Israel's unprovoked attack

It is difficult to understand the motivation behind Israel's attack on the aid flotilla this morning.

For those that haven't heard the news,the Israelis decided that it would be a good idea to board the lead ship in the "peace flotilla which has been heading for Gaza carrying essential supplies from Cyprus.

The Israelis claim that they were shot at first,but the action has resulted in at least 15 deaths.

Israel has been villified over the attack with many countries calling their ambassadors in and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in Canada, having cancelled a scheduled visit to Washington on Tuesday to return to Israel.

Israel's deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon,accused the convoy of a "premeditated and outrageous provocation", describing the flotilla as an "armada of hate".

Here in Britain,William Hague has put out the following statement”I deplore the loss of life during the interception of the Gaza Flotilla. Our Embassy is in urgent contact with the Israeli Government. We are asking for more information and urgent access to any UK nationals involved.

Meanwhile hundreds of activists blocked Whitehall shouting "Free Palestine" and carrying flags and banners with slogans such as "Stop Israel's War Crimes in Gaza" and "End the Criminal Siege of Gaza".

In Istanbul, 10,000 protesters gathered outside the Israeli consulate chanting "Murderous Israel you will drown in the blood you shed!"

French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned what he described as a “disproportionate use of force.”

“All light must be shed on the circumstances of this tragedy, which underlines the urgency of resuming peace talks,” Sarkozy said in a statement.

Palestinian journalist sentenced to 18 months by West Bank court

Tareq Abu Zayd, the correspondent of Hamas-run TV station Al-Aqsa was found guilty by a Palestinian Authority military court last week.

He was found guilty of charges of seditious acts and impart information and smuggling money to parties hostile to the Palestinian National Authority in a manner contrary to the provisions of Palestinian law.

A group of Arab human rights organizations in a public statement said that the court ruling about the Palestinian journalist Tareq Abu Zeid by a special military court is illegal and unfair and considered a precedent and contrary to the standards of protection of Freedom of speech and expression.

According to RSF

The supreme court in Ramallah ordered his release on 12 January but the order was ignored. Zayd was arrested several times last year by militias loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Media freedom seriously curtailed in Gaza according to Reporters without Borders

Reporters without borders have just published its initial analysis of press freedoms during the recent conflict in Gaza.

According to the report, six journalists ho were killed, two of them while doing their job. Around 15 were wounded. And at least three buildings housing media were hit by Israeli fire.

Both sides in the conflict come in for criticism.For Hamas

Contrary to what its leaders say, journalists are not free to criticise the Islamist movement, to communicate the stance of other factions or simply to set forth divergent opinions.

whilst on the Israeli side

he sealing off of the Gaza Strip, which was the full responsibility of the Israeli authorities, is unacceptable and disturbing. Beyond this conflict, control of news in time of war has become a military objective throughout the world.

Will Self's opinion on the BBC Gaza appeal crisis

Will Self has an interesting opinion on the BBC/Gaza controvery over at First Post this morning.

It is not the BBC that should be getting the flak from the demonstrators but Israel.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of the corporation he says that

the response of a whole phalanx of luvvies and legs has been laughable adding that

How they're appalled at the pusillanimous BBC in the face of this 'humanitarian' disaster - yet few of them spoke out loud and clear against the actions of Israel that caused it, nor, by extension, against the supine British government whose consistent failure to roundly condemn Israel is far more important than a charity advert.

Should citizen journalism be censored?

Instead of relying on the major news outlets to get the news out of Gaza, many people are using the Internet to tell their version of the story, and that means a lot of graphic and unfiltered images and video circulating through emails and sites like YouTube and iReport.

writes Michael Martin over at NPR.

He raises the question as to whether citizen journalism should be censored.

Read his interview with Keith Jenkins who is the supervising senior producer for multimedia at npr.org

Endangering the roots of civilisation

According to the Jerusalem post,the world's media is endangering the roots of our civilisation.

In a article in yesterday's edition it claims that

Leading the charge is Time magazine, the most recent cover of which prominently features a Star of David behind barbed wire, a startling and disturbing image that seems to suggest a parallel between the Gaza war and the Holocaust, presumably not to Israel's credit.

Of course it would be a lot easier if the media were actually allowed in to report on the conflict but the paper has certainly got it in for Time and continues

Time likes to use Holocaust imagery that hints that Israel is doing to the Palestinians what the Nazis did to the Jews.

Time magazine however doesn't take this lying down and in a piece written today by Andrew Butters Lee argues that

Israel's decision to keep the Western press out of Gaza may also have backfired, because it's given a monopoly of coverage to the more inflammatory reporting of Arab satellite television stations such as Al Jazeera and Al Arabiyya that maintain bureaus in Gaza. And while there are many excellent Palestinian journalists working for the Western press in Gaza, there have been some examples of doctored photographs and suspicious looking videos showing civilian suffering.

Joe the plumber says keep journalists away from war

Just in case you haven't yet seen,Joe the Plumber has now arrived in the Middle East and this is his latest pontification

I’ll be honest with you. I don’t think journalists should be anywhere
allowed war. I mean, you guys report where our troops are at. You report what’s
happening day to day. You make a big deal out of it. I think it’s asinine. You
know, I liked back in World War I and World War II when you’d go to the theater
and you’d see your troops on, you know, the screen and everyone would be real
excited and happy for’em. Now everyone’s got an opinion and wants to downer–and
down soldiers.

Some more comment on the reporting of Gaza

A couple of interesting posts about the media coverage of the Gaza conflict this morning.

Over at Charlie Beckett's Polis blog there is a guest appearance by Nina Bigalke who has been researching Al Jazeera's English channel for the last 18 months.

She points out the advantage that the channel has

The reason why the Israeli government’s ban was not effective in the case of AJE is strikingly simple. Their correspondents were around before the news broke. As coincidental as this may sound, it is symptomatic of a different approach to reporting where continuous presence takes precedence over momentary action.

and adds that

Those who are turning to Al Jazeera English for an entirely different kind of journalism may not find what they are looking for – but in its reporting on Gaza, the channel shows where its real potential for making a difference lies: in having a presence before news breaks in regions where other networks predominantly engage in situations of acute crisis. And in the political and cultural sensitivity on the part of the journalists that is growing out of this presence.

Whilst Reuters reports that

Israel has opened a hotline for tip-offs about uniformed officers or politicians suspected of spilling state secrets.

As the Israeli government continues its crackdown on reporting from the region it reports that

Soldiers have had cellphones confiscated to prevent them sending SMS messages about combat losses or troop deployments as they advance on Hamas and other Palestinian guerrillas in Gaza.
Military censors, who avoid nosing around routine news coverage, now show their teeth. Two Israeli freelancers were arrested on suspicion they gave an Iranian TV station details about the Gaza sweep that was not cleared for publication.

Gaza reporting like a football match

Robert Fisk was on the world service last night and described the reporting from the Middle East as being like a football match.

You can read a summary transcript HERE courtesy of media workers against the War but here is an excerpt

If the western journalists were in Gaza they would be able to talk not to the man the street but to the man and the woman and the child in the hospital. And we can’t do that, none of us can. And that is the problem.
It’s not that the images are a distortion – the images are real. The distortion is when we’re told afterwards that the Palestinians deserve it or indeed that the Palestinians had it coming to them because Hamas was using them, Hamas was in the school.

Internet war is the future

Do read Bob Piper's synopsis of the coverage of the conflict in Gaza and his wise words at the end

Even the Israeli Government with its almost total disregard for international opinion know the images of fatalities in Gaza will be very powerful, and they have done everything they can to prevent the media getting in, whilst at the same time showing graphic images of the impact of missiles in Southern Israel.

BUT

technology moves on. The power of internet and e-mail means that people can get a worldwide distribution of their images out into the world within minutes of an explosion. The various Iraqi bloggers were able to paint graphic pictures of life inside a war zone, and the same thing is happening in Gaza. The revolution may not be televised, but the internet war is the future.

Spot on Bob-Transparency is everything and new media means that there is nowhere to hide

Tories on the offensive over Beeb coverage of Gaza

It didn't take long did it?

Tory MP Michael Fabricant has apparently

been horrified and angered by the coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict. While paying scant regard to the provocation of 10,000 rockets fired at Israeli civilians from Gaza over the last seven years, the BBC has chosen to broadcast 'human interest' stories reminiscent of salacious photos in the cheaper red top newspapers.

and adds that

perhaps the worst interview of all was with the Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic who dared to suggest that every country has a right to defend its citizens, that Hamas had walked away from negotiations, that they had resumed firing rockets into Israel unprovoked, and that Israel's actions are therefore defensive and not offensive. The ire and vitriol of the BBC interviewer was extraordinary. Paxman and Humphreys are pussy cats in comparison. The Czech minister sounded shell shocked

So once again the Tories are on the offensive.

My own personal perspective.As I said on this blog yesterday far from being bias,the coverage on the Beeb is simply not up to scratch

On the media coverage of Gaza invasion

The invasion of Gaza by Israeli ground forces yesterday evening has shown up the power of online over the traditional media.

The rapidly changing events especially on a night when newspapers are generally put to bed early have created an ideal platform for online content.

As regards televising coverage,Sky seem to be beating the BBC coverage hands down and have even put Al Jazeera into the shade.

On the same subject,Editor and Publisher have taken a rather critical stand on the American media's coverage of the crisis,Greg Mitchell commenting that

Most notably, after more than eight days of Israeli bombing and Hamas rocket launching in Gaza, The New York Times had produced exactly one editorial, not a single commentary by any of its columnists, and only one op-ed (twice the normal length and favoring Israel's bombing). The editorial, several days ago, did argue against the wisdom of a ground invasion - - but even though that invasion had become ever more likely all week the paper did not return to this subject.

No doubting that once the fighting is over,the world's major news organisations will be heavily scrutinised over any perceived bias on the part of either of the incumbents

Iranian paper critical of Hamas is shut down

An Iranian newspaper which has been critical of Hamas during the current actions in Gaza has been closed down according to a report on AFP

Kargozaran has been banned over a media offence and the case has been referred to the court," Mohammad Parvizi, who is in charge of domestic media at the culture ministry, told IRNA.
He said the ban was ordered over "a piece yesterday which justifies the Zionist regime's crimes against humanity in Gaza and portrays the Palestinian resistance as terrorists who cause the deaths of children and civilians by taking up position in kindergartens and hospitals."

Hat Tip Harry's Place

Israeli paper accused over Obama prayer

An Israeli newspaper is under investigation after it published a prayer note left at Jerusalem's wailing wall by Barack Obama.

Slate magazine reports that

Traditionally, visitors fold these notes and leave them wedged between the stones in the wall, where the prayers remain until their official collection and burial. But Obama's note was taken by a student at a Jewish seminary (after several others had searched for it) and passed along to reporters.

Without going into the in and outs of Jewish law,the paper,The Maariv broke a law which says that notes left at the wall are the property of God and thus should not be used for other purposes ie selling newspapers.

Strangely though it might come down to privacy.Israel unlike the Uk does have a privacy law that contains a clause saying

There shall be no violation of the confidentiality of the spoken utterances, writings or records of a person."

Israel urged to reopen investigation into killed cameraman

Israel is under pressure to investigate the death of a journalist who died in the Gaza strip in April.

The Committee to Project Journalists wants the country to re open investigations on Fadel Shana, a 24-year-old Palestinian cameraman who was was hit by a spray of metal darts from a controversial type of missile on April 16 as he filmed an Israeli tank dug in about 1.5 km.

Covering the violence in the strip,Shana got out of his vehicle and starting filming but was almost immediately killed along with two by standers.

The Committee reports that

Israel’s Ambassador Sallai Meridor met yesterday with the Committee to Protect Journalists delegation at their request,” said a statement from the Israeli Embassy issued today. “Ambassador Meridor expressed regret over the death of Fadel Shana and emphasized that the tragic incident is under investigation at senior levels of the IDF. He expressed hope that the inquiry will be concluded in the near future.”

Blogging crosses the divide

Thanks to Robin Lustig for this link.

One way in which blogging can cross the divides.

The Israeli bombardment of the Gaza strip has attrcated our attentions for the last few days,but blogs can indeed cross the divide.

I will let the mast head tell the story

This blog is written by 2 friends. One lives in Sajaia refugee camp in Gaza and the other lives in Sderot, a small town near Gaza on the Israeli side. There is ongoing violence between Israel and Gaza which has intensified greatly since October 2000. Many have been killed and many have been injured. The media coverage on both sides has been extremely biased. Our Blog is written by 2 real people living and communicating on both sides of the border.

Balen report remains a secret

The BBC's desire to keep its report on its coverage of the Middle East continued yesterday when three appeal court judges ruled that the report did not come under the freedom of information act.

The Balen report originated in 2004 when the then director of news Richard Sambrook commissioned a report to look at allegations of bias in the corporations coverage of the Middle East.The BBC has consistently had to fend off allegations of anti Israeli bias.

The reasons why the BBC has continued to suppress the report are unclear and it has consistently argued that the report was purely for internal consumption.

Israel to counter inbuilt bias

(Via Roy Greenslade)

The Israeli media machine is on the march again

The Jeruselum Post is reporting that

A UK-based pro-Israel lobby will bring a delegation of senior journalists from major media outlets to Israel on Sunday.Fourteen editors and senior journalists will visit for six days - including senior editorial staff from the Times, Independent and Sun newspapers and broadcasters from the BBC and Sky News, in a trip organized by the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) to show them events from Israel's point of view.

This no doubt is to counter what the Israeli's see as an inbuilt bias towards the Palestinian side.Lets hope that the Israel's alos allow the journalist to visit the occupied territories to provide the required balance.

Will Murdoch's British newspapers change their stance on Israel?

The Spectator blog carries a piece today arguing that with Rupert Murdoch off to pastures new and his son James effectively in charge of the Sun and the Times,the paper's pro Israeli stance will change.

James has

pronounced pro-Palestinian views which he holds strongly

And this was evidenced by

At a private dinner with his father, his brother (Lachlan), Tony Blair, and others at 10 Downing Street in January 2002, James, according to Campbell, launched into a foul-mouthed tirade against his father's unstinting support for Israel.

Anyway I look foreward with great anticiaption to the Sun's next campaign to ban Israeli oranges

Arabs not represented in the Israeli media

An interesting piece that I picked up from Newswatch India,especially as I am doing a presentation in the middle of next month on the Middle East in two of our modules.

A study by the Israeli Centre for Strategic Communication has revealed that despite making up a fifth of the population of Israel,Arabs count for little in the media.

Says the report http://www.newswatch.in/news-analyses/newsworthiness/9461.html

Arab presence on television channels has gone down ironically. Arab presence decreased by 33 per cent - from 3 per cent to 2 per cent. The representation of Arabs in radio stations also has failed to cross the 1 per cent mark.

and

The qualitative aspect of representation is suffering as much as the quantitative part. Chances are rare that one will find an Arab news presenter or, on the eve of elections, an Arab statistician on a Hebrew news channel. Arab experts rarely appear in the media and there is not even one Arab commentator.