Sunday, February 27, 2022
Elder of ZiyonThe newspaper tweeted, "Al-Qabas affirms its firm and steadfast stance towards the crimes of the miserable Zionist enemy, and its full support for the valiant Palestinian resistance. And it announces the suspension of one of the opinion writers who called for normalization with the Zionist enemy, on his social media accounts."
The person suspended was Jassim al-Juraid.
On February 20, Israeli journalist and Arab expert Edy Cohen tweeted that the self-declared "chief rabbi" of Saudi Arabia, Yaakov Herzog, invited Jews worldwide to spend Passover in the Kingdom, and that matzoh would be available. Cohen said that he hoped Jews worldwide would come and get to know Saudi Arabia, "the kingdom of peace and coexistence," and said,"God willing, my family and I will try to join."
In response, Kuwaiti writer Jassim al-Juraid tweeted, "Happy with this progress in Saudi Arabia, and the invitation to our Jewish friends there. Congratulations my friend, hope to see you soon in Kuwait🤝🏼🌹"
When some Kuwaitis complained, al-Juraid doubled down, saying to Cohen, "My friend @EdyCohen: They think the pressure of these people will stop our brotherly journalistic relationship. You and the honorable family have served with love and affection."
His friendly tweets to Cohen are what led to his suspension.
Reaction to the suspension are mixed. Many are supporting the suspension, including Palestinians, and even including the Palestinian Media Forum, which may be the only journalist group in the world to openly oppose freedom of speech. Many Kuwaitis agree with the suspension, saying that "Palestine is a red line." On the other hand, other Kuwaitis oppose the move, with one academic quote-tweeting, "if Palestine is a red line, then freedoms for us as Kuwaitis are a thousand red lines."
