White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Good for them! -Zany
“Shame on you!” Inside, though, the plight of Palestinian journalists was largely ignored.
Before guests could get inside last night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, they had to wade through a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters who reminded them of the journalists who have been killed covering Israel’s war on Gaza.
The annual dinner, nicknamed “nerd prom,” is hosted by the group of journalists who cover the White House and attended by members of the media, politicians, and celebrities alike. But last night, a large group of protesters were also present outside the Washington Hilton to greet guests decked out in ball gowns and tuxedos. The protesters were holding signs demanding a ceasefire and an end to “media complicity in genocide.”
Videos posted on social media show the crowd chanting “shame on you!” and “every time the media lies, a journalist in Gaza dies” as attendees filed into the event. Protesters also set up a memorial of what resembled blood-stained press jackets on the street to honor the Palestinian journalists killed covering the war, with some laying motionless on the pavement next to them, the Associated Press reports. As of Saturday, at least 97 journalists and media workers—92 Palestinians, two Israelis, and three Lebanese—have been killed since the war began, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, which adds that more than two dozen journalists have also been arrested and more than a dozen reported injured. (A CPJ spokesperson said the organization wasn’t involved with planning the protests and pointed to a statement the organization put out prior to the dinner recognizing “the importance of press freedom for democracy.”)
