Gretchen Ho clarifies resurfaced Israel interactions amid criticisms

Broadcast journalist Gretchen Ho clarified her stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict after her past engagements with the Israeli Embassy resurfaced and drew backlash on social media.

Ho issued the clarification after human rights advocate Caloy Conde recalled the former’s Israel-sponsored trip and her engagements with former Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss back in 2022 and 2023. Conde’s post came amid criticism over a recent state-sponsored media visit to Israel involving Filipino journalists.

“Israel’s charm offensive goes back years,” Conde said. “I like Gretchen (she has interviewed me a few times na) and I’m friends with some of those who go on these Israel junkets.”

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“But, with due respect to them, I really question their judgment in facilitating/helping/enabling Israel’s propaganda in the context of what it has been doing in Palestine,” Conde added. “But if they have outputs from these junkets that criticize Israel’s genocide or question its methods, it’s obviously a different story. Provide link in the comments please if you find one.”

Ho took to her Facebook page on Monday, Aug. 10, to address the matter.

“Yes, I went on a trip to Israel in 2022 upon the invitation of Israel’s Ministry of Tourism. To put some context to this trip, this was in July 2022, more than a year before the current war in Gaza began. I was in the middle of ideating for my travel documentary program, ‘Woman In Action, ‘and just as other networks had done features on the Holy Land in the past, I thought there could be a story there,” she explained.

“While the itinerary and venues were arranged by our hosts, there were no restrictions on whom we could speak to, what questions we could ask, or what we could observe and say about the experience,” she stressed. “We were not asked to produce any particular narrative or portray Israel in any prescribed way. I went there with an open mind, yet also very much aware that since this was a trip sponsored by their government, what we were NOT shown was as important as what we were shown.”

Ho said the trip gave her “a better appreciation of the complexity of Israel and Palestine’s history and realities.” She also noted that the experience made her realize that any story on the conflict would need to be approached with greater sensitivity, which led her to decide not to pursue an episode about it for her travel program.

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“What they asked of me in exchange for that travel was to attend a travel expo of theirs, and this was before the war. Also, for full context, in May 2023, before the current war, I accepted a professional engagement to host an Israeli Embassy event, just as I have with other embassies. I also interacted cordially with then-Ambassador Ilan Fluss, including an encounter at UP that has resurfaced online,” she continued.

She further pointed out that she had the chance to interview Fluss in 2025, and that she confronted him about “the human rights violations in Gaza, the right of Palestinians to exist, and why Israel was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty while Iran was.”

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“My interactions with the Embassy never determined my editorial positions, nor did they prevent me from questioning an Israeli official critically,” she said. “At the same time, I understand the criticism and why, taken together and viewed in light of everything that has happened since, these interactions are being scrutinized.”

Ho then acknowledged the concerns over journalistic independence, also admitting that there are past decisions that she would have handled more carefully.

“To be clear: I do not support genocide or the dehumanization of any people. I believe in the dignity and right to life of Palestinians and Israelis alike,” she noted. “Journalism requires us to encounter people, institutions and perspectives we may eventually have to scrutinize. It also requires us to continually examine our own boundaries and judgment.”

Concluding her post, she said, “I am listening to the legitimate concerns being raised, and I will carry what I learn from this into the standards I set for my work moving forward.” /ra