The New Arab

A Pan-Arab media outlet headquartered in London

The New Arab / Al-Araby Al-Jadeed

Native name

| العربي الجديد
Company type| Private company
Industry| News media
Founded| March 2014; 10 years ago (2014-03)
Founder| Azmi Bishara
Headquarters| London, United Kingdom
Owner| Fadaat Media
Website| www.newarab.com

The New Arab or Al-Araby Al-Jadeed (Arabic: العربي الجديد) is a London-based pan-Arab news outlet owned by Qatari company Fadaat Media. It launched an Arabic-language website in March 2014[1] and an Arabic language daily newspaper in September 2014. The English version of its website is The New Arab.

In 2015, Fadaat launched Al Araby TV Network as a counterweight to Al Jazeera and its perceived bias.[2]

## History

[edit]

Amid tensions between Qatari emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the director of Al Jazeera, Tamim launched Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, headed by the emir's closest advisor Azmi Bishara. According to Professor Lina Khatib, Al-Jazeera's association with the Muslim Brotherhood and its reputation as a mouthpiece for the Syrian revolution had hurt the channel's credibility. With the launch, Tamim was seeking to establish a voice independent of his parents.[3]

Al-Araby Al-Jadeed was officially launched in March 2014 as a new media project funded by Qatari private holding company Fadaat Media. It launched Arabic-language website Al-Araby Al-Jadeed in March 2014 and an Arabic language daily newspaper with the same name in September 2014. It also has an English website known as The New Arab.[4]

Dr. Azmi Bishara, a Palestinian Christian based in Doha and an ex-member of the Israeli Knesset, runs Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.[4][5] Al-Araby Al-Jadeed now operates globally, with more than 150 staff in three offices, based in Beirut, Doha and London.[6]

Journalists for Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, including Bishara, were targeted by hackers affiliated with Project Raven, a UAE initiative to target the mobile phones of media figures the UAE believed were supported by Qatar.[7]

## Editorial position

[edit]

Bishara described the outlet as "relatively independent" in the context of the Arab world. According to Bishara, "Sometimes the newspaper might be sensitive about what not to say, because you are not there to provoke the people that finance you."[7] According to Professor Lina Khatib, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed is meant to be a rival to pro-Muslim Brotherhood Al Jazeera as a major outlet for the Qatari state's views.[3]

Since 2013, many Egyptian journalists have taken employment at Arab media outlets such as Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, funded by Qatar and critical of the Egyptian government.[8]

The New Arab's English version has a collection of articles that document Israel's alleged genocide in Gaza.[9] Amidst the controversy after the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion during the Israel–Hamas war, The New Arab Arabic-language edition blamed Israel and denounced President Joe Biden for adopting the Israeli narrative.[10]

## Ownership and finances

[edit]

The outlet is owned by Qatar-based Fadaat Media Ltd. Abdulrahman Elshayyal is the newspaper's CEO.[11][12] Fadaat Media is an Arab media investment company.[13][14]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "www.alaraby.co.uk – Independent Journalism for a New Arab world". 30 March 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
2. ^ Rebecca Hawkes (26 January 2015). "Qatar's latest channel Al Araby launches from London". Rapid TV News.
3. ^ a b Khatib, Lina (1 September 2014). "Qatar and the Recalibration of Power in the Gulf". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
4. ^ a b Kilani, Feras (28 November 2014). "Qatar's Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: Will new media venture silence suspicions?". BBC News. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
5. ^ "New Arabic daily newspaper launches". The Media Network: Middle East. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
6. ^ Dominic, Ponsford (6 January 2016). "Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt block London-based pro democracy news website".
7. ^ a b Schectman, Joel (1 April 2019). "Special Report: U.S. hackers helped UAE spy on Al Jazeera chairman, BBC host". Reuters. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
8. ^ Hamzawy, Amr (29 March 2019). "Egypt's Political Exiles: Going Anywhere but Home". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
9. ^ "Gaza genocide".
10. ^ Pacchiani, Gianluca (18 October 2023). "Arab press largely unswayed by Israeli evidence terror rocket caused hospital blast". Times of Israel. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
11. ^ "Abdulrahman Elshayyal". Galilee Foundation. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
12. ^ "Fadaat". Fadaat Media. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
13. ^ "Fadaat Media breaks silence over reported al-Jazeera job losses". Alaraby. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
14. ^ Mustafa, Sumaya. "Fadaat Media Ltd: www.alaraby.co.uk - Independent Journalism for a New Arab world". GlobeNewswire. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2019.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website