Three Jordanian Journalists filed a complaint against their newspaper, Al-Aswaq, on Monday because of what they claimed was support for normalizing relations with Israel.
The Journalists Rashid Hassan, Ahmad Dabas and Ahmad Zeadan issued their complaint to the Jordanian Press Association (JPA) accusing the daily paper of printing a regional English Newspaper ‘Crossing Borders’ which pushed for normalizing relations with Israel.
According to the Press Associations law, the Chief Editor of Al-Aswaq has 15 days to respond to this complaint. At which point action will be taken
The JPA has already decided to propose to the Council of Jordanian Associations to boycott the Newspaper because it violated the decision of its General Committee and the General Union of Arab Journalists, which forbids any form of normalization with Israel.
If this recommendation is accepted it would mean that members of the Associations would stop buying the newspaper. It would also mean that all advertising to the paper would be stopped, costing the already financially challenged Al-Aswaq great monetary loss.
The initial complaint also mentions that the newspaper received at its headquarters a team of Israelis in charge of editing the regional newspaper ‘Crossing Borders’.
The Chief Editor of Al-Aswaq newspaper, Mustafa Abu-Lebdeh denied any connection with ‘Crossing Borders’ and said his newspaper does not own its own printing press. Abu-Lebdeh said that the printing press is owned by a public shareholders enterprise called, Arab Company for Media Investment.
Albawaba.com got a copy of the newspaper, which is published every two months. In the July and August issue the paper included topics on peaceful cohabitation with Israel, and an interview with a Chief Editor of a Jordanian newspaper who asked not to be named as saying that the Palestinians and Israelis have already reached an agreement at Camp David but that it won’t be published because public opinion on both sides is not ready to accept it – Albawaba.com
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