Ya gotta scratch your head at the editorial decisions of mainstream U.S. media outlets: for the first time ever Israel’s cursed siege of Gaza has been breached by a band of brave peace activists and all the Times can muster is a hundred words or so on page 12. And this is the only story it’s written on the subject. It’s the equivalent of an editor’s yawn followed by: “is that all ya got?”
I’ve been more and more disappointed by Ethan Bronner’s reporting as the new NYT Israel correspondent. He couldn’t even be bothered to report this story himself since he judged it so insignificant. You’ll also recall that Bronner reserved to himself the right to write Mahmoud Darwish’s obituary. Bronner knows a smattering of Arabic, yet held forth on the poet’s poetics as if he were a literary critic. Choosing an American Jew to write this story would’ve been as if William F. Buckley wrote the obituary of Malcolm X. I don’t wish to say that the obituary was bad (though there was one insulting statement I’ve written about here). It wasn’t. But it was attenuated by the fact that Bronner was an outsider to Palestinian culture and literature, and the story called for someone who was, if not an insider, then at least more of one than Bronner.
A GoogleNews search shows 998 articles on the Free Gaza Movement sailing of which only the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Time were U.S.-based. There seems to be an unspoken editorial agreement among U.S. media that this story is trivial. I’m glad to say that the rest of world sees things differently. Which means that we aren’t being well-served by our insular media, which decides on our behalf that citizen peacemaking is reserved for the far back pages.
Richard,
What’s really confusing is your confusion. It’s not like this is the first time that the MSM has downplayed stories that reflect badly on Israel. The “unspoken editorial agreement” that you mention reeks of orders coming from above, orders that are followed happily by editorial teams with agendas that match those of their bosses.
I recommend “Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land” for those who would like a clearer picture of how the US Media, just like Gaza and the West Bank, is “occupied territory.”
PM
Richard,
I feel it is important to point out that “progressives” in Israel don’t look upon HAMAS the way you do. The fact that they came to power in “free elections” in and of itself doesn’t make them kasher. After Hitler and the Nazis and Putin also came to power “democratically”. So did the segregationists in the pre-Civil-Rights South. It is not enough to be elected “democratically”, one must behave “democratically”.
The “progressives” in Israel dislike HAMAS for the following reasons
(1) Indiscriminate rocket fire into Israel. Some may say that Israel has attacked and killed HAMAS people in Gaza, but those attacks are not indiscriminate, even if there is “collatoral damage”. HAMAS seeks maximum civilian casualties.
(2) Gilad Shalit. Shalit is held incommunicado under unknown conditions. Some may say “Israel holds Palestinian prisoners so isn’t it legimate for HAMAS to grab Jews, soldiers or civilians”, but these prisoners are not held incommunicado and their conditions are subject to outside inspection.
(3) Deliberate terrorist attacks on cargo terminals and crossing points…Israeli drivers bringing fuel to the Gaza Strip were killed. So does HAMAS really have a legitimate gripe when Israel closes those terminals which are too dangerous for Israelis to operate in?
(4) Refusal to recognize Israel and unilateral abrogation of Oslo Agreements. Some say “Israel has not lived up to the agreements” but Israel has not abrogated them. Since HAMAS’ official ideology is war to the death with Israel, do you really expect Israel to feel kindly to them?
(5) “Collective punishment” of Gazans may seem “unfair”, but as you yourself pointed out, they voted them in, so why shouldn’t they face the consequences of their actions?
(6) Brutal conduct with their own people. You certainly heard about the FATAH fighter who was handcuffed and then thrown off a multi-story building down to a raging mob below who tore his body apart. There were more similar incidents in the recent fighting. Things like this do not endear HAMAS to outsiders.
In the end, I do believe you will get what you want….Israel will recognize HAMAS and negotiage with them officially, for all the good it will do, but as long as they hold Shalit, I wouldn’t expect much change in official attitudes towards them.
@bar_kochba132: I’ve read Richard’s article again and again and again, but I can’t for the life of me find the word “Hamas” in it, be it in upper, lower, or camel case, nor any indirect reference to them. Nor can I find on the FGM site, or in their press releases any hint that they support Hamas.
The NYT of course couldn’t refrain from parroting the hasbara line, insinuating that the Gaza blockade was due to Palestinians (not just Gazans btw) voting for Hamas in 2006, and the latter’s complete takeover the following year.
You’ll all remember the Vanity Fair article that exposed Hamas’ takeover in 2007 as preemptive in nature, preempting a similar planned, Western-supported coup d’etat by Fatah. Now my memory may be failing me, but I think the NYT also reported on that story. If that’s true, is their own memory even shorter than mine, or did they have a fire recently in their archives?
Further proof of the NYT’s disinterest is this paragraph:
Who she said had cooperated? The mighty NYT couldn’t even be bothered to research that claim – a statement of facts after all – themselves.
@bar_kochba132:
Can you explain to me how you know what “progressives” in Israel believe since you clearly are not one? In fact, not only do progressives in Israel look upon Hamas as I do, but most Israelis look upon Hamas as I do. Most Israelis are in favor of Israel negotiating with Hamas as am I. WHile this doesn’t presume that Israelis like Hamas or agree w. its political agenda, it does presume a belief that there may be a way for a pragmatic approach to Hamas that leads to a modus vivendi of some kind.
“What’s really confusing is your confusion. ”
Yes, please stop pretending.
Why is it obvious for the rest of the world and the recent immigrants but not the stupified Americans?