Yariv Ben-Eliezer, a professor of communications, says the Israeli media forced the government into a prisoner swap against the nation’s interests:
Usually you expect the media to present a debate – to present facts from both sides of an issue. In this case the media was unified. That’s why I say they had an agenda. Even though my heart was with the families, I think the media pressured the government to do something that was against the national interests of Israel. I believe we will pay for it with Gilad Schalit, that as a consequence Israel will have to give up a lot more prisoners to bring him back than would have otherwise been the case . . . .
The media used the families, and the families used the media to get their message across. They put disproportionate pressure on the government and left it no choice but to surrender to the demands of Hizbullah . . . .
I wouldn’t say that the media’s behavior has put more soldiers at risk, but they did force the government to do something that might cause more kidnapping.
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