The latest from my inbox . . .
From: …@email.com
Date: Thu, May 18, 2017 at 5:44 PM
Subject: Feedback via the HR Red Alert [#1997]
If you are so pro israel then why do you have to post every last bit of info that was leaked that noone needed to know about? I saw things on your site i saw nowhere else.
Not necessary.
Shouldn’t you be setting an example??
* * *
Thanks for writing. You raise an important point about the Israel Daily News Stream posts from Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday.
Those media roundups described how President Donald Trump disclosed to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak sensitive information about an Islamic State plot to attack US-bound airliners with a new explosive hidden in a laptop. The two were told this during a visit to the White House earlier this month.
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
According to reports, the information had come from Israel and the intelligence officials disclosed it to the US on condition that it not be shared with other countries. It’s feared that Trump disclosed enough information that the Russians could eventually identify Israel’s source — an individual said to be located in Raqqa, Syria, the self-proclaimed capital of Islamic State. The incident comes at an awkward time for the president, given questions about Trump’s “Russia thing.” It’s also awkward for Israel, coming shortly before presidential visit to Israel and the Mideast.
So it’s a story. A big one.
Was it irresponsible to include the revelations and commentary in the Israel Daily News Stream (IDNS)?
Not at all.
The IDNS rounds up what’s going on in the news so you can be more informed about Israel and the Mideast. HonestReporting didn’t break any news or get any inside scoops. The roundup simply reflected the fact that widely-read and credible news services made important and uncomfortable disclosures that Israel and its supporters will have to come to terms with, most notably:
A. The Washington Post was the first to report that Trump disclosed sensitive information to the Russian diplomats.
B. The New York Times was the first to report that the intelligence was originally from Israel.
C. ABC News was the first to report that Israel’s source was in Raqqa itself and now likely in danger.
And the fallout? Furious Israeli intelligence officials are talking about scaling back the quality of the information they share with their US counterparts. The revelations could be a big distraction for a presidential visit. It’s possible Israel is being used in a domestic US political dogfight. You have to assume that whatever Russia figures out will be shared with its allies, Syria, Iran and Hezbollah. Ouch.
So if HonestReporting’s Israel Daily News Stream is to be relevant to its readers, we have to be able to talk about what’s happening and why. Ignoring or whitewashing problems is intellectually dishonest and does a disservice to our readers. Everyone else is talking about what happened and making judgments. That’s public discourse.
And I’m glad to see professional journalists pounding the pavement, working their sources, following leads, not shying away from this story either. Although Big Media often gives Israel an unfair shake, we still need a free and independent press to monitor the power games in Washington, London, Brussels, the UN, Ramallah — and yes, even Jerusalem.
If reporters don’t do that, what do we need journalism for?
Images: Trump and Russians CC BY-NC-SA Russian Foreign Ministry; confidential CC0 Pixabay;
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