Pthe Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient who was recognized as one of TIME’s 2018 People of the Year, as well as one of the most influential women of the century for her fight for press freedom and against misinformation, was selected in March to deliver the keynote address at Harvard University’s commencement on May 23.
“Maria Ressa embodies Veritas,” Harvard Interim President Alan Garber said at the time, referring to the school’s Latin motto meaning truth. “For nearly 40 years, she dedicated herself to the truth – its pursuit, its defense, and its defense – regardless of the repercussions.”
Although some students initially expressed disappointment Although the chosen speaker was not as “fun” as previous speakers, such as last year’s Tom Hanks, Ressa’s selection initially seemed uncontroversial. But while college campuses have been roiled by pro-Palestinian protests and accusations of anti-Semitism in recent months, Ressa has now been accused by a Republican congresswoman and prominent Harvard alumna of being anti-Semitic – an imputation that Ressa has categorically denied. to TIME on Monday.
Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, who led the attack in Congress against Ivy League university administrators for alleged anti-Semitism on campuses, said on Friday at X: “Harvard chose an anti-Semitic commencement speaker. The university failed to defend Jewish students at all times, revealing the depth of its moral delinquency.”
Stefanik included a link to a article by the right-wing news organization Washington Free Beacon, which suggested that a November editorial on Rappler, the Philippine publication Ressa co-founded in 2012 and leads as CEO, compared Israel to Hitler.
Last week, Stefanik was among the majority in the House of Representatives who voted in favor of a bill for the US government to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitismwhich includes “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli politics with that of the Nazis.”
In a statement to TIME, Rappler said the Free Beacon article misrepresented its editorial, which was published in Filipino. “Representative. Stefanik must get an accurate translation,” said Rappler co-founder and executive editor Glenda M. Gloria. “The Rappler editorial, published on November 6, 2023, calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, a challenge to humanity that, we believe, is shared by many. We also refuse to be drawn into the binary anti-Semitic versus anti-Palestine argument. There is only one side in this war: the side of peace, the side of truth above propaganda, the side of humanity above weapons and hate.”
The Free Beacon also criticized a open letter which Ressa signed in January by the global executive board of the International Press Institute (IPI) which called on Israel to stop killing journalists. The Free Beacon said there is no clear evidence that Israel targets journalists and alleged that some Palestinians use journalism as cover for terrorist activities.
Reporters Without Borders announced last week that more than 100 journalists have been killed in Gaza since 7 October. Committee to Protect Journalists counted 97 journalists and media workers, including 2 Israeli journalists, who were killed in the war, as of May 3. rejected Israel’s claims that they were linked to terrorists.
“Since when does calling for an end to the murders of journalists in Gaza or a ceasefire become anti-Semitic?!” Ressa told TIME on Monday.
Ressa had just returned from Chile, where she gave a talk address at a World Press Freedom Day conference held by UNESCO over the weekend. There, she spoke about how social media and search algorithms promote outrage over engagement with facts. “There are many, many other innovative ways to silence journalists today, when freedom of speech is literally used to silence us,” she said. Lies, Ressa emphasized throughout her career, spread faster than facts.
Stefanik’s tweet and the Free Beacon article seem to fuel such outrage.
“Under Duterte, I was CIA and communist,” Ressa told TIME, referring to former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, whose deadly war on drugs she famously documented. “Now, apparently, I am an anti-Semite and a Zionist,” she added, also referring to allegations that she is not critical enough of Israel. “None of this is true, but these lies are distributed, with impunity, on social media. We need accountability.”
Stefanik’s office, as well as Harvard University and IPI did not respond to TIME’s requests for comment.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
