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Algemeiner covered B’nai B’rith International speaking out against AJ+’s assertion that Dima al-Wawi, a 12-year-old Palestinian girl, was detained in Israel without probable cause. Al-Wawi was arrested for attempting to stab an Israeli security guard in the West Bank near Hebron.

“This video story is incomplete and should be regarded as anti-Israel propaganda,” said B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman, adding that his organization “condemns AJ+ for not providing accurate information to its followers.


A major Jewish organization sharply criticized a video accusing Israel of detaining a Palestinian girl without reasonable grounds, The Algemeiner has learned.

B’nai B’rith International expressed “outrage” that the video — posted on Facebook by the self-described “global news community” AJ+, whose parent company is Al Jazeera Media Network –omitted the complete story of 12-year-old Dima al-Wawi arrest and incarceration.

AJ+ “sends a deceiving message, resulting in the take away that it’s acceptable to tell a supposed news story without all of the facts,” B’nai B’rith said.

In the video, al-Wawi is shown reunited with her family after spending two and a half months in an Israeli prison. A member of the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs is featured saying Israel is “an ugly state…that doesn’t respect childhood and violates Palestinian childhood.” The video fails to mention that al-Wawi was taken into custody on Feb. 9 for attempting to stab an Israeli security guard near Hebron in the West Bank.

“This video story is incomplete and should be regarded as anti-Israel propaganda,” said B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman, adding that his organization “condemns AJ+ for not providing accurate information to its followers.”

B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin added: “There are many different ways Palestinians have tried to delegitimize Israel. Some are in the form of protests, like the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, and others, like this one, are through the media. It is imperative for the world to realize that global antisemitism is growing, and that AJ+ is trying to pass off an anti-Israel agenda as news.”

B’nai B’rith International wrote a letter to AJ+ to complain about the video, but said it has not received a response.