Washington Report on Middle East Affairs \| Telling the Truth for 30 Years

WRMEA, Sept/Oct 2010, Page 61-62

Waging Peace

Journalists in Palestine: The Greatest Challenge Is Israel

Shireen Abu Aqleh, Al Jazeera's correspondent in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel, and former New York Times Gaza correspondent Taghreed El-Khodary shared experiences with and answered questions from an attentive crowd in a June 23 event hosted by the Jerusalem Fund in Washington, DC and moderated by the American University's Dr. Edmund Ghareeb. In his introduction, Dr. Ghareeb reminded the audience about the complex, controversial, and emotional nature of the Palestinian conflict, reflected in media coverage. "[T]hat is why it is so important to hear from these two ladies," he stated.

Speaking of her own experience, Abu Aqleh said that the challenges faced by journalists are increasing: in dealing with three authorities, the right to freedom of expression is even less accessible than before, she noted, as "no one is tolerating the other point of view." El-Khodary explained how, as a journalist, she learned in Gaza how "to implement whatever [she] studied in American universities," but that at the same time there were multiple challenges—the biggest being Israel. Recalling a situation in which a Qassam member had asked her not to cover a story on the execution of collaborators, she said that a big challenge is to keep the focus; maintain the trust the different factions have in you and your work; and keep going. As a journalist, an observer, and a Palestinian, she added, the situation is very frustrating, as one sees "the place that is Gaza getting worse and worse."

The two journalists agreed on the problems and benefits of being a Palestinian covering the conflict, noting that they are better able to fully understand the complex situation and know the people and how to deal with them. This is not always advantageous, however, Al-Khodary pointed out, as one could be forever "tainted" by having belonged to one faction, with the result that the other "will never trust you." Both emphasized that being Palestinian is never an advantage when dealing with Israel. During the Gaza assault, Abu Aqleh's colleagues from the West Bank "all lost their press cards" and were prevented from traveling.

Discussing how the conflict is portrayed in the American media, Abu Aqleh criticized the lack of humanitarian stories from Gaza, despite the fact that American news usually is humanized. Instead of asking why people have to die because of lack of access to hospitals or medicine, she complained, the mainstream media focus instead on the prevention of weapons and arms imports to Gaza. She described the U.S. media as "very far from being objective" in this respect.

Al-Khodary, on the other hand, said that the Western media fail when portraying Gaza only as a humanitarian issue, as it indeed is a political one. Al-Khodary, who ended up leaving The New York Times after the son of bureau chief Ethan Bonner joined the Israel Defense Forces, was asked whether she was censored, and whether one gets the full picture of the conflict in American media. Asserting the necessity of presenting both narratives, both to keep readers and remain objective, she urged the audience not to rely on a single source, but to read and listen to several news outlets to get the full picture. "There is nothing that is objective," she argued, and while she "did her part" in covering Gaza, what is needed is a greater amount of in-depth news.

Finally, both journalists agreed that active readers are important to making a difference, and advised readers not to delay in sending feedback to newspapers and to comment on Internet articles, as journalists often read these as well.

—Imaan Ali

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