Kiwis for Balanced Reporting on the Middle East
Posts 2006 - 2007
Stop bombast, start diplomacy
The Dominion Post published a letter written by _________ in response to an editorial published on December 13:
‘I refer to your editorial ‘Stop bombast, start diplomacy’.
Perhaps if Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ceased making highly publicised, bombastic, anti-semitic and anti-American exclamations,...’
(read more)
The Press gets it almost right
The Press of Christchurch continues to offer a balanced view of the Mideast with an excellent editorial and cartoon — except for one small problem:
‘Your editorial ‘Peace plays’ (Nov. 30, 2007) was spot on — until the last paragraph. The real ‘hard stuff ’ — as illustrated by Moreu in his excellent cartoon of Dec. 1 — is the ongoing intention to destroy Israel by Arab terrorist groups such as Hamas...’ (read more)
Columnist Dyer has come far — but not far enough
Gwynne Dyer is a syndicated columnist who has tended to blame Israel for most or all of the Mideast problems. Recently he has become more even-handed, but his anti-Israel bias still appears, as in his column of Dec. 4. KBRM wrote to him as follows:
‘In your 12/4/07 column in the Otago Daily Times you said "most of the Palestinians who lived within what is now Israel fled or were driven out during the 1948-49 war, and in order to ensure that the new state had an overwhelming Jewish majority Israel never let them return.’... this sentence contains three errors (read more)
The importance of a headline
In an interview, Israel's PM Ehud Olmert warned that a two-state solution is necessary to avoid a 'South African-style struggle for equal voting rights'. The Otago Daily Times headlined this article 'Olmert mentions "apartheid"', completely distorting his meaning in a manner reminiscent of the DomPost headline ('I need a Maori') that incited vandals to desecrate a Jewish cemetery in Wellington. The KBRM chairman protested as follows:
‘Please correct the false and inflammatory headline... inserted over an otherwise well-balanced article by the AP. First of all, the Prime Minister never used the word 'apartheid', as can be verified by looking at the full Ha'aretz article... Second, the thrust of his remarks was in the exact opposite direction.’ (read more)
Annapolis Analysis
KBRM sent the following analysis of the Annapolis peace conference by the Anti-Defamation League to newspaper editors:
‘The Annapolis conference has just about come and gone. Will it be remembered as the beginning of a breakthrough toward Israeli-Palestinian peace or will it be condemned as falsely raising expectations and leading to a resurgence of violence?... The answer lies in whether the Palestinians have undergone true change. Despite the complexities of Israeli politics, there is little doubt that Israel will support significant concessions on the core issues if they come to believe that the Palestinians - this time around — are serious about peace and reconciliation....’ (read more)
‘I Need A Maori’
Race Relations Commissioner chides Dominion Post for biased article ('I need a Maori') that led to desecration of Jewish cemetery.
‘...While not denying the Dominion Post's freedom to publish the story, the fact that it evoked such a deplorable response gives us pause for thought: with the benefit of hindsight, was it really a necessary or important story? Was there nothing else in the interview with the Israeli Ambassador that could have been reported instead or ahead of what was published? Knowing that this kind of response can happen should at least make us think twice before proceeding with publication unless there are strong public interest arguments to the contrary....’ (read more)
‘Are US Jews too powerful? Not even close’
The Press publishes prominent pro-Israel article. KBRM wrote as follows:
‘...It is not often that one sees a strongly pro-Israel article in New Zealand newspapers, let alone given as much prominence as this. The accompanying photo of a six-year-old Palestinian boy holding a hand grenade, titled ‘Hatred starts early’ is particularly chilling and revealing....’ (read more)
Washington Post Worries Only About Suffering In Gaza -- Ignores Qassam Barrages At Sderot
Anti-Israel bias in the Washington Post news service -
Dear editor: Since many NZ newspapers use the Washington Post news service, and with the Annapolis peace conference coming up soon, I hope you will read these postings by eyeonthepost.org about anti-Israel bias in the Post's reporting...
‘...The Post's anti-Israel, pro-Arab propaganda pieces are syndicated in scores of newspapers around the US and the world. The Post's bias is a problem not only for residents of the Washington, DC area but for all news consumers who hope for and expect balanced and truthful reporting. Please forward these alerts to everyone you know with an interest in critically examining the news coverage of the Israel-Arab conflict. Let them see how a newspaper with a reputation for quality news reporting is not living up to its reputation. ....’ (read more)
Anti-Israel letter in the Listener breaks ‘rule of equality’
Having refused to publish any letters protesting Lloyd Geering's article (see August 31 posting), the NZ Listener broke its own announced policy of 'equal space for each side' by publishing a long rebuttal letter to David Zwartz's article. KBRM protested:
‘...KBRM regretted the large number of errors and half-truths in Geering's article (we counted 17) that remained uncorrected, but then, who can argue with 'equal space for each side'? Imagine our surprise, then, when we found an anti-Israel letter in this week's Listener rebutting Zwartz's article. And at 450 words it was more than a third the length of Zwartz's article!! So much for ‘equal space for each side’....’ (read more)
AP article, ‘Israel thwarts Palestinian infiltration’
This AP article, which didn't appear in most NZ papers, was about two unsuccessful attacks on Israel and is typical of the many stories not presented to the New Zealand public. KBRM wrote to New Zealand editors suggesting that stories like this need to be published:
‘....I wonder if by any chance you published the following item from the Associated Press. It describes the continuing attacks on Israel from Gaza, an area that Israel evacuated two years ago. (This, of course, is in addition to the daily rocket attacks on Israeli villages from Gaza.) I ask this because it is a side of the Mideast conflict usually not shown in the New Zealand media...’ (read more)
Anti-Israel article in the Listener magazine
The Listener published an aricle, ‘Sitting on a time bomb ’ by Lloyd Geering, that contained 17 factual errors. KBRM responded as follows:
‘...We are not necessarily ‘pro-Israel’, we ask only that the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth be told. Unfortunately, (Geering's article) does not meet these criteria. .... ’
This was not published, nor were eight other individual letters to the editor, but the Listener allowed the Honorary Israeli consul equal space for a response. (read more)
Balance Results for First Half of 2007 (Published in New Zealand Jewish Chronicle)
‘...many New Zealand newspapers have failed to provide balanced coverage of the Arab/Israel conflict. Our largest newspaper, the New Zealand Herald, published 61 related articles during the first six months of this year, 23 of which were classified as 'pro-Palestinian' while only five were 'pro-Israel', according to the KBRM ratings.’ (read more)
KBRM appeals to the New Zealand Press Council
After three unsuccessful attempts to get the Sunday Star-Times to publish a counter-balancing opinion (see Dec. 20 post), KBRM sent an appeal to the New Zealand Press Council, concluding with:
‘....In summary, we believe that the SST published a grossly unfair and unbalanced article on 10 December that accused a visiting Israeli of war crimes based on opinions and conjectures, with virtually no facts or evidence offered, using guilt by association and innuendo as the main tools. Secondly, we believe that the SST refused to make any move to publish either of the two articles we submitted that gave the Israeli side of the story, and refused to give any reasons....’ (read more)
Anti-Israel article in the Sunday Star-Times
On December 10 the Sunday Star-Times ran an almost full-page article (‘The One That Got Away’, p. A9) about the charge that Israeli Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, who recently visited New Zealand, is a war criminal. KBRM protested to the editor:
‘....The article was highly unbalanced and relevant background information was omitted - information that would help your readers understand the Attorney General's decision not to proceed with the charges. There was only one paragraph the (the 17th) that presented Israel's defense to the charge! The [KBRM] press release offers the other side of the story, a side that we hope you will agree should also be presented to your readers.’ (read more)