{"id":116451,"date":"2017-10-06T13:50:50","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T13:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=116451"},"modified":"2017-10-09T17:51:43","modified_gmt":"2017-10-09T17:51:43","slug":"participants-discuss-bias-objectivity-role-of-social-traditional-media-in-covering-israel-palestine-conflict-as-international-seminar-on-middle-east-peace-concludes-press-release-pal2216-pi22","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/participants-discuss-bias-objectivity-role-of-social-traditional-media-in-covering-israel-palestine-conflict-as-international-seminar-on-middle-east-peace-concludes-press-release-pal2216-pi22\/","title":{"rendered":"Participants Discuss Bias, Objectivity, Role of Social, Traditional Media in Covering Israel-Palestine Conflict, as International Seminar on Middle East Peace Concludes – Press Release (PAL\/2216-PI\/2214)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
PAL\/2216-PI\/2214
\n6 OCTOBER 2017<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
\n

VIENNA, 6 October \u2014 The International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East concluded today, with two panel discussions exploring themes of bias, objectivity, truth and the role of both social and traditional media in covering the issues that mattered most to Palestinians and Israelis.<\/p>\n

In closing remarks, Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine to the United Nations, praised the seminar for engaging participants in unique thematic subjects. \u00a0He described a dynamic context in which Palestinians were working for change, marked by unwavering hope for a peaceful future and renewed determination to create national unity.\u00a0 While many doubted those efforts, \u201cwe want to do it right this time,\u201d he said, asking the audience to pay attention to what could possibly unfold. \u00a0A crisis had arrived, which could lead to something good.<\/p>\n

Alison Smale, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, said she had noted that positive vibe, thanking participants who had come from near and far to attend the seminar.<\/p>\n

Gertraud Borea d\u2019Olmo, Secretary-General, Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue, thanking participants for their insights, underlined the important goal of ending the occupation and achieving an independent State of Palestine. \u00a0She drew attention in that context to a programme involving Palestinian women \u2014 from Palestine, from inside Israel, East Jerusalem, the refugee camps and the diaspora \u2014 who sought a strategy for unifying their people.<\/p>\n

In a morning panel titled \u201cMedia narratives and public perceptions from the Israeli and Palestinian perspectives\u201d, participants described their personal experiences covering the conflict, detailing the risks involved and responsibilities they bore in carrying out their mission.\u00a0 To many, the narratives were rooted in history and politics.<\/p>\n

Daoud Kuttab, columnist and journalist, cautioned against equating Palestinian media with media in Israel and the West, as journalists had smaller budgets, less training and little time to spend in the field.\u00a0 Most Palestinians viewed the media as an instrument to bring about statehood.\u00a0 Journalists were trying to change that perception, recognizing it as a platform for truth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see media as a tool for Palestinians\u201d, said Amira Hanania, Presenter, Palestine TV, in their struggle for freedom.\u00a0 Conversely, she experienced Israeli media as a tool for avoiding the larger issue of occupation.\u00a0 While Israeli media could report from Ramallah, she could not travel to Israel without a permit. \u00a0She had been shot at while doing her job \u2014 and not by mistake.\u00a0 \u201cWe would love more if you would put yourself in our shoes,\u201d she explained.\u00a0 In the field, through Israeli eyes, she was a security threat.<\/p>\n

Along similar lines, Yonatan Mendel, Director, Center for Jewish-Arab Relations, The Vaan Leer Jerusalem Institute, said language \u2014 particularly metaphor \u2014 played a role in shaping the Israeli narrative.\u00a0 Israel understood itself as \u201ca villa in the jungle\u201d from a belief that the politician must control the metaphor to win the debate.\u00a0 Other themes built on the idea of the Middle East ruled by tribalism, with Israel evolving and others not.\u00a0 The idea that \u201cwe live in a tough neighbourhood\u201d was often repeated by policymakers to allow Israel to behave as it did, he explained.<\/p>\n

In an afternoon panel on \u201cThe Israel-Palestine conflict through the lens of international media\u201d, Tony Klug, Special Adviser on the Middle East, Oxford Research Group, questioned whether bias was in the eye of the beholder, and whether the maligned media were innocent of the charge.\u00a0 He asked whether people understood what they meant by balance and objectivity, and if they would choose it if they did.\u00a0 Such questions were pivotal in covering the conflict.<\/p>\n

Barbara Plett Usher, United States Department of State Correspondent, BBC, said when she was reporting on the Oslo Accords, Palestinians were considered a \u201cpan Arab\u201d cause. \u00a0Today, their situation was not as frequently reported. \u00a0There was a battle over narratives and over land, she said, and the goal of a journalist was to incorporate both without losing sight of the actual balance of power.<\/p>\n

Edmund Ghareeb, Professor, American University, said that the United States media, while among the most free and powerful in the world, nonetheless had succumbed to Israel\u2019s influence on terminology. \u00a0He drew attention to such terms as \u201crequired concessions\u201d, which Israel offered, when in fact Palestinians requested \u201ccompliance\u201d with international law. \u00a0The United States discussed \u201cdisputed\u201d territories, yet most people did not recognize Israel\u2019s sovereignty over Jerusalem.\u00a0 The same was true when Israel spoke of ceding territories, despite that they were not Israeli lands.<\/p>\n

On a related point, Taghreed ElKhodary, journalist and scholar, said she did not understand why international media described settlements as \u201cJewish\u201d, rather than \u201cIsraeli\u201d, as such references gave legitimacy to a Jewish State.\u00a0 Further, the conflict was being covered by journalists who did not live the Palestinian reality.\u00a0 \u201cThat makes a big difference,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cThey come, they leave.\u201d \u00a0She recommended a more thorough approach.<\/p>\n

Panel I<\/u><\/p>\n

The day began with a panel discussion titled, \u201cMedia narratives and public perceptions from the Israeli and Palestinian perspectives\u201d.\u00a0 Moderated by David Dadge, Spokesperson for the Director-General, United Nations Office at Vienna and former Director, International Press Institute, it featured presentations by:\u00a0 Allyn Fisher-Ilan, News Editor,\u00a0The Jerusalem Post<\/em>; Amira Hanania, TV Presenter, Palestine TV; Daoud Kuttab, Columnist and Journalist; and Yonatan Mendel, Director, Center for Jewish-Arab Relations, The Vaan Leer Jerusalem Institute.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0DADGE, United Nations Office at Vienna, said the Israel-Palestine conflict was complex, characterized by historical and geopolitical dimensions that affected regional and global dynamics.\u00a0 The reporting on it was among the most heavily scrutinized of that produced anywhere in the world.\u00a0 Irrespective of experience or political persuasion, journalists faced routine criticism, including censure.\u00a0 Since 1992, 16\u00a0journalists had been killed reporting on the issue, against the backdrop of a total 1,292\u00a0killed around the world \u2014 \u201ca painful brutal reminder, that whatever the colour of your reporting [\u2026] journalism can be a very dangerous deadly business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0FISHER-ILAN said news media wielded a great deal of power, but it was a less unique news provider today, as anyone with a Facebook account held the same informative power.\u00a0 Though the Israeli occupation had just marked its fiftieth anniversary, the conflict was not high on the world agenda.\u00a0 \u201cThis is really a matter of concern,\u201d she said, and not good for anyone.\u00a0 Competing conflicts \u2014 in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and involving the Rohingya \u2014 had eclipsed it.\u00a0 The current United States Administration routinely promised deals, but had yet to commit to the goal of the two-State solution.\u00a0 Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, himself appeared doubtful.<\/p>\n

While media bias was a problem, she said the bigger issue was that each side spent too much energy bashing the other\u2019s reporting and school curricula.\u00a0 The media must play a more constructive role in creating change.\u00a0 There had been calls for Israel to take the initiative, a noble aspiration but she questioned how realistic that prospect was. \u00a0She had been discouraged by recent comments about empathy, a quality which she viewed as a basic ingredient for progress. \u00a0Yet, some in the audience seemed to think that only one side should feel it \u2014 if at all.\u00a0 There were two sides to any conflict. \u00a0Despite that Israel had the upper hand, when an adversary did not see the need to build relationships across the divide, it did not inspire confidence. \u00a0\u201cWe all need to quit overdoing the cult of victimhood,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0HANANIA said she was interested in the empathy approach; however, in a different manner. \u00a0Journalists should raise awareness about ethics, international law and human rights. \u00a0The Palestinians should ask her to understand the situation from different angles.\u00a0 To her Israeli counterparts, she said \u201cyou are welcome to Ramallah.\u00a0 My leadership is opening doors for you to cover and see.\u201d\u00a0 On the other hand, she could not go to Israel without a permit or being under cover.\u00a0 She asked how, then, could she exercise empathy while the other side had more privileges.\u00a0 The conflict was deeply rooted in the fabric of daily life. \u00a0Perhaps it was more obvious because of social media.\u00a0 \u201cI see media as a tool for Palestinians,\u201d she said, as part of the struggle for freedom.\u00a0 She experienced the Israeli media as a tool for misleading and avoiding the larger issue of occupation.\u00a0 It hurt Palestinian journalists to be accused of incitement.\u00a0 She wondered how she could be asked not to speak up when she was regularly under siege.\u00a0 She had been shot at while doing her job \u201cand it wasn\u2019t by mistake.\u00a0 We would love more if you would put yourself in our shoes\u201d, she explained.\u00a0 In the field, through Israeli eyes, she was a security threat.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0KUTTAB said \u201clet\u2019s be honest.\u00a0 There is a big gap between Israeli and Palestinian media.\u201d\u00a0 The journalists had different backgrounds, abilities, qualifications and history, and they served different communities who had different demands. \u00a0\u201cYet, we are being judged by the same standards,\u201d he said. \u00a0In general, the Palestinian-Arab perspective accentuated the family \u2014 the nation \u2014 and minimized the individual. \u00a0That was the opposite of Western and Israeli media, which elevated the individual.\u00a0 That difference affected how the media worked.<\/p>\n

For example, he said, Israeli media would cover an attack by focusing on the 9-year-old girl who broke her arm, whereas Palestinians would approach it from a perspective of the collective \u2014 the nation \u2014 and focus on the illegal occupiers.\u00a0 That perspective influenced the ability to express and receive empathy, including from the international community.\u00a0 \u201cOur historical cultures are reflected in the media,\u201d he said. \u00a0\u201cWe are trying to get the Arab countries to stand for us.\u201d \u00a0He often heard Israeli media say that Palestinians did not care about their children. \u00a0Of course, that was not true.\u00a0 When the cameras were off, the mother cried about her dead son. \u00a0When they were on, she carried the success of the community on her shoulders.<\/p>\n

Noting that in Tel Aviv, seasoned journalists wrote human interest stories, while in Jenin, Reuters sent a 17-year-old to film an event \u2014 as an event.\u00a0 That was a structural problem in the narrative.\u00a0 \u201cThe weak always know about the strong,\u201d he said, but not vice versa. \u00a0It was a mistake to equate Palestinian with Israeli and Western media, notably because it had lower budgets, less training, and less time to spend in the field.\u00a0 Most Palestinians viewed the media as an instrument to bring about statehood.\u00a0 Journalists were trying to change that perception, stressing that it was a platform for truth.\u00a0 It was wrong to compare the two narratives.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0MENDEL said that in his career he explored how the Arabic language had moved from being a language of \u201cthe self\u201d to become one of the stranger and the enemy.\u00a0 He recounted several anecdotes which revealed something bigger about what could \u2014 and what could not \u2014 be thought in Israel.\u00a0 \u201cMetaphors have power in the world,\u201d he said, noting that Israel understood itself as \u201ca villa in the jungle\u201d from a belief that the politician must control the metaphor to win the debate.\u00a0 Another metaphor viewed the Middle East as ruled by tribalism:\u00a0 Israel had evolved while others had not.\u00a0 The belief that \u201cwe live in a tough neighbourhood\u201d was often repeated by policymakers to allow Israel to behave as it did.\u00a0 Another narrative centred on a perceived difference about how Israelis and Palestinians lived their lives, distinguishing between those who wanted to live and those who did not care about dying.<\/p>\n

Indeed, language served as a strategy to recount stories to ourselves \u2014 not to reflect reality but to shape it, he said, questioning how to end the occupation if, from the Israeli perspective, it did not exist as something that must be stopped. \u00a0The BBC\u2019s reference to events in the Occupied Palestinian Territory was considered an anti-Israeli stance.\u00a0 \u201cI believe there is occupation. \u00a0But I cannot publicly claim the occupation to be a fact,\u201d he said. \u00a0The same was true for newspaper treatment of the 50\u00a0years since occupation \u2014 the building of a wall, home demolitions \u2014 all replaced by discussion of the Six Day War of 1967.<\/p>\n

Another tactic was to use inverted commas around the word occupation, he said, without which one would be considered anti-Israeli.\u00a0 \u201cOccupation is a political opinion.\u00a0 It is not a political reality,\u201d he said. \u00a0The right wing had ridiculed the word \u201coccupied\u201d, writing it to resemble the word \u201csmall\u201d or \u201clittle\u201d, while the word \u201csettlements\u201d had ceased to exist, replaced by references to \u201cvillages\u201d, sometimes beyond the green line.\u00a0 Similarly, when an Israeli was \u201cleftist\u201d enough to speak of the West Bank, one did not consider Jerusalem part of that area.<\/p>\n

Even road signs were political, he said.\u00a0 Traveling from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea or Tel Aviv, there was no sign saying, \u201cWelcome to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.\u00a0 From now on, you\u2019re violating international law.\u201d \u00a0Signs sought to help people understand that they were not committing a crime \u2014 an attempt to civilize the situation.\u00a0 All such efforts helped Israel build a virtual reality around a story that began when, for example, a Palestinian stabbed a soldier or threw a stone, and disrupted the order of building settlements.\u00a0 On Hizbullah, the political message could be summed up by a well-known image of rockets being fired on the Statue of Liberty under the question, \u201cWhat would you do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of looking into oneself and examining the occupation was not an option. \u00a0I think this is a very dangerous situation for a country that is the strongest military power in the Middle East,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0FISHER-ILAN said all journalists were targets. \u00a0To the idea that Palestinians viewed themselves as part of a collective for the sake of the wider goal, she said there was much in common with Israelis on that point.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0HANANIA said she and her colleagues had heard soldiers discuss targeting them.\u00a0 She agreed there was a community culture among Palestinians, but that was not the issue to discuss.\u00a0 The question centred on the actions and reactions around the loss of loved ones.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0KUTTAB said Israel did not recognize Palestinian journalists.\u00a0 \u201cThere is no reference in the Israeli legal lexicon of a Palestinian journalist,\u201d he said, noting that if one approached a check point to cover an event, he or she could not be considered neutral.\u00a0 No immunities or protections were given.\u00a0 It was a structural and cultural problem.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0MENDEL cited a court case against a Palestinian poet from Galilee under house arrest for the last two years for a poem she had written and posted on Facebook. \u00a0He had been summoned to a court near Nazareth to translate the poem, because the entire case was being based on one sentence.\u00a0 From the Israeli perspective, one word referred to people who associated with suicide bombers. \u00a0The interpretation and the meaning were opposites.<\/p>\n

When the floor was opened for questions and comments, Tala Halawa, Palestinian journalist, pointed out that Palestinian journalists did not enjoy the same rights to access information, movement and resources as their Israeli counterparts.\u00a0 When foreign media invested in Palestinian media, they invested in offices in Israel, not in the West Bank or Gaza. \u00a0Noam Sheizaf, journalist,\u00a0+972 Magazine<\/em>, said political behaviour could be predicted by analysing region, socioeconomic class and religious observance. \u00a0News consumption was not among the factors.\u00a0 The perspective on journalism as a profession must be broadened to the region as a whole, where being a journalist was growing more risky.\u00a0 Salah Abdel Shafi, Palestinian ambassador to Austria, said the media should refrain from comparing suffering and pain, as they could not be quantified. \u00a0It must show respect.\u00a0 He expressed doubt that most Israelis understood what occupation was, stressing:\u00a0 \u201cEven listening is not enough.\u201d \u00a0Only by living with people and sensing their fear could one understand.\u00a0 Gaby Goldman, Hand in Hand, added the example of what Israel called an \u201coperation\u201d against Gaza, and Palestinians called \u201cwar\u201d.<\/p>\n

Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine to the United Nations, said a few years ago, the seminar had invited young Palestinian journalists to discuss social media.\u00a0 Today, the panel was comprised of traditional media and it was interesting to see the contrast between the two.\u00a0 He believed that if Palestinian journalists \u2014 traditional or new media \u2014 did not cater to the concerns and tragedies of their own people, they were not exercising their missions in the most appropriate manner.\u00a0 He welcomed that Palestinian journalists were recounting experiences of being faithful to their people.\u00a0 \u201cWhen we come to conferences like this, we are not talking to the Palestinian people,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cWe are talking to the international community. \u00a0In that sense, we can tell stories about Palestinian individuals in the most remarkable way and I believe we should tell them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daria Shualy, former Israeli journalist, asked panellists more about comparing media narratives.<\/p>\n

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, journalist at AJ+, said it was important to be mindful that the dehumanization happening on the ground was intentional. \u00a0The argument being made was that Palestinian journalists were inciting violence, when Palestinians themselves were armed with prayer rugs and water bottles and the Israeli military with bullets and tear gas.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0MENDEL said that as a Jewish Israeli, his role was to criticize Israeli media. \u00a0Too many Israeli institutions were dedicated to monitoring Arabic media, finding parts of an interview that were most likely to \u201cblacken the face of the speaker\u201d and sell stories. \u00a0\u201cThey will never quote an intelligent remark made,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0KUTTAB said an Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report covering 12\u00a0to 25\u00a0September 2017 had found that 48\u00a0Palestinians had been injured. \u00a0Israeli authorities had carried out 123\u00a0searches; they shot fisherman in Gaza.\u00a0 \u201cEvery one of these numbers is a human being,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cWe cannot just close our eyes to them.\u201d\u00a0 Journalists must write one story of one child as an example of the trend.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0FISHER-ILAN said many other stories were eclipsing the Israel-Palestine conflict.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0HANANIA said statements by Israeli politicians made it difficult for Palestinian journalists to give their people hope for peace and a State of their own.\u00a0 The challenge was to embrace hope to shape the news.<\/p>\n

Panel II<\/u><\/p>\n

The day concluded with a panel discussion titled, \u201cThe Israel-Palestine conflict through the lens of international media\u201d.\u00a0 Moderated by Maher Nasser, Director, Outreach Division, United Nations Department of Public Information, it featured presentations by:\u00a0 Taghreed ElKhodary, Journalist and scholar; Edmund Ghareeb, Professor, American University; Tony Klug, Special Adviser on the Middle East, Oxford Research Group; Barbara Plett Usher, United States Department of State Correspondent, BBC; and Alexandra Rojkov, Freelance journalist.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0NASSER, quoting a 2014 article by journalist John Pilger titled, \u201cWar by media and the triumph of propaganda\u201d, said the information age was actually the media age.\u00a0 There was war by media, censorship by media, demonology by media, retribution by media and diversion by media \u2014 \u201ca surreal assembly line of obedient clich\u00e9s and false assumptions\u201d. \u00a0With that in mind, he asked panellists for their thoughts on international media bias.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0KLUG asked whether bias was in the eye of the beholder, and whether the maligned media were innocent of the charge.\u00a0 Or perhaps the charge reflected the user\u2019s own bias, he wondered, asking whether people understood what they meant by balance and objectivity, and if they would choose it if they did.\u00a0 Such questions were pivotal in covering the conflict. \u00a0In his struggle to write a neutral or objective account, he realized that there was not one history; rather, two discrete histories stemming from two distinct peoples whose destinies had collided in the same corner of the earth.<\/p>\n

He said that without acquiring an empathetic understanding, journalists had \u201cphony objectivity\u201d.\u00a0 Misrepresenting foes was sometimes \u201cpar for the course\u201d.\u00a0 He could not afford to take media reporting at face value and use his own judgement in appraising facts and assessing credibility. \u00a0Everyone who engaged in an event became involved it.\u00a0 \u201cDirectly or indirectly, we become players trapped in our own narratives,\u201d he said. \u00a0What some regarded as analysis was indeed advocacy.\u00a0 Blinkered visions accounted for the serial failure to see every seismic event in the Middle East since 1967.\u00a0 \u201cWe are not providing the service that is expected of us and we must reflect on why,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0PLETT USHER said she reported on the Oslo accords within the parameters of peace, and later on, when former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had set the barrier for the West Bank, in the context of conflict. \u00a0The main narrative then was not about Israel-Palestine as the key to solving tensions.\u00a0 It was wider \u2014 about how to keep Iraq and Syria together, and the coalitions alive.\u00a0 In the past, Palestinians were considered the pan-Arab cause.\u00a0 Today, their situation was not as frequently reported.\u00a0 Coverage was about Israel as a potential ally.\u00a0 In reporting the story, there was a battle over narratives and over land. \u00a0The goal was to incorporate both without losing sight of the actual balance of power.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest challenges was in conveying how one group viewed certain events without being criticized for being part of that group.\u00a0 The narratives were rooted in history and politics. \u00a0Israeli support for Mr.\u00a0Sharon made more sense after she had visited Auschwitz-Birkenau and understood that Israelis wanted a leader to serve as a warning to Arabs.\u00a0 Later, they wanted the world to see it was fighting terrorism \u2014 a narrative bolstered by Hamas attacks inside the green line. \u00a0The Palestinian narrative was that Israel was carrying out a classic colonial settler project to take land.\u00a0 Describing complaints the BBC had received about its headlines, she said the past notion of BBC broadcasting had changed in today\u2019s \u201cinstant, headline-y\u201d culture.<\/p>\n

She said that while editors were still interested in spot news stories on Israeli politics and security, it had become more difficult to flesh out feature stories, given all that was happening in the Middle East.\u00a0 For Western liberal Jews, Israel had transformed into something they did not recognize. \u00a0And in the United States, that had generated interest in internal Israeli issues that had nothing to do with Palestinians.\u00a0 Nonetheless, media coverage in the United States of the conflict was from a liberal Jewish view. \u00a0Palestinian perspectives were fewer in between.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0ELKHODARY said recent events in Jerusalem had brought the media focus back to the Israel-Palestine conflict.\u00a0 Describing the quality of international reporting, she said the media was interested in the human angle.\u00a0 Yet, when it came to policy, Palestinians did not control those stories. \u00a0Israel did, particularly with its influence in the United States.\u00a0 Stressing that Israel took seriously the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, she said another element was that the conflict was being covered by journalists who did not live the Palestinian reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat makes a big difference,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cThey come, they leave.\u201d\u00a0 In that context, she described Israel\u2019s power in supressing the freedom of speech, in particular by strictly regulating provision of the Israeli press card to international journalists.\u00a0 For example, Israel had refused to extend the visa of a Dutch journalist over what it perceived as critical coverage of the occupation, which had cited 175,000\u00a0Palestinians in Hebron who were captives of 680\u00a0settlers. \u00a0\u201cYou are monitored about what you say, how you say it \u2014 and attacked as anti-Semitic even if you use a quote,\u201d she stressed.\u00a0 On a related point, she did not understand why international media described \u201cJewish\u201d settlements, rather than \u201cIsraeli\u201d settlements, which gave legitimacy to a Jewish State.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0GHAREEB said there was no doubt that the conflict was over narratives and territory. \u00a0The United States media had successfully presented the narrative as one of terrorism, threatening Israel\u2019s security, which would not end until Palestinians recognized the country\u2019s right to exist.\u00a0 Since the Iraq crisis, the United States media had been criticized \u2014 from within and from outside.\u00a0 The result was that United States journalists practiced self-censorship, staying away from covering the number of civilian casualties. \u00a0Recalling conversations about that fact, he said the most powerful statement had come from a Tunisian journalist, who described a time when Western journalists were respected. \u00a0Seeing them in action, however \u2014 committing perjury, feeling animosity, shaping public opinion in their hands \u201clike clay\u201d by romanticizing smart bombs and weeping for oil \u2014 had opened his eyes.<\/p>\n

On the positive side, he said the United States media was among the most free and powerful in the world, having held politicians to account and put the public in the same position as those making decisions.\u00a0 Before the Palestinian Liberation Organization was recognized as the legitimate representative of the people, there had been reference to Palestinians as terrorists, hijackers, guerrillas and violent gangs. \u00a0Israelis had succeeded in influencing the United States media to use their terminology and impose it on the national consciousness.\u00a0 He drew attention to such terms as \u201crequired concessions\u201d, which Israel offered.\u00a0 What Palestinians were requesting, however, was compliance \u2013 with international decisions, law and agreements.\u00a0 The United States discussed \u201cdisputed\u201d territories, but most people did not recognize Israel\u2019s sovereignty over Jerusalem.\u00a0 The same was true when Israel spoke of ceding territories, despite that they were not Israeli land.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0ROJKOV, stressing that she spoke only for herself today, described her experience of jumping into the conflict as a young reporter.\u00a0 In reporting the death of a Palestinian man shot by Israel\u2019s army, she first called the army, who explained that a young Palestinian had climbed the wall.\u00a0 He posed a security threat, was asked to stop, refused, and was shot. \u00a0The Palestinian side explained that the man had been standing far from the wall and had not posed any danger.\u00a0 He was shot in cold blood.\u00a0 The only thing in common between the narratives was that the young man was dead. \u00a0In a conflict zone, she did not expect fairness, but rather understood that both sides sought to maximize their advantage.<\/p>\n

As a journalist, she must be as fair and accurate as possible, she said, especially with terminology.\u00a0 Thus, she asked her colleague in Ramallah to call the doctor for an explanation of the angle from which the man had been shot.\u00a0 He replied that the results were unclear \u2014 both versions of the events could have been true.\u00a0 In the end, she presented both stories, making it clear to the reader she had done everything possible to discover the truth. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s less satisfying\u201d but it was true.\u00a0 It was a journalist\u2019s job to think twice about how he or she was doing the best job possible.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0ELKHODARY said social media had been a benefit to Palestinians. \u00a0The New York Times<\/em>\u00a0today was pushed to cover stories that were covered on Facebook.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0ROJKOV said while social media opened opportunities, her friends used it mainly as a source for understanding events.\u00a0 They still sought out analysis in the news.\u00a0 While they did not trust national newspapers as in the past, they still read them.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0GHAREEB said a problem in the United States was the disappearance of print journalism.\u00a0 The skills of reporting, researching and investigating were disappearing, and being replaced by emotionally driven images.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0KLUG, providing examples of loose terminology, said articles about the Six Day War did not contain neutral language. \u00a0If a story referenced Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, one expected a bias, which was important in determining whether one could rely on the facts. \u00a0To clarify, the Palestinian opposition was not to a Jewish State, but rather of one that would result in their dispossession. \u00a0It was important to understand core historical perspectives. \u00a0He cautioned against the word narrative, as many did not believe their facts were such.<\/p>\n

Joseph Dana, emerge 85, reflected on the last 10\u00a0years of social media, stressing that it was approaching the end of its course, which spoke to the cyclical nature of conflict.\u00a0 It had a role to play when it burst onto the scene in 2007, pushing the rights-centred narrative that focused on Palestinians\u2019 experience of being dominated by Israelis. \u00a0It had broken the stranglehold the traditional media had on the news, particularly at\u00a0The New York Times<\/em>\u00a0Jerusalem bureau, whose chief, it had been revealed, had a son in the Israeli military \u2014 which was not how reporting should work.\u00a0 That story would not have been exposed in the same way had it not been for social media.\u00a0 Similarly, new developments in the region would affect the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, yet he had not seen smart coverage of them in the international media.\u00a0 He wondered if the media was equipped to describe the contours of the \u201cnew Middle East\u201d.<\/p>\n

One participant, a former United Nations policy analyst, asked whether people would consider Gaza becoming a separate State, to which Ms.\u00a0HANANIA, Presenter, Palestine TV, responded that there was not even a remote chance of that happening.\u00a0 Mr.\u00a0MANSOUR agreed that there would be no possibility of a Palestinian State without Gaza, or of Gaza as a State of its own. \u00a0Perhaps journalists were not keeping up with events.\u00a0 There were serious efforts to end divisions.\u00a0 The Palestinian Mission in New York had resisted using social media at first. \u00a0But today, the Mission had close to 25,000\u00a0followers, so when he spoke in the Security Council, people could tweet his comments. \u00a0The Mission was among the top five followed at the United Nations. \u00a0He was interested to hear that liberal Jews had difficulty recognizing today\u2019s Israel.<\/p>\n

NOAM SHEIZAF, journalist\u00a0+972 Magazine<\/em>, said he had not seen much soul searching and asked panellists about what they got wrong in two decades of coverage.\u00a0 SALAH ABDEL SHAFI, Palestinian ambassador to Austria, said there were different ways of collecting facts.\u00a0 A fact was that Mahmoud Abbas was President \u2014 the question was over how he was described. \u00a0In Germany, he was called \u201cPalestinians\u2019 President\u201d.\u00a0 Noting that Western media chose to say \u201cJewish extremists\u201d and \u201cPalestinian terrorists\u201d, he emphasized that how facts were presented mattered greatly.<\/p>\n

Closing Remarks<\/u><\/p>\n

RIYAD MANSOUR, Permanent Observer for the State of\u00a0Palestine<\/u>\u00a0to the United Nations, said the seminar was unique in the thematic subjects it covered and experts who shared their ideas. \u00a0\u201cI\u2019m delighted we keep diversifying,\u201d he said, and that the first panel had heard proposals for new ways forward. \u00a0He would appreciate more, however, if efforts were intensified around ending the occupation. \u00a0Journalists did not lead political endeavours. \u00a0They reported on them. \u00a0For Palestinians, several events should be closely followed, notably the pride that young Palestinians felt in pursuing hope and peace.\u00a0 \u201cOur kids are not being brought up to be extremists,\u201d he said. \u00a0They were full of hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo those who think we are not what we say, come and see us,\u201d he said. \u00a0The idea that Palestinians had no hope was not in their vocabulary, a fact that gave him the strength to fight for his people\u2019s noble cause.\u00a0 Moreover, what had happened recently in Jerusalem should not be seen as a small incident, but thoroughly studied, especially by Israeli authorities, which were \u201cmessing around\u201d with that city.\u00a0 While many doubted efforts to unify the two sides of Palestine, he assured that national unity was a top priority, stressing:\u00a0 \u201cWe want to do it right this time.\u201d\u00a0 He asked the audience to consider why such efforts were under way now and urged them to pay attention to what was possibly unfolding.\u00a0 He believed a crisis had arrived, which would either lead to something good, or hell would break loose.<\/p>\n

The United States had not vetoed Security Council resolution 2334 (2016) because, he explained, it was interested in \u201csaving Israel from itself\u201d.\u00a0 For those excited about the one-State solution, he encouraged them to see the experience of Palestinians living inside Israel. \u00a0Palestinians sought national rights.\u00a0 \u201cWe are the indigenous population,\u201d he said, and would not accept the negation of their narrative.\u00a0 Palestinians wanted to live in their national homeland with national rights and the two-State solution would accommodate that reality.\u00a0 Palestinians were engaging the United States Administration, the Russians, Chinese, Europeans and Arabs \u2014 anyone interested in ending the occupation. \u00a0\u201cWe are seriously interested in peace,\u201d he said, tired of seeing Gazans live in misery in its absence, and people in East Jerusalem who were neither Palestinian nor Israeli because they lacked status. \u00a0If extremist settlers wanted to destroy or divide Al-Aqsa mosque, they would drag everyone into a religious war.<\/p>\n

GERTRAUD BOREA D\u2019OLMO, Secretary-General, Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue, underlined the important goal of ending the occupation and realizing an independent State of Palestine. \u00a0With that in mind, she drew attention to a programme involving Palestinian women \u2014 from Palestine, from inside Israel, East Jerusalem, the refugee camps and the diaspora \u2014 who sought to unify a strategy for their people.<\/p>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PAL\/2216-PI\/2214 6 OCTOBER 2017 VIENNA, 6 October \u2014 The International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East concluded today, with two panel discussions exploring themes of bias, objectivity, truth and the role of both social and traditional media in covering the issues that mattered most to Palestinians and Israelis. In closing remarks, Riyad Mansour, […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[1897],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1741,1801,2145],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-116451","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-press-release","document-source-united-nations-department-of-public-information-dpi","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","document-subject-inalienable-rights-of-the-palestinian-people","document-subject-public-information","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/116451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/116451\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=116451"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=116451"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=116451"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=116451"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=116451"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=116451"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=116451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}