Sleeping Dogs Don’t Lie – But the Press Does
June 20, 2011 10:37 by Simon Plosker
UPDATE: Hours after publishing this critique, the BBC published a separate followup reflecting Maariv’s apology, while the Daily Telegraph removed the story from its website.
We wait for AFP and YNet News to correct the record as well.
UPDATE 2: The BBC’s response is simply unacceptable. Find out why here on our Backspin blog and take further action.
UPDATE 3: AFP have made a bad situation even worse by using an illustrative photo of a dog near the Israel-Gaza border to create a subliminal association between the dog story and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Find out more here and take further action.
* * *
A truly bizarre story appeared in the Israeli press in the past few weeks. According to YNet News:
A Jerusalem rabbinical court recently sentenced a wandering dog to death by stoning. The cruel sentence stemmed from the suspicion that the hound was the reincarnation of a famous secular lawyer, who insulted the court’s judges 20 years ago.
The story was picked up by the Daily Telegraph, Time, AFP and the BBC, where it is currently the most shared item on the entire News website.
However, it turns out that the outlandish story is precisely that – a story. Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv published an apology (translated from Hebrew below) in its June 15 edition after it was revealed that the only accurate detail was a dog running loose in a court building causing something of a commotion:
On the 3rd of June 2011 we published a story titled “Mea Shearim: Rabbinnical court orders the stoning of a dog”. The story reported a police complaint filed by the Association for Animal Rights (Tza’ar Ba’alei Chaim) against the Jerusalem Rabbinnical Court for Financial Affairs. The story also featured the total denial of the Chief Justice of the court, Yehoshua Levin, of the complaint. The Rabbi said, among other things: “There is no basis for the abuse of an animal, neither from the Halacha nor by common sense”. According to him, employees of the municipality have collected the dog from the court. The title of the story didn’t fully present the entire story, and we apologize for the anguish caused to the court and its members.
Shame on the Israeli press for publishing the story in the first place, which could be chalked down to internal Israeli issues between secular and ultra-Orthodox sectors of the population.
Indeed, the Israeli press like any free media in the developed world is more than capable of tabloid-style journalism, displaying political bias and making mistakes. The Israeli press, however, has a responsibility beyond that to its own domestic audience.
So many of the stories that you see in the international media are not exclusives broken by the New York Times, CNN or The Guardian. They come straight from the pages of the Hebrew press. And foreign journalists don’t even need to read Hebrew thanks to the proliferation of Israeli news sites in English, such as Ha’aretz, YNet News and the Jerusalem Post.
BBC News Online, June 20, 2011
Perhaps the Daily Telegraph, Time, AFP and the BBC can be forgiven for running a story that was newsworthy simply due to its highly unusual nature. Making #1 on the BBC’s Most Shared list is testament to the interest that it generated.
But it doesn’t change the fact that even during relatively “quiet” periods in Israel and particularly when the main news stories are coming from neighboring countries such as Syria, some media are still compelled to publish stories that are not only negative but actually demeaning to Israel or the Jewish religion.
In any case, international media outlets should do the professional thing and follow the Israeli press in publishing corrections.
Time has published the following update:
According to Hebrew news sources, the story originally published in the Behadrei Haredim newspaper may not have been based on factual reporting. The court denies the sentence was ever handed down, claiming the only action taken against the dog was in calling animal control officials to remove the dog.
Please write to the Daily Telegraph informing it of the error through its Contact Us Form, to the AFP through its Facebook page and to the BBC through its Feedback form remembering to supply the relevant story hyperlinks:
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/8583317/Jewish-court-sentences-dog-to-death-by-stoning.html
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13819764
- http://tinyurl.com/afpdog
Check out our Home Page for today’s other top stories
Aliza Tamara Lowell
9:18 am
Jun 21, 2011
Should I laugh or should I cry over such stupidity?!
Such stories as “The Jewish court sentencing a dog to death by stoning” is ridiculous enough by itself. It is a good story for anti-Semites and for all kind of Jew haters; it gives one more reason to point fingers on Jews & Israel, justify the hate…
It is too late to say now that this story was a mistake, it was just a “story”. The Jew bashers are already chewing on it.
This story being ridiculous is one thing, but what I find really outrageous is, stoning is NOT a Jewish practice, it is an Islamic one! In the Islamic world sentencing HUMAN BEINGS to death by stoning is an everyday happening and no one in the entire world gives a “bark” about it!
However, if a Jew would “stone a dog to death”, the international community is ready to be outraged, the world wide media is puffed up, almost ready to organize the next “flotilla” & whatever their imagination could create to cause harm to Israel and Jews in general.
When Muslims & Arabs (or Islam followers) stone women, men, even under-aged (girls who are still children) to death, the whole world looks the other way: no one wants to take notice, no one gets offended or outraged. The story barely if ever makes the news.
Islamists sentencing HUMAN BEINGS to death by stoning is perfectly o.k., but if a Jew would dare to stone a dog…
Is it just me, or does anyone else see the irony here?
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m
4:14 pm
Jun 21, 2011
I could not agree more with you. In fact, Judaism expresses kindness to animals. OTOH, followers of islam seem to go out of their way to be cruel to everything and everyone.
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Moshe
6:12 pm
Jun 22, 2011
Dear Aliza, there is no irony here. It is an old adage that “when a dog bites a man that’s no news, but when a man bites a dog THAT’S NEWS”. Therefore please don’t be surprised that nobody is talking about Arab cruelty and inhumanity; that’s no news. On the other hand: JEWS IS ALWAYS NEWS.
And slandering Jews and spreading vicious lies about them IS REAL PLEASURE.
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Deb
12:13 pm
Jun 21, 2011
What I would like to know is how did this story get to be published in the first place, if it was not true:? Can someone tell me the answer?
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andrei
9:02 pm
Jun 21, 2011
2 days ego n a rumanian newspaper
!
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Ashley Leboff
3:00 pm
Jun 21, 2011
The story is also reported on Daily Mail website.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2005030/Jewish-court-sentences-dog-death-stoning.html
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menachemp
3:43 pm
Jun 21, 2011
The Forward posted the Ynet story yesterday in it schmooze section.
Today it is no longer therre.
I wrote to the editor of the Forward repeating the comments I made to this post and provided a link to this story. I received no reply but I woulk like to think that I had some input in their decision to remoeve the story.
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Dog Days Ain’t Over | likeitisrael
5:53 pm
Jun 21, 2011
[...] Israel-supporting friend knows that the story was not just exaggerated or misreported—it just never happened. What really happened is that a dog wandered into a courthouse in Meah Shearim, caused a ruckus, and [...]
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“Hundesteinigung“: BBC uneinsichtig und klar auf anti-israelischem Kurs « Medien BackSpin
8:34 pm
Jun 21, 2011
[...] ziehen die internationalen Medien zur Verantwortung, die, wie sich herausstellte, eine falsche Geschichte herausbrachten, was die Verurteilung eines Hundes zum Tod durch Steinigung betraf. Innerhalb weniger Stunden nach dem Kommuniqué von [...]
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menachemp
10:26 pm
Jun 21, 2011
Ynet has pulled the story. Congrats
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DOGS ARE STILL SAFE IN ISRAEL…. « Desertpeace
2:02 pm
Jun 22, 2011
[...] appear in the media or on this Website regarding Israel… he just sent me the following from THIS source. Take notice that there is no denial about what I wrote about certain rabbis willing to [...]
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Norman Cohen
2:36 pm
Jun 22, 2011
Further to my earlier post this is the response from The Telegraph:
21 June 2011
Dear Mr Cohen,
I am writing in response to your email to the Telegraph.
Thank you for taking the time and trouble to write to us and to bring this to our attention. The article was first published in the Israeli newspaper Maariv and we suspended it as soon as we were alerted to the fact that they had taken it down. The article no longer appears online.
Today we published a further article highlighting Maariv?s retraction and the denials of the rabbinical court. I have attached a link below for your reference.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/8588536/Israel-dog-stoning-reports-strongly-denied.html
Please accept my apologies for any upset or distress this may have caused.
Yours sincerely,
Andy King
Editorial Information Executive
“Menschlich!” is the word that comes to mind.
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dr.steve pastner
2:57 pm
Jun 23, 2011
A few months ago the Saudi Government ( not a tiny fringe within the country) accused Israel of using ‘spy vultures’ ( actually birds banded by Israeli ornithologists to track migration)…
and the Egyptians ( during the “cold peace’ , which is getting colder by the minute , despite to so called ‘egyptian/arab spring’) accused Israel of training zionist sharks to attack red sea swimmers, thus reducing tourist trade.
To its partial credit the BBC treated this idiocy with the mockery it deserved….although it’s track record is generally poor on mid-east matters.
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m
4:40 pm
Jun 23, 2011
Ya I remember that. Jews are blamed and accused of everything under the sun. Global warming, stale beer, flat tires, ingrown toenails …. you name it … LOL. One thing about der Yidden is that they can laugh at themselves and the world around them. That helps keep them sane. The Jew haters and Israel deniers do no take that into consideration, they are too busy rotting from within to notice that.
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AFP geht vor die Hunde « Medien BackSpin
4:03 pm
Jun 23, 2011
[...] war einer jener Medien, die wir dafür verantwortlich gemacht hatten, eine falsche Geschichte zu veröffentlichen, in der behauptet wird, dass ein Jerusalemer Rabbinergericht einen Hund zum Tod durch Steinigung [...]
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Erika
4:41 pm
Jun 23, 2011
Well, in our Bible (the “Christian” one) it is written (second Thessalonians 1:10-12) that in the last days – because people will not love the truth anymore, they are sent strong delusions that they will believe – in order to ripen them for God’s Judgement. I guess we are there right now… So I guess we can let them both ripen – the good and the bad people – and let God sort out everything in the end… because people who don’t love the truth are not happy if you tell them the truth.
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Erika
4:53 pm
Jun 23, 2011
Oh sorry – that was chapter two (not one).
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m
5:06 pm
Jun 23, 2011
I am not a religious person per se but I must admit that what you wrote is eery. Hard to argue that some people these days ie the western leftist muslim sympathizers seem to put the blinkers on and refuse to hear or see what is so blatantly obvious to others. They demonize Israel and paint the palis as victims.
As for palis, they never stop to think for one minute that if they would cease their self brainwashing and stop feeding their kids hatred for Jews from birth, they could enjoy all the great things Israel has to offer. But they’d rather live as they do and continue their mission of hatred and violence and finger pointing at Israel.
Maybe you are right, the only one able to sort it out is God.
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Erika
5:18 pm
Jun 23, 2011
Yes, it is people’s choice what they want to believe. I know of people who very well know what is going on in the middle east – for example through newspapers like http://www.israeltoday.co.il . But they choose to not consider it and instead give an ear to fake reports like this one with the dog… In my opinion it really is about loving or hating the Truth i.e. the God of Israel. The thing is decided on a spiritual level – the rest (to whom we lend our ear) then follows automatically.
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Erika
6:24 pm
Jun 23, 2011
It was Rav Sha’ul (in the Greek world called “Apostle Paul”) who in that same letter to the Thessalonians in chapter two pointed out that the ultimate goal of those who hate the Truth is to replace God and true worship on the Temple Mount with their own fake leader. I think that exlains a lot why today the whole world is focussing on Jerusalem. In the last three chapters of the book of Zechariah we can see that God is using all this to restore righteousness in the world again. So we don’t need to be afraid – God indeed will sort everything out
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Palliwood Productions — Winds Of Jihad By SheikYerMami
10:48 am
Jun 25, 2011
[...] Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv published an apology (translated from Hebrew below) Read it all: Sleeping Dogs don’t lie, the media does…“What Israel views as terrorist attacks”Bil’in wall being moved – CNN [...]
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List Building
6:44 pm
Jun 29, 2011
Hi! Thank you for this realy useful article! I’m just 19 so it helps me a lot!
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Vandoren (Moscow)
7:27 pm
Jun 30, 2011
There is news about “stonned dog”.Here is article from israeli news in russian.
http://www.newsru.co.il/israel/29jun2011/dog_113.html
(google auto translation)
“…As it became known editorial NEWSru.co.il, literally an hour after the story, described on the website “BeHadrey Haredi” Jerusalem Veterinary Service fished near the building of the rabbinical court in Mea Shearim recently whelp bitch (which could easily be mistaken for a pregnant dog.) Representatives of the service delivered to a dog kennel in Jerusalem, but the contact with the charity “Jerusalem loves animals”, saying that in Mea Shearim found badly frightened by a dog that needs help.
An employee of the organization told the reporter NEWSru.co.il, under any circumstances, when and where the dog was caught by the veterinary service, stressing that “99.5% of this was the dog that everyone wrote,” because the other stray dogs similar to the description, in the Mea Shearim at the moment is not met.
Participants in the Internet community “rusisra_pets” have told us the story poor dog: it’s – Miniature Pinscher, had she lived in Rishon Lezion, where a few months ago on the streets gave birth to five puppies, dog with puppies have found a temporary home, then they sheltered in a resident of Jerusalem, but while walking the dog ran away and ended up in Mea Shearim.
Now for the dog, located on Jerusalem’s kennel, and puppies looking for owners. What the community rusisra_pets published advertisement. If the owners until Friday for a dog is not there, it will give a public organization, “Haver” in Holon, where a dog can be in the future will take.
More information about the fate of the dogs and puppies see http://rusisra-pets.livejournal.com/1511616.html”
—————-
And here is photo of the “stoned” dog
http://newsru.co.il/pict/id/large/450514_20110629150618.jpg
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Bias Has Consequences | Cross-Currents
12:33 am
Dec 02, 2011
[...] the Yediot Acharonot published a story that the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court (for financial matters) had sentenced a dog to stoning. It [...]
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Montreal Gazette Corrects False Story | Honest Reporting
8:34 am
Feb 13, 2012
[...] world. It seems that a dog running loose in a court building turned into this as reported by many international media outlets, including Canadian newspapers like the Montreal Gazette (online only) and the [...]
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