The terrorist kidnapping of Eyal Yifrach, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Frenkel, 16, a dual Israeli-American citizen has led to some problematic reporting. Here, we roundup some of the worst cases so far.
Dehumanizing Israeli Teens
The Guardian’s initial coverage succeeded in dehumanizing the three Israeli teens:
According to The Guardian:
Israeli security forces have launched a mass search of the Hebron hills after three teenage settlers, one believed to be a US citizen, were reported missing amid fears they may gave been kidnapped by a Palestinian group.
In The Guardian’s worldview, far better to portray Yifrach, Shaar and Frenkel as “settlers” and political actors rather than Israeli kids trying to get home from class. This emphasis excuses the actions of Palestinian terrorists and attempts to ‘understand’ why they should wish to carry out a kidnapping, which now becomes the fault of the victims rather than the terrorists.
UPDATE
The Guardian changed its headline as a result of complaints to the following:
A later report included the following, which HonestReporting, after contacting The Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent Peter Beaumont, was able to get amended:
As pointed out to Beaumont, the three teenagers did not live in “settlements in the southern West Bank.” Both Yifrach who hails from Elad near Petah Tikva, and Frenkel who lives in Nof Ayalon near Modi’in, do not live in settlements. Shaar lives in the settlement of Talmon, which is not, however, located in the southern area of the West Bank.
The inaccurate line has now been removed.
It’s All About the Settlements
CNN, meanwhile, felt it necessary to add the following closing paragraphs in order to (unnecessarily) stress the centrality of settlements in the story:
The deployment of military assets to search for the teens, and the swift presumption of kidnapping, are a reflection of the tensions that exist between Jewish settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank.
The expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank has been a lasting point of contention in the region.
It has altered the map of the Palestinian territories, making it more difficult to draw a contiguous Palestinian state as part of any peace agreement, according to critics.
The highly contentious issue of Israeli construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians seek for a future state, has hurt peace efforts.
Sky News made sure to stress the “illegality” of the entire area of Gush Etzion:
The trio, one of whom is understood to be a US citizen, are students at a Yeshiva, or religious school, in Gush Etzion, a Jewish settlement bloc in the West Bank, deemed illegal under international law.
A correct assessment of the status of Gush Etzion would have stated that this is but one interpretation of international law and certainly not one accepted by Israel.
Why Were They Hitchhiking?
The Christian Science Monitor takes an altogether different angle on the story and asks “Why were kidnapped Israeli teens hitchhiking in the West Bank?”
No one is questioning why they were hitchhiking late at night on a highway frequented by many Palestinians.
Shouldn’t the CSM be questioning the morality of kidnapping rather than focusing on hitchhiking? Not if you read this paragraph from the article:
With Israel’s track record of releasing Palestinian prisoners for kidnapped soldiers, such as the swap of 1,027 prisoners for Sgt. Gilad Shalit in 2011, many Palestinians advocate the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers or civilians as bargaining chips for justice.
“Bargaining chips for justice”?! There is no justice in swapping Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli jails for kidnapped Israelis coming home from school.
Keep your eyes open for slanted coverage in your local media of this developing story and let HonestReporting know through our Red Alert contact page.
[sc:bottomsignup ]
75 Comments
I think that the time has come for Israel to see what is happening all over the world with respects to the Islamists. If Israel does not act now, to rid itself of a fifth column is common sense and is the only way to establish itself as a completely sovereign state. History has already shown us what is in store if we do not act now.
Look, let’s face it: no matter what, we are demonized. Might as well be damned for a lion as for a lamb. Expel the enemy. They’ll hate us, but we’ll be safer from within.
It is the perfect time for transfering the Arab population to Jordan.
For 66 years they not only refused to make peace with the Jews but they insist on expelling or killing all the Jews. So it is them or US. Jesus tried both cheeks, to no avail. It is their choice: co-existence, expulsion or death. Jews are here to stay.
Kill 5 Musloid terrorists per day in Israeli prisons, until the kids are released, or until there
I the kids are not released, kill the families of the kidnappers, especially their parents as a punishment for raising terrorists.
I noticed this in the Christian Science monitor & tried to write a scathing comment and added that the ADL should give them a call. Its time the world realize that they make a BIG mistake coddling and condoning these terrorists and it will come Back on the World very soon, I am Afraid. Articles like like are part of the cause. If these children are hurt in ANY way its time to clear Hamas/PA/PLO out and annex Judea/Samaria-Jerusalem. Its ALSO TIME to REMIND THE WORLD THAT THIS REGION DOES NOT BELONG TO PA. Remind the world of Jordans illegal annexation 1950 and Area C Oslo accords. SET THIS CRAZY WORLD STRAIGHT.
If the three teens are still alive they are surely being held for ransom especially the one with U.S. citizenship. It wouldn’t surprise me if the two Israeli teens get released in exchange for some prisoners but the teen with U.S. citizenship will be held until 0bama agrees to free more terrorists from Guantanamo Bay. He’s set the bar and it’s pretty damn low.
My Reuters, AP and AFP imitation.
June 13, 2014 (Reuters) Three male ultra-nationalist hardline extremist Zionist radical right wing settler militants were suspected to have been captured by Palestinian activists overnight on Thursday. The United Nations Security Council convened an emergency session to issue a condemnation of any Israeli search efforts. (AP and AFP contributed to this news story)
added to “??????? ??????? ?????????”; “Hope is last to die” …”
https://www.facebook.com/igor.peker.7/posts/716385238407561
#BringBackOurBoys”
If three boys just disappeared any where else in the world, the coverage would have been different. The comments come from the fact that if it happens to a Jew in Israel, somehow he deserved it.
The media will not spare any pejorative lexicon to vilify Israel. Wouldn’t you call it anti-Semitism?
Oddly enough, I find myself reluctantly agreeing with the Christian Science Monitor. The dangers of hitchhiking in Israel are not new. I have two children considerably older than these three and always told them, from an early age, never to get into a car with a stranger, and when they were older, never to hitchhike.
Where were the parents of these boys? Didn’t they teach their children anything? Harsh as it may sound, had they not been hitchhiking, they would most likely not have been kidnapped.
Go and Kidnapped 6 Hamas children and if they want to swap it is ok. Prescribe those bitter pills to these scumbags.
Even worse is the NYT’s coverage of the debacle. In a lowest low of moral abrogation, the slimes headline exclaims “Rift Bared as Palestinians Aid Israel in Search for Teenagers Missing in West Bank”. What would have the slimes written after 9/11? Osama aids recovery efforts of bodies?
See: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/15/world/middleeast/as-palestinians-aid-israel-in-search-for-teens-missing-in-west-bank-a-rift-is-bared.html?ref=middleeast&_r=0
God is He who led captive free, God is our Salvation, God sees all, pray, ask, trust, believe and see the salvation of the Lord.When the citizens of Israel pray and believe together, without doubt, agree in unity and call upon the Name of the Lord, He can and will provide the miracle, Give thanks unto the Lord for He is good.
Meir Kahane was right. We should have paid off every Arab in the country to LEAVE.
Now it would be completely a Jewish state with no fifth column.
Will do everything?
I hope this includes carpet bombing Gaza!
So the Palestinian Hamas terrorist are maybe hoping they can get all of their high ranking Generals back, just like President Obama traded for one turncoat deserter? News spreads fast among the terrorists. Shalom!
The kidnapping of the young Israeli Teens is unacceptable. The Palestinians need to change their ways and cooperate with the international community.