Ricki Hollander

August 5, 2003

Evolution of a Cartoon

In recent months, many Americans have been dismayed to see mainstream media outlets publishing cartoons with anti-Israel and anti-Semitic images reminiscent of Nazi-era propaganda. The latest such drawing is one by syndicated cartoonist Tony Auth of United Press Syndicate in which a Star of David fences off Palestinians. Not only is the message about the purpose and impact of the fence completely inaccurate, its use of a Jewish religious symbol to excoriate the Jewish state evokes anti-Semitic cartoons popular in Nazi Germany and in the Arab press.

July 7, 2003

New York Times Turns to Comic-Book Journalist on Arab-Israeli Conflict

Cartoonist Joe Sacco has made it a professional goal to champion the Palestinian cause, presenting their perspectives on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in easily-accessible, comic strip form to the American public. His longest work to date on this issue is a 9-issue comic book entitled "Palestine," originally published by Fantagraphics in 1993 and republished in book form in 2002 with an introduction by noted Palestinian polemicist Edward Said. Written after a 2-month backpacking stint in the Gaza Strip during the first Intifada, the comic book depicts Israeli interrogators, soldiers, and Jewish settlers brutalizing and harassing innocent Palestinians.

May 23, 2003

New York Times Refuses to Report the Straight Facts

Despite dramatic public exposure of the  New York Times' questionable policies in handling repeated deceptions by one of its reporters, the newspaper has again misled its readers, this time about the terms of the "Road Map." Instead of reporting the actual terms of the peace plan drawn up by the "Quartet" (United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia), the Times has injected its own language.

April 30, 2003

Avoiding Armageddon (2003)

Episode 3: The New Face of Terrorism — Upping the Ante Ted Turner Documentaries Executive Producers: Frank Sesno and Chris Guarino Host: Walter Cronkite 2 hours
CNN founder and media mogul Ted Turner recently turned his interest to documentary film making. His company's first produc is an 8-hour series about weapons of mass destruction and terrorism hosted by the venerable elder statesman of TV news, Walter Cronkite."The New Face of Terrorism: Upping the Ante" is the third film in the series which aired on four consecutive nights in April 2003 on PBS.
March 25, 2003

Terry Gross’s “Tit-for-Tat” Interview with James Bennet

On March 12, 2003, NPR's “Fresh Air” broadcast an interview with host Terry Gross and New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief James Bennet. Among other things, Gross asked Bennet about Israel's anti-terrorist actions in Gaza–but she didn't term them anti-terrorist actions. Instead, she repeatedly referred to “tit-for-tat murders,” drawing a parallel between Hamas's terrorist attacks against Israeli children and the Israeli army's attempts to root out the killers.

March 17, 2003

Newsweek Features Only One Side

Newsweek's March 17, 2003 “Periscope” included a photograph of a Palestinian funeral sarcastically entitled “ISRAEL ‘Collateral Damage’ in Gaza.” This sarcasm was misplaced, particularly since Israel’s version of events was deceptively omitted from the accompanying text.

February 5, 2003

BBC’s Profiles Obscure Reality

More than a year ago (2001-2002), BBC posted on its Web site several profiles of Middle Eastern leaders and groups. The profiles whitewashed Palestinian terrorist figures while, at the same time, harshly disparaging the Israeli prime minister. Despite letters to BBC about its unfair and biased features, the profiles remain unrevised on the Web site. Unfortunately, the misinformation in these features has been quoted and repeated as fact in English language newspapers across the world. For BBC to post such blatantly biased profiles is a violation of its own ethical code of impartiality, accuracy and fairness.

February 4, 2003

CNN’s “Interactive Timeline” Misleads

CNN's Web site carries an "Interactive Timeline" with some entries that are clear and contextual and others that remain erroneous or one-sided. Below are some of the most egregious errors.