The latest round of fighting between Israel and Gaza militants was covered around the clock in Israel. Media outlets largely adopted the government’s narrative and justifications for the offensive. Leftist Israeli bloggers and netizens, while criticizing the government throughout the operation, also attacked what they saw as a biased coverage of the events.
Israeli leftist tweep Uri Horesh chastised a Jerusalem Post reporter who was assigned to write a story about the suffering of pets in southern Israel. Here’s the exchange between them:
@sharonudasin [1]: Does anyone have pets who are freaking out because of the rocket sirens? If so, please contact me today for a story. Thanks! #jpost
@urihoresh [1]: @sharonudasin Are you writing for The Onion?
@sharonudasin [1]: @urihoresh no, this is a real concern for southern dog and cat owners in Israel!
@urihoresh [1]: .@sharonudasin Children are being murdered in #Gaza, and the Jerusalem Post is running a story about puppies in Ashdod afraid of sirens. OK.
hannel 2 Military Correspondent, Roni Daniel, was widely criticized by leftists for what they consider to be war-mongering. Journalist Alexandra Belopolsky wrote in her Saloona blog [2] [heb]:
“×”×’×™×¢ הזמן להפסיק ×¢× ×”×¤×™× ×¦×˜×””, קבע ×“× ×™×ל בקולו ×”×¨×“×™×•×¤×•× ×™ ש×ין עליו עוררין, תוך ×©×”×•× ×ž× ×¡×” “×œ×—× ×š” ×ת צה”ל לפעולה ×”× ×›×•× ×” לדידו. “×”×’×™×¢ הזמן ×œ×”×•×¦×™× ×ת הפטיש הכבד. בשלב ×ž×¡×•×™× ×¦×¨×™×š לעבור למשהו יותר קשה ו×ליה.
קל לפספס בתוך ×–×¨× ×”×‘×¨×‘×¨×ª המגויסת לדגל, × ×˜×•×œ×ª הביקורת, הממל×ת ×ת ×”×ž×¡×›×™× ×‘×™×ž×™× ×”××—×¨×•× ×™×, ×ת עוצמת הזעזוע ש×מור לייצר משפט ×›×–×”. ×•×“×•×•×§× ×ž×©×•× ×›×š, ×סור ×‘×©×•× ×ופן להקל בו ר×ש. מצב שבו ×¢×™×ª×•× ××™ בכיר, ש×מור ×œ×”×¢× ×™×§ ×œ×¦×•×¤×™× ×ž×™×“×¢ ופרספקטיבה, ×§×•×¨× ×‘×ופן בלתי מוסווה ל×לימות צב×ית ב×וכלוסיה בלתי-לוחמת ×”×•× ×ž×¦×‘ ש×סור ×‘×©×•× ×ופן לעבור עליו לסדר היו×.
“It’s time to stop with the precision attacks,” stated Daniel in his radio-phonic and authoritative voice as he tried to “educate” the IDF on how they should act. “It’s time to bring out the heavy hammer. At some point, we need to something more harsh and violent.” In the stream of the patriotic, unquestioning babble that has been filling our screens in recent days, it is understandable why this sentence did not shock many. And exactly because of this, it should not be taken lightly. We should not accept a situation in which a prominent journalist, who is supposed to provide viewers with information and perspective, clearly calls for military aggression against a civilian population.
Leading leftist blogger Yossi Gurvitz tweeted [3]:
התקשורת הישר×לית, ב×ופן שבו ×”×™× ×ž×“×•×•×—×ª על ×”××™×¨×•×¢×™× ×‘×¨×¦×•×¢×”, חזרה ×©× ×™ דורות ×חורה, לימי פעולות התגמול. שוב ×”×™× ×©×•×¤×¨ של מערכת הבטחון.
In the way it is reporting about the events in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli media has moved backwards to two decades, to the era of the Reprisal Operations [4] when it served as the mouthpiece of the military establishment.
Analyzing the symbiosis between the IDF Spokesperson Unit and Israel media, Daniel Argo and Shiri Eiram wrote on the blog of the media watchdog Keshev [5] [heb]:
במלחמות הקודמות צה”ל ×”×™×” “מזריה מידע ×œ×›×ª×‘×™× ×”×¦×‘××™×™×, ומזין מערכות תקשורת בחומר ויד×ו ובהדלפות מהשטח. ×ת ×”×—×•×ž×¨×™× ×©× ×ספו היו מערכות התקשורת “מעבדות” בצורה זו ×ו ×חרת, ומשדרות ×ת מה שהת××™×, ×ו ×œ× ×”×ª××™×, למהדורה. בקיצור – צה”ל ×”×™×” זקוק ×œ×¢×™×ª×•× ××™× ×›×©× ×©×”× × ×–×§×§×• למידע של צה”ל. ×בל במבצע ×”× ×•×›×—×™ משהו ×”×©×ª× ×”…. התהליך בו הופך צה”ל לכלי התקשורת המרכזי, ולבעליו של המידע הבלעדי החשוב ביותר, ×”×•× ×ª×”×œ×™×š שבסופו המידע שמגיע ל×זרח – מגיע משובש. חלק גדול מה×חריות במקרה ×–×” × ×•×¤×œ ×’× ×¢×œ כלי התקשורת בישר×ל – ×לו ×©×‘×•×—×¨×™× ×œ×©×“×¨ ×ת ידיעות דובר צה”ל מבלי לבדוק ומבלי לש×ול ש×לות. בסופו של דבר ×”× ×לו ×”×ž×—×•×™×‘×™× ×œ×תיקה ולכללי עבודה ×¢×™×ª×•× ××™×™×. דובר צה”ל, למרות שקל לשכוח ×–×ת, מחויב ×œ× ×œ×מת ××œ× ×œ×ž×˜×¨×•×ª המבצעיות של צה”ל.
In previous wars, the IDF would ‘feed’ military correspondents with information, and provided media outlets with video material and leaks from the field of combat. The media would process this material in one way or another, and air what fit their broadcasts. In short – the IDF needed the journalists just like the journalists needed the IDF’s information. But in the current operation something changed… The process in which IDF becomes a media outlet of itself, and the owner of the exclusive and most important information is a process in which the information that is transmitted to the citizen is inaccurate. Part of the responsibility for this falls on Israeli media outlets that choose to air the statements of the IDF Spokesperson without fact-checking and without asking questions. At the end of the day, it is the journalists who are obligated to follow the rules of proper and ethical journalistic work. On the other hand, the obligation of the IDF Spokesperson, although it is easy to forget this, is not to the truth, but to the IDF’s military objectives.
Article printed from Global Voices: http://globalvoicesonline.org
URL to article: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/11/22/israeli-media-criticized-for-coverage-of-gaza-conflict/
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