Accurate Information On Israel (nov 2000)

Accurate information on Israel Article

by Philip Rosenthal

www.Christianview.org

14 November 2000

MEDIA BIAS AGAINST ISRAEL..............................................................................................................................1 WHICH WORLDVIEW ARE YOU LISTENING TO? .............................................................................................2 SOURCES OF FREE AND ACCURATE NEWS INFORMATION ON ISRAEL ....................................................2

Media bias against Israel A lot of Christians have been closely following events in Israel with regard to the increase in violence etc. Unfortunately, most have been using the secular media as a source of information. While some of this is accurate, most is highly selective and interpreted from either a secular liberal perspective or a Muslim perspective rather than a Christian perspective. Some of it is blatantly biased, inaccurate and fails to report on information critical to the debate - with the result that Christians do not have the resources to defend their positions in public debate. Secular liberals tend to portray the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) also as liberals seeking redress for past injustices rather than as a violent militant Islamic organisation bent on destroying Israel. Examples of inaccurate reporting would include for example reporting on child causalities in the conflict without reporting on the fact that the PLO has been using its schools and television stations to incite hatred against Israel for years and now is encouraging children to throw stones at Israeli police and soldiers - whilst adult terrorists shoot at the soldiers with real bullets from behind the children. When the Israeli's return fire - children unfortunately get shot. Thus it is the PLO and not Israel that is responsible for the deaths of Arab children in the conflict. But CNN, the BBC, SABC and our newspapers do not report on this or show any pictures or video footage of the terrorists shooting from behind the children. Also the failure to report on PLO human rights abuses against their own people; corruption, violation of democratic process etc. They repeatedly showed footage of an Arab child unfortunately shot in crossfire, but refused to release graphic footage of Israelis beaten to death by a mob inside a PLO police station because they felt this may result in a backlash. Fair logic - but why the double standard? While accurately reporting that most of the causalities have been Arabs, they fail to mention that almost all incidents of violence were initiated by those who were injured or killed - and encouraged by the Palestinian authority TV, police and political leaders. The main reason for this bias is that the news agencies are using Arab reporters sympathetic to the PLO as their sources of information on violence in Arab areas - because they are afraid to go in themselves (see article at bottom). Another extreme example reported in all our newspapers was a photo of a teenager with blood streaming down his face and an Israeli solider with a baton behind him. The caption indicated that the teenager was an Arab beaten by the Israelis on the temple mount. The truth was that the teenager was Jewish and had just been beaten up by a PLO mob and rescued by the Israeli soldiers - further the photo was not taken on the temple mount, but outside a petrol station - which could be seen in the background. Some newspapers did later publish a retraction. But this is a pattern fuelled by anti-Israel political bias. This kind of reporting is aimed at marginalising Israel and increasing pressure to give in to PLO demands for statehood - which would further jeopardise Israel's security. Unfortunately, barring a brief period after the holocaust the world media has always displayed a

Accurate information on Israel

2

strongly anti-Jewish and anti-Israel political bias. Reporting of the historical context of the conflict also tends to omit important facts. See article at bottom of this email from the Jerusalem Post on CNN reporting bias.

Which worldview are you listening to? From a secular perspective, Israel has no purpose. It is just an irritation and source of conflict in the Middle East - threatening global stability, by refusing to give in to Arab demands. From an Islamic perspective it is a symbol of their defeat and needs to be destroyed to regain their honour. From a biblical perspective it is the fulfilment of Gods promises to Abraham and his descendants. Furthermore, the way our modern nations treat Israel will dictate how God will treat them: GE 12:2-3 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Christians should be careful to interpret the worldview of the writer - when reading our newspapers or watching TV news. If you are interested in current events in the Middle East, you are encouraged to supplement your reading with one of the email lists below and visit their web sites: To join the South African Christian email conference discussion on Israel, email [email protected] and post your views to [email protected]

Sources of free and accurate news Information on Israel INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN EMBASSY JERUSALEM (Daily news update) http://www.icej.org/ To subscribe (free), please email a blank message to: [email protected] BRIDGES FOR PEACE (Weekly news update) http://www.bridgesforpeace.com To receive it, simply send an e-mail message that only says: subscribe bfp-update . Send to [email protected] THE JERUSALEM POST http://www.jpost.com/

Article on media bias from Jerusalem Post Government 'unhappy' with CNN coverage 14 November 2000 By Herb Keinon CHICAGO (November 14) - Israel is "unhappy" with CNN's coverage of the current wave of violence, and the issue was scheduled to have been raised at a meeting in Washington Sunday night between Prime Minister Ehud Barak and top CNN executives, a senior official in the Prime Accurate information on Israel (Nov 2000).doc

27 August, 2002

Accurate information on Israel

3

Minister's Office said yesterday. The meeting was called off, however, because of the long delay in Barak's arrival in Washington. Nevertheless, a senior source in Barak's office said Israel feels that the coverage has not been objective, partly because CNN - due to its own security considerations - is relying on Palestinian stringers from the territories whose sympathies, he said, are evident and come through in their reporting. The planned meeting with Barak was an outgrowth of a formal complaint the Foreign Ministry filed with the news network about a month ago. The source charged that in addition, CNN is not giving equal time to pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli spokesmen, and is not accurately quoting inciting Arabic signs and statements, even when those signs and statements appear on the screen. One example of a pro-Palestinian bias, the source said, is referring to Gilo, when reporting on shots being fired on the Jerusalem neighborhood, as "Palestinian lands." The meeting with CNN is part of a public opinion offensive the government is undertaking. Another component was the recent appointment of political-security adviser Danny Yatom as coordinator of the government's media policy during the current crisis. "They [some of the international media] are saying that we are killing children, shooting at stonethrowers," a senior official in Barak's office said. "What we want to do is present a different picture." This will be done, he said, by providing various media outlets with film showing that reality is not always as simple as it may appear in a short film clip or still picture. Please do copy and distribute this article. Comments and questions welcome. by Philip Rosenthal Contact Christianview.org at (021) 6854500 or [email protected] Postnet 114, P/Bag X18, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa Please send us a copy of any article quoting from this and acknowledge <www.Christianview.org>. More articles and pamphlets on issues can be found at www.Christianview.org

Accurate information on Israel (Nov 2000).doc

27 August, 2002