3 Reasons Why AP’s Reference to Hebron Holy Site is Dodgy

UPDATE: After being contacted by HonestReporting, AP amended its article to reflect Jewish ties to the Tomb of the Patriarchs. It now reads:

The Temporary International Presence in Hebron was established in 1994 following Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein’s massacre of 29 worshippers at the Ibrahimi Mosque in the West Bank city that triggered riots across Palestinian areas. The mosque is located at the site that is also revered by Jews as the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

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Hebron is best known for the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

It’s where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — along with their wives, Sarah, Rebecca and Leah are buried. For thousands of years, Jews have come to pray at their ancestors’ graves. (Jacob’s other wife, Rachel, was buried near Bethlehem and her tomb is also a holy site.)

Arabs too trace their lineage to Abraham, through his son, Ishmael.

Hence, the importance of the Tomb of the Patriarchs to Jews and Muslims.

So if you’re a news service updating a Hebron development that has a tie-in with the Tomb of the Patriarchs, you should be sure to make clear the site is holy to both Jews and Arabs. If you’re new to what’s happening in Hebron, Israel opted not to renew the mandate for the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (here’s why) who have been working as observers in Hebron for more than 20 years. At the United Nations, Indonesia and Kuwait pushed for “international protection” for the Palestinians, but the US foiled the move. Reporting from the UN, the Associated Press wrote:

The Temporary International Presence in Hebron was established in 1994 following Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein’s massacre of 29 worshippers at the Ibrahimi Mosque in the West Bank city that triggered riots across Palestinian areas.

Given the competing Israeli and Palestinian claims on holy site, it’s irresponsible that this sentence got by the AP editors. Here are three reasons why.

• It’s imbalanced journalism to cite one side’s claim over the other, prejudicing readers.
• The inappropriate use of names is misleading terminology.
• The name changes the context of Baruch Goldstein’s massacre for readers who aren’t familiar with it.

All AP needs is a sentence reflecting Jewish claims to the holy site and adding the more commonly-known name: Tomb of the Patriarchs. We contacted AP requesting a correction.

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