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From: Honest Reporting <action@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Art Yevin" <ayevin@xxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 14:37:38 +0200
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Subject: Burying the Children
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HonestReporting Communique
05 April 2001
"BURYING THE CHILDREN"
* * *
Dear Friend,
The deliberate murder of the Jewish baby, Shalhevet Pass, by a Palestinian s=
niper was=20
condemned around the world, leaving people everywhere to wonder how a human=20=
being=20
could line up a baby's head in the crosshairs of his sniper scope and pull t=
he trigger.
But the atrocity apparently had a different effect on some reporters who hav=
e toiled=20
for six months to present a "balanced and even-handed" portrayal of the figh=
ting -- or=20
in some cases a sympathetic picture of the Palestinian side. These reporters=
have=20
mitigated Palestinian terrorist bombers by calling them "militants," while w=
henever=20
possible labeling Israeli victims as "settlers" -- in an attempt to "downgra=
de" them=20
from the ranks of innocent civilians.
So how did the "even-handers" handle Shalhevet=92s funeral?=20
On April 2, The New York Times ran Deborah Sontag's report headlined "Israel=
i Baby's=20
Funeral Becomes Focus of Settler Militancy." Sontag reminds readers several=20=
times of=20
Palestinian casualties in describing Shalhevet's funeral: "One [Jewish mourn=
er] held a=20
framed photograph of Shalhevet in her Purim costume, in the style of the Pal=
estinian=20
mothers who grieve for their martyred sons."=20
That sentence provided Sontag with the perfect and immediate segue into her=20=
reminder=20
of youthful Palestinian casualties killed by Israelis: "An 11-year-old Pales=
tinian=20
boy, Muhammad Tamini, was buried today in a small quiet funeral in his villa=
ge near=20
Ramallah. The boy died of wounds sustained in clashes with Israeli troops tw=
o weeks=20
ago."
In her search for evenhandedness, Sontag then finds a backhanded way to port=
ray=20
Shalhevet as a despised settler: "Many Israelis have long considered the Heb=
ron=20
settlers to be extremists, living in a world apart. But they rallied behind=20=
the=20
community after Shalhevet was killed; newspaper headlines referred to the ki=
lling of=20
an Israeli baby and not a "settler baby."
Sontag makes the outrageous implication that Jews might normally disregard t=
he=20
ruthless murder of another Jew, simply because they don't share the same pol=
itical=20
views. Is the average Israeli so petty and cold-hearted? I don't believe so.=
But=20
perhaps Sontag is.
Read Sontag's article:=20
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/02/world/02MIDE.html =20
Not to be outdone, Suzanne Goldenberg of the Guardian paints a nasty picture=
of=20
Shalevet's mourners: "Thousands of Jewish settlers, bristling with sophistic=
ated=20
weapons and swearing revenge, gathered yesterday for the funeral of a baby g=
irl..."=20
Goldenberg then attempts to "even out" the atrocities: "Few Palestinians she=
d tears=20
for Shalhevet. About 130 of the 455 people who have been killed in the upris=
ing were=20
Palestinians under the age of 18, the latest an 11-year-old Ramallah boy who=
was also=20
buried yesterday, after being shot in the head by an Israeli soldier."
In Goldenberg's eyes, two children have been shot in the head, and there is=20=
no=20
distinction to made. But the comparison, of course, is false. No Israeli sol=
dier has=20
ever aimed to kill innocent children sitting in baby carriages or playing in=
a=20
sandbox. Tragically, Palestinian children are shot when they participate in=20=
violent=20
demonstrations or by errant bullets that may have also come from Palestinian=
gunmen=20
shooting at Israeli soldiers.
Read Goldenberg's story:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,466904,00.html=20
And in a Guardian analysis piece, Jonathan Freedland draws another false com=
parison:=20
"[Palestinians] have seen a 12-year-old boy, Muhammad al-Durrah, shot dead i=
n his=20
father's arms (just like Shalhavet)."
Of course, the Muhammad al-Durrah incident left a lot of questions unanswere=
d, the=20
most important being what he and his father were doing in the heart of cross=
fire=20
shooting, whether it was actually an Israeli or Palestinian bullet that stru=
ck him,=20
and how the media came to be perfectly placed to photograph it. Is this comp=
arable to=20
Shalhevet being murdered in cold blood on the playground?
Read Freedland's column:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,464346,00.html=20
CNN had its own version of even-handedness: "Two children on either side of=20=
the=20
Israeli-Palestinian conflict are being buried on Sunday. Jewish settlers are=
burying a=20
10-month-old girl killed by sniper fire while Palestinians are burying an 11=
-year-old=20
boy shot during clashes with Israeli forces."=20
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/meast/04/01/israel.funeral/index.html
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Times reporter Tracy Wilkinson downplayed the Arab id=
entity of=20
Shalhevet's killer, leaving it as mere Israeli =93hear-say.=94 She writes: "=
Jewish=20
settlers buried 10-month-old Shalhevet Pas on Sunday, six days after the arm=
y says she=20
was shot dead by a Palestinian sniper... Shalhevet was shot to death and her=
father,=20
Yitzhak, was wounded by what Israeli authorities say was a single bullet fro=
m a=20
Palestinian gunman."=20
Read Wilkinson's coverage:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/20010402/t0000=
28229.html
If you feel that the reports are biased, write to these publications at:
letters@xxxxxxxxxxx
letters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
letters@xxxxxxxxxxx
eason.jordan@xxxxxxxxxx=20
Thank you for your ongoing involvement in the battle against media bias. =20
HonestReporting.com
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
NOTE TO HONESTREPORTING MEMBERS:
Last week, we wrote about the media's aversion to call Palestinians "terrori=
sts" --=20
even when referring to suicide bombers. Since then, both The New York Times=20=
and CNN=20
have referred to Palestinian acts of "terror."=20
Is it possible we are having an effect?
See the articles:
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/04/world/04MIDE.html
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/meast/04/03/mideast.03/index.html
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Encourage as many people as you can to join the growing movement of HonestRe=
porting.=20
It's easy to add your friends' email address at=20
http://www.honestreporting.com/a/friend.asp
If you have seen an article that you feel is clearly biased in its reporting=
towards=20
Israel, please send us details at
http://www.honestreporting.com/a/submit.as=
p
Be informed! Read about the "Seven Areas of Media Distortion" at=20
http://www.honestreporting.com/a/bias.asp
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
HonestReporting was founded by a group of individuals that affiliates neithe=
r to the=20
right nor to the left. We are only interested in ensuring that Israel receiv=
es fair=20
coverage in the media. We scrutinize the media for examples of blatant bias,=
and then=20
inform our subscribers of any offending articles, asking to complain directl=
y to the=20
news organization concerned.
HonestReporting has over 12,000 members worldwide.
(C) 2001 HonestReporting - All rights reserved.=20
Email: action@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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To subscribe to HonestReporting, double-click and send a blank email to:=20
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To UNsubscribe, double-click and send a blank email to: honestreporting-
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