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In election week, Israelis and Palestinians agree
on one thing: the Western media is biased
By Vincent Graff
Published in The Independent (UK): 02 April 2006
 Arnold
Roth did not choose to become entangled with the international
media. That decision was taken for him by Izzedine al-Masri, a
Palestinian man who walked into a Jerusalem restaurant
four-and-a-half years ago with a bag containing nails and explosives
strapped to his body. When al-Masri blew himself up, he took Roth's
15-year-old daughter, Malki, and 14 other people with him.
Today, Roth is often approached by news gatherers from abroad
looking for his reaction to the latest development in Israeli
politics. He is considered and thoughtful but he objects to the fact
that, as he sees it, media organisations from abroad paint Israel as
a bully. "In Western countries, the broad perception of Israel is of
it being powerful and privileged," said Roth. "For someone like me,
whose daughter was murdered by people who danced in the street
afterwards, it is hard to take that viewpoint."
I met Roth in Palestinian East Jerusalem last week. We were standing
in the shadow of the 8 metre-high concrete wall Israel has built to
protect itself from suicide bombers - sparking condemnation
worldwide. Roth had been invited there by Sky News, to talk
terrorism and democracy with its Middle East correspondent, Emma
Hurd.
I spent much of last week with Hurd, her producer and crew as she
attempted to report Israel's election to a British audience. We
travelled to West Bank settlements, to Arab East Jerusalem, and
secular Jewish Tel Aviv. Hurd asked tough questions, dissecting a
complicated political landscape. And I never heard anyone complain
about bias in Sky's coverage of the Middle East.
But when I talked in general terms to Israelis about the press and
broadcasters, the story was always the same. Not one of them thought
Israel's image abroad was good. Most blamed the media.
Interestingly, nor did I find one Palestinian who was happy with the
media. When the injustice of one's own life feels so overwhelming,
one is tempted to think outsiders should pay more attention - and
that they are ignoring you for a reason.
I should lay my cards on the table. I am many things: a journalist,
British, Jewish though not religious. I was last in Israel was 20
years ago. I would not describe myself as a Zionist but I respect
the fact that Israel is a democracy in a sea of dictatorships and I
am certain the country ought to exist. I also recognise that Israel
is surrounded by many nations that do not share that view.
David Horovitz, editor of the Jerusalem Post, believes journalists
from outside Israel rush to snap judgements. Take the security
barrier. It has made Palestinians' lives more difficult, but that is
only half the story, said Horovitz. "Newspapers never talk about the
thousands of Israeli children whose lives it has saved." Nor can
they show the pictures of these children - unlike the Palestinian
youngsters who have been injured or killed by the Israeli army.
"Certain parts of the media are in the grip of an extreme
misconception about who is the aggressor and who is the underdog,"
said Horovitz.
His argument deserves house room. But it is also true that Israeli
deaths receive more coverage than Palestinian ones. This may be
because Jewish fatalities tend to occur in large groups, in everyday
situations. Palestinian deaths tend to happen one or two at a time,
at the hands of soldiers or police.
Every time a Palestinian or a Jewish Israeli expressed their dismay
at the portrayal of their people and plight, I asked the same
question: why is the media biased against you? The answers were
depressing.
Listen to the words of Arye, a Jewish settler on the West Bank and
Nisreen, a Palestinian housewife who lives a few miles from him in
East Jerusalem. "Maybe it's because of all the Arab oil," said Arye.
Nisreen countered: "The Jews are very powerful, in London and across
the world."
They would not admit it, but these two people, who wear different
clothes, eat different foods and pray to different Gods, have more
in common than they think.
Arnold Roth did not choose to become entangled with the
international media. That decision was taken for him by Izzedine al-Masri,
a Palestinian man who walked into a Jerusalem restaurant
four-and-a-half years ago with a bag containing nails and explosives
strapped to his body. When al-Masri blew himself up, he took Roth's
15-year-old daughter, Malki, and 14 other people with him.
Today, Roth is often approached by news gatherers from abroad
looking for his reaction to the latest development in Israeli
politics. He is considered and thoughtful but he objects to the fact
that, as he sees it, media organisations from abroad paint Israel as
a bully. "In Western countries, the broad perception of Israel is of
it being powerful and privileged," said Roth. "For someone like me,
whose daughter was murdered by people who danced in the street
afterwards, it is hard to take that viewpoint."
I met Roth in Palestinian East Jerusalem last week. We were standing
in the shadow of the 8 metre-high concrete wall Israel has built to
protect itself from suicide bombers - sparking condemnation
worldwide. Roth had been invited there by Sky News, to talk
terrorism and democracy with its Middle East correspondent, Emma
Hurd.
I spent much of last week with Hurd, her producer and crew as she
attempted to report Israel's election to a British audience. We
travelled to West Bank settlements, to Arab East Jerusalem, and
secular Jewish Tel Aviv. Hurd asked tough questions, dissecting a
complicated political landscape. And I never heard anyone complain
about bias in Sky's coverage of the Middle East.
But when I talked in general terms to Israelis about the press and
broadcasters, the story was always the same. Not one of them thought
Israel's image abroad was good. Most blamed the media.
Interestingly, nor did I find one Palestinian who was happy with the
media. When the injustice of one's own life feels so overwhelming,
one is tempted to think outsiders should pay more attention - and
that they are ignoring you for a reason.
I should lay my cards on the table. I am many things: a journalist,
British, Jewish though not religious. I was last in Israel was 20
years ago. I would not describe myself as a Zionist but I respect
the fact that Israel is a democracy in a sea of dictatorships and I
am certain the country ought to exist. I also recognise that Israel
is surrounded by many nations that do not share that view.
David Horovitz, editor of the Jerusalem Post, believes journalists
from outside Israel rush to snap judgements. Take the security
barrier. It has made Palestinians' lives more difficult, but that is
only half the story, said Horovitz. "Newspapers never talk about the
thousands of Israeli children whose lives it has saved." Nor can
they show the pictures of these children - unlike the Palestinian
youngsters who have been injured or killed by the Israeli army.
"Certain parts of the media are in the grip of an extreme
misconception about who is the aggressor and who is the underdog,"
said Horovitz.
His argument deserves house room. But it is also true that Israeli
deaths receive more coverage than Palestinian ones. This may be
because Jewish fatalities tend to occur in large groups, in everyday
situations. Palestinian deaths tend to happen one or two at a time,
at the hands of soldiers or police.
Every time a Palestinian or a Jewish Israeli expressed their dismay
at the portrayal of their people and plight, I asked the same
question: why is the media biased against you? The answers were
depressing.
Listen to the words of Arye, a Jewish settler on the West Bank and
Nisreen, a Palestinian housewife who lives a few miles from him in
East Jerusalem. "Maybe it's because of all the Arab oil," said Arye.
Nisreen countered: "The Jews are very powerful, in London and across
the world."
They would not admit it, but these two people, who wear different
clothes, eat different foods and pray to different Gods, have more
in common than they think. |
