Reporting the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

James M. Wall

The most distressing reality facing us in the Middle East is not the deadly struggle between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat. What is most distressing about our current situation is the chilling fact that no candidate for the U.S. presidency dares display any awareness of the Palestinian perspective in this conflict.

Haroon Siddiqui

What constitutes full and fair coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian issue? It goes without saying that the question can never fully be answered in a democracy. And it cannot be answered without context. There two relevant contexts: One has to do with the structure of the media and the second with the post-Cold War and post-September 11 geopolitics of the United States. After exploring these and related issues, the author offers several ethical points for journalists and the media.

This statement expresses the concerns of international journalists and supporters of journalism attending a seminar in Salzburg, Austria, 20-27 March 2002. The topic was the decline of the news media’s role as a public trust and the effects of that phenomenon on its obligations to civil society. Discussions revealed that journalists and their supporters from many countries share a strong conviction that market pressures are undermining the quality of journalism; specifically, as news organizations preserve high profit levels by reducing newsgathering resources and neglecting journalism in the public interest, the fundamental role of the press to inform and empower citizens is endangered. These concerns are the motivation for this statement, which is intended to prompt further consideration, discussion and action around the world.

Gabor Karsai

The aesthetics of the Russian film-maker, Andrei Tarkovsky (1932-86), are discussed in the following article. He made seven major films: Ivan’s Childhood (1962), Andrei Rublyov (1966), Solaris (1972), Mirror (1974), Stalker (1979), Nostalgia (1983), and The Sacrifice (1986). Undoubtedly, all are gems of world cinema. He also wrote a book about his philosophy of art titled Sculpting in Time: Reflections on the Cinema. In this book he discusses his ideas about art and the artist in general, the factors that distinguish cinema from other arts, the elements of cinema as an art, his aims in filmmaking, the role of the filmmaker and the film viewer, the nature of film imagery, and his own experiences and aesthetical ideas compared to those of his colleagues. He also discusses the particular intention and ‘meaning’ that lies behind his films.

Isabelle Graesslé

The European Region of WACC held a seminar on ‘Virtual ethics in Europe — Challenges for Christian communicators’, which took place 1 March 2002, in Geneva, Switzerland. Participants heard speakers discuss some of the ethical questions raised by the impact of new communication technologies on society, especially the Internet and digital technologies. The following article is based on one such presentation.

Sarah Eltantawi

The pro-Israeli lobby in the USA seems to have the ear of executive power as well as that of the media, judging by the way most newspapers and television programmes cover Israeli/Palestinian issues. The following article highlights major concerns of bias, language, imagery and their impact on Americans’ awareness of what is taking place.

Marda Dunsky

The following article argues that despite its peculiar political, cultural and religious dimensions, the Israeli-Palestine conflict should be reported as any other: fairly, without bias and offering balanced coverage of all sides of the case. The problem is, it isn’t.

J. Martin Bailey

The Media Group of the Middle East Forum is an ecumenical, church-related organisation that works for balanced reporting on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It has recently published a style sheet for reporters, copy editors and radio and television presenters to provide them with background information and explanations of key words and terms. It uses an alphabetical listing followed by brief clarifications.