Israeli government’s media madness
In battle to win public opinion, Israel bombards journalists with its version of aid ship deaths.
For weeks the Israeli government has bombarded journalists with statements, press releases and videos – all professing that Gaza is not suffering a humanitarian crisis, there is no shortage of goods entering the Strip and even mocking the suffering of people in Gaza by recommending restaurants to visit in the coastal territory.
It also went so far as to claim those on board the Freedom Flotilla had links to al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. They showed us edited video clips of military footage supporting their version of events as to what happened onboard the Mavi Marmara – reports that are now widely discredited by eyewitness accounts.
That is the Israeli narrative of events and it is certainly within their rights to espouse it.
But the most recent video distributed on Friday by the Israeli government press office (which belongs to the Israeli prime minister’s office and is responsible for accrediting foreign journalists) is distasteful and insulting to those killed and injured on the Freedom Flotilla, and quite frankly disturbing – especially since it was made by the Jerusalem Post’s deputy managing editor, Caroline Glick, who also moonlights for the American Center for Security Policy in Washington, DC. (Read more about Caroline Glick and her dual role as a pro-Israeli advocate and “credible journalist” in mainstream American and Israeli media here.)
On Friday afternoon, the Israeli Government issued the following email:
Due to a misunderstanding on our part, earlier today we inadvertently issued a video link that had been sent for our perusal. It was not intended for general release. The contents of the video in no way represent the official policy of either the Government Press Office or of the State of Israel.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
Thank you for your patients and understanding.
Efraim Roseman