The National Press Club of Australia has abruptly cancelled a scheduled address by renowned journalist and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Chris Hedges, who was set to deliver a talk titled “The Betrayal of Palestinian Journalists”.
The event, planned for October 20, was to expose how Western media amplify Israeli propaganda while silencing voices documenting Israel’s atrocities in Gaza.
Instead, the Press Club is reportedly considering Israel’s ambassador, retired IDF lieutenant-colonel Amir Maimon, as a replacement speaker, a move critics say perfectly illustrates the very censorship and bias Hedges intended to discuss.
- READ MORE: The National Press Club of Australia, caving to the Israel lobby, Cancels My Talk on Our Betrayal of Palestinian Journalists
- Statement by the National Press Club
- The betrayal of Palestinian journalists — Chris Hedges
Amid an ongoing genocide in Gaza, where more than 278 Palestinian journalists have been killed, many deliberately targeted, the Press Club’s decision to silence a veteran war correspondent while platforming a representative of the Israeli occupation underscores a disturbing alignment with state propaganda.
It signals a betrayal of journalistic ethics and Australia’s public right to hear unfiltered truths about Israel’s war crimes.
Rather than promoting balance, the National Press Club has chosen complicity, showing that press freedom ends where Israeli interests begin.
— Chris Hedges (@ChrisLynnHedges) October 3, 2025
Chris Hedges – Statement by the National Press Club. pic.twitter.com/RNYsyUn9Z9
— National Press Club (@PressClubAust) October 4, 2025
