A free Palestinian media will help cut through the lies
source: Electronic Intifada, 5-7-2005
summary: The Palestinian-"Israeli" conflict gets a disproportionate share of mainstream Western media attention, as compared, say, with conflicts in Africa. Yet the public, particularly in the United States, remains grossly misinformed.
Jeffrey Dvorkin, ombudsman for U.S. National Public Radio (NPR), recently claimed that his network`s coverage in 2000-01 had "a tendency to over-report the impact of the intifada on the Palestinians and underreport the effect on "Israelis"." In fact, the opposite was true. During a six-month period near the beginning of the intifada, NPR reported on 84 percent of "Israeli" settlers deaths, a study by the well-respected Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting organization found, while reporting on only 26 percent of Palestinian civilian deaths. This has been a consistent pattern across the media.
At the time, NPR`s correspondent in Jerusalem (al-Quds), Linda Gradstein, was accepting unethical cash payments worth thousands of dollars annually from pro-"Israel" organizations, a practice that was stopped only after it was revealed by an investigation. While NPR allowed Gradstein to keep reporting, it had earlier dismissed another correspondent, claiming that she did not disclose to managers that her husband had been an adviser to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Dvorkin`s revisionism comes as NPR and other media and academic organizations in the United States face intense attack from pro-"Israel" groups and allies in Congress who view any reporting that does not toe the "Israeli" line as hostile or even anti-Semitic. NPR and its affiliate stations face huge cuts in their government funding, instigated by officials with close ties to the pro-"Israel" lobby.
Those relying on the mainstream media could be forgiven for believing that "Israelis" are overwhelmingly the victims of violence, and Palestinians the main perpetrators. News organizations have to be constantly reminded that, according to "Israel's" B`Tselem human rights group, from the start of the first Palestinian uprising in December 1987, until May 15, 2005, "Israelis" killed a total of 4,857 Palestinians, the vast majority unarmed civilians, of whom 949 were under the age of 18. In the same period, Palestinians killed 1,382 "Israelis", of whom 928 were civilians (settlers) and 131 of (settlers') children. Few recall that the first ever Palestinian suicide (martyrdom) bombing targeting (settlers) in "Israel" occurred 40 days after settler Baruch Goldstein`s 1994 massacre of dozens of Palestinians in Hebron (al-Khalil).
In general, the media has responded to Zionist pressure groups by resorting to a fake balance in which the reporter simply recites the claims of "both sides" and makes no attempt to assess independently the evidence supporting one and contradicting the other. So, territories that are occupied under international law become "disputed" and settlements built on expropriated, occupied land become "neighborhoods." The cruel reality of occupation becomes something merely "perceived" by Palestinians.
In terms of political analysis, mainstream media commentary takes its cue from the U.S. government agenda, almost never challenging America`s unconditional support for "Israel". Following the death of Yasser Arafat, there was much clichéd editorializing about a "window of opportunity" for peace. Almost always ignored are the facts that do not fit in with this rosy scenario. PA Labor Minister Ghassan Khatib recently wrote that "while talking about vacating settlements with less than 2,000 housing units in Gaza, "Israel" has been busy constructing, this year alone, something like 6,400 housing units in illegal settlements in the West Bank." Few people are aware of this because the media follows official spin that "Israeli" Prime Minister Ariel Sharon`s Gaza disengagement plan is significant while his actions in the West Bank are not.
While the media has major shortcomings, there are some dedicated and fair journalists. And paradoxically, the PA, which seems to believe international opinion will come to its rescue, has failed to counter "Israeli" propaganda with a credible communications strategy of its own, largely abandoning the task to ad hoc efforts by Palestinian individuals and private groups.
All these points to the vital importance of developing strong, independent Palestinian media tied neither to the PA nor to international donors. The donors` agenda, after all, is to focus on internal Palestinian "reform" and endless, sterile diplomacy in order to avoid the necessary confrontation with "Israel". Yet without such a confrontation, there can be no progress toward peace.
