News Emmys defend Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda’s nomination after outcry from nonprofit group

The group behind the News and Documentary Emmy Awards defended its nomination of Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda’s documentary after Creative Community for Peace (CCP) published an open letter asking the Emmys to rescind their nomination, the New York Times reported.

CCP, an entertainment industry nonprofit that stands against antisemitism and cultural boycotts of Israel, alleged that Owda had connections to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which the United States and European Union have declared a terrorist group.

According to the New York Times, reports and pictures show Owda speaking at PFLP events between 2014 and 2018.

In their open letter, the CCP asked the National Academy of Television Arts and Science to revoke their selection of Owda’s eight-minute documentary, It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m Still Alive, which was produced by AJ+, the digital publication for Al Jazeera.

Owda’s documentary chronicled her life in late October 2023 after her family left their home to take shelter in tents outside the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Owda documented what life was like for her and other Gazans, including an 11-year-old whose parents died when Israeli forces bombed his house.

The CCP’s open letter has over 150 signatories, including actors Selma Blair and Debra Messing, music and film executives, and performers.

“Choosing to elevate someone with clear ties to the PFLP not only legitimises a terrorist organisation, it undermines the integrity of the awards,” the letter stated, adding that they wanted Owda’s nomination rescinded to “prevent glorifying a figure associated with terrorism and ensure the Emmys remain a symbol of peace and artistic collaboration”.

“The Emmy nomination for It’s Bisan From Gaza and I’m Still Alive is deeply troubling, given the creator’s history of promoting dangerous falsehoods, spreading antisemitism, and condoning violence […] Honouring someone linked to an organisation that has caused so much pain and suffering is not just irresponsible; it is a direct affront to the values we hold dear in the entertainment industry.”

Following the CCP’s letter, Adam Sharp, the president and chief executive of the academy, defended the nomination, stating that the nominees were selected by two panels, including experienced journalists. He added that the academy had not found evidence that Owda was currently affiliated with the PLFP.

The letter was met with widespread criticism by social media users, including Husam Zomlot, Palestine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, who said, “Supremacists, not only want us killed they want us to die in silence. Keep reporting Bisan”.

Others questioned the “moral compass” of the celebrities who signed the letter and said there was no “plausible explanation other than anti-Palestinian racism”.

Others highlighted that Owda’s work was “an incredible testament to the threat posed by a single young woman with an iPhone.”

“It eats people alive that 2,000-pound bombs have not been able to snuff out the power of witness and narrative.”

An X user claimed that “white women are wicked” because Messing and Blair were “harassing Bisan for being nominated for an Emmy for documenting the displacement and the genocide of her people.”

A netizen was struck by the “cruelty” of the move, while another stated that “Bisan has to worry about not being killed by a bomb while these people worry about an Emmy nomination”.

Bisan’s documentary is nominated in the Outstanding Hard News Feature Story: Short Form category, alongside two other broadcasts from Gaza by CNN and The Guardian, a report from Ukraine by the Times and a report from Haiti by PBS.

The News and Documentary Emmy Awards winners will be announced on September 25 and 26.

Owda has been reporting from Gaza since the beginning of Israel’s military offensive, which has now stretched into its 11th month, killing over 40,000 Palestinians.

Earlier, she was awarded the Peabody Award, one of the highest honours in journalism, which she accepted from a makeshift camp.