AAmerican Jeremy Loffredo was one of five journalists allegedly arrested by Israeli security forces on October 9. He is reportedly charged with endangering national security and aiding and abetting an enemy and sharing information, apparently because of his reporting on Iranian attacks.
The case requires the immediate attention of US authorities (Lofredo has reportedly been released from custody, but is barred from leaving Israel as authorities try to build their case). But whichever way it goes, it will serve to highlight the plight of dozens of Palestinian journalists secretly held in Israeli prisons.
Loffredo's American citizenship is by no means a guarantee that the Biden administration might actually care about his detention. After all, Joe Biden was eager to take credit for the release of journalists Ivan Kershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, who were imprisoned in Russia on charges of forgery.
The administration has often said it is not micromanaging Israel's affairs. Israel, it reminds us, is a sovereign nation whose wars we finance. That excuse doesn't work when the journalist is American (though it didn't help much in the case of Shireen Abu Aghle).
That complicates matters for reporting by Loffredo of Grayzone, an outlet accused of carrying Russian and Chinese propaganda. The administration is caught in a separate (and constitutionally questionable) fight against alleged propagandists. On the day of Loffredo's arrest, another Grayson reporter caught a heated exchange with State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, accusing the United States of recklessly risking nuclear war.
But Grayson's editorial standards have nothing to do with whether Loffredo's detention was justified — it's only a question of whether he was arrested for a crime or for reporting stories the authorities didn't want to tell.
If Israel's theory is that reporters illegally share information with the enemy whenever they read enemy news, that would criminalize the entire press. If Israel has evidence that Loffredo did something worse, it should say so, and be specific. The protester reports that several other prominent journalists reported similar information and footage to Loffredo and were not charged – so why was one particularly hostile journalist singled out?
It remains to be seen whether the Biden administration's delusions about press freedom apply only to journalists they like. But more broadly, it is a shame that America has completely failed to keep Israel as its closest ally and recipient. Billions in US military aid – responsible for just one of many Journalists have been arrested, detained or killed in the previous year.
Israel has killed more than a hundred journalists in the war. Strong evidence indicates that Israel was deliberately targeted and some journalists were killed.
There have been several reports of journalists and their families receiving death threats from Israeli authorities – including Mohammed Mahawish and Hassan Hamad, who were both beaten. Mahavish survived. Nineteen-year-old Hamad's remains had to be carried in several boxes and bags.
But since 7 October 2023 Israel has arrested dozens of Palestinian journalists documented by groups such as Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). As of October 9, 2024, according to CPJ, 43 Palestinian journalists have been imprisoned by Israel, a record number.
Many of them are detained under Israel's “administrative detention” law, which allows indefinite detention without charge or trial. In some cases, not even a single prisoner's whereabouts are known.
Over the years, however, criticism of the system, which Israel says violates international law, has doubled down on its use during the war, including by journalists. Even worse, many human rights organizations have reported evidence of torture, including cases involving journalists documented by CPJ and RSF.
Journalist Diya al-Kahlood spoke to CPJ about her 33-day detention by the IDF after her release, where she says she was physically and psychologically tortured. Al-Kahlood said he was interrogated about his journalism and subjected to physical violence, including being blindfolded for long periods of time and forced to maintain a squatting position.
He described the daily “ghosting” or “blindfolded with hands up or handcuffed behind the back”. He lost nearly 100 pounds (45 kg) in custody.
Rights groups have also drawn attention to the case of photojournalist Moaz Amarna, who has been detained by the IDF. According to a letter to the UN signed by several groups, Amarna was “beaten and abused” by IDF soldiers during her arrest. RSF was also quoted as saying in a statement by Amarna's lawyer that she was “repeatedly subjected to violence by her jailers and deprived of basic medical care”.
There are many stories like this among the dozens of Palestinian journalists who are undoubtedly in prison and may lack access to legal counsel and the outside world. Yet the United States, for all its claims of valuing press freedom, has done little about it.
So yes, the Biden administration should demand that Israel immediately explain why it arrested an American journalist, and if it can't provide a credible reason unrelated to Loffredo's reporting, the charges should be dropped — and demand his phone and passport. Returned – immediately. But Israel should not be in prison Any A journalist who has not committed a real crime, and America should not turn a blind eye to its allies' attacks on the press, let alone fund them.
