The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today said U.S. and international media outlets must speak out after a new report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) that Israel killed more journalists in 2025 than any other country.
In its annual report, RSF said Israeli forces were responsible for the deaths of 29 Palestinian reporters. It was the third year running that Israel was named the top killer of journalists by the NGO.
RSF wrote: “The Israeli army is responsible for over 43 % — nearly half — of crimes committed against journalists over the past twelve months. In total, since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed nearly 220 journalists, at least 65 of whom were slain either due to their work or while they were working.”
In a statement, CAIR said:
“The staggering number of journalists killed by Israeli forces for the third year in a row represents one of the gravest assaults on press freedom the world has seen in decades. When nearly half of all journalists killed worldwide lose their lives at the hands of a single military, silence is not an option.
“American and international news organizations have a moral duty to speak out, to demand accountability and to refuse to normalize the targeting of reporters who risked their lives to document Israel’s genocide. Protecting journalists means protecting the truth.”
In November, CAIR condemned a reported attack on journalists and Palestinians harvesting olives by illegal Israeli settlers in the illegally-occupied West Bank. Two Reuters news agency employees were among those injured in the attack by men wielding sticks and clubs and hurling rocks.
In August, CAIR called the Israeli military a “terrorist organization” after Israel slaughtered at least 20 people, including five journalists, in a “double tap” strike on Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza in which one bombing was followed by another to kill first responders – the so-called “double tap.” The reporters killed or injured by Israel worked for Associated Press, Reuters, The Independent, NBC, and Al Jazeera.
Earlier that month, CAIR condemned Israel’s assassination of five Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza and called on U.S. and international media professionals to stand in solidarity with their Palestinian colleagues under attack.
Israel slaughtered more than 70,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children. The true figure is likely to be much higher.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com