PBS Corrects Erez Crossing Error

CAMERA staff contacted PBS about its Nov. 22, 2012 PBS “Newshour” segment on the crisis in Gaza. Among concerns about the broadcast was misinformation by reporter Alex Thomson regarding crossing points between Gaza and Israel.
 Error: By occupation, he means this [shows view of a crossing], Erez, just one militarized crossing from Gaza to Israel. And Israel decides what crosses, goods, people. It is a complete commercial stranglehold on a place desperate to be a country.”
 
Correction: EDITOR’S NOTE: Alex Thomson of ITN stated that there was one crossing from Israel to Gaza. There are actually two crossings which Israel controls in and out of Gaza — Erez (to the North) and Kerem Shalom (to the South). Egypt controls another crossing, Rafah (in the South), which connects Egypt to Gaza.
CAMERA commends PBS for promptly acknowledging shortcomings in the November 22 segment and for posting a correction of the Erez error on its Web site with the transcript of the segment. For meaningful impact on the viewing audience the correction needs also to be delived on-air. The inaccurate and incendiary reference to Israel imposing “a complete commercial stranglehold” on Gaza was not refuted though it was clarified that Rafah is a crossing with Egypt.

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