The Observer, April 4, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 23
Damaging reporting harmful to free, fair thought
To the Editor:
This past Wednesday I had the opportunity to attend a presentation by Allison Weir on Media Analysis on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict with American Media. Approaching Hovorka Atrium, I was confronted by a group of individuals waving signs and decrying the event and speaker. One these individuals approached to "warn me" that there was to be "a hateful speech of lies." Confronted with this unusual occurrence on our campus, I was curious what would drive such fervent responses and attempts to dissuade people from attending.
Listening to the presentation, I discovered what was driving these responses, and it was fear. Fear that people may become informed and no longer ignorant of how the conflict is portrayed versus the actuality. Knowledge can have profound impacts on individuals, delivering them from the iniquity of ignorance. As Weir said, "If people had the facts on subjects, they would take a rational and even moral view."
Unfortunately in America we aren't being adequately served by our media. They have committed a disservice, keeping the public inadequately informed to develop rational and moral stances and take action according to these regarding Israel and Palestine. One small example from Weir's presentation was the portrayal of children's deaths on the evening news broadcasts during the first year of the second intifada. During this period, 28 Israeli and 131 Palestinian children unfortunately lost their lives. The nightly news provided us with a vastly different picture. Every regrettable death of an Israeli child was reported at least once, while CBS provided the highest coverage of Palestinian children deaths, reporting only 21 of them. The disparity in reporting rates of Israeli deaths over Palestinian ones was shocking at 13.8-to-1 on ABC, 6.4-to-1 on CBS, and 12.4-to-1 on NBC. This and many other blatant omissions of information prevent Americans from forming accurate and educated views on the events in the Near East, and many other conflicts around the world.
More dangerous than journalistic omissions and distortions in reporting is slanderous, defaming, and untruthful reporting. Posner's article last week provided a perfect example of how our very own Observer is not free from such loathsome tactics. In his article he accuses professor Alice Bach of "bring[ing] in some of the most vile, intellectually corrupt, and dishonest brokers of hate to our university." These aren't the qualities I would associate with the caliber of speakers she's attracted, such as Jewish Israeli Nobel Peace Prize nominee Jeff Halper. It is unfortunate that some would rather baselessly slander and ridicule others in the public arena than seek an open and informing dialogue.
I had the opportunity last spring to take Bach's class on Israel and Palestine and can attest to its quality and breadth. It was the one place on this campus I've seen religious Zionists and Palestinians coming together to learn from each other's experiences and genuinely becoming friends. I encourage Posner and any other interested persons to please take her course next fall, especially before criticizing it.
It is regrettable that, as Weir put it, "some people don't want to know the truth, and some don't want you to know the truth." I hope we all may strive to become informed and shape an open and trusting discourse on our campus.
Joshua Hollabaugh
Undergraduate student
