Most supporters of Israel readily recognize the underlying anti-Israel bias that taints the reporting of the mainstream international media (MSM). Forcing the MSM to acknowledge this phenomenon in an effort to change it, however, is a different story. Journalists from every other part of the world will vehemently deny practicing any bias or subjective reporting against Israel.
Not so in the Arab world.
Journalists employed by the top Arab media outlets - both television and newspapers - openly admit their disdain for the Jewish state, and their desire, in every interview conducted and report submitted, to make Israel look bad.
“The newscaster has to always be ready to make the Israeli interviewee uncomfortable, to pin him down in the narrow alleys of his lies,” said Mai al-Sharabani of the Al-Arabiya network.
When the fast pace of events in the Middle East do not afford Arab television newscaster the opportunity to adequatly prepare the trap for their Israeli interviewees, they simply make use of “those precious final seconds of the interview, in which they can make a venomous remark that will not garner any response by the interviewee, for the simple reason that it is the end of the conversation,” notes Ha’aretz’s Zvi Bar’el.
But sometimes even that degree of control is not enough, and al-Sharabani admits to having to go to great lengths to restrain herself.
“There are times when I am forced to suppress a voice that rises within me, and which wants me to tell the Israeli interviewee: shut your mouth, you barefaced liar.”
Al-Arabiya journalist Mohammed Abu Obeid concurs with his colleague regarding the importance of entering into an interview with Israelis under the presumption they are wrong:
“Newscasters understand the magnitude of the responsibility placed on them in interviewing Israelis. Millions of Arabs watch them, waiting to see how we will embarrass them or crush them in an interview.”
While these examples will come as little surprise to anyone who is aware of the Arab world’s hatred for Israel, it does highlight the importance of choosing carefully who we allow to feed us information about the wider world. The Arabs are open about their violations of journalistic standards, but much of the MSM is guilty of the same.
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10 comments so far ↓
1 Jeff // Jul 26, 2006 at 4:32 am
For example, the news service that comes into our local radio station faithfully informed us today that the Israeli’s bombed a U.S. “peacekeeping” station, killing several people from several countries. Somebody accused Israel of intentionally targeting that station. Israel vehemently denied it. They told us the names of these unfortunate people, and then told us Israel has been bombing Lebanon for 2 weeks. Not much else. That’s what happened in Lebanon today.
2 FERN SIDMAN // Jul 26, 2006 at 6:15 am
THE THIRD FRONT
BY: FERN SIDMAN
While Israel is engaged in heavy fighting with Hezbollah terrorists on the northern front and Hamas terrorists on its southern front, it would appear that Israel’s proverbial nemesis, better known as the media, has opened a third front with its incessant assaults on Israel.
While the media may not be launching Katyusha or Kassam rockets aimed at Israeli cities, the rockets that the media launches are instrumental in degrading Israel in the war of public opinion. Case in point would be the drastic difference in the content and modality of reporting between the two major cable networks, CNN and Fox News.
To the average viewer, it would appear that CNN and Fox are reporting the news from two different planets. While it is true that the Ted Turner owned CNN, has its own left wing agenda along with the perfunctory anti-Israel bias that goes with that territory, and Roger Ailes’ Fox News has a more conservative, pro-Republican platform, the stark and extreme contrasts cannot be missed. To state that their coverage of the current war between Israel, Hezbollah and Hamas is diametrically opposed would be a gross understatement.
One need only press the button on their television remotes for a period of an hour or so, to gain tremendous insight into the world of media propaganda, distortions and lies. For a truly mercurial experience, just spend an evening with Anderson Cooper and Larry King of CNN and then visit with Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly over at Fox.
The story according to CNN is the following: Israel is murdering Lebanese children and civilians en masse, Israel is not making a dent in Hezbollah’s power, Israel is not forthcoming in opening up a corridor for humanitarian assistance to Lebanon, Israel is causing a refugee crisis amongst the Lebanese population, Israel is using phosphorus in its weaponry, Israel refuses to agree to a cease fire, Israel’s retaliation against Hezbollah has been “disproportionate”, Israel refuses to engage in negotiations with Hezbollah over a prisoner exchange. CNN’s conclusion is: World opinion will turn against Israel because of its actions. One can only scratch their heads and ask, is there a pattern developing here???
As we watch Anderson Cooper taking us for tours of hospitals in Lebanon showing the burnt and mangled faces of Lebanese children, while giving platforms to Hezbollah supporters who spew forth their party line which includes accusations against Israel for starting this conflict by occupying Palestine, to scared and trapped Americans who blame Israel for the destruction of Beirut. Repetitive images of Israeli tanks and gun ships shooting missiles into Lebanon fill our screens ad infinitum, while there is never a image of a Hezbollah terrorist shooting a Katyusha rocket into Israel.
If this weren’t enough one sided and biased journalism, we are also treated to an hour of Larry King, who gives more than ample time to Hezbollah journalists, Syrian ambassadors, and a whole host of other Israel bashers. King allows them to make hate filled speeches riddled with inaccuracies and grandiose distortions about Israel and her role in this current conflict, while never challenging them in any kind of meaningful and significant manner.
In marked contrast to CNN’s coverage of the war, there is a definitely a more “fair and balanced” coverage on Fox News. While far from being totally fair and balanced Fox News takes pains in researching new details from their reporters in the Middle East and presenting a more even handed account of the situation in Israel.
From Sean Hannity to Bill O’Reilly to Greta Van Susteren to Sheppard Smith, one can see that these journalists are dedicated to digging out the truth by ask searing questions concerning the facts of the situation, which are so very often buried under the propaganda and lies of Hezbollah and other Arab spokesmen who are allowed lengthy platforms for their vituperative and vitriolic rhetoric against Israel.
There is no question that Fox News is far from perfect and has on more than one occasion fallen prey to the CNN and New York Times syndrome of making Israel the scapegoat for the world’s problems, but by in large, Fox has made a concerted effort, thus far, to reporting the news with a high degree of accuracy.
That is all that we can ask from the media. In general, they always have been instrumental in generating negative feelings towards Israel and have been the biggest asset of the cause of Hamas and Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations in the region. Right now, they represent the third front that Israel must contend with. An enemy that is funded not by regimes predicated on terror but on corporate dollars. It is an enemy that never runs out of rockets or mortars or missiles, for their verbal missiles and subliminal messages are in infinite abundance and these fatal weapons shape a public image of Israel that is more deadly than rockets because they pervade the hearts and minds of their viewers.
For the Jewish people, this is an old story. Since Guttenberg invented his first printing press in the 1600s, words and thoughts have always been published against Jews. The media of today bares little difference to its more in-your-face predecessors. While the facts may be different, today’s media is just re-hashing the same kind of Israel hating messages that is has done for close to six decades.
The media is a persistent and resilient foe, almost an implacable one, yet despite this most formidable enemy, we have borne witness to our continued existence as a nation. As with the Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, the Turks, the Nazis, the British, the Soviet Union, the PLO, Hamas and Hezbollah and all the other enemies that I may have forgotten to list, those who sought to vanquish and eradicate the Jewish nation and the Land of Israel, we tell them and the media that they have not succeeded in our destruction and with G-d’s help they never will.
Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are one in the same and they are a permanent part of and endemic to our society. With G-d’s help, we will deal with the media as we have with our other enemies and may we take comfort in the fact that we are a people who fears and obeys only the Almighty G-d of Israel and does not fear the words of mortal enemies. World opinion will always be against the Jewish nation, and fearing it and cowering over the words and threats of world leaders is a futile exercise and a colossal waste of precious time.
Let us utilize our precious time in appealing to the Holy One Blessed Be He, who girds His nation Israel with strength, crowns His nation Israel in glory and gives strength to His weary nation. For in the end, the media is just another enemy in a huge litany of enemies. Let us turn to Hashem Yisborach at this critical juncture in time, for it is He who marches into battle with us and it is He who will conquer our enemies, if we only recognize His dominion and His glory.
And to the media, we say, just take your place on the back of a very long line. You’re not our first enemy and you won’t be our last.
May we our prayers reach the Almighty G-d of Israel and may we be zoche to the see our redemption, speedily in our days.
3 Gus // Jul 26, 2006 at 4:19 pm
You people are insane. Israel is a terrorist state, founded through terror and upon a racist ideology. The media in the US, if anything, is your groveling sycophant. Get real!
4 Nabil Al-Murabit // Jul 26, 2006 at 6:15 pm
Stop you’re bitching. If you want to feel better about this, then watch any Amerikan news outlet. Fox, MSNBC, CNN, all seem to overwhelmingly support the zionist entity
5 Jeff // Jul 26, 2006 at 7:01 pm
Some excellent observations, Fern, but if you don’t mind I would like to make a little correction.
Their verbal missiles and sublilminal messages may be in abundance, but we probably shouldn’t say “infinite” abundance.
If we want to think about infinite abundance, maybe we could consider something like this:
“It is a slight thing for you to be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob
And to restore the dispersed of Israel;
I give you also for a light of the nations,
To become my salvation unto the ends of the earth.
Isaiah 49:6
6 Salah Uddin // Jul 26, 2006 at 8:48 pm
Jeff mate, listen up!
Thy servants wait while their master baits!
Another jew, Mel Brooks!
Of course we see things a little different from here, keep masturbating your minds, when you wake up, you’ll have hairy palms, apart form the blood on it!
7 Jeff // Jul 26, 2006 at 8:56 pm
Bait, Master, bait!
8 George Jewson // Jul 30, 2006 at 8:13 pm
OOoooooooooooooooooooh Saucy, Israel will still loose!
9 gene // Jul 31, 2006 at 12:47 am
I am an american and I do not watch the msm on tv or listen to them on the radio or read any mags or news papers
for anything I check out everything on my pc because the msm
does not report the news or the facts they make up what they want you to believe and put that out for you you know like dan rather did and many others , the msm has no crediability in thia country because they are also a group of Bipolar disorder suffers just like the liberals in america.
10 Anne Kraemer // Feb 19, 2007 at 7:00 am
This is a Good WORD for you Israel.
It comes from Isaiah. It is for such a time as this. “Therefore, now hear this, you who are afflicted,and who are drunk, but not with the wine but thrown down by the wrath of God) Thus says your Lord, the Lord, and your God, Who pleads the cause of His people: Behold (watch and see) I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering and intoxication; the cup of My wrath you shall drink no more. And I will put it into the hands of your tormentors and oppressors, those who said to you, Bow down, that we may ride or tread over you; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over.”
Israel has performed and to no avail, so as Fern has said…Look to the Heaven’s for now Your G-d will perform it.
The next chapter says. AWAKE,AWAKE,
put on your strength, O Zion.
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