"Aren't you afraid
of the soldiers?" the reporter asked the old Arab man.
A resident of Jenin,
approximately 60 or 70 years old was sitting on a pile of rubble. He was calmly
sitting there, not doing much of anything. He was surprised by the reporter's
question. I watched the exchange on Israeli t.v., it was an interview conducted
in Arabic, and there were Hebrew subtitles at the bottom of the screen so
viewers like me could understand what the residents of Jenin had to say.
This scene is seared in
to my brain, an exchange I will never forget. It was during Operation Defensive
Shield (2002). Terrorists had committed so many atrocious attacks on Israelis
(suicide bombings in restaurants, a hotel, attacking people in their homes
etc.) it had become necessary to take the battle to the terrorists. They knew
the IDF was coming and had time to booby-trap much of Jenin, making it a
horrific place for a battle. The IDF ended up having to bulldoze a section of
buildings which gave impetus to the media to begin screaming that the army had
committed war crimes (false allegations they later had to apologize for).
"Me? Afraid? Of
who?" asked the old man.
"The soldiers"
said the reporter.
The scorn on the old
man's face fascinated me. "Of course I'm not afraid of the soldiers!"
he answered. "I'm not a terrorist! I don't have a bomb. Or a gun. Or a
knife!"
I wanted to laugh and
cry at the same time. This old Arab man knew what all the residents of Jenin
knew, what everyone knows. What the media never ever reports. He had absolutely
nothing to fear from the Israeli soldiers because he was not a terrorist and
not involved in anything that could be construed as terror related activities.
He knew the truth. I
know the truth. How many of the average media consumers around the world know
the truth?! American university students? Average Europeans?
The term, media
consumers is apt. People consume what is on their plate. Whatever the media
puts out gets eaten, swallowed whole. Very few questions are asked.
The plate goes down on
the table, so you eat. It's automatic.
The major media
companies have all kinds of slogans referring to their truthfulness, accuracy
and fairness. They promote their news channels with action filled
non-commercial commercials where the presenters talk about quality journalism,
about wanting to uncover the stories, to see the action and bring it to the
audience in a first person, unfiltered manner.
And most people just eat
what they are given.
But what if the food
isn't clean? What if the media is not presenting fair and balanced, no-spin
news?
Many are beginning to
recognize problematic journalism, inaccuracies and sometimes outright lies. The
journalists are presenters rather than reporters, their
"investigations" are more propaganda than anything resembling
ethical, investigative journalism. Research and fact checking are considered
passé. When it comes to covering Israel, the lies are blatant. Prejudiced
unethical journalism has become the norm rather than the exception.
Countless organizations
have been set up to counter media lies about Israel. Grassroots groups,
concerned citizens are working hard, day and night, to set the record straight.
Slowly it's working. HonestReporting campaigns, for example, have influenced major
media sources, forcing them to correct inaccuracies.
Countering the media
mistakes and inaccurate reporting (read: lies) is a never-ending task. Stories
with the same narrative, told and retold, become truth if uncorrected. The
anti-Israel movement uses media stories as fuel for their actions, as
justification for policies and propaganda to influence others to hate Israel. Hate
incites terrorism and people die.
For Israel, it is
literally a matter of survival to keep hold of the truth and make sure it is
known to all.
The problem is that the
lies are so insidious, they go far beyond inaccurate or slanted reporting.
Often the lies are in what you are not being told.
Have you ever asked
yourself, what are they not showing me? What else is here that they aren't
talking about?
Scenes like the
conversation with the old man in Jenin are things you will never see on your
television screen or get from any international mainstream media source. They
don't fit the narrative.
The media lies by
publishing stories that are incorrect but also by omitting truths. The strange
thing is that the truth is not hidden, one just has to look in order to see it.
Europeans and
BDSers may be ignorant of Israeli reality or may simply prefer to believe the
propaganda. In contrast, the terrorists know the truth. They understand the
Israeli spirit. They believe our kindness and morality is our weakness and use
it against us.
This is why
Hamas and Hezbollah hide behind human shields. That's why storing weapons and
attacking from mosques, schools, hospitals and clinics has become their modus
operandi.
They are
willing to damage their civilians because they know that we are not willing to
do so, that we prefer to hurt ourselves rather than hurt their innocent women
and children.
They attack
our children and try to kidnap our soldiers because they know that each child
of Israel is precious to us. They know we will endanger ourselves in order to
save even a single individual.
To the media
Israel is a war machine, not people. The media never shows the heart of Israel.
The terrorists
know better.
The question
is, what will you do the next time you hear something about Israel?
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.