Vigil in San Francisco marks 2nd anniversary of West Bank journalist Shireen Abu Akleh’s murder – NBC Bay Area

In San Francisco on Saturday, several hundred people gathered for a vigil at the Embarcadero, marking the second anniversary of the day a prominent Palestinian-American journalist was killed while reporting in the occupied West Bank.

Participants also mourned the journalists believed to have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

Those in attendance at the memorial called for justice for Shireen Abu Akleh, an American citizen and Al Jazeera reporter who was shot and killed on May 11, 2022.

Abu Akleh’s cousin, Jennifer Zacharia, lives in Berkeley and was at the vigil on Saturday.

Zacharia said that Abu Akleh was killed that day, “she was reporting on an Israeli military incursion into the Jenin refugee camp.”

Zacharia said that her cousin was walking down an open street at a time when there were no skirmishes and then one of her colleagues was shot. Then the shooting continued.

“And they shot her in the few inches between her press jacket and her vest,” Zacharia explained. Zacharia noted that a video showed people trying to grab Abu Akleh and drag her away after she was shot, but those people were also shot.

Dena Takruri, a senior anchor and producer for Al Jazeera’s AJ+ channel, spoke at the vigil on Saturday. She described Abu Akleh as a friend and colleague.

Takruri emphasized that Abu Akleh was “wearing a clearly marked press vest and helmet” when she was killed.

“We demand justice and accountability for them,” Takruri said.

Israel eventually admitted that one of its soldiers had probably fired the shot at Abu Akleh accidentally.

But Abu Akleh’s death sparked international outrage and many, including Zachariah, do not trust Israel’s report.

“You don’t accidentally shoot someone within five centimeters (between the vest and the neck), that’s a sniper shot and it’s an intentional shot,” Zacharia said.

Zacharia said there is no justice or responsibility for her cousin’s death.

Additionally, Zacharia said she was not surprised by the number of journalists killed in Gaza since October 7.

“And before Shireen, some journalists were killed, and then Shireen was killed, and now the last seven months have basically accelerated and exacerbated everything that had happened,” Zacharia continued.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, as of May 11, at least 97 journalists have been confirmed dead in Gaza, including 92 Palestinians.

According to Reporters Without Borders, more than 100 reporters have been killed in the six months since October 7.

“This is the deadliest conflict for journalists in modern history,” emphasized AJ+’s Dena Takruri.

Takruri said her Al Jazeera colleagues in the West Bank and Gaza have faced “relentless attacks,” with Al Jazeera journalists and their family members killed.

This month, Israel ordered Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera to close its offices in Israel.

“This is an attack on press freedom,” Takruri said.

“A threat to press freedom in one place is a threat to press freedom everywhere,” she continued.

As Israel effectively bans foreign journalists from the Gaza Strip, those with family there rely on the social media accounts of local journalists and local people.

“Everyone now has access to the stories coming out of Gaza, raw, unfiltered, directly from the people who are suffering, who are paying the enormous price,” said Jumana, a San Francisco resident who attended the vigil.

Jumana, who is of Palestinian-American descent, said her cousin escaped Gaza just a few weeks ago and was unrecognizable due to the famine she experienced.

Jumana and others at the vigil are calling for more action from the international community, including more measures to protect those who record the stories from Gaza.

“Journalists cannot be targeted, they should be protected by international law,” she said.