JEDDAH — Watching the Biden-Abbas press conference from the press center at the Intercontinental Hotel in Jeddah, dozens of reporters let out a gasp of disappointment as the US president struggles to pronounce the name of their slain colleague, Shireen Abu Akleh.
Biden at first pronounces her name “al-Kae’a” and then “al-Kaylee.”
Speaking in Bethlehem alongside Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Biden said the US “will continue to insist on a full and transparent accounting of her death and will continue to stand up for media freedom everywhere in the world.”
Biden said Abu Akleh “was performing very vital work” when she was killed in May.
Biden, who has spoken of his troubles with stuttering and often trips over his own tongue, regularly makes verbal gaffes with even non-foreign sounding words or names, which most Americans have stopped making an issue out of.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Friday, July 15, 2022
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
