Press Freedom Conference 2015

According to Freedom House’s Freedom of the Press index, an annual survey of media independence in 197 countries and territories, only 14 percent of the world’s citizens live in countries that enjoy a free press. In the rest of the world, governments as well as non-state actors control the viewpoints that reach citizens and brutally repress independent voices who aim to promote accountability, good governance, and economic development.

Speaker:

Robert Ruby, Director of Communications, Freedom House

Chair:

Ruth Eglash, Jerusalem correspondent, the Washington Post

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In recent years, many journalists and media assistance have lost their lives carrying out their professional duties. Aside from those killed, many more were victims of abduction, hostage-taking, harassment and intimidation. Many of the perpetrators of such offences often enjoy impunity. These attempts by State and non-State actors to silence or restrict journalists not only deny journalists their rights but also jeopardize the fundamental right of society at large to be kept informed.

Speakers:

Samer Shalabi, CBC, the first Palestinian journalist to be elected the Chairman of the Foreign Press Association in Israel

Georges Malbrunot, Le Figaro, 124 days in captivity in Iraq

Col. Peter Lerner, IDF Spokesman Unit

Chems Akrouf, former member of the French intelligence agencies, Director of MMI, Intelligent Safety Program for Journalism

Gallagher Fenwick, Middle East correspondent, France 24

Chair:

Ilene Prusher, former war correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor; currently writing for TIME, Haaretz and TLV1; author of Baghdad Fixer

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Following the murderous attack on Charlie Hebdo, which left 11 journalists and a French policeman dead, the lead cartoonist of the magazine declared that he will stop using Mohammed in his cartoons. Short of terror against journalists on one hand, and limitless freedom of the press from the other hand, is there a middle way, where press freedom and sensitivity to religious feelings can be balanced?

Speakers:

Dr. Alick Isaacs, co-director of Talking Peace

Mohammed Abu Ubaid, Qadi of Baqa al-Gharbiyye (باقة الغربية)

Dana Weiss, Anchor and Senior Correspondent, Channel 2 news, Israel

Chair:

Aidan White, Director of EJN, Ethics in Journalism Network

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Freedom of the Press vs. Fighting Terror Effectively

Sponsored by the Israel democracy Institute

Following the attack on the World Trade Center (9/11), governments have moved to curtail civil and human rights, including freedom of the press and the internet, arguing that this was a vital means to fight terrorism effectively. The debate goes on whether or not these measures were effective at all. At the same time, organizations like Al Qaeda and IS use the mass media and the cyber to terrorize people worldwide. This session will try to suggest some productive insights on this highly controversial issue.

Speakers:

Prof. Susan Herman, President of the American Civil Liberties Union ACLU, Brooklyn Law School

Dr. Ely Karmon, Senior Research Scholar at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT)

Steve Linde, Editor-in-Chief, the Jerusalem Post

David Witzthum, Editor and Anchorman, Channel One Television, Israel

Chair:

Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer, Vice President of Research at the Israel Democracy Institute

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Putin’s Russia and Ardogen’s Turkey have become countries where journalists are persecuted, imprisoned, even killed for trying to carry out their vital mission. We will hear two brave journalists, who dared defy their repressive governments. They speak for many others, in other parts of the world.

Speakers:

Aleksey Simonov, President of Glasnost Defense Foundation

Yavuz Baydar, Turkish columnist and blogger, co-founder of P24, the Platform for Independent Media, recepient of the Special Award of the European Press Prize, which he shared with the Guardian and Der Spiegel

Chair:

Dr. Liad Mudrik, Faculty Member at the School of Psychological Sciences at Tel Aviv University and recipient of the 2011 National Postdoctoral Award for Advancing Women in Science

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New technologies offer today’s journalists endless opportunities to gather information and cover events. As a matter of fact, anyone with a smartphone can easily become a reporter, and with the quick pace of the internet, a new story pops up every minute. In light of this, are the ethics and the values of the old school journalism still valid?

Speakers:

Paul Egglestone, Coordinator at the School of Journalism and Digital Communication, University of Central Lancashire, UK

David Horovitz, Editor-in-Chief, The Times of Israel Speaker from a digital media outlet

Chair:

Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, Head of the Media Reform project and the Open Government project, the Israel Democracy Institute

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When all is said and done in regards to the Freedom of the Press, there are people who have to weigh and ponder at all the contrasting values and interests and make a decision, many times under deadline. We will hear from some leading editors how they do it.

Speakers:

Aluf Benn, Editor-in-Chief, Haaretz (Israel)

Andrea Rizzi, Redactor Jefe de Internacional Foreign Desk Editor (Spain)

Sebastian Lacunza, Editor, Buenos Aires Herald (Argentina)

Souheil Karram, Owner and Editor-in-Chief, Al-Shams Radio, Nazareth (Israel)

Chair:

Jodi Rudoren, Jerusalem Bureau Chief, New York Times

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Sponsored by Mishkenot Sha’ananim

A candid talk between Solène Chalvon, correspondent of Liberation in the Ivory Coast and a columnist at Charlie Hebdo, and Prof. Eva Illouz, a world renowned sociologist. In a column she wrote in the issue of Charlie Hebdo right after the fatal attack, Chalvon dismissed the criticism that the satirical magazine deserved its fate because of its “editorial foolishness” and claimed that “Freedom of Expression will survive”. But while millions took to the street in Paris in solidarity for Charlie Hebdo, polls show that almost half of the Frenchmen favor limiting the freedom of expression on the internet. Eva Illouz, raised in France before she moved to Israel, has always been praising France for its ability to embrace strangers into the homeland of human rights. This is a talk not to be missed.

Eva Illouz, professor of sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, former President of Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. Illouz has authored award-winning books and in 2009 was chosen by the German leading newspaper Die Zeit as one of the 12 thinkers most likely to “change the thought of tomorrow.”

Journalists and activists of freedom of the press organizations from all around the world will get an opportunity to report in 10 minutes about the situation in their respective countries.

Chair:

Gwen Ackerman, Bureau Chief Israel and the Palestinian Territories at Bloomberg News

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