Twitter’s new Middle East news hire apologizes for anti-Israel tweets

A new Twitter hire, Fadah Jassem, who is responsible for curating news coverage of the Middle East and North Africa, has apologized for tweets harshly critical of Israel that were made in 2010 and 2011.

Jassem also apologized for not including Israel’s flag alongside those of 17 other Middle Eastern and North African countries, including the Palestinian flag, in a tweet announcing her new role on Monday.

“Cats out the bag, I’m thrilled to say that I join Twitter as Editorial Curation Lead for MENA today,” the tweet read. “Very excited to get stuck in and delve deeper into the discussions that matter from this diverse and lively region!”

The tweet earned Jassem heavy backlash from pro-Israel groups and raised questions about objectivity in social media news coverage.

The watchdog group StopAntisemitism tweeted: “Hey @FadahJassem — seems you forgot something.”

The group Israel War Room asked Twitter for a response, saying the omission reflects “either woeful ignorance of the territory @FadahJassem is supposed to cover, or antisemitic erasure of the only Jewish state.”

Hey, @Twitter, why did your new MENA Editorial Curation Lead not list Israel alongside its Middle Eastern neighbors? This is either woeful ignorance of the territory @FadahJassem is supposed to cover, or antisemitic erasure of the only Jewish state. pic.twitter.com/ieZMWd971L

— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) November 1, 2021

Jassem apologized for the announcement tweet and for her past tweets made in 2010 and 2011 critical of Israel.

“I can see that I have been ill-informed with some tweets when younger,” she wrote. “I apologise for any offence caused by these particular tweets and like I said for forgetting the Israeli flag with reference to MENA as I did others.”

In one tweet from 2010, Jassem wrote that Israel was “not born” but “dropped like a bomb” in the Middle East. Another appeared to show support for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

Jassem, who previously worked as a producer and editor for several television networks, has protected her Twitter account so it is no longer publicly visible.