A little over a week ago, some members of our organization, If Americans Knew, met with New York Times Public Editor Daniel Okrent to discuss the findings of a detailed study we had completed of two years worth of Times news stories on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Okrent was going to be writing a column discussing the paper’s coverage of Israel/Palestine, and we felt our study would be an important resource. We presented our findings, complete with charts, spread-sheets, clear sourcing, and extensive additional documentation, to Okrent and his assistant. His subsequent column was perplexing. Read more about When the New York Times' distortion gets up close and personal
There is a quiet battle going on for the memory of a young woman who could have been my daughter, or perhaps yours. On one side are those who would like to erase her from history - her actions, her beliefs, her murder. If they are unsuccessful at that, they will settle for posthumous slurs on her character, falsifications of her death. On the other side are those who feel her shining principles should be praised, her courage honored, her death grieved. On this side are those who believe that heroism is noble, bravery admirable, and compassion for others the most fundamental form of morality. Read more about Rachel Corrie: On the Anniversary of a Death
Well, I just got hung up on again. This time by an editor on the Los Angeles Times foreign desk. I had called and attempted, as politely as possible, to give him a correction for the story on the Times’ website tonight. This will probably be their front-page lead news story tomorrow morning. The headline proclaims: “Palestinian Suicide bomber Shatters Calm of late.” The lead sentence then goes on to state that this bomber “shattered a months-long period of relative calm…” The fact is, however, that the truce and this “calm” were shattered long before this. The last suicide bombing against Israeli civilians was Nov. 1, 2004. It took three Israeli lives. Since that time, while Israelis have basked in “relative calm,” 170 Palestinian men, women, and children have been killed. Read more about The LA Times' notion of "relative calm"
“Three and a half years ago, when the current Palestinian uprising began, I started to look into Israel and Palestine. I had never paid much attention to this issue before and so - unlike many people - I knew I was completely uninformed about it. I had no idea that I was pulling a loose piece of thread that would steadily unravel, until nothing would ever be quite as it had been before.” If Americans Knew Executive Director Alison Weir looks at an old subject in a knew way - the cover-up of the truth of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the progressive press as well as the mainstream media. Read more about Israel and Palestine, Finally: A chapter from CENSORED 2005
