|
The Media
War Helps No One
HA'ARETZ
EnglishEdition
Wednesday, November 22, 2000
By Bassem Eid
Finding a way out of the
current conflict in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
requires wisdom and self-restraint on both sides. However, while
the number of casualties rises, both the Israeli and Palestinian
media publish and broadcast biased information, leading to
increased tension and making the situation more complex. It
seems that the media only publish news serving their interests,
thereby becoming instruments of the confrontation between
Palestinians and Israelis. Such a media war will serve neither
side. On the contrary, it intensifies hatred and hostility
between the two nations. Finding a solution to the crisis will
become more difficult, if not impossible. The media must focus
on current important subjects in an accurate manner, basing
judgments on facts. Most important, the media must not spread
rumors and false information.
The Palestinian Human
Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG) recently condemned the Israel
Broadcasting Authority (IBA) for its one-sided positions and
lack of objectivity and professional reporting. A few days
later, Israel Radio contacted me asking for an interview on the
subject of "Political arrests under the Palestinian Authority."
I have never hesitated to
raise my voice to denounce human rights violations committed by
the Palestinian Authority, but this time I refused to grant the
interview. Why should the Israeli radio now emphasize the
problem of political prisoners in the PA, at a time when most
political prisoners have been released but more than 200
Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupation forces?
Another correspondent,
this time from the Israel Channel Two news program, asked for an
interview on the subject of "Corruption within the PA." Again I
refused. It seems to me that the Israeli media is diverting the
flow of news toward other minor topics, ignoring the current
crisis. They are not concerned with the killings, murders and
outright acts of war against Palestinians. Criticizing the PA's
governing problems seems to be of greater importance.
Further, the coverage of
the Palestinian demonstrations is shown from only one
perspective, and the public does not get the full picture of the
situation. Last Friday, Israel Channel One broadcast a report on
the situation in the settlement of Vered Jericho. Channel One
correspondent Benny Liss interviewed Jewish children from the
settlement who explained how frightened they were by the
shooting of the Israeli army from their settlement. It would
have been wise to point out that the shooting was not directed
at Vered Jericho, but at the nearby Palestinian refugee camp of
Aqbet-Jaber. How did the children of the refugee camp feel when
they were shot at? Surely they too were afraid.
Similarly, when Israeli
Channel One correspondent Nitzan Chen reported live from the
settlement of Psagot, outside Ramallah. He opened his report by
telling the audience: "I am now standing in Psagot, with my back
to the killers." The Palestinians from al-Bireh must have been
happy to learn that they were the killers, while they were being
shot at from tanks and helicopter gun ships. Just like the
Palestinian mothers are very pleased to be described as
heartless human beings, sending their children to be killed in
the demonstrations, a convenient thesis that is now widespread
among the Israeli media and public. Do you know that
Palestinians love their children too?
The Palestinian media has
also fallen into the trap of disinformation. When Issam Judeh
was found dead on October 9, the Palestinian newspapers were all
happy to publish the sensational news: Judeh had been tortured
to death by settlers and died in horrible conditions,
illustrated by color photographs of his mutilated body. This
story fueled Palestinian anger and violence.
A few weeks later,
however, Physicians for Human Rights published a report on the
violence in the Palestinian territories, and among other
findings, their independent investigation showed that Judeh in
fact died in a car accident. The Palestinian media gave broad
coverage to the report and to its conclusions that the Israeli
army was using excessive force. But the case of Judeh was not
mentioned again.
A similar bias is
affecting Palestinian human rights organizations. Since the
eruption of the Al-Aqsa Uprising, these organizations have
become press offices, issuing at times inaccurate reports at
such rapid speed that international press agencies have lost
trust in them. Even some Arabic satellite stations no longer
trust news reports produced by Palestinian human rights
organizations, according to a correspondent.
Are these organizations
really serving the cause of human rights, or are they trying to
gain publicity at the expense of human rights? Do we, as
Palestinians, really need to exaggerate matters at this time
when the Palestinian people are bleeding? The facts speak for
themselves. The Palestinians are victims; overstatements and
inaccurate reporting will only damage our credibility.
I truly hope that both
Palestinians and Israelis will eventually find a way out of the
current crisis. But in order to do so both people will have to
restrain their emotions and give voice to reason. The media
shape opinions and bear a tremendous responsibility. I wish the
Israeli and Palestinian media would accept this responsibility
and take care to publish objective reports based on accurate
findings.
The writer is the director
of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group
|
