The world’s leading wire service, the Associated Press, can’t seem to name a flashpoint holy site revered by millions of Jews, Christians, and Muslims around the world. What gives?
Last November, the PLO warned foreign reporters not to use the words “Temple Mount” when referring to the Jerusalem esplanade that houses the Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock.
The site’s Hebrew name, Har HaBayit translates to Temple Mount. This is a name that Jews and Christians used to refer to the holy site before the emergence of Islam, and certainly before the Jordanian army captured the eastern half of Jerusalem in 1948.
But the PLO argument is that the holy site is located in “occupied territory,” and that any name other than Haram al-Sharif (literally, the Noble Sanctuary) impinges on Palestinian rights.
All international media representatives are advised to adhere to international law and correct any other existing terminology used. The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is not a disputed territory and all other terms, therefore, are null and void.
To only use one name, as Reuters did last year shortly after the PLO’s announcement, would be lopsided. So, to strike some balance and avoid riling the two sides, reporters commonly cite both names.
But what to make of this Associated Press report that avoids using any names? Check out these references:
A major Jerusalem shrine that is central to the national identities of both sides and sparked major bouts of violence in the past also looms large in the rising tensions.
Many Palestinians are convinced that, despite Netanyahu’s denials, Israel is trying to expand its presence there by allowing more Jews to visit and restricting the access of Muslims. The compound in Jerusalem’s Old City is revered by Muslims as the spot where Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven and by Jews as the site of the biblical Temples.
Home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the compound was the scene of frequent clashes in recent weeks between Palestinian stone-throwers and Israeli police, and young Palestinians routinely refer to perceived threats to Al-Aqsa in explaining their frustration.
Strangely, this is not the only AP dispatch that leaves the holy site nameless.
Were reporters Mohammed Daraghmeh and Karin Laub worried about running afoul of the PLO? Did they or other AP higher ups think they could finesse the problem by not naming the site at all? Was it somehow inadvertent?
I don’t buy the latter explanation very easily. Daraghmeh and Laub are veteran journos, and the Associated Press Stylebook has an entry for the Temple Mount (I’m quoting from the 2013 edition sitting on my desk).
Temple Mount: The walled, elevated area in Jerusalem’s Old City that was the site of the ancient Jewish temples. It now houses the centuries-old Dome of the Rock shrine and Al-Aqsa mosque and is known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary. Muslims believe Prophet Muhammad made his night journey to heaven from the site.
By AP logic demonstrated here, the name Manhattan could also be dropped for “a densely populated New York City borough.” Nobody, I hope, made a conscious decision to simply cut back on proper nouns.
News services all around the world republish Associated Press content. This nameless holy site raises questions about AP. Is the wire service being pressured by the PLO? Is it buying the Palestinian narrative?
Is the PLO, in effect, dictating AP coverage?
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