Palestine Chronicle, also called the People Media Project, is a nonprofit pro-Palestinian media outlet based in Mountlake Terrace, Washington that covers Palestinian and Middle East news from a left-of-center perspective. ^{1 2}

The outlet has been accused of supporting Hamas, and one of its Gaza-based journalists allegedly kept Israelis hostage during the Israel-Hamas conflict. ³

Background

The Palestine Chronicle, founded in 1999 as a small website, attributes its growth to “socially conscious and progressive” activists using the site to support left-of-center causes. One such activist is left-of-center professor and linguist Noam Chomsky who is an honorary editorial board member of the site. ⁴ Originally published in English, the Palestine Chronicle began a French publication, Chronique de Palestine, in the mid-2010s and an Italian version, Palestine Chronicle Italia, in March 2023. ^{5 6}

The Palestine Chronicle’s focus is covering what is calls the “Gaza Genocide.” The site reports on Middle Eastern news in general, but focuses primarily on developments between Israel and Palestine. Since the beginning of the 2023-2024 Israel-Hamas conflict, the Chronicle has maintained a running count of reported Gazan casualties, deaths, and missing persons. ⁷

Hostage Controversy

On June 8, 2024, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers liberated four of the original hostages taken by Hamas after the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Supernova Music Festival concertgoers. ³ Several media outlets claim that three of the four hostages were held by Palestine Chronicle journalist Abdallah Al-Jamal. ^{8 9 10} IDF soldiers killed Al-Jamal, his wife, and his father, and injured his sister while raiding his home. Al-Jamal formerly worked for Al Jazeera and the Gaza Labor Ministry. ⁹

The State of Israel has called on the United States to investigate the connections between the Palestine Chronicle and Hamas. ¹¹

Palestine Chronicle denied that Al-Jamal was holding the hostages, but the Chronicle changed its affiliation with Al-Jamal from a correspondent to a contributor after the liberation of the hostages. ^{12 13 14} The Chronicle also scrubbed its board of directors page after the news of Al-Jamal’s involvement with the hostages was public. ¹¹

This controversy came after the Chronicle published an article arguing that the Israel Defense Forces, not Hamas, was behind the original October 7 terrorist attack against Israel at the Supernova Music Festival. ¹⁵

Leadership

Ramzy Baroud is the editor-in-chief and president of the Palestine Chronicle. ² Baroud has a Ph.D. in Palestine Studies from the University of Exeter. Before joining the Chronicle in 1999, Baroud was the managing editor of the Middle East Eye, editor-in-chief of The Brunei Times, and deputy managing editor of Al Jazeera online. He has written several books, taught at Australia’s Curtin University of Technology, Malaysia Campus, and offers lectures at universities around the world. His books provide left-of-center perspectives of Palestinian intifada and what he calls Palestine’s “Freedom Fighter[s]” in Gaza. ¹⁶

Finances

There have been calls to revoke the Palestine Chronicle’s charitable nonprofit status due to its alleged connection to Abdallah Al-Jamal. Lawmakers in the United States, including U.S. Representative and Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee Jason Smith (R-MO), have suggested that the outlet was using its tax-exempt status to pay Hamas terrorists, including Al-Jamal. ^{17 18}

The Palestine Chronicle does not report a full tax return. Instead, the Chronicle files under the 990-N form which allows nonprofits whose annual revenue is less than $50,000 to not report their income. ¹⁹ However, the Washington State Corporations and Charities Filing System record shows the Palestine Chronicle brought in $91,017 in revenue in 2022, along with $47,307 in expenses, and $87,668 in total assets. ²⁰ This has contributed to calls for the IRS to take away Palestine Chronicle’s tax-exempt status. ²¹

The Chronicle raised over $8,000 through a GoFundMe page in 2023. ²²

Palestine Chronicle does not publish information related to its individual donations. ²⁰

1. Contact Us. Palestine Chronicle. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/contact-us/
2. About The Palestine Chronicle. Palestine Chronicle, Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/about/
3. Bigg, Matthew Mpoke. “Israel’s Military Says 3 Rescued Hostages Were Held in Hamas Member’s Home.” New York Times. June 10, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/10/world/middleeast/israel-hostages-hamas.html
4. Support Your Palestine Chronicle. Palestine Chronicle. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/support-the-chronicle/
5. “Help Us: Our Message is Stronger with You.” Palestine Chronicle. October 7, 2019. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/the-palestine- chronicle-at-20-our-message-stronger-than-ever/
6. “Now in Italian: The Palestine Chronicle Network Launches Its Latest Language Portal.” Palestine Chronicle. March 29, 2023. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/now-in-italian-the-palestine-chronicle-network-launches-its-latest-language-portal/
7. “The Gaza Genocide.” Palestine Chronicle. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/tag/al-aqsa-flood-live-blog/
8. Fabian, Emanuel. “IDF: Hamas terrorist and journalist was holding 3 hostages in home alongside family.” Times of Israel. June 9, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-hamas-terrorist-and-journalist-was-holding-3-hostages-in-home-alongside-family/
9. Spyer, Jonathan. “Abdallah Aljamal: ‘Prisoners’ Rights’ Activist Held, Abused Israeli Hostages.” Middle East Forum. June 14, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.meforum.org/65978/abdallah-aljamal-prisoners-rights-activist-held
10. Weinthal, Benjamin. “Israel demands answers from Al Jazeera why ‘Hamas terrorist’ allegedly worked as a reporter.” Fox News. June 9, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.foxnews.com/world/israel-demands-answers-al-jazeera-hamas-terrorist-allegedly-worked-reporter
11. Pollak, Joel B. “Israel: U.S. Should Investigate ‘Palestine Chronicle’ over Contributor Who Allegedly Held Hostages.” Breitbart News. June 10, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2024/06/10/israel-u-s-should-investigate-palestine-chronicle-over-contributor-who-allegedly-held-hostages/
12. Izso, Lauren and Rios, Michael. “Israel alleges journalist held hostages in Gaza, without providing evidence.” CNN. June 10, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/10/middleeast/israel-gaza-hostages-journalist-hamas-intl-hnk
13. “Raided Nuseirat Houses Does Not Belong to Aljamal Family – EuroMed Monitor.” Palestine Chronicle. June 16, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/raided-nuseirat-houses-does-not-belong-to-aljamal-family-euromed-monitor/
14. Jordan Schachtel. X. June 9, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://x.com/JordanSchachtel/status/1799909645760245972
15. “Not Hamas, but Israeli Military Killed Civilians at Nova Music Festival – Media Reports.” November 18, 2023. Palestine Chronicle. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/not-hamas-but-israeli-military-killed-civilians-at-nova-music-festival-media-reports/
16. About Dr. Ramzy Baroud. Ramzy Baroud. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://ramzybaroud.net/about/
17. “Chairman Smith Demands Revocation of Tax-Exempt Status for U.S.-Based Media Organization Employing Hostage-Taker in Gaza.” United States House Committee on Ways and Means – Chairman Jason Smith. June 10, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://waysandmeans.house.gov/2024/06/10/chairman-smith-demands-revocation-of-tax-exempt-status-for-u-s-based-media-organization-employing-hostage-taker-in-gaza/
18. Kredo, Adam. “GOP Senators Press IRS To Revoke Tax-Exempt Status of ‘Palestine Chronicle’ Nonprofit Tied to Hamas Hostage Taker.” Washington Free Beacon. June 12, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://freebeacon.com/media/gop-senators-press-irs- to-revoke-tax-exempt-status-of-palestine-chronicle-nonprofit-tied-to-hamas-hostage-taker/
19. People Media Project. IRS. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/ details/
20. ORGANIZATION SUMMARY – PEOPLE MEDIA PROJECT. Washington State Corporations and Charities Filing System. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://ccfs.sos.wa.gov/#/BusinessSearch/BusinessInformation
21. Eitan Fischberger. X. June 10, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://x.com/EFischberger/status/1800226004331553064
22. The Palestine Chronicle Needs Your Support. GoFundMe. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.gofundme.com/f/nb225w-the-palestine-chronicle-needs-your-support