NPR

October 13, 2004

NPR’s Derogates Israel and Religious Jews

On June 12, 2004, NPR's Scott Simon interviewed Richard Ben Cramer on the topic of the latter's newly released book How Israel Lost: The Four Questions. Though panned by numerous critics who faulted its deceptive depiction of Israel's security needs, Simon chatted appreciatively with the author, urging him to repeat from his book an anecdote about religious Jews that was evidently apocryphal and meant solely to ridicule the religious establishment in Israel. Simon did not stop there. He concluded with a remarkable question posed to the guest that may be a window on NPR attitudes about Israel.

August 11, 2004

CAMERA Obtains NPR Correction on UN Vote

CAMERA prompted the following correction on a July 21 newscast by NPR's Carl Kasell, who erroneously reported that the U.N. vote against Israel's West Bank barrier was unanimous.
August 1, 2004

Media Downplay Hamas Responsibility for Terror

In covering the recent charges against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, several media outlets downplayed the relationship between Hamas and terrorism, saying only that it is "blamed for" or "accused of" attacks against Israel. This language is misleading in light of the fact that Hamas itself regularly takes credit for attacks.
June 11, 2004

NPR Critiques Itself

A shoddy self-assessment by the network of its Arab-Israeli coverage seeks to blunt public criticism.
May 19, 2004

Journalists Fall Prey to Palestinian Booby-Traps

In the labyrinth of concrete homes and competing claims that mark Israel's operation in Gaza, the Los Angeles Times' Ken Ellingwood loses his way, straying from the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics in reporting a Palestinian claim as fact. He is joined in this by the Guardian's Chris McGreal on NPR.
May 12, 2004

Two NPR Corrections in Two Days

CAMERA prompted two NPR corrections, airing Sunday and Monday. The first corrected Linda Gradstein's false attribution of a reference about Palestinian "militants" to the Israeli army when the army had used the word "terrorists." (The softening of language is a recurring problem at NPR.) The second corrected Bob Edwards' wildly inflated figure for Palestinian refugees of the 1948 war.