ABC News has finally, after 24 days, recognized the mass Palestinian hunger strike in Israel’ prisons. But ABC acted only after giant Pizza Hut Corp fired an Israeli PR firm for making a crass insult of the strikers, suggesting it is a sham. We continue to ask, why does the US media avoid covering a strike that has been going on so long, and involves six or seven hundred strikers, and perhaps many more? If you do not know why, read our website. [Ed.-CEC]
ABCNews: “Pizza Hut has apologized and fired an advertising firm responsible for an Israeli Facebook ad that mocked the leader of a mass Palestinian hunger strike.
The ad on Pizza Hut Israel’s Facebook page was deleted, and the parent company said in a statement that the post was ‘completely inappropriate.’
The ad attempted to make light of Marwan Barghouti, the imprisoned leader of the 24-day-old hunger strike.
Palestinian activists stand around a 5×4 meter (16.5×13 feet) mosaic portrait of Marwan Barghouti near an Israeli military installation in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, May 9, 2017. Israel released a video they say claim Barghouti secretly eating in his cell while leading Palestinian prisoners hunger strike in Israeli jails. Barghouti supporters say video is a fabrication intended to break the prisoners’ morale. (AP Photo/ Nasser Shiyoukhi)
Barghouti, 58, is serving five life terms after an Israeli court convicted him of directing attacks during a 2000 Palestinian uprising that killed five people. Barghouti, in prison since 2002, never mounted a defense, saying the court had no jurisdiction over him….Barghouti said the demands better conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails….
In a statement released by Pizza Hut International’s Middle East Twitter account on Tuesday, the company said it apologized for any offense and said the ad “does not reflect the values of our brand.” A spokesman for Pizza Hut’s parent company in the U.S., Yum! Brands Inc., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Erez Rubenstein, a partner at the Israeli advertising company behind the ad, confirmed his firm had been dismissed and said the Facebook post was regrettable in hindsight. “We didn’t mean to offend anybody,” he said.
‘The fate of prisoners is an emotional issue for Palestinians. During decades of conflict, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have spent time in Israeli prisons for offenses ranging from stone throwing to participating in deadly attacks. Palestinians say Israel’s military court system is rigged against them.'” Full ABC story here.
Explaining the US news blackout in Palestine…it’s about continuous war for US. [Ed.-CEC]
