Today may mark a milestone in this blog’s history–or at least a mini-milestone. Before I identified Yitzhak Ilan as the director-designee of the Shabak recently, I wrote to two Israeli reporters seeking more background information on Ilan. No one replied possibly for the reason that Ilan’s name was verboten for public consumption in Israel. But one of my correspondents did reply in a different form.
Yossi Melman, Haaretz’s security correspondent, wrote this passage today about my work in uncovering some of the secrets locked up tight in the impregnable Fortress Shabak-Mossad:
Land of Secrets
The American blogger Richard Silverstein has transformed himself into a veritable international message board of information which military censorship and Israeli courts forbid publishing. In the past, he reported on the Anat Kamm case while Israeli authorities gagged the mouths of Israel’s media.
Currently Silverstein, who calls his blog, Tikun Olam, claims he knows the identity of Y., deputy director of the Shabak, and even published it. According to him, the prime minister decided that Y. would replace Yuval Diskin when the latter’s term as director ends in May 2011. Silverstein is fed by information that comes to him from Israelis. In his reports, there is usually a grain of truth, if a few speculations as well.
There is great doubt whether the prime minister has already decided who will be the next Shin Bet chief and whether that person will come from within the service. Nevertheless, Silverstein’s blog is important because he exposes the security services and the courts in all their nakedness. They use the instruments of the 20th century to protect secrets which aren’t really secrets in the age of 21st century technology. In the past, it was permitted to publish the names of senior Shabak officials once they were identified abroad, but in this nation of miracles called Israel, a stranger place than the imaginary world of Alice, you can’t do that according to the laws that apply to Shabak, which forbid publishing the names of its officers even if they’ve already been published [abroad].
In this, I can hear the frustration of an Israeli journalist who wants to do his job, but who is prevented from doing so by the iron hand of both military censorship and the Shabak itself. One has to keep that in mind when one is tempted to tear into Israeli journalism itself for its timidity in the face of such restrictions. It’s a complicated issue.
There are literally scores of pro-Israelist naysayers and doubters lined up in the comment threads to pooh-pooh the post I wrote about Ilan’s imminent appointment. Yossi Melman has other ideas. And we shall see who’s right.
At any rate, it is very sweet to be validated by a veteran Israeli reporter like Melman.
Again, being lenient on those who betray their vocation, because “its comlicated” is not helpful IMHO, to the contrary.
If people dont stand up, at least they can do the honest thing, and that’s to admit publicly in writing that they are not free to do their job. If that’s impossible, than you are accepting the unacceptable from a patronizing position.
I deserve honest journalists, and so do all other Israelis. Instead we get “pravda” coates as “free press”. The Melmans are not less responsible than the generals to our condition. its a tango they are dancing.
[comment deleted & commenter banned for violating site comment rules
Isn’t that just what Melman has done at the end of the excerpt quoted by Richard?
If you’re saying journalists aren’t either challenging or at least naming-and-shaming censorship often enough, then I’m all on board. But why bash the rare reporter who gets it right for a change?
Yes, you’re right. That is precisely what Melman has done. He’s said he’s dying to report on this but his hands are tied. If we blame anyone it’s the publishers who aren’t willing to challenge the status quo enough & get sued or be threatened w. the loss of their publishing license. THough that too is a dangerous game.
you mean Pravda like the translated version of the author ?
who states “here is usually a grain of truth, if a few speculations as well.”
while the Hebrew version states “עם לא מעט ספקולציות”
which if one would translate it to English should be “with more then few speculations as well”
Yours is a mistranslation as well. A literal translation would be “with not a few speculations.”
THis will be yr last comment due to identity fraud & sock puppetry.
But it is complicated. Firstly, because most israelis and many journalists WANT pravda. Those that do see the veil of censorship have no one to expose it TO. Secondly, it’s always been this way. When soethong like anat kam happens they raise a racket, but otherwise they just accept the given situation.
i agree.
i dislike the credit and praise though, that some journos solicit, which they do not merit. I feel that this schmoozing here is helping to keep the status quo. Not that I have suggestions…
He sounds jealous – and what irks me is that he’s putting you down: he called you an “international bulletin board”, which implies that your inquiries, fact-checking, etc., are somehow less valid than his.
I read it as part of the panic reigning among print journalists in response to the death of print. Responding with panic and put-downs seems to threaten his livelihood (and my respect for him) more than the death of print, though.
I don’t get the impression that he is putting Tikkun Olam down. Perhaps I’m missing some subtlety or other, but to me ‘bulletin board’ just makes it sound like a place where lots of people can go to share information. It also seems to be a way of pointing his readership towards the blog – “I’m not allowed to say XYZ, but if you want to read about it, visit here.”
I agree that print journalists generally do tend to look down on bloggers for the very reason that you describe, but I’m not sure whether that always holds true in a place like Israel. The blogger’s freedom to write what he likes may look more desirable than the ‘prestige’ of writing pieces for a paper that is prohibited from reporting on so many things.
Thanks, Vicky, that is indeed a better way of seeing things.
Thanks!
There is a bit of that going on. I don’t think anyone at Haaretz can afford to acknowledge I’m getting stories they should be publishing. A way to compensate is to somehow diminish me, though Melman didn’t do that as sniffily as some in the MSM do.
The ENglish language translation of his article contains even more sniffiness. Since Haaretz writers have nothing to do w. such translation I can only guess an editor or translator tried to make me look a tad worse than the original version. They added the phrase “half truth” which isn’t in the original. I didn’t take too kindly to that.
Those kind of posts just reveal who you really are, Richard.
You’re a publicity seeking whistle-blower wannabe who has a huge inferiority complex. And you think that just because you have a couple of blog entries and a couple of supposed reliable ‘Israeli’ friends, you’ll be granted eventually as an important person and people will finally give a damn about you.
You tried to spread your rhetoric in big and important Israeli forums, and quickly ran with your tail between your legs.. Not because you were granted with insults, but because no one took you seriously.
In fact, no one with a right mind actually takes you seriously.
You can only fool yourself, and some others who are like you.
I’d love to get a response, but you’ll probably won’t do it and will delete this message and ban its poster.
You only support freedom of speech and the likes when it fits your agenda.
That’s what makes you such an hypocrite, and that’s why people don’t take you seriously.
Cheers
The nastier you people are the higher my standing among my readers & the more new readers you attract. The fact of the matter is that my work is still quoted & linked extensively at the most popular Israeli online forum, Rotter, which in turn draws a large amt of site traffic fr those who want to know what Israeli authorities won’t let them know.
I was banned by Fresh, a less popular forum & was never given any reason for being banned. The same types of material were posted at both sites.
So I never ran anywhere & don’t have a tail to hide bet. my legs (though perhaps that’s part of yr anatomy & you’re confusing me w. you).
I’m afraid to say that Yossi Melman takes my work seriously & I’d rather have his regard than 1,000 of you.
An update on the Israeli Chelem. The military censor contacted a blog that I follow which had an extensive coverage of this story (as well as a few laudatory comments about this blog.) They very politely asked the blogger to remove Y’s name. Blogger wisely complied but left the link so anybody can still read it here. [As if there are any Internet-savvy Hebrew readers who cannot read English. Chelem.
I think we have found the true enemy of the Shabak: Israelis. The identity of its leader MUST be kept safe from them…
::headdesk::
RE: “…claims he knows the identity of Y., deputy director of the Shabak…” – Melman
MY COMMENT: “Y.”? How Kafkaesque! Quite reminiscent of “K.”! And not by coincidence, I’m guessing.