Political Crossfire Forums

[jher]

Iseal's influence in the media has been well managed.
Manipulating the Media

In addition to influencing government policy directly, the Lobby strives to shape public perceptions about Israel and the Middle East. It does not want an open debate on issues involving Israel, because an open debate might cause Americans to question the level of support that they currently provide. Accordingly, pro‐Israel organizations work hard to influence the media, think tanks, and academia, because these institutions are critical in shaping popular opinion.


The Lobby’s perspective on Israel is widely reflected in the mainstream media in good part because most American commentators ae pro‐Israel. The debate among Middle East pundits, journalist Eric Alterman writes, is “dominated by people who cannot imagine criticizing Israel.”He lists 61 “columnists and commentators who can be counted upon to support Israel reflexively and without qualification.” Conversely, Alterman found just five pundits who consistently criticize Israeli behavior or endorse pro‐Arab positions. Newspapers occasionally publish guest op‐eds challenging Israeli policy, but the balance of opinion clearly favors the other side.


This pro‐Israel bias is reflected in the editorials of major newspapers. Robert Bartley, the late editor of the Wall Street Journal, once remarked that, “Shamir, Sharon, Bibi – whatever those guys want is pretty much fine by me.”85 Not surprisingly, the Journal, along with other prominent newspapers like The Chicago Sun‐Times and The Washington Times regularly run editorials that are strongly pro‐Israel. Magazines like Commentary, the New Republic, and the Weekly Standard also zealously defend Israel at every turn.


Editorial bias is also found in papers like the New York Times. The Times occasionally criticizes Israeli policies and sometimes concedes that the Palestinians have legitimate grievances, but it is not even‐handed. In his memoirs, for example, former Times executive editor Max Frankel acknowledged the impact his own pro‐Israel attitude had on his editorial choices. In his words: “I was much more deeply devoted to Israel than I dared to assert.” He goes on: “Fortified by my knowledge of Israel and my friendships there, I myself wrote most of our Middle East commentaries. As more Arab than Jewish readers recognized, I wrote them from a pro‐Israel perspective.” 86

The media’s reporting of news events involving Israel is somewhat more even‐handed than editorial commentary is, in part because reporters strive to be objective, but also because it is difficult to cover events in the occupied territories without acknowledging Israel’s actual behavior. To discourage unfavorable reporting on Israel, the Lobby organizes letter writing campaigns, demonstrations, and boycotts against news outlets whose content it considers anti‐Israel. One CNN executive has said that he sometimes gets 6,000 e‐mail messages in a single day complaining that a story is anti‐Israel.87 Similarly, the pro‐Israel Committee for Accurate Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) organized demonstrations outside National Public Radio stations in 33 cities in May 2003, and it also tried to convince contributors to withhold support from NPR until its Middle East coverage became more sympatheticto Israel.88 Boston’s NPR station, WBUR, reportedly lost more than $1 million in contributions as a result of these efforts. Pressure on NPR has also come from Israel’s friends in Congress, who have asked NPR for an internal audit as well as more oversight of its Middle East coverage.


These factors help explain why the American media contains few criticisms of Israeli policy, rarely questions Washington’s relationship with Israel, and only occasionally discusses the Lobby’s profound influence on U.S. policy.

[jher]

Take a look at another article by Dennis Ross of the pro‐Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP). Seems like he is now promoting (on behalf of Israel) America's next target : Syria

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/16/AR2006081601426.html

The Lobby’s goals are also served when pro‐Israel individuals occupy important positions in the executive branch. During the Clinton Administration, for example, Middle East policy was largely shaped by officials with close ties to Israel or to prominent pro‐Israel organizations—including Martin Indyk, the former deputy director of research at AIPAC and co‐founder of the pro‐Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP); Dennis Ross, who joined WINEP after leaving government in 2001; and Aaron Miller, who has lived in Israel and often visits there.81

[jher]

Compare it with a balanced op-ed :
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/17/opinion/17atran.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
To get real information Americans can forget about those editorials. Just read op-ed.You stand a better chance to understand the real pictures.

Hamas’s top elected official, Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, now accepts that to stop his people’s suffering, his government must forsake its all-or-nothing call for Israel’s destruction. “We have no problem with a sovereign Palestinian state over all our lands within the 1967 borders, living in calm,” Mr. Haniya told me in his Gaza City office in late June, shortly before an Israeli missile destroyed it. “But we need the West as a partner to help us through.”

[lilwolf]

There is hope then that Hammas will try to make peace. It is my hope that Hezbolla will do the same. The west does need to try to assist in stopping the hostilities as well. But these groups must want peace. That goes onto both sides of the border.
I hope that Hammas is sincere with its desire for peace. :)

[BigOMG]

It's the same from either side with one little exception. Israel doesn't resort to suicide bombing children.

And don't use the argument that they killed children in Lebanon, that was 100% the fault of hezbollah and the Lebanese government for not standing up for themselves. People who hide behind children and the elderly are pathetic.

[jher]

lilwolf wrote: There is hope then that Hammas will try to make peace. It is my hope that Hezbolla will do the same. The west does need to try to assist in stopping the hostilities as well. But these groups must want peace. That goes onto both sides of the border.
I hope that Hammas is sincere with its desire for peace. :)
By the way did you notice the key words ?
“But we need the West as a partner to help us through.”
So do you think America is going to help them ?