In the wake of the brutal terrorist attacks in Paris, everyone has a communal responsibility to help tell our collective story, HonestReporting CEO Joe Hyams told a gathering of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) in Boston on Thursday.
Mr. Hyams served as keynote speaker at the Lawyers & Accountants Annual Reception. He was introduced by Barry Shrage, President of Combined Jewish Philanthropies. The night was co-chaired by Kimberly S. Creem and Edward D. Kutchen.
In his interactive presentation, Mr. Hyams worked questions from the audience into his main theme – that the media’s misrepresentation of Israel is a threat to the shared story of the Jewish people.
“Israel is a great achievement that is a source of pride for the Jewish people,” Mr. Hyams said. “Today, it’s being undermined as a story worth embracing and celebrating.”
But according to Mr. Hyams, the story can be reclaimed if we all work together to tell our story through social media. HonestReporting, which defends Israel against media bias, is leading the effort, and the CJP is a trailblazer in the Federation community through its Israel literacy and media awareness programs, he said.
The speech, titled Israel and the Media: Why Your Voice Matters, looked at ways to keep the media honest, especially in its reporting of Israel. He noted that during last summer’s Gaza war, the media misused casualty figures to give the impression that Israel was the aggressor in the conflict.
In reality, he explained, Israel was defending its citizens against rocket attacks both offensively by pursuing those who fire the rockets and defensively by investing in the Iron Dome missile defense system and by building bomb shelters across the country.
“I will not apologize that we didn’t bleed more,” he said.
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Featured image: Greater Boston’s Jewish Federation via Facebook
