The disparity in casualties between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza war is a product of Israel’s intense efforts to protect its own citizens, HonestReporting’s CEO Joe Hyams told a crowd of Israel supporters last week. And the international press has an obligation to make that clear to the public, he said.
Speaking at a pro-Israel rally in front of CNN’s studio in New York on Thursday, Joe said he was tired of the insidious double standard and media duplicity. “I won’t apologize to the international media that we didn’t bleed enough,” he said.
He also rejected the notion that there were two sides to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, both of which deserve equal treatment in the media.
“To say that there is offers legitimacy to Hamas, a terrorist organization,” Joe said. “We are not asking the international media to wake up and sing ‘Hatikvah’ tomorrow. We are just asking them to be great journalists.
“We need to see a shift to reporting intent and not consequence,” he added, referring to the false impression people get from the raw casualty figures often reported in the press.
“Why can’t our media be brave and courageous and prepared to get off that fence and champion those who protect their babies and denounce those who send them out to kill and maim? he asked.
Another speaker, activist Chloé Simon Valdary, echoed the same sentiment when she called on reporters to disclose restrictions they face from Hamas that might prevent them from reporting the whole story.
“In the name of journalistic integrity journalists have a responsibility to let the audience know what the conditions are from where they are reporting,” Valdary said. “The coverage has gotten worse, especially from The New York Times. There is no context, and they draw a moral equivalency between Hamas and the IDF.”
For more comments from featured speakers at the rally, including interviews with Joe, Chloe, singer Ari Lesser, activist Daniel Mael, journalist Lauri Regan, and Prof. Daniel Pipes, see the great video from Elder of Ziyon:
