Key Takeaways:
- International Day of Yoga was established as a global celebration of health and wellbeing, yet Israel’s participation was rapidly reframed by state-funded international broadcasters into a biased political narrative centered on the conflict.
- AJ+ and TRT World used the same event, and in some cases the same footage, to tell stories that bore little resemblance to the one presented by the event’s organizers and participants. Context became the story.
- The coverage reflects a recurring editorial pattern in which internationally recognized cultural events become entry points for broader political narratives about Israel.
International Day of Yoga was created to promote physical wellbeing, mental health and cultural exchange. Every June, millions of people in more than 180 countries take part in events organized under a shared global theme, with governments, municipalities and community organizations hosting public gatherings that celebrate yoga’s universal appeal rather than national politics. Israel’s flagship event on June 21 followed that model.
Organized by the Embassy of India in Israel in partnership with the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, Tel Aviv Port and the Ellayoga studio, the open-air gathering brought together more than 500 participants overlooking the Mediterranean. This year’s international theme, “Yoga for Healthy Aging,” framed an evening of 108 synchronized Sun Salutations, live Indian classical sitar music, a traditional Kathak dance performance and remarks by India’s Ambassador to Israel, J.P. Singh, who described yoga as a bridge between cultures while noting Israel’s unusually strong yoga community. By every official measure, it was a cultural diplomacy event centered on health and wellbeing.
Yet reports produced by AJ+, the digital platform of Qatar’s Al Jazeera Media Network, and Turkey’s state international broadcaster, TRT World, took the events and created a biased, politically charged narrative. They contrasted the yoga with images of the war in Gaza and recontextualized the event beyond normal editorial standards.
@honestreporting 500 people doing yoga in Tel Aviv should not be a global scandal. But when it’s Israel, even stretching gets turned into propaganda. TRT World and AJ+ took a normal International Yoga Day event and somehow turned it into a “genocide healing ritual.” That’s not journalism. That’s a caption contest.
♬ original sound – HonestReporting
Reframing The Story
TRT published a report in which they contrasted images of the Indian Embassy-backed event with those of October 7 War destruction under the headline “Israelis hold mass yoga session to heal PTSD from committing genocide.”
Captions claimed that the event was geared toward helping Israeli security services members and civilians “heal from the trauma and PTSD caused by Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians.”
TRT misrepresented the event, as program and advertisements by the Indian Embassy or Ellayoga studio did not describe the event as being particularly for Israeli soldiers, a PTSD recovery program, or an initiative connected to Israel’s war against Hamas. Like International Day of Yoga celebrations held around the world that weekend, the emphasis remained on health, resilience and cultural exchange.
At separate yoga event held several days earlier in Jerusalem, Ambassador J.P. Singh referred to research from Hillel Yaffe Medical Centre examining how yoga may help healthcare professionals cope with prolonged psychological stress during wartime. In that context, he described yoga as a form of “Psychological Iron Dome,” using the phrase as a metaphor for emotional resilience rather than redefining the purpose of International Day of Yoga itself.
Yet even before viewers read the misleading captions, from the first frame of video, the gathering had already been redefined. Hundreds of participants attended an evening devoted to yoga, cultural exchange and wellbeing. TRT World instead introduced the footage through an allegation that became the dominant frame for everything that followed.
The report opened with sweeping views of participants practicing yoga against the Mediterranean coastline before cutting abruptly to scenes from Gaza. Throughout the package, stretches, breathing exercises and meditation alternated with images of collapsed buildings, rising smoke, casualties and grieving civilians. The repetition created a visual association that steadily displaced the original purpose of the gathering. By the end of the report, International Day of Yoga had become little more than the backdrop for a broader political accusation.
Though the footage was authentic, the editorial construction surrounding it fundamentally changed how viewers were invited to interpret what they were watching. This editorial trick, also used by AJ+, turned the context into the story.
When Context Becomes The Story
AJ+ provides a masterclass in manipulating the story through editorial recontextualization. In AJ+’s report on the subject, rather than introducing viewers to Israel’s participation in an annual international wellness initiative, the Qatari outlet immediately established a different frame. Across the screen appeared the headline: “Israeli soldiers do yoga for PTSD.”
Moments later, another banner followed: “As Israel destroys Gaza and Lebanon.”
The narration referred to an Israeli television report describing yoga practices intended to help soldiers manage trauma following military service. The event was held by Brothers in Yoga, a nonprofit initiative providing trauma-sensitive yoga programs for veterans and security personnel living with post-traumatic stress, including individuals whose trauma predates October 7 and stems from earlier conflicts such as the Second Intifada and previous Lebanon wars. Its work reflects an established therapeutic approach to long-term combat trauma rather than a program created specifically in response to the current war. Indeed, in the referenced i24 report, it is noted that veterans of past conflicts were also being treated.
The images in the AJ+ override any reasonable analysis and thought about the event, to cast all involved as veterans of the October 7 War to flatten the story into one that is easily digestible.
On-screen captions then shifted toward Israel’s military campaign, concluding with statistics concerning psychological trauma among Palestinian children in Gaza and internally displaced people in Lebanon. Peaceful scenes of participants practicing yoga were repeatedly interwoven with images of damaged neighborhoods, rising smoke, destroyed buildings and the aftermath of military operations. The sequence steadily redirected viewers away from the international event itself and toward the wider conflict.
Nothing about the footage had been manipulated, but editorial choices encouraged associations with those images. Journalists routinely place events within a broader context, but the AJ+ report goes further by over emphasizing one aspect over all the others to tell the story it wanted. International Day of Yoga gradually receded into the background while the conflict becomes the dominant narrative. Yoga remained visible throughout the report, yet functioned as the vehicle through which a wider political message was delivered.
Two Versions of the Same Event
The AJ+ and TRT World reports reveal two distinct narratives built from similar source material.
The first follows the event as it was organized. The Embassy of India announced a celebration under a global health initiative. Participants gathered in Tel Aviv alongside similar International Day of Yoga events taking place across more than 180 countries. Yoga remained the subject.
The second begins with the same footage but assigns it a different editorial purpose. The gathering becomes the visual foundation for reports centered on Gaza, Lebanon, military operations and allegations against Israel. Yoga remains visible throughout, yet increasingly serves as supporting imagery for a story whose primary focus lies elsewhere.
Neither broadcaster relied on fabricated footage. Neither altered what viewers could see. The shift occurred through editorial decisions that determined how authentic images would be understood once they entered an international media environment.
A Recurring Pattern
International events attract audiences far beyond those who regularly follow developments in the Middle East. Their visibility offers an opportunity to introduce political narratives through subjects that would otherwise have little direct connection to the conflict.
HonestReporting documented that process during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, when a global sporting tournament repeatedly became the entry point for stories centred on Israel despite the country not participating in the competition. International Day of Yoga demonstrates the same editorial approach in a different setting. A worldwide cultural event becomes the point of entry. The political narrative becomes the destination.
Conclusion
The International Day of Yoga gathering in Tel Aviv formed part of a worldwide initiative led by the Government of India under the theme “Yoga for Healthy Ageing.” Hundreds of participants joined an event devoted to physical wellbeing, cultural exchange and community.
AJ+ reframed the event through editorial sequencing that linked yoga with Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Lebanon. TRT World employed the same footage under a headline that fundamentally altered the context in which viewers encountered it.
The coverage examined here illustrates how readily an authentic cultural event can be detached from its original purpose and repurposed as the foundation for an entirely different story.
Sixteen years after Shattered Lens first documented how international events could be used to carry political messaging about Israel, the methods have evolved, the platforms have multiplied, and the distribution has accelerated.
The underlying images remain authentic.
The stories built around them do not necessarily remain the same.
Liked this article? Follow HonestReporting on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to see even more posts and videos debunking news bias and smears, as well as other content explaining what’s really going on in Israel and the region. Get updates direct to your phone. Join our WhatsApp and Telegram channels!
© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
