“NJ area news hyper-focused on the topic of the efforts in solidarity with the people of Palestine” is how editor of the new site Bob Witanek describes his newly rebranded http://FightBackBetter.com. The news is certainly of the advocacy bend – unlike most standard journalism that attempts to maintain a semblance of impartiality.
According to Bob Witanek, “The assumption is that our readers are on this site to find out what they can do to take effective action against the US-supported genocide targeting the Palestinian people in Gaza.
”The site is structured to present the dozens of activities and organizational efforts occurring around NJ each and every week with the details and the contact information, to show what the editor believes is repression against some sectors of opposition to the what he considers “genocide’. It reports on the events and features voices of the opposition to US policy supporting Israel.
The site has a flashy news site look and is structured in a way to promote targeting of what the news site describes as “NJ Genociders”, so far including politicians refusing to call for a cease fire. Editor Bob Witanek hopes to add to it businesses including NJ based weapons and spare parts producers for the “genocide effort” as he describes. “We will do some investigative journalism to determine the touch points for NJ genocide support. If we find those connections it will be up to the participants in this struggle to determine what if any activity is deemed to address the genocide connection. The site can help provide the method of organizing for whatever is decided.
”The site has a section that it hopes to develop to provide a critical assessment of the impact of the genocide on NJ, especially NJ’s Palestinian, Arab and Muslim population. NJ Palestinian residents for example have lost thousands of family members, some individual Palestinians having lost over 100 family members.
The site is also developing resource links including opportunities to provide relief support.
The purpose of the site is to provide a mechanism to centralize at least part of the flow about the immense activity in NJ opposing genocide and to also do an end run around what editor Bob Witanek states is a bias in social media that downplays news and information about protest of the “genocide.” He states, “We are in the pilot stage now and there is potential for the site to assist the organizing and the moving of information and circumvent obstacles in social media for doing this work.” FightBackBetter.com news site is publishing on three platforms, a Facebook page, Instagram page and a Twitter page.
Some of the topics that have been covered are the suspension of the Students for Justice in Palestine at Rutgers, efforts to prevent West Orange and other high school students from opposing genocide, a book ban in Newark, and dozens of actions and educational events. Currently the site is promoting a set of over a dozen protests being coordinated by students throughout NJ including several high school student walkouts for February 9. The site also maintains a consolidated calendar of events for the states pro-Palestinian constituents.
To visit the site: http://fightbackbetter.com .For now content submissions can be sent to Editor@FightBackBetter.com or entered through the About / Contacts on the front page menu.
FightBackBetter.com is currently piloting with several volunteer content providers and within 2 weeks it intends to open up membership for readers and client providers. Editor Bob Witanek states “so far I have input most of the content on there. We will soon open up ways for users to more easily provide content and directly post to the news site. FightBackBetter.com is everybody’s resource to aid all of our collaborative efforts to stop the US – Israel genocide machine!”