summer and that he had written in their chats about the lack of protests against international media not being allowed in. This was before he posted the message.
– Then Cecilia somehow got the chronology a bit wrong. She understands that she should have been clear that he wrote this to her in private chats first.
Expressen has been in contact with Cecilia Uddén, who declined to comment.