On the bottom of page 9 in the Feb. 7 issue of Christian Century is a small box with the following correction:
Because of an editor’s mistake, the German church mentioned in Donald W. Shriver’s “Counting the Dead” (Jan. 10) was misidentified. The memorial inscription referred to is found not at St. Nicolaus Church in Wismar but at the Cistercian monastery church in Bad Doberan.
One might think the bi-weekly magazine’s readiness to correct this (rather inconsequential) error proves its adherence to the journalistic standards agreed upon by the American media. One of those tenets calls for the forthright correction of errors.
But the Christian Century‘s refusal to correct another, much more substantial factual error reveals that–at least when it comes to Israel–the magazine’s editors are not so concerned with factual accuracy.
As the official Israeli government map of the security fence shows, the barrier runs along the north of Bethlehem to protect Jerusalem–the target of dozens of deadly suicide bombings–from infiltration. It wraps around to the west of the city as it appoximates the path of the “Green Line,” the armistice line dividing the West Bank and Israel. | |
Official Map of Security Barrier |
Or if Wall had hesitations about relying on an official government source, he could have turned to a map published by B’tselem, an organization known for its rigid opposition to Israeli policies. | |
B’tselem Map of Security Barrier |
Even the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department’s map clearly depicts the barrier route running alongside the north and west of Bethlehem, and not surrounding the city. | |
PLO Map of Security Barrier |
When a responsible news organization errs, especially when reporting on such an emotive topic, it is expected to readily correct that error. Thus, when USA Today erroneously claimed, as did Wall, that Israel’s barrier surrounds Bethlehem, the newspaper published the following correction:
A Dec. 14 story about new Israeli security facilities should have said a 24-foot-high barrier separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem, but does not surround the entire town.