Two Days On, Most US Outlets Still Silent after Israel Kidnaps Irish President's Sister
Over forty-eight hours since the Israeli regime kidnapped Dr Margaret Connolly, sister of the President of Ireland, from a boat in international waters off Cyprus. She remains in Israeli detention.
The Associated Press has, since our original piece, run a wire that mentions “the sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly” in its seventh paragraph. So while one U.S. outlet has decided it’s time to inform their readers on the situation, they also ensured the news would not hit the 80%+ of people who do not read past the news headlines.
As of this writing, the following major U.S. outlets have published no dedicated story on the detention of Dr Margaret Connolly, no piece naming her, and no headline acknowledging that the sister of a sitting head of state has been seized by a foreign military in international waters:
The New York Times
The Washington Post
The Wall Street Journal
CNN
Reuters
Bloomberg
The Financial Times
USA Today
ABC News
CBS News
MSNBC
NPR
Fox News
It is being told by the Irish press, the Israeli press, the Qatari press, the Turkish press, the French press, even the UK press, which normally shows remarkably pro-Israeli leanings, has covered it. Her name and face have been on the front of newspapers around the world, with U.S. outlets standing alone in their silence on this high-profile kidnapping.
The Irish political sphere has responded to the kidnapping with condemnation. The President Catherine Connolly said she is “proud” of her sister, but noted that she is “very worried,” while on a trip to the UK to convene with King Charles III. Ireland’s Taoiseach called the taking of Irish citizens “unacceptable,” while Dr. Connolly’s husband has expressed his worry for his wife’s condition, with Israeli detention historically showing a pattern of mistreatment, up to and including torture.
Earlier today, we saw examples of the horrible conditions the hostages are being held in. Israeli National Security Minister, and convicted terrorist, Itamar Ben-Gvir imposed himself and several troops on those detained. They faced light beatings on camera, as the camera showed they are being kept kneeling on the ground in a large room. Each hostage’s hands are tied using plastic ties in the footage, leaving those attacked unable to prevent the kicks aimed at them by the soldiers accompanying Ben-Gvir.
Dr. Connolly was not seen directly in the clip shared by the war criminal, so we are forced to assume she is one of those kneeling on the ground, with her hands tied and her head placed on the floor.
The Ben-Gvir stunt received widespread condemnation, with at least one voice inside the Israeli government itself opposing the disgusting propaganda stunt. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar posted his condemnation of the move to X earlier today. While he did condemn the filmed attack against the hostages, he seemed to care more about the reputational repercussions for Israel, rather than speaking up for the human rights of those held illegally.
While some U.S. outlets do cover the attack by Ben-Gvir and Israeli soldiers, such as NBC and the Associated Press, Those articles still make no mention of the kidnapping of a world leader’s sibling, a sibling who may well have been on the other side of the type of abuse the Israeli National Security Minister displayed on video.
Every outlet listed above was expected to cover the story of Dr. Connolly with an article dedicated to her kidnapping. Not only because this is the sort of thing we would expect from some of the top news outlets on the planet, but because they had set a precedent of covering high profile abductions from the flotilla. In June Greta Thunberg had been aboard the Gaza flotilla and was subsequently taken by the Israeli forces who illegally stormed their vessels. Every one of the outlets named above had her in the headline within hours.
We cannot say for certain why they have chosen to keep Dr Margaret Connolly out of their headlines. We can note that she is the sister of the President of Ireland, that Ireland enjoys deep sympathies in the United States, and that a U.S. public made aware of Israel kidnapping a family member of the Irish president would be a U.S. public more likely to demand the kind of legislation and political consequences the regime has spent two years working to prevent. Make of that what you will.
Regardless the reason the U.S. media will point to, should they ever address their silence on Dr. Connolly, the U.S. public should demand more of them. We are witnessing a media sphere who are so used to deceiving the public, it is just second nature at this point in time. Every citizen of every country deserves an honest press. The U.S. public, on the evidence of the last two years, does not have one.