Media blames Israel for attacks and self-defense.
Media Bias in Reporting on the Israel-Hamas Conflict
According to mainstream media reporting on Hamas’s slaughter and abduction over the weekend of hundreds of Israeli men, women, and children, Israel had it coming in a lot of ways.
The worst terrorist attack in the history of the Jewish state—with 1,200 people confirmed killed, including at least 22 Americans, and some 150 taken hostage—has not been enough to break the media’s longstanding habit of treating Israel as, at best, morally equivalent to Palestinian terrorists.
News outlets have suggested Israelis provoked the genocidal violence by, among other things, narrowly electing a right-wing government, allegedly praying at the holiest site in Judaism, and, along with Egypt, blockading the territory run by the Palestinian terrorists who did the attacks.
Washington Post: “What is Hamas, and why did it attack Israel now?”
The coordinated attack by Hamas caught Israel by surprise but comes after months of worsening tensions over violence at al-Aqsa Mosque — a sacred Muslim site in the heart of Jerusalem located on the same spot as the Temple Mount revered by Jews — as well as continuing resentment of the punishing blockade and occupation of Palestinian lands. The presence of once-fringe Jewish supremacists and settler leaders in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government has further inflamed tensions with the Palestinians and caused domestic strife inside Israel that has led to a perception of weakness.
Associated Press: “What to know as Israel declares war and bombards Gaza Strip after unprecedented Hamas attack”:
In recent years, Israeli religious nationalists—such as Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister—have increased their visits to the [Al-Aqsa Mosque] compound. Last week, during the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot, hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews and Israeli activists visited the site, prompting condemnation from Hamas and accusations that Jews were praying there in violation of the status quo agreement.
Hamas also has cited the expansion of Jewish settlements on lands Palestinians claim for a future state and Ben-Gvir’s efforts to toughen restrictions on Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
NBC News: “Gaza Strip explained: Who controls it and what to know”:
Despite pleas from the United Nations and human rights groups, Israel has maintained a land, air and sea blockade on Gaza since 2007 that has had a devastating effect on Palestinian civilians. Israel says the blockade, which gives it control of Gaza’s borders and is also enforced by Egypt, is necessary to protect Israeli citizens from Hamas.
The International Committee of the Red Cross considers the blockade illegal and says it violates the Geneva Convention, a charge Israeli officials deny. The U.N., various human rights groups and legal scholars, citing the blockade, consider Gaza to still be under military occupation by Israel.
NPR: “How the Al-Aqsa mosque became a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”:
[Pro-Palestinian activist Yousef Munayyer:] You know, the Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip, the vast majority of them—they’ve been refugees living inside of Gaza for 75 years. And this is, of course, compounded by decades of military occupation and, in the last decade and a half, a brutal siege of the Gaza Strip, which has held 2 million Palestinians there hostage. In recent years and months, the escalation of violence against Palestinians has been noted by the United Nations and governments throughout the region who’ve been warning that this escalation of Israeli violence against Palestinians is going to lead to an explosion in the region.
New York Times: “Gaza Has Suffered Under 16-Year Blockade”:
For some Gazans, Saturday morning’s surprise Palestinian attack into southern Israel seemed a justified response to a 16-year Israeli blockade. Others worried that the coordinated attack would only add to Gaza’s misery as the tiny enclave braced for a large-scale response from Israel.
The Palestinian territory of Gaza has been under a suffocating Israeli blockade, backed by Egypt, since Hamas seized control of the coastal strip in 2007. The blockade restricts the import of goods, including electronic and computer equipment, that could be used to make weapons and prevents most people from leaving the territory.
SUPERCUT!
MSNBC/CNN: Now, in Hamas’ defense … pic.twitter.com/uC1iE5Zoxd
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 9, 2023
Since Israel declared war on Hamas on Sunday, many of the media pivoted to referring to the violence in generic terms—conflating the indiscriminate terrorist attack with the targeted military response against the perpetrators.
As images and videos of the devastation come out of Israel, many people are also watching the violence unfolding in the Gaza Strip, one of the world’s most densely populated and impoverished territories..
Here’s what to know about the Gaza Strip. https://t.co/KvaGcINqTq pic.twitter.com/xW1YZwRod1
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 10, 2023
Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas’ surprise attack, and the impacts of the strikes are already devastating. https://t.co/XUIBAD4DLq
— ABC News (@ABC) October 10, 2023
Fighting between Israel and Hamas raged on for a third day on Oct. 9, as U.S. officials said nine Americans had been killed in the violence.
Follow our live updates: https://t.co/1I5k5akHnl pic.twitter.com/GHAhEOnt1G
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 9, 2023
BREAKING: The Israeli military says it is striking targets in the Gaza Strip. Air raid sirens have sounded in Jerusalem as the Hamas militant group announces a new operation against Israel. https://t.co/EH38mRTCHd
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 7, 2023
The Times and other outlets started tallying the Israeli and Palestinian death tolls side by side. Max Fisher, an anti-Israel former Times analyst, approvingly noted the trend of treating victims of terrorism as equivalent to unintended civilian casualties of a defensive military operation against a radical Islamist death cult that uses its people as human shields.
A sign of how much US popular and journalistic attitudes have changed. I did this exact chart at Vox during the 2014 war and got screamed at for weeks. David Frum accused me of agitating for murder of Jews. Ted Cruz condemned. Now it’s on the NYT HP without a blip. pic.twitter.com/4bK1sxj0de
— Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) October 9, 2023
Flashback: Last time Hamas provoked a major clash with Israel, in May 2021, the Times devoted its front page to the 67 Gazan children who died during the 11-day conflict.
What the New York Times didn’t tell you: How these children died.
Their cause of death exposes the criminality of Hamas’s terror campaign and the suffering caused by Hamas’s brutal rule.
They are recruited as child soldiers, used as human shields, and killed by Hamas rockets. pic.twitter.com/bml20fA2VG
— Benjamin Fogel (@BA_Fogel) May 29, 2021
The Times‘s Jerusalem Bureau did not respond to an inquiry about whether a similar spread is planned for the Israeli children who were slain over the weekend.
NBC in 2021 was on the streets of Gaza to broadcast Hamas’s “victory” parade and talking points.
In case you didn't understand the significance of this video, NBC is cheerleading for HAMAS.
"The only ones willing and able to stand up to Israel!"pic.twitter.com/wAX219TLm5
— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) May 24, 2021
The reporting during the conflict was much the same.
Even in retrospect, this is an amazing headline. pic.twitter.com/TSigpUjszP
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) May 24, 2021
What a surprise. MSNBC brings on the anti-Semitic founder of the anti-Semitic BDS movement to talk about Israel.
Anti-Semitism is now perfectly acceptable at @MSNBC. https://t.co/tcIEIR8q1w
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) May 22, 2021
NBC host says “Hamas is no more of a terrorist organization than the Israeli or US governments.”https://t.co/LPsQPCGofq pic.twitter.com/2XFXze91Pl
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) May 17, 2021
NBC News is among the worst news organizations when it comes to covering this topic. The health ministry is run by Hamas, but no way for a casual reader to know that.
So we have no idea how many of the 188 are Hamas operatives or how many have been killed by Hamas rockets. https://t.co/S87ljpx6ci
— AG (@AGHamilton29) May 16, 2021
Failing to mention that Hamas was using the building as an intelligence center, NBC political director Chuck Todd claims Israel “targeted a building” used by the AP. Correspondent Richard Engel then claimed the Israelis had “imprisoned” the Palestinians in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/CSqB73mUAf
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) May 16, 2021
As Germany’s liberal media have shown, coverage of Israel doesn’t have to be this way.
A striking contrast between German and American papers:
Der Spiegel: ‘A targeted massacre – at least 260 confirmed dead at festival near Gaza”
Die Zeit: ‘Hamas Now Has an Awful Ransom”
NYT: ‘Israel Battles Militants as Netanyahu Warns of Long War”
WaPo: ‘Both Sides Reeling.” pic.twitter.com/h2XQgCnmCb
— Yascha Mounk (@Yascha_Mounk) October 8, 2023
In what ways does the media’s portrayal of Israel as the aggressor downplay the actions of Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization?
Hamas. This kind of reporting fails to acknowledge the underlying issues and historical context surrounding the conflict, contributing to media bias in the coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The media’s bias can be seen in the way they frame the events leading up to the conflict. Mainstream news outlets have suggested that Israel provoked the violence through the election of a right-wing government and allegations of Israelis praying at the holiest site in Judaism, among other reasons. This framing paints Israel as the aggressor and downplays the actions of Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization responsible for countless attacks on Israeli civilians.
The Washington Post, for example, explains the attack by Hamas as a response to worsening tensions over violence at the al-Aqsa Mosque, while also mentioning the presence of Jewish supremacists and settler leaders in the Israeli government. This framing suggests that Israel’s actions were the cause of the conflict, rather than a response to terrorism.
Similarly, the Associated Press highlights the expansion of Jewish settlements on Palestinian lands and efforts to toughen restrictions on Palestinian prisoners as reasons for Hamas’s attack. By focusing on these factors, the AP downplays the responsibility of Hamas and portrays Israel as the instigator.
The media bias is also evident in their coverage of the blockade on Gaza. Many news outlets, including NBC News and NPR, emphasize the devastating effect of the blockade on Palestinian civilians, citing pleas from the United Nations and human rights groups. While it is important to consider the humanitarian situation in Gaza, these reports fail to acknowledge the legitimate security concerns that led to the blockade. Israel, along with Egypt, implemented the blockade to prevent
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