Covering Israel/Palestine: US Media Bias

[Violet_Crumble]

by Remi Kanazi
March 23, 2006

On July 18, 2005 14 year old Ragheb al-Masri sat in the back of a taxi with his parents at the Abo Holi checkpoint. An Israeli bullet penetrated his back and cracked open his chest. His mother screamed as his body lay lifeless. Have you heard his name? I wouldn’t expect that you have because CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post didn’t report the killing online. If they had quoted his parents, their readers would have been able to feel their tears and envision the heartbreak. Ultimately, no Israeli soldier was arrested or even reprimanded.

Every time a suicide bombing strikes Israel, mass coverage of the tragedy begins instantly. Whether landing on the front page of The New York Times or taking up the headline block on CNN.com, the pain Israeli people endure is shown endlessly. Israelis do suffer. Suicide bombings are horrific. Nevertheless, Palestinian pain occurs far more frequently, and yet often overlooked by the mainstream American media.

<snip>

The contrast in coverage between CNN and Haaretz is staggering. The CNN headline was written in absolutes: “5 militants shot in raid.” The CNN article continues by stating only the Israeli claim that five militants were killed, making the headline biased and misleading. The Haaretz headline read: “U.S. urges restraint after IDF raid that killed 5 Palestinians.” This headline refers to the people who were shot as Palestinians and not solely militants. The Haaretz article covers conflicting Israeli and Palestinian claims, which made it impossible to determine whether or not all five killed were militants or civilians.

On September 7 the findings of a probe, conducted by Haaretz and the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, found that three of the five Palestinians killed in the assault on August 25 were under the age of 18 and did not have any links to known terrorist organizations. Their investigation also found that the two militants killed were low ranking operatives who were not armed at the time. This repudiates the Israeli claim that IOF soldiers were in the area involved in an operation against militant leaders and a “ticking bomb” with connection to suicide bombings in Israel.

Remi Kanazi is the primary writer for the political website www.PoeticInjustice.net. He lives in New York City as a Palestinian American freelance writer and can reached via email at [e-mail]

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=107&ItemID=9976

[Phx_Dem]

1. Bias in MSM

No doubt the MSM is biased, but IMO it's due to other factors besides a "jewish lobby". He mentions this:

The dilemma of the “free press” in America is that it isn’t free. The media hinges on the support of the people, newspaper subscriptions, television viewership, advertisements, and the bottom line of their companies. We live in a capitalistic society run by corporate profits and essential year over year growth.

Pretty much sums it up.

I wonder if this author is working on an essay that speaks to the extreme bias seen in ME papers, or does that not concern him?

[idontwantaname]

2. i think Haaretz is a good source. n/t.

[Phx_Dem]

3. I was only referring to US MSM

but I think Haaretz is a good source as well.

edit: The ME papers I was referring to are ones not published in Israel, though Jpost is a little questionable at times.