The president of United States, Joe Bidencelebrated the work of the press this Saturday during a White House Correspondents’ Dinner while hundreds of demonstrators protested outside the venue against their government’s support for Israel.

The dinner, organized annually by the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA), is one of the most important events in Washington attended by renowned journalists, celebrities, politicians and businessmen. Those attending the event were booed at the entrance of the Hilton hotel, where the dinner was held, by a group of hundreds of protesters, asking to change the Government’s position towards Israel, to the cries of “shame!”.

During his speech at the gala, President Biden made several jokes referring to his age and mocked former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. “I’m an older man and I’m dealing with a six year old.“said the president with a laugh. In the most serious part of his speech, Biden asked journalists to be “up to the moment” during the coverage of the elections next November, ensuring that democracy in the country is in Game.

“I have a role to play but, With all due respect, you too“said the president and asked attendees to move away from “sensationalism” in their political coverage.

The president, in turn, recognized that the work of the press is “more crucial than ever” and recalled that “some” journalists “have lost their lives” at work. Biden mentioned only one specific case, that of journalist Evan Gersovich, from the New York newspaper Wall Street Journal, who is imprisoned in Russia.

Protests outside the venue

Outside the venue, protesters, who called for a boycott of the dinner in protest of US support for Israel in its offensive against the Gaza Strip, placed press bulletproof vests on the ground in honor of the more than 90 journalists who have died. in the midst of the conflict in the region. More than 75% of the journalists who have died this year around the world died in the Palestinian territories and Israel, according to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), based in New York.

CPJ says at least 97 journalists and media workers have been killed since the war began, while the Palestinian Journalists’ Union says the number is higher with 125 dead. A group of Palestinian journalists this month published an open letter calling on their American colleagues to boycott the annual dinner “as an act of solidarity” with reporters who put their lives in danger to cover Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.

The dinner, which had its first edition in 1921, has been an annual tradition in Washington that was only broken during the Trump Presidency (2017-2021). The gala is colloquially known as ‘prom nerd‘, which is equivalent to the nerds’ prom, and its high point is the president’s speech, in which he usually jokes about his administration and makes fun of his political opponents.

The event, which has a red carpet, was attended by numerous Hollywood celebrities, such as the comedian, actor and screenwriter Colin Jost of ‘Saturday Night Live’, who tonight acted as host of the event and his wife, the actress Scarlett Johansson, double Oscar nominee for ‘Jojo Rabbit’ (2019) and ‘Marriage Story’ (2019). The guest list also included the actress Rachel Brosnahan from ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ and the rapper Jermaine Dupri.