This is a brief item on broadcast (mostly) and print/online items which various signatories have notified us about as being of particular interest. All are still available to watch, listen to, read.

An Israeli blogger claims that the Tamimi family from Nabi Saleh have an ‘open passion for Jewish blood’. The role of the young Tamimi boy, in this version, was to lure the soldier, by throwing stones at him, to pin him down thus exposing him, despite his anti-bite face-mask, to the vampires hunting their next meal. It’s a good fairy story to chill the blood of the credulous.

Page last updated 25 Oct 2015 Introduction In 2011 Britain Israel Communications & Research Centre (Bicom)  produced a Toolkit, intended, in Bicom’s words “to give pro-Israel campaigners the essential information and advice needed to campaign for Israel both all-year-round and in the event of a crisis when Israel hits the headlines”. A second edition appeared […]

The Readers’ Editor of the Guardian comments on accusations of bias almost bordering on antisemitism made against the Guardian, largely by the Israeli embassy, because of its “obsessive” interest in Israel. Jonathan Cook argues, rather “that the Guardian, like most western media, is really only interested in the Israel-Palestine conflict because of the Jews, not the Palestinians”. And Moshe Machover, cited by Cook, takes the Guardian to task for its use of language that obscures the fact that East Jerusalem is part of the occupied West Bank.

This account of how news reporting about Israelis/Palestinians ignores the latter but attributes all agency, and fault, to the former is by former AP correspondent Matti Friedman, a Canadian domiciled in Jerusalem. Its mix of perceptive points and increasingly contentious argument provides an insight into the beleaguered feeling of Israeli Jews.

The programme ‘Jerusalem: An Archaeological Mystery Story’ made by Israeli director Ilan Ziv, was pulled from the schedule at the last minute last April. The BBC said it did not fit editorially with its archaeology season. Although it is true that archaeology is a politically loaded subject in Israel/Palestine, the BBC knew this before it commissioned the film. Presumably someone higher-up had a fit of panic on actually seeing it. PSC leads the charge against the BBC. JfJfP signs the letter asking the BBC to explain its decision.

Those interested in the Israel/Palestine conflict are convinced the BBC is biased — but towards whom and in what ways? A problem identified by ‘More Bad News’ is that the Israeli state and the Palestinian people are very different entities; the stateless Palestinians are only in the news as terrorists or, rarely, as victims. A second problem is that BBC journalism is exempt from Freedom of Information inquiries. Two articles and links to the arguments.

There can be no good government without good questions being asked, and relayed, about what is going on. There is no shortage of curious and courageous Palestinian journalists; but security authorities in Israel, the PA and Hamas are too likely to see them as traitors, enemy agents – or unwelcome truth-tellers. These are just a selection of the very many items available.

Whatever one’s criticisms of the Jewish Chronicle over the years, it is nonetheless sad to see it sliding into the mire of both sectarianism and irrelevancy. Critical letters don’t often get published, but we still submit them from time to time. Here are four recent unpublished offerings; and, a late addition (23 July), a letter from an Ecumenical Accompanier that was published, but edited to lose its most telling detail.

The trickle of publications about actions by Israeli institutions which undermine the democracy of ‘the Middle East’s only democracy’ has become a torrent. Veteran critic Uri Avnery explains why the alarm is now truly well-founded

Just announced – Netanyahu has overturned the threat to the media made by his director of the government press office if they cover the flotilla. The Israeli goverment has secured a series of own goals in its varied efforts to stop media coverage (with the many issues about Gaza and international law which the flotilla raises): 1) A review of Israel’s diplomatic efforts secures a notably ambivalent coverage in the normally supportive Bloomberg Business Week; 2) Josef Federman reports from Jerusalem on the response to the threatening letter from Oren Helman; 3) an Israeli video of a gay man denouncing the flotilla is revealed by electronic intifada to be a government hoax; 4) the letter of protest written by ACRI to Oren Helman, credited as one of the voices prompting Netanyahu’s change of mind

Former BBC Middle East correspondent Tim Llewellyn says the BBC fails to inform their audiences of the context of the conflict, especially the fact that the Palestinians are fighting a war of liberation against illegal and harsh occupation. The BBC gives its response. The context is a review of the updated edition of Bad News from Israel by Greg Philo and Mike Berry

Vengeance is mine sayeth the Israeli state. Israeli investigative journalist Uri Blu who published top-secret IDF documents leaked to him by Anat Kamm is to be prosecuted. The state is clear that it is not pursuing Haa’retz and its publisher, but going all out to criminalise investigative reporters as such: “[W]e thought it was more correct to go for the precedent-setting move of prosecuting a journalist for retaining stolen documents…”

MJ Rosenberg follows up his analysis of Aipac (posted earlier in the week) with this piece in the Huffington Post. Here he deals with the latest contribution by David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker and arguably the most influential Jewish American journalist writing today. Having traditionally given Israel the benefit of the doubt Remnick has now moved decisively against the “Israel First” brigade…

David Remnick provides wonderful discussion of Haaretz’s role in Israeli society, its tensions and contradictions, based on extensive interviews with and discussions about its owners and leading journalists, past and present: Amos Schocken and the Schocken family, Dov Alfon, Haaretz’s editor-in-chief, Gideon Levy, Amira Hass, Anshel Pfeffer, Amos Elon, David Landau, Aluf Benn and more…

Larry Derfner gives a guide as to how to sell Israel in changing times: “Our hearts are with the protesters in the square, but…”; Instead of saying, “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East,” which may not be the case for long and which sounds like you want to keep it that way, you say: “Israel is the only stable democracy in the Middle East”; “Israel is not perfect.”; “Delegitimization”’ A really cool word that you can use against anybody who says anything about Israel that you don’t like. And you don’t want to use the word “terrorism” for a lawsuit, just like you don’t want to use the word “antisemitism” for some CNN story, so you call the CNN story “delegitimization” and the lawsuit “lawfare.” You gotta be subtle…

Events are taking place too quickly and in too many countries for anyone to have a comprehensive, informed overview of developments. We’ve put together a few links to what we hope are useful articles dealing with Libya, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan…

If you read just one thing let it be As’ad AbuKhalil’s 300-word contribution.

Updated Sat 26 Feb 10.4am

“There are moments in world affairs that call for the suspension of disbelief,” write the editors of the Middle East Report Online. “At these junctures, caution ought to be suppressed and cynicism forgotten to let joy and wonderment resound.” The article “Red-White-and-Black Valentine” is just such a celebration of the Egyptian revolution. The second Mero article crossposted here, “Revolution and Counter-Revolution in the Egyptian Media” argues that “Access to and use of communication and information networks — cellular phone services; the Internet and new social media; TV and newspapers — was pivotal as events unfolded. ” In it Ursula Lindsey explores the possibilities and the contradictions involved in the new battle of the media; the army’s initial attempts to control, by shutting down the phone service, text messaging, the internet — and why that failed to abort the revolution…
Plus: Richard Silverstein writes about digital media in an age of revolution.

Anthony Lerman looks at the TV series the Promise, of which two of the four episodes have now been screened: “That such a major and challenging series—in which the Israeli characters are drawn sympathetically and realistically, with not a hint of demonization—appears on one of the country’s mass audience television channels and is positively received throws an interesting light on what I believe are grossly exaggerated claims that London is the hub of international efforts to delegitimize Israel and that British Jews are subject to a constant barrage of media-driven anti-Zionist propaganda that borders on, or overlaps with, antisemitism…”

On Saturday night Israel’s most-watched news program on Channel 2, aired a 10-minute “Special Report” on the weekly demonstrations in the Palestinian village of Bil’in. Haggai Matar of Anarchists Against the Wall was there. Despite his best efforts, Palestinian protestors were written out of the story!