Students from the Golda Och Academy in New Jersey paid a visit to HonestReporting’s International Headquarters in Jerusalem to learn about media bias against Israel.
The visit was part of a two-day Student Activism seminar run by Neil Lazarus of Awesome Seminars. The seminar includes sessions on various elements in advocacy training so that the students are equipped to defend Israel when they return to the U,S.
“We want them to feel empowered when they get back home,” said Neil Lazarus, a highly-acclaimed advocacy trainer and keynote speaker. “HonestReporting is an essential element to any training for future students because it gives them the ability to critically analyze the media.”
The media training session, conducted by HR’s managing editor Simon Plosker, covered a wide range of ways the media distorts the news about Israel, including photo bias, failing to provide proper context, and reversing the order of events to give the impression that Israel is the aggressor, even when it is retaliating for an unprovoked attack. HonestReporting calls the last tactic “It all started when Israel fired back.”
After the presentation, one of the students, Aliza Sessler said she was most surprised by the section how bias or staged photos are used to distort the news. “These photos can be used to destroy Israel’s image so effectively,” she said. “People see a picture and they have a thought, and it’s out there.”
Another student, Dan Shpilsky said he came away with a better sense of how to recognize media bias and how Israel’s own democratic character makes it possible for unscrupulous journalists to get away with it. “I can see how important it is to lobby media outlets when things are not accurate,” he added.
