Gazan Filmmaker Tied to Terror Group Nominated for Emmy

Bisan Owda, a Gazan filmmaker with longstanding connections to a U.S.-designated terror organization, has been nominated for the 2024 News and Documentary Emmy Awards. Owda, a former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was recognized in the Outstanding Hard News Feature Story: Short Form category for her Al Jazeera series, “It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m Still Alive.” The series documents Owda's experiences following Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in over a thousand deaths and hundreds taken hostage.

Owda’s ties to the PFLP have not been widely publicized among her 4.7 million Instagram followers. The connection was initially reported by Israeli activist Eitan Fischberger, who discovered evidence of Owda’s membership in the PFLP, a Marxist organization known for airplane hijackings and suicide bombings. The PFLP has been classified as a U.S.-designated terrorist organization since 1997. In 2018, the group identified Owda as a member of its youth wing on its website. Additionally, a 2015 interview showed Owda, clad in military attire and a PFLP scarf, pledging allegiance to the cause of "revolution."

During the PFLP’s 48th-anniversary celebration in 2015, Owda served as a reception committee member, welcoming attendees alongside masked individuals displaying knives and Hezbollah flags. Owda also participated in the 2016 celebration, opening the event with a moment of silence for "the souls of our revolution’s martyrs," according to the PFLP's website.

Owda’s Emmy nomination comes from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), which awards the News and Documentary Emmys. A NATAS spokeswoman stated that independent peer judges from the broadcast journalism community reviewed the content and found it meritorious. Judges’ votes are anonymous, and they are not compensated by NATAS.

Earlier this year, Owda received a Peabody Award for her series, dedicating it to global protesters and those supporting the Palestinian cause. Her coverage of the October 7 massacre included defending the attack, as reported by The Jerusalem Post. Owda wrote in Arabic, “For every action, there is a reaction,” justifying the attack as a response to decades of occupation and siege.

Since then, Owda has promoted anti-Israel rhetoric, accusing Israel of genocide and massacres. She dismissed claims that United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) workers were involved in the October 7 attacks, despite the recent firing of nine UNRWA workers after an investigation. Furthermore, Owda rejected reports of Hezbollah’s involvement in the killing of 12 Druze children in Israel, labeling it as “propaganda.”

The winners of Owda’s Emmy category will be announced on September 25.

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