On 24 April, Israeli occupation forces opened fire on school children near Ramallah, killing a student and a taxi driver, and injuring several others. Also, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up and an Israeli security guard. National Public Radio reported only on the latter, demonstrating an incredible double standard, as EI’s Ali Abunimah writes. Read more about NPR ignores Israeli attack on school, killing of two
On March 30, the Washington Post published the last e-mails of Rachel Corrie, an American peace activist crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer driver, on 16 March 2003 in Gaza. On April 19, the Post published a letter by CAMERA director Eric Rozenman, entitled “Last E-Mails of an Indoctrinated Activist”, attacking Corrie. Adam Shapiro, organizer of the International Solidarity Movement that Corrie worked with in Gaza, responded with this letter to the Post, published on April 25th. Read more about ISM's Adam Shapiro responds to CAMERA's distortions in the Washington Post
“None of these people would have gotten hurt if they had minded their own business and closed their eyes to the shootings of Palestinians. Yet I’ve talked with ISM activists in New Haven who are certain that their work is vital. When they’re around, Israeli soldiers shoot less and the international news media pay more attention. That saves lives.” Stanley Heller of the New Haven, CT Middle East Crisis Committee sends a letter to the editor of his local paper. Read more about U.S. must probe death In Gaza
“The Achille Lauro is back in the news. Most of us know that a Palestinian, Mohammed Abu Abbas, is believed to have planned the 7 October 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship. His group, the Palestinian Liberation Front, demanded that Israel free 50 Palestinian prisoners. An American Jewish passenger in a wheelchair, Leon Klinghoffer, was shot and thrown into the sea. While Abbas was not on board the ship, the hijacking, taking of hostages, and killing of Mr. Klinghoffer were heinous crimes for which he should be brought to justice.” Daniel Jacob Quinn writes about another, forgotten event that happened one week prior to the hijacking. Read more about The Achille Lauro hijacking: Selective memory does none of us justice
On 5 April 2003, Israeli troops in Jenin shot International Solidarity Movement activist Brian Avery. Avery, a 24-year-old American from Albuquerque, New Mexico experienced serious wounds to his face after Israeli troops shot at him with heavy machine gun fire from an armoured personnel carrier. In this coverage trend, EI co-founder Nigel Parry examines some of the misrepresentations in initial reports, and lists what we do know, uncomfortable facts which would seem to preclude the event being an ‘accident’. “For those of us who have lived as eyewitnesses in the West Bank or Gaza Strip, it is not news that Israeli troops regularly shoot at people without there being clashes or any threat to the soldier. This is one of the consequences of maintaining a military occupation for over one-third of a century, the dehumanisation of the occupied people by the occupying army. Increasingly during the Intifada, we have observed that internationals have been targeted by the Israeli army.” Read more about The Brian Avery shooting: When will we realise that there can't be this many "accidents"?
“Dear reader, as Israel slides ever deeper into a morass of racism and ethnic solipsism, please do not rely too heavily on Haaretz to understand how or why this ‘light unto the nations’ has grown so dim.” Jonathan Cook examines the politically significant differences between the English and Hebrew versions of a newspaper thought to be the conscience of Israel. Read more about The two faces of Ha'aretz
The BBC reportedly received more than 1,000 complaints after it moved a documentary comparing Israel’s arms programme to that of Iraq from prime time to a “graveyard” slot and replaced it with a repeated film on windmills. Cahal Milmo reports for The Independent.Read more about BBC rouses anger by 'burying' documentary on Israel
Ali Abunimah, Michael F. Brown and Nigel Parry3 March 2003
The inclusion in the new Israeli government of the racist National Union, which openly calls for the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, received muted coverage in the US media and passed largely without comment. EI co-founders Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry, and regular EI contributor Michael Brown analyse how the US media mishandled the story in this coverage trend. Read more about US media ignore Sharon's embrace of ethnic cleansers in new Israeli cabinet