An article by Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren was published on the front page of The New York Times on Aug. 29. Entitled “Amid Chaos, Israelis Take a Stoic View,”the
article contained no breaking news from Israel, nor was it an in-depth
analysis of a current issue. It was about Israeli reaction to the
turmoil in Egypt and Syria. And, it was the fifth article by Rudoren
this year to include accusations of Israeli societal racism or sexism.
You've got to hand it to the reporter. She certainly knows where to turn
for quotes that impugn Israeli society.
In January she turned to Nadim Nashef, whom she
described simply as “the director of Baladna, a Haifa-based youth
organization,” to discuss the Arab vote in Israeli national elections.
In fact, Baladna is known for fostering a culture of grievance and
separatism among Arab-Israeli youth. For example, it launched a campaign
opposing national service by Arab citizens of Israel (who are exempt
from military service, if they choose not to serve) with the argument
that such service is “a branch of the occupation army, which has always
acted against the Arab-Israeli population and the Palestinian people in
general.”
While Rudoren did not bother to inform readers of the
youth organization's core negative stance against Israel, she did leave
readers with a quote from the organization's director alleging Israeli
racism:
"Israel is using the Arab parties and the Arab citizens voting to say it's a democracy; it's not,'' he said. ''But then we need some kind of voice for our community, some people to speak out against racist rules and racist legislation.”
Not two weeks later, Rudoren introduced Moshe Zimmerman
as a historian who specializes in sports, to assert that rowdy,
xenophobic soccer fans in Israel represent the country's society that
"on the whole is getting more racist." Again, she left out certain facts
about her source. She neglected to tell readers that Zimmerman is less
known for sports than for his penchant for signing anti-Israel
petitions, and making derogatory statements about Israelis, including
comparisons to Nazis and Hitlerjugend (Hitler youth).
In the same article Rudoren also cited others to
allege Israeli racism – representatives of the Mossawa Center, whom she
described as advocates "for civil and human rights." What she failed to
inform readers was that the organization is well known for its active
opposition and attempts to delegitimize the Jewish state. She also cited
Adalah, which she described as "a legal center for Arabs in Israel"
that "counted 20 discriminatory laws passed by the current government.”
What she neglected to tell readers was that laws Adalah labels
discriminatory include revoking the citizenship of those convicted of
terrorism; withdrawing salaries from Knesset members found guilty of
serious crime; and failing to provide government funding for rallies and
activities opposing Israel as a Jewish state.
Rudoren's Aug. 29th front-page story
was about the response of Israelis to “the chemical attacks to the
north in Syria and the military crackdown against Islamists to the south
in Egypt” and consisted of selected man-in-the-street interviews. And
again Rudoren included a quote designating Israeli soceity as
increasingly “racist.” This time, Rudoren quoted Eva Illouz, a
sociologist and president of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, to
assert that events in Syria and Egypt “rigidify the already powerful
racist tendencies in Israeli society.”
It is noteworthy that the same Eva Illouz had recently published a column in the Israeli daily Ha'aretz contending that
A country based on Jewishness that exists in so many institutionalized ways creates intolerable inequalities and exclusions.
Can it be a surprise, then, this academic would give a quote about Israeil societal racism?
The concept that it is racist for a Jewish state to
exist hearkens back to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
resolution in 1975 defining Zionism as a form of racism. The singling
out of the Jewish national movement to be condemned and delegitimized
was initiated by the Soviet Union and the PLO. It culminated in the UNGA
resolution that was supported by the Arab world. That resolution was
subsequently repealed in 1991, but there are those who are still opposed
to and determined to delegitimize the concept of a Jewish state. They
constitute just a marginal element inside Israel.
To repeatedly seek out such people to impugn Israel
is unfair. To present them as unbiased, neutral sources is dishonest.
But it just this type of reporting – selective reporting indicting Israel, and prejudicing readers about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict – that passes for good journalism at The New York Times. And it is just this type of unfair, misleading journalism that CAMERA seeks to end.
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