The New AraborAl-Araby Al-Jadeed (Arabic: العربي الجديد) is a London-based pan-Arab news outlet owned by Qatari company Fadaat Media. It launched an Arabic-language website in March 2014[1] and an Arabic language daily newspaper in September 2014. The English version of its website is The New Arab.
Amid tensions between Qatari emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the director of Al Jazeera, Tamim launched Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, headed by the emir's closest advisor Azmi Bishara. According to Professor Lina Khatib, Al-Jazeera's association with the Muslim Brotherhood and its reputation as a mouthpiece for the Syrian revolution had hurt the channel's credibility. With the launch, Tamim was seeking to establish a voice independent of his parents.[3]
Al-Araby Al-Jadeed was officially launched in March 2014 as a new media project funded by Qatari private holding company Fadaat Media. It launched Arabic-language website Al-Araby Al-Jadeed in March 2014 and an Arabic language daily newspaper with the same name in September 2014. It also has an English website known as The New Arab.[4]
Dr. Azmi Bishara, a Palestinian Christian based in Doha and an ex-member of the Israeli Knesset, runs Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.[4][5]Al-Araby Al-Jadeed now operates globally, with more than 150 staff in three offices, based in Beirut, Doha and London.[6]
Journalists for Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, including Bishara, were targeted by hackers affiliated with Project Raven, a UAE initiative to target the mobile phones of media figures the UAE believed were supported by Qatar.[7]
Bishara described the outlet as "relatively independent" in the context of the Arab world. According to Bishara, "Sometimes the newspaper might be sensitive about what not to say, because you are not there to provoke the people that finance you."[7] According to Professor Lina Khatib, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed is meant to be a rival to pro-Muslim Brotherhood Al Jazeera as a major outlet for the Qatari state's views.[3]
Since 2013, many Egyptian journalists have taken employment at Arab media outlets such as Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, funded by Qatar and critical of the Egyptian government.[8]
The New Arab's English version has a collection of articles that document Israel's alleged genocide in Gaza.[9] Amidst the controversy after Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion during the Israel–Hamas war, The New Arab presented a nuanced version of the events on its English-language website, while the Arabic-language website blamed Israel and denounced President Joe Biden for adopting the Israeli narrative.[10]
The outlet is owned by Qatar-based Fadaat Media Ltd. Abdulrahman Elshayyal is the newspaper's CEO.[11][12] Fadaat Media is an Arab media investment company.[13][14]
