In a revealing episode, Italy's state television network RAI has had to recall its correspondent from Jerusalem after he sent a letter to the Palestinian Authority stressing his support for the Palestinian cause. The journalist, Riccardo Cristiano, explained that, contrary to rumors, his station was not responsible for video of the brutal October 12th murder of two Israeli men by a Palestinian lynch mob at the Ramallah police station...
Do Palestinians who fled Israel in 1948, and their descendants, have a legal or moral right to return to their former homes in Israel? Is it true that most other refugees around the world have already exercised such rights of repatriation?
Many media accounts have misrepresented the "final status" issues that are now the subject of intensive negotiations at Camp David, often distorting Oslo, UN resolutions, the demographics and history of Jerusalem, and Middle East history in general.
The front page story by the Boston Globe's Charles Sennott was heartrending. The reporter had traveled to a Gaza refugee camp to interview Hakma Abu Gharoud, who explained that on the very day of Israel's declaration of independence, May 15, 1948, she and her family had been driven from their peaceful town in the Negev by Israeli tanks...
Violations of the public trust in journalism can take many forms, ranging from blatant fabrication, like CNN's now infamous Tailwind story, to more insidious abuses like carefully choosing words to subtly advocate a point of view.
Media reports on implementation of the Wye River Memorandum have incorrectly characterized as a "new demand" Israel's position that the Palestinian Covenant must be revised by a full meeting of the Palestinian National Council.
The trust that listeners place in the BBC's crisply-accented reporters would seemingly be justified by the network's Royal Charter, which requires it to be "a credible, unbiased, reliable, accurate, balanced and independent news service." Unfortunately, the long tradition of anti-Israel and even anti-Jewish bias does seem to have had an impact on the BBC's Middle East coverage.
Reporting on Hamas threats to take revenge against Israelis and Jews around the world, the New Yok Times continues to whitewash Palestinian Authority incitement - Serge Schmemann writes "So far, Mr. Arafat and his officials have avoided either blaming or exonerating Israel in the slaying, saying the investigation is continuing."
Soon after it became known that the attack in Jordan on Hamas leader Khalid Mish'al involved Israeli agents, media outlets including CNN and the Associated Press reported that 2 days before the attack Hamas had offered Israel a 10 year truce. These reports portrayed the Hamas offer as "credible," and Israel as intransigent for refusing it.
