Washington:
The White House Correspondents' Association dinner, which annually brings together reporters, politicians and a glitzy array of celebrities in a largely lighthearted affair, will take place Saturday under very different circumstances, including a call for a boycott by Palestinian journalists.
With President Joe Biden leading a long list of VIP guests, more than two dozen Palestinian journalists published an open letter this week urging their American counterparts to boycott the dinner.
“You have a unique responsibility to speak truth to power and uphold journalistic integrity,” the letter said. “It is unacceptable to remain silent out of fear or professional concern while journalists in Gaza continue to be detained, tortured and killed for doing our work.”
At least 97 journalists – including 92 Palestinians – have been killed since the war broke out on October 7 with Hamas's invasion of southern Israel, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). At least 16 others have been injured.
In addition to the call for a boycott, an anti-war coalition is planning a demonstration not far from the Washington Hilton hotel where the dinner will take place.
The anti-war group Code Pink, part of the coalition, said it planned to “shut down” the dinner to protest “the Biden administration's complicity in the Israeli army's targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists.” .
It said his action would be “nonviolent” but gave no details.
For months, Biden's every move has been overshadowed by protesters angry over US support for Israel's military offensive in Gaza. He was met by cries of “Genocide Joe” and vociferous calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The gala dinner and a series of community events are taking place as the protest movement in Gaza has spread to universities across the country, and as police crackdowns on some campuses have led to hundreds of arrests.
At the dinner, Biden, in keeping with a long tradition — interrupted during the Donald Trump years — will sit on stage with a steady smile on his face as a guest comedian bumps into him.
This year it will be Colin Jost, a longtime writer and actor on NBC's “Saturday Night Live,” trying to entertain the crowd of VIPs in their tuxedos and flowing evening gowns. (Jost's wife, actress Scarlett Johansson, is expected to attend.)
The 81-year-old American president will then, also in keeping with tradition, give a speech, which will certainly contain some self-mockery, some criticism of the press and, undoubtedly, some sharp elbow jabs at Trump, his presumptive opponent. in the November presidential elections.
The annual dinner has been organized since 1920 by the influential White House Correspondents' Association, which honors top reporters and awards journalism fellowships.
Last year 2,600 people attended.
The association declined a request from AFP to comment on the boycott call and the planned demonstration.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)