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The Kuwaiti newspaper al-Watan was recently fined $10,400 for publishing in an Israeli propaganda advertisement in the English-language daily International Herald Tribune (IHT; owned by the New York Times), which al-Watan distributes through the kingdom.
The advertisement was paid for by the American-Zionist group Anti-Defamation League (ADL) whose mission is to defame all critics of Israel. The advert sought to defend Israel's widely criticized war against Gaza which killed over 1,000 Palestinian civilian - of whom over 400 were children - and has been condemned by the United Nations as a 'war crime' and 'crime against humanity'. Such propagation runs contrary to Kuwaiti law.
al-Watan's lawyer (Arabic for 'the homeland') Rashid al-Radaan has defended the paper against the charge of promoting Israeli propaganda on the grounds of ignorance. He told the AFP: "The printing of this advert was not done on purpose."
He is correct in stating that the domestic al-Watan did not print it and that it does not review IHT before distributing it. IHT is an independent paper which makes its own advertising decisions and al-Watan is simply the Kuwait distributor which sells the paper but does not edit it in anyway. The New York Times makes such distribution deals all over the world and it it they whom are responsible.
Nonetheless, al-Watan has issued a public apology for distributing IHT that day when the ad was placed. Whether the judge will let them off in light of the circumstances remains unclear.
