The ‘journalist’ who held three Israeli hostages captive in his home received financial and other support from People Media Project in Washington State.
The ‘journalist’ who held three Israeli hostages captive in his home received financial and other support from People Media Project in Washington State.
O n June 8, the Israel Defense Forces pulled off a daring rescue mission, freeing four Israeli hostages held for nearly 250 days since the October 7 terrorist attack. Soon after, the world learned that three of these hostages were held captive by Abdallah Aljamal, a so-called journalist who was, in reality, a Hamas operative and spokesman.
Not as well known but equally disturbing is the fact that Aljamal was receiving financial and other support from a U.S.-based, nonprofit news organization, People Media Project, which operates the Palestine Chronicle, for which Aljamal wrote. Because the Palestine Chronicle has tax-exempt status, U.S. taxpayer dollars essentially subsidized Hamas’s hostage operations.
Now, one of those hostages, our client Almog Meir Jan, has filed a lawsuit against People Media Project and its leadership, demanding accountability for their role in aiding and abetting Hamas terrorism. The lawsuit argues that People Media Project not only gave a voice to terrorist propaganda through the Palestine Chronicle but also, in clear violation of U.S. law, directly supported the efforts of a Hamas operative who held Israeli citizens hostage in his home for approximately the last six months of their eight months in captivity.
For its part, People Media Project denies the allegations.
We believe Jan’s case against the Washington State–based media company is airtight. Following the October 7 terror attack, People Media Project continuously supported Aljamal with a platform and financial backing. Aljamal posted several pieces a week on the Palestine Chronicle’s website, praising Hamas’s “daring attack,” demonizing Israel, and spreading falsehoods about the war in Gaza, including misinformation about Israeli airstrikes. His propaganda played a critical role for Hamas as it looked to “shore up its popularity” and manipulate the public narrative on the world stage. Aljamal’s connections to Hamas were well known throughout this period. He also had a previous stint as an official spokesperson for the Hamas-run Ministry of Labor in Gaza.
While working for the Palestine Chronicle, Aljamal was holding the three Israeli civilians in his home. Jan, Shlomi Ziv, and Andrey Kozlov were “beaten regularly” during their captivity, suffered “almost daily abuse,” and showed signs of malnutrition and muscle wastage, according to Dr. Itai Pessach of Israel’s Sheba Medical Center, who supervised their recovery. The rescued hostages were also reportedly abused emotionally, psychologically, and religiously, forced to read the Koran daily and participate in Muslim prayer.
Alarmingly, the terrorist connection at People Media Project goes far beyond Aljamal. Indeed, the second defendant in Jan’s lawsuit, Ramzy Baroud, who serves as editor in chief of the Palestine Chronicle, has worked with an organization led by an individual convicted of terrorism-related crimes; this same organization hosted a conference sponsored by Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood–affiliated groups. The third defendant, John Harvey, listed as People Media Project’s secretary and treasurer, organized a campaign to make the Hamas stronghold of Rafah a sister city of Olympia, Wash., according to the Washington Free Beacon.
At least six Palestine Chronicle writers and contributors have been linked to Iranian propaganda outlets, the Free Beacon reports. Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, backs Hamas and similar groups globally. At least one Palestine Chronicle writer posted to social media instruction videos about how to most effectively stab Jews with a knife. Earlier this month, the U.S. director of national intelligence revealed that “actors tied to Iran’s government” have co-opted and funded some anti-Israel protests in the U.S.
It is illegal for a U.S. nonprofit to provide support for terrorism. In fact, there is clear precedent under international law and the U.S. tax code for revoking the tax-exempt status of organizations supporting terrorism. According to House Ways and Means Committee chairman Jason Smith (R., Mo.), the Internal Revenue Service has previously revoked tax-exempt status for other organizations after public reporting suggested they provided material support to a terrorist organization. On July 10, Smith and two other House committee chairmen, James Comer (R., Ky.) and Virginia Foxx (R., N.C.), sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling for a criminal investigation of the Palestine Chronicle.
The United States has long recognized Hamas as a terrorist organization. The group’s track record of violent attacks against civilians and its explicit goal of annihilating Israel and targeting Jews worldwide leave no room for doubt. Since its founding, Hamas has committed “countless acts of violence against both military and civilian targets,” including bombings, shootings, stabbings, kidnappings, and rocket attacks. On October 7, Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1,200 Israelis and people of other nationalities, injured more than 6,900 people, and took more than 200 hostages.
We now know that three of those hostages were held by a Hamas operative supported by People Media Project and subsidized by American taxpayer money. (The fourth hostage rescued on June 8, Noa Argamani, was held in another home in the same neighborhood.) Today, some 80 hostages believed to be alive remain in captivity, including the two Bibas children and their parents.
People Media Project cannot be allowed to continue operating with impunity and with American taxpayer dollars. To allow it to do so is tantamount to supporting terrorism, the October 7 atrocities, and the immense human suffering of the hostages — among them five Americans believed to be alive.
The U.S. must not turn a blind eye to People Media Project’s blatant abuse of nonprofit status and complicity in crimes against humanity. May Almog Meir Jan get the justice he deserves, for himself and for so many others still in captivity.
Mark Goldfeder and Jason Torchinsky are attorneys representing Almog Meir Jan.