Reporting on Middle East

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Media researcher on the Middle East: journalists, remember this when reporting on Israel and the Palestinian territories 21.5.2021 Tapio Kujala The situation of Israel and the Palestinians is rarely but regularly in the news in Finland. Tapio Kujala, a researcher on the media war in the Middle East, compiled a list of things Finnish journalists should consider when reporting on the conflict. 1. Choose your sources carefully. Be highly critical of press releases, pictures and videos, especially those from the Israeli army and Hamas. The Finnish media does not have permanent correspondents in the Middle East, so most Finnish media rely on second-hand information. The Israeli military's communications are the most effective in the world. It provides journalists with material in all the main languages. It has film crews on standby for video and photography. Each combat unit is accompanied by a cameraman. The machinery provides ready-made "information" and pictures coloured by the army. The army works according to the army's logic, but the journalist should not trust its claims. Hamas' messages are defiant, and in Arabic. They are overtly propagandistic and are intended to tell everyone that there will be no giving up, even if the situation is totally desperate and impossible. Also have a healthy critical view of US newspapers and news agencies, for example. They provide information from their own point of view and to their own readers. Their value base may be different from that of the Finnish media or public, and they often strongly support the Israeli narrative. To make it more difficult to report on the situation and civilian casualties abroad, Israel bombed the offices of the international media (Al Jazeera 15 May 2021). It was not the first time. 2. Google is almost useless Politically sensitive issues such as Palestine make different parties fight over whose ideology is more credible in a search engine or Wikipedia. That's why a healthy source criticism is necessary. The media war in the Middle East has also moved to the internet. Alongside the factual sites, there are many propaganda sites that have spread their material on services such as YouTube and Wikipedia in order to make their material seem more credible and reliable. Israel has close relations with the largest social media companies, such as Facebook and Google. During the events of spring 2021, it was observed that, for example, messages of sympathy for the Gaza residents were censored, or that pages of users were strangely blocked by the giants. 3. Use organisations working in the area as sources One way to support pluralism is to interview representatives of organisations working on the ground. They are often much more reliable sources in the Middle East than the authorities in Israel and the Palestinian territories. UNWRA, the UN agency that helps Palestinian refugees, runs refugee camps and schools in the West Bank and Gaza. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent or, for example, the Finnish Church International Aid provide a real picture of the impact of the fighting and the situation on the lives of civilians. The Israeli human rights organisation B'TSelem or the international Human Rights Watch and Amnesty also provide valuable source material. 4. Understand the situation and the scale of Gaza One of the challenges for the media to cover Gaza is the very selective way in which Israel allows journalists in. Gaza is home to some two million people who are not allowed to leave the area. Western diplomats describe Gaza as the largest open prison in the world. It is extremely densely populated and there are no bomb shelters or safe havens. Civilians sometimes seek shelter in UNWRA-run schools, mosques or hospitals, but even these have been bombed by the Israeli army. There is a severe shortage of clean water, electricity is unreliable and sewage disposal is not working because of the constant bombing. 5. Terms matter The first problem for the objective journalist in Palestine or the Holy Land or Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is that there are no neutral words. There are a few terms that recur in news reporting that are worth paying attention to. The Israeli army is often reported to have carried out precision strikes. Given the population density in Gaza, there are no such strikes, and bombings always kill civilians. For example, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported (14 May 2021) that 40% of the victims in Gaza in the recent unrest were women and children. When the Israeli army offers the media a picture of a precision strike, the picture shows a missile aimed at the intended target. The computer screen does not show the reality of the target: the crumbling buildings, the destruction of the streets or the fate of the civilians in the area. The Hamas fighting organisation is said to be firing rockets. However, most of the rockets are not comparable to the missiles used by the armies or the shells fired by mortars. The rockets are mostly built from air conditioning, water or sewage pipes. The explosives in the pipes are assembled from materials that can be purchased in Finland from hardware stores. That is why the pipes explode when fired, fly wherever and however they happen to go. They cannot be guided. The danger arises if the tube actually hits its victim. If it doesn't hit a person, the damage is often on the order of a dull firework explosion. Israel often stresses its right to defend itself, its settlements and its citizens. In reality, Israel is mainly attacking and maintaining and expanding an occupation and settlements that are illegal under international law. Israel's leading politicians have emphasised the role and status of the Jewish State as the only safe country in the world for Jews. This has meant, among other things, the illegal expansion of the state in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The term 'Jewish state' may confuse the Finnish reader, as around 20% of Israel's population is non-Jewish. Correspondents often wonder whether the Palestinian territories should be referred to as occupied, liberated or disputed territories. And whether the region is the West Bank of Jordan or Judea and Samaria or the Palestinian Authority? And is the West Bank Jewish villages, Jewish settlements or illegal Jewish settlements? Who are the parties to the situation? Should we talk about Jews, Zionists or Israelis? Not all Zionists are Jews, not all Jews are Israelis and not all Israelis are Jews. And is it Arabs, Palestinians or Muslims? Not all Arabs are Palestinians, not all Palestinians are Muslims, and not all Muslims are Palestinians. Word choices reflect the attitude of the speaker, and the journalist should recognise their background before using them. For example, most Israeli sources refer to Palestinians as Arabs. One reason for this is to obscure the idea of Palestinians as a people with rights. 6. Tell about the attempts to put pressure on you Journalists covering the Middle East crisis are under pressure. There are many ways. For example, interviews are withheld, the media is blacklisted by the embassy for reporting unfavourable news, or a journalist or media outlet is threatened. Pressuring groups may announce that they will stop subscribing to the paper or that they will continue to criticise the editorial staff. Attempts may be made to label journalists as racists or anti-Semites, for example. Some pressurers write under pseudonyms and others leave their feedback on discussion pages. Sometimes the feedback can take the form of financial pressure, as in the case of the Swedish Aftonbladet in 2009. At the time, the Swedish foreign minister was called to account for a critical article in the paper, and a boycott of Swedish products began in Israel. The country's ambassador may express his disapproval of the stories and an individual news item may even be tackled at ministerial level. A Finnish journalist or media organisation may not be prepared for this. In the interests of transparency, it is worth reporting any attempts at pressure. This is also the case, for example, with the Palestinian independent media, which openly reports on threats received from autonomous government of the West Bank or from Hamas. 7. The situation is on all the time The Western media only occasionally takes an interest in the Palestinian situation. The public may therefore be left with the impression that the region is peaceful, but occasionally violence flares up when Hamas or Israel start shooting. In reality, the situation is on all the time. Arrests, incursions into Palestinian homes, deliberate wounding, bombings or mass punishments are a daily occurrence in the Palestinian territories. Repression is part of Israeli domestic policy and has popular support, but it is also opposed and criticised, for example in the Israeli media. This is not a conflict between two equal parties. This is best illustrated, for example, by comparing the reports in the Amnesty Yearbook of Palestinians killed, wounded, arrested or their homes destroyed. It reveals that human rights violations continue when the media remain silent. Tapio Kujala's doctoral thesis, Media War in the Middle East - Cross-pressures of journalism in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was published in 2012.
Media researcher on the Middle East: journalists, remember this when reporting on Israel and the Palestinian territories 21.5.2021 Tapio Kujala The situation of Israel and the Palestinians is rarely but regularly in the news in Finland. Tapio Kujala, a researcher on the media war in the Middle East, compiled a list of things Finnish journalists should consider when reporting on the conflict. 1. Choose your sources carefully. Be highly critical of press releases, pictures and videos, especially those from the Israeli army and Hamas. The Finnish media does not have permanent correspondents in the Middle East, so most Finnish media rely on second-hand information. The Israeli military's communications are the most effective in the world. It provides journalists with material in all the main languages. It has film crews on standby for video and photography. Each combat unit is accompanied by a cameraman. The machinery provides ready-made "information" and pictures coloured by the army. The army works according to the army's logic, but the journalist should not trust its claims. Hamas' messages are defiant, and in Arabic. They are overtly propagandistic and are intended to tell everyone that there will be no giving up, even if the situation is totally desperate and impossible. Also have a healthy critical view of US newspapers and news agencies, for example. They provide information from their own point of view and to their own readers. Their value base may be different from that of the Finnish media or public, and they often strongly support the Israeli narrative. To make it more difficult to report on the situation and civilian casualties abroad, Israel bombed the offices of the international media (Al Jazeera 15 May 2021). It was not the first time. 2. Google is almost useless Politically sensitive issues such as Palestine make different parties fight over whose ideology is more credible in a search engine or Wikipedia. That's why a healthy source criticism is necessary. The media war in the Middle East has also moved to the internet. Alongside the factual sites, there are many propaganda sites that have spread their material on services such as YouTube and Wikipedia in order to make their material seem more credible and reliable. Israel has close relations with the largest social media companies, such as Facebook and Google. During the events of spring 2021, it was observed that, for example, messages of sympathy for the Gaza residents were censored, or that pages of users were strangely blocked by the giants. 3. Use organisations working in the area as sources One way to support pluralism is to interview representatives of organisations working on the ground. They are often much more reliable sources in the Middle East than the authorities in Israel and the Palestinian territories. UNWRA, the UN agency that helps Palestinian refugees, runs refugee camps and schools in the West Bank and Gaza. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent or, for example, the Finnish Church International Aid provide a real picture of the impact of the fighting and the situation on the lives of civilians. The Israeli human rights organisation B'TSelem or the international Human Rights Watch and Amnesty also provide valuable source material. 4. Understand the situation and the scale of Gaza One of the challenges for the media to cover Gaza is the very selective way in which Israel allows journalists in. Gaza is home to some two million people who are not allowed to leave the area. Western diplomats describe Gaza as the largest open prison in the world. It is extremely densely populated and there are no bomb shelters or safe havens. Civilians sometimes seek shelter in UNWRA-run schools, mosques or hospitals, but even these have been bombed by the Israeli army. There is a severe shortage of clean water, electricity is unreliable and sewage disposal is not working because of the constant bombing. 5. Terms matter The first problem for the objective journalist in Palestine or the Holy Land or Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is that there are no neutral words. There are a few terms that recur in news reporting that are worth paying attention to. The Israeli army is often reported to have carried out precision strikes. Given the population density in Gaza, there are no such strikes, and bombings always kill civilians. For example, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported (14 May 2021) that 40% of the victims in Gaza in the recent unrest were women and children. When the Israeli army offers the media a picture of a precision strike, the picture shows a missile aimed at the intended target. The computer screen does not show the reality of the target: the crumbling buildings, the destruction of the streets or the fate of the civilians in the area. The Hamas fighting organisation is said to be firing rockets. However, most of the rockets are not comparable to the missiles used by the armies or the shells fired by mortars. The rockets are mostly built from air conditioning, water or sewage pipes. The explosives in the pipes are assembled from materials that can be purchased in Finland from hardware stores. That is why the pipes explode when fired, fly wherever and however they happen to go. They cannot be guided. The danger arises if the tube actually hits its victim. If it doesn't hit a person, the damage is often on the order of a dull firework explosion. Israel often stresses its right to defend itself, its settlements and its citizens. In reality, Israel is mainly attacking and maintaining and expanding an occupation and settlements that are illegal under international law. Israel's leading politicians have emphasised the role and status of the Jewish State as the only safe country in the world for Jews. This has meant, among other things, the illegal expansion of the state in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The term 'Jewish state' may confuse the Finnish reader, as around 20% of Israel's population is non-Jewish. Correspondents often wonder whether the Palestinian territories should be referred to as occupied, liberated or disputed territories. And whether the region is the West Bank of Jordan or Judea and Samaria or the Palestinian Authority? And is the West Bank Jewish villages, Jewish settlements or illegal Jewish settlements? Who are the parties to the situation? Should we talk about Jews, Zionists or Israelis? Not all Zionists are Jews, not all Jews are Israelis and not all Israelis are Jews. And is it Arabs, Palestinians or Muslims? Not all Arabs are Palestinians, not all Palestinians are Muslims, and not all Muslims are Palestinians. Word choices reflect the attitude of the speaker, and the journalist should recognise their background before using them. For example, most Israeli sources refer to Palestinians as Arabs. One reason for this is to obscure the idea of Palestinians as a people with rights. 6. Tell about the attempts to put pressure on you Journalists covering the Middle East crisis are under pressure. There are many ways. For example, interviews are withheld, the media is blacklisted by the embassy for reporting unfavourable news, or a journalist or media outlet is threatened. Pressuring groups may announce that they will stop subscribing to the paper or that they will continue to criticise the editorial staff. Attempts may be made to label journalists as racists or anti-Semites, for example. Some pressurers write under pseudonyms and others leave their feedback on discussion pages. Sometimes the feedback can take the form of financial pressure, as in the case of the Swedish Aftonbladet in 2009. At the time, the Swedish foreign minister was called to account for a critical article in the paper, and a boycott of Swedish products began in Israel. The country's ambassador may express his disapproval of the stories and an individual news item may even be tackled at ministerial level. A Finnish journalist or media organisation may not be prepared for this. In the interests of transparency, it is worth reporting any attempts at pressure. This is also the case, for example, with the Palestinian independent media, which openly reports on threats received from autonomous government of the West Bank or from Hamas. 7. The situation is on all the time The Western media only occasionally takes an interest in the Palestinian situation. The public may therefore be left with the impression that the region is peaceful, but occasionally violence flares up when Hamas or Israel start shooting. In reality, the situation is on all the time. Arrests, incursions into Palestinian homes, deliberate wounding, bombings or mass punishments are a daily occurrence in the Palestinian territories. Repression is part of Israeli domestic policy and has popular support, but it is also opposed and criticised, for example in the Israeli media. This is not a conflict between two equal parties. This is best illustrated, for example, by comparing the reports in the Amnesty Yearbook of Palestinians killed, wounded, arrested or their homes destroyed. It reveals that human rights violations continue when the media remain silent. Tapio Kujala's doctoral thesis, Media War in the Middle East - Cross-pressures of journalism in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was published in 2012.

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