Connecticut Jewish Ledger
By Cindy Mindell
It
has long been the opinion of many in the Jewish community that Israel
has a PR problem. Especially during military conflicts like the current
one, world media seem to portray Israel as the aggressor out to destroy
the vulnerable Palestinians.
This storyline can
leave American Jews feeling anxious and helpless, unable to take any
action that feels effective in the face of such an enormous challenge.
But
becoming an Israel advocate in the media is not as hard as some may
think. Just ask Mark Fishman, president of PRIMER-Connecticut (Promoting
Responsibility in Middle East Reporting). “All one must do is sit down
at the computer and type a few words; the rest will flow,” he says.
The
Fairfield resident was an unseasoned letter-writer when he first became
involved in the organization in 2002, as part of a letter-writing
project of the Anti-Defamation League. He eventually became PRIMER
treasurer and was elected president in 2012, replacing longtime
president Alan Stein, who relocated to Massachusetts and Israel and
started PRIMER-Massachusetts. Stein remains active in the Connecticut
chapter as president-emeritus.
“I recognized
the responsibility of every American Jew to take action to defend Israel
in whatever way we can,” Fishman says. “The people of Israel bear so
much of the burden of defending our homeland from very real and tangible
threats that all of us here must at least do something. We can’t sit
idly by, as too many American Jews did during the Holocaust and as too
many ostensibly pro-Israel people were doing in 2014 until the Gaza
situation came to the fore. Letter-writing, monitoring the media, and
recruiting others to do so are steps that can have a positive effect
without disrupting our daily lives.”
Since
1992, PRIMER has been monitoring and addressing the accuracy and
fairness of local media in its coverage of events in the Middle East.
The organization started as a regional chapter of Boston-based CAMERA,
the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America. When
CAMERA determined that it did not have the resources to support local
efforts, CAMERA board member and Bloomfield resident Sidney Laibson,
together with other chapter members, reorganized as PRIMER.
“There
is a lot of news reporting about the Middle East, and much of it is,
unfortunately, not very well done,” says West Hartford resident Mark
Trencher, vice president of the all-volunteer organization. “The
problems occur for news articles as well as editorials, letters, and
op-ed pieces, and the situation has only been getting worse in recent
years.”
News articles are often edited versions
of stories from the wire services, Trencher says, and are frequently
unbalanced in many ways – using “loaded” headlines, attaching unrelated
photos, playing up a side of the story that confirms the writer’s bias
while downplaying or ignoring the other side of the story, among others.
“Unfortunately,
we have found that Connecticut media are often not very knowledgeable
of the Middle East,” he says. “Often, they know what is in the
wire-service stories they get, but it is not a topic they have expertise
in or cover themselves.”
PRIMER also monitors
editorials, opinion pieces, and letters. While not news items, these
forums allow writers more leeway to express their personal opinions, and
frequently include factual errors and errors of omission, in which
history – even fairly recent history – is ignored, Trencher explains.
PRIMER
works to educate Connecticut media on factual errors and perspectives
that they have missed, and try to sensitize them to ways that bias may
have crept into the reporting. The organization also has a network of
local spokespeople and subject matter experts who can offer additional
insights which are missing from the wire-service accounts.
The
group seeks to have letters published in the 17 newspapers throughout
the state, highlighting needed corrections and balance as well as the
side of an issue that has been ignored, Trencher says. Through
mini-workshops for groups and online tutorials, PRIMER demonstrates how
to spot media bias and factual errors, and encourages local residents to
write effective letters. PRIMER also sends out email alerts to its
members and readers about anti-Israel items.
Since
PRIMER’s founding 22 years ago, Israel has seen more than its share of
tribulation, from war and terrorist attacks to the Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions movement and delegitimization in the global media.
But
even when the Israel Defense Forces are not involved in an active
conflict, PRIMER’s mission remains the same: monitoring news and opinion
pieces in Connecticut newspapers. “Obviously, what changes during times
of conflict is that there is much more reporting to examine, and the
tone can often turn quite nasty toward Israel,” says Trencher. “Media
bias and unbalanced reporting gradually erode support for Israel, and
this gets much worse during such periods, and the results can be even
more harmful. So our efforts become more intense.”
In
an era of countless media sources and opinion-driven blogs, there is no
rest for the concerned news-consumer. “The ‘relatively calm times’ in
Israel are an illusion,” Fishman says. “The Arab world and Iran are, in
essence, at war with Israel at all times and are continuously arming
themselves, building tunnels, kidnapping or murdering Israelis and other
Jews around the world, promoting boycotts and sanctions, inciting
hatred of Jews and, most dangerous of all, developing nuclear weapons.
While most of us are lulled into thinking that all is well with Israel
and then pushing it out of our minds, Israel’s enemies push forward.
PRIMER remains vigilant all year, as should all Jews who care about
Israel.”
The good news at times of conflict
like the present situation in Gaza, Fishman says, is that PRIMER sees a
greater willingness on the part of letter-writers to jump in and write
on short notice. “Our view is that the more we communicate the truth and
historical context and point out biases, we can move media reporting to
a better and more balanced platform,” Trencher says. “We can always use
more people to monitor the media, write letters and op-eds, and get
involved.”
“Realistically, most readers of the
Jewish Ledger know considerably more about Israel than the readers of
local newspapers, so each of us starts out with an advantage,” says
Fishman. “In general, effective letter-writing just requires common
sense and dignity, as befits someone writing in support of an important
cause, and not ‘screaming’ or insulting anyone. Speaking more broadly,
though, the most important thing is the willingness, figuratively, to
put pen to paper in support of Israel. There is no ‘magic’ beyond that.”
The
PRIMER website summarizes a list of 10 common ways that news stories
can be biased, as well as some of the technical aspects of effective
letter-writing. In addition, PRIMER officers are happy to review or edit
a draft at the request of the writer.
Trencher offers three tips for pen-wielding Israel advocacy:
Understand that there is a lot of media bias, and become knowledgeable about ways to identify it.
It
is very easy to respond these days. Some people feel that they don’t
know how to write a letter, or that they don’t know the facts. We are
delighted to educate people in both of those areas, and they’ll find out
that it is indeed pretty easy.
Every letter
counts. If you write a letter, even if it’s not published, it could be
one of three or four that the newspaper receives, and if they get that
many, they will most likely publish one or even two.
Learn more at primerct.org.
Comments? email cindym@jewishledger.com.
PRIMER at work
In
late July, The Day (New London) published a letter to the editor about
the conflict in Gaza. PRIMER past-president Alan Stein responded with
his own letter, published by the newspaper on July 27.
As an example of how to spot and address bias in the media, here is that exchange:
Mideast retribution breeds moral blindness
Published July 22, 2014
Ghandi [sic] once said, “An eye for an eye, leads eventually to the whole world being blind.”
We
need to hear those words in our hearts and souls as the current crisis
in Gaza and Israel unfolds. Both sides are suffering, both sides are
living in fear, both sides yearn for peace. But peace can only come
within the framework of justice.
We need a
nonviolent, law-based solution to this conflict. This will necessitate
that political, economic and security issues be addressed simultaneously
for both sides.
The occupation of Palestine
will have to end in order for there to be a permanent political solution
in the region. The occupation has led to the erosion of the economic
and social fabric of Palestinian society. But it can be restored to
viability once basic human freedoms are restored. The two sides can, and
must, work together.
Rami Elhanin, son of an
Israeli general in the Six-Day War, and current Israeli citizen, has
said, “If we don’t solve these issues, we will eventually have an
enormous pile of dead bodies and the only question will be which flag
will be on top.”
Peace is possible.
Carleen Gerber, Lyme
Rid Gaza of Hamas, then start peace talks
Alan Stein
Published July 27, 2014
Carleen
Gerber is correct that “peace (between Israel and Gaza) is possible,”
but it is only possible if Hamas completely changes and the terror
infrastructure in Gaza is completely eliminated, as is required by
existing agreements between the Palestinian Arabs and Israel, “Mideast
retribution breeds moral blindness,” (July 22).
Gaza
has been primarily under control of the Arabs for two decades and has
been completely under Arab control since 2005, when Israel cleansed it
of its Jewish presence and left, lock, stock and barrel. Gaza could have
been a model for an independent Palestinian Arab state, but Hamas,
Islamic Jihad and Fatah preferred to use it as a weapon in their drive
to destroy Israel.
After the 2012 cease-fire,
Israel acceded to requests by humanitarian agencies and sent large
amounts of building supplies to Gaza. Rather than being used to help the
people, those supplies were used to build an enormous network of
elaborate tunnels to be used to store weapons, including rockets, as
terror bases and as the means to attack Israeli communities.
In
2014, we must not repeat the mistakes of the past, counterproductive
ceasefires. If we wish to save lives, most of all the lives of people
living in Gaza, the terror infrastructure in Gaza must be permanently
destroyed.
Gaza can and should be a seaside paradise, but first Gaza must be saved from Hamas.
Alan Stein
PRIMER- Promoting Responsibility in Middle East Reporting
Natick, Mass.
No comments:
Post a Comment