Monday, August 29, 2005
Palestinians Are Dying In the Dark
Kathleen Christison poignantly wrote “…Palestinians are terrorized and murdered in darkness. No one helps them, few note their dying.” [Can Palestine Be Put Back into the Equation] Allison Weir in “Off the Charts: Accuracy in Reporting of Israel/Palestine, The New York Times" portrays the leading US paper providing headlines or first paragraph coverage during the first year of the Intifadeh for 125% Israeli children’s deaths as opposed to 18% for Palestinian children.
On August 24, five Palestinians were murdered by an Israeli death squad in Tulkarem. International Middle East Media Center reported that the Palestinians were Adel Abu Khaleel, 26, Majdi Atteyah, 20, Mahmoud Ismail Hdeib, 18, Anas Abu Zreinah, 16, and Ahmad Othman, 17.
How were these deaths reported by other media? The Financial Times in an August 25 story headlined “Retaliation Shatters Relative Calm of West Bank,” was not referring to the five deaths shattering the ‘calm’, but to a rocket fired from Gaza at Sderot in southern Israel. Actually the headline is nonsensical since the story refers to the rocket which killed no one fired at Sderot in southern Israel as shattering the calm on the West Bank.
A search of google news and yahoo news for “Tulkarem Refugee Camp Deaths” turned up no stories in the western mainstream media on the five deaths. In fact when I searched “Tulkarem deaths” in Yahoo News eight out of the first ten stories that came up were about a suicide bombing in Israel and nothing came up about the five deaths, including three teenagers, in Tulkarem.
On August 24, five Palestinians were murdered by an Israeli death squad in Tulkarem. It was reported in the Khaleej Times that the two eldest were resistance fighters but had since joined the Palestinian Security Force. Ernest Hemingway wrote that all that matters when reporting about war are names and dates. The five were not afforded this dignity in the western press. On the night of August 24, Palestinians Adel Abu Khaleel, Majdi Atteyah, Mahmoud Ismail Hdeib, Anas Abu Zreinah, and Ahmad Othman were murdered by an Israel death squad.
May their memories be eternal.
On August 24, five Palestinians were murdered by an Israeli death squad in Tulkarem. International Middle East Media Center reported that the Palestinians were Adel Abu Khaleel, 26, Majdi Atteyah, 20, Mahmoud Ismail Hdeib, 18, Anas Abu Zreinah, 16, and Ahmad Othman, 17.
How were these deaths reported by other media? The Financial Times in an August 25 story headlined “Retaliation Shatters Relative Calm of West Bank,” was not referring to the five deaths shattering the ‘calm’, but to a rocket fired from Gaza at Sderot in southern Israel. Actually the headline is nonsensical since the story refers to the rocket which killed no one fired at Sderot in southern Israel as shattering the calm on the West Bank.
A search of google news and yahoo news for “Tulkarem Refugee Camp Deaths” turned up no stories in the western mainstream media on the five deaths. In fact when I searched “Tulkarem deaths” in Yahoo News eight out of the first ten stories that came up were about a suicide bombing in Israel and nothing came up about the five deaths, including three teenagers, in Tulkarem.
On August 24, five Palestinians were murdered by an Israeli death squad in Tulkarem. It was reported in the Khaleej Times that the two eldest were resistance fighters but had since joined the Palestinian Security Force. Ernest Hemingway wrote that all that matters when reporting about war are names and dates. The five were not afforded this dignity in the western press. On the night of August 24, Palestinians Adel Abu Khaleel, Majdi Atteyah, Mahmoud Ismail Hdeib, Anas Abu Zreinah, and Ahmad Othman were murdered by an Israel death squad.
May their memories be eternal.
