CAMERA’s Israel office prompts correction of another skewed translation appearing in Haaretz‘s English edition. On Monday, the English edition published an article, in print and online, which incorrectly reported in the first sentence: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to limit the role of the left wing NGOs in election campaigns …”
In addition, the headline of the English article online also falsely alleged that Netanyahu was seeking to limit the role of left-wing NGOs in elections. It read: “Netanyahu Seeks to Limit Left-wing NGOs’ Role in Future Israeli Elections.”
In the original Hebrew article, in contrast, journalist Jonathan Lis was clear that the bill targets both left- and right-wing NGOS. His article begins (CAMERA’s translation): “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to limit the role of NGOs from the right and from the left in election campaigns …”
Likewise, the Hebrew edition headline refers to a bill targeting political NGOs, not left-wing NGOs. It reads (CAMERA’s translation): “Netanyahu advances a bill to limit contributions from political NGOs.”
In response to communication from CAMERA, Haaretz editors have commendably corrected the English article’s headline and first sentence online. The accurate headline now refers to “political NGOs” instead of “left-wing NGOs.”
In addition, the amended first sentence now refers to both left-wing and right-wing NGOs’, instead of wrongly singling out the former:
Finally, editors commendably appended a note at the bottom of the article notifying readers of the change:
Editors have yet to correct the print edition, and CAMERA continues to urge them to do so.
For additional Haaretz corrections prompted by CAMERA and Presspectiva, our Hebrew website, please see here. See also “Haaretz, Lost in Translation.”