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A photo of Hamas militants driving the dead body of a German-Israeli woman into Gaza on Oct. 7 has won a prestigious award, sparking outrage among some who believe the image is disrespectful. But news organizations and defenders of press freedom have countered that such photos are critical to documenting atrocities and disasters.
The photo is the first in a series taken by Associated Press photographers that took a first prize Thursday in a contest sponsored by the Missouri School of Journalism’s Reynolds Journalism Institute. It shows the body of Shani Louk, 22, in the back of a pickup truck, with a militant resting his leg on her bare back.
“Photos showing violence and death can be newsworthy or important when they humanize the dead or galvanize the public,” Hen Mazzig, a senior fellow at the Tel Aviv Institute, wrote in a post on X Thursday that was “liked” by thousands. “The ‘winning’ photo does neither; it only further dehumanizes Shani, retraumatizes her family, and legitimizes Hamas’ actions under the guise of journalistic neutrality.”
A petition asking Nikon, one of the sponsors of the contest, to withdraw its support, has garnered more than 42,000 signatures. Many signatories, a right-wing pro-Israel watchdog group and the Israeli government have accused some photographers who documented the Hamas attack for major news outlets of having prior knowledge and being complicit in it. But news organizations, including the AP and The New York Times, have called the charges reckless. The AP said the first photos it received of the attack were taken at least 45 minutes after it had begun. CNN and the AP cut ties with a freelancer who took photos of the attack over a photo, circulated before Oct. 7, which showed him posing with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Inquiries to The Associated Press and Nikon were not immediately returned.
But many journalists say photos of war, and sometimes the most wrenching ones, are an important way for the public to learn about conflicts.
“The photograph of Hamas terrorists with Ms. Louk’s dead body in the back of a pickup is indeed disturbing,” Michelle Frankfurter, a documentary photographer who teaches at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, said in an email. “In 1993, a photo showing the naked body of a dead U.S. soldier being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by a crowd of Somalis sparked similar outrage. The photo won a Pulitzer and spelled the beginning of the end of U.S. involvement in Somalia.”
The photo of Louk’s body, taken by AP freelancer Ali Mahmud, also serves a serious purpose, Jerusalem-born Frankfurter continued. It is “crucial visual testimony of the atrocities committed by Hamas,” she said. “What is the role of the photographer if it is not to bear witness?”
This article was originally published on the Forward.
