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HonestReporting: Arafat's non-speech HonestReporting Communique In a rambling, hour-long speech on Tuesday, Yasser Arafat's "major policy address" to Palestinian legislators failed to explicitly condemn suicide bombings -- omitting a key point which had been included in a draft of the speech circulated to journalists. Many foreign leaders expressed dismay that Arafat had, once again, missed a critical opportunity to disengage from terror. HonestReporting is amazed at the vast difference in how the media reported on Arafat's speech. Some reports made this non-speech sound like a major historical advancement toward peace, quoting Arafat's words: "After 50 years of struggle and bloody suffering, enough is enough. Enough of the struggle and enough bloodshed." Other media outlets gave the speech a big thumbs-down. For example, some media pointed out that while Arafat condemned terror "against Israel civilians," this really amounts to little, since Palestinians do not consider any Jew who lives in the disputed territories as a "civilian." This non-civilian group includes many neighborhoods of Jerusalem, and amounts to a total of 380,000 Israelis. Further, Palestinians do not consider any Jew who has served in the IDF as a "civilian." This includes an additional million-plus Jews. (In the past, Palestinians have also included children in the "non-civilian" category, referring to them as "future IDF conscripts.") It is worthy to note that Arafat said his call to reduce violence was because of "our national interest and the necessity to maintain international support..." -- and not due to any moral considerations. The following survey of how some major media handled Arafat's speech gives insight into the power of a headline to sway a story one way or the other. HonestReporting encourages members to monitor your local media to see how they reported this issue, and to write leters to the editor based on the above points. ===== THE GOOD =====
WASHINGTON POST headline:
Comments to: * * *
CHICAGO TRIBUNE headline:
Comments to: ===== THE BAD =====
ASSOCIATED PRESS headline:
Comments to: * * *
REUTERS headline:
Comments to: * * *
TIMES OF LONDON headline:
Comments to: ===== THE WORST ===== LOS ANGELES TIMES headline not only erroneously reports an Arafat condemnation of suicide bombers, but also includes a negative focus on Israeli policy:
"Arafat Decries Suicide Bombers, but Denounces Israel's Attacks"
Comments to: ========== ABOUT HONESTREPORTING ============ HonestReporting welcomes you to submit media critiques for possible inclusion in future communiques. Be sure to include a URL of the article you are critiquing, and send to: editor@honestreporting.com Encourage your friends to join HonestReporting. Send a friendly info message from: http://www.honestreporting.com/a/friend.asp HONESTREPORTING INFO SHEET to print out, post on bulletin boards, photocopy and distribute. Get the word out to schools, places of worship, community centers. Go to: http://www.honestreporting.com/HRPrintout.pdf Privacy Guarantee: HonestReporting will never share your e-mail address or personal details with anyone. Our web servers feature the latest hack-proof technology. ====================================== HonestReporting involves considerable research and manpower costs. Your donations are greatly appreciated and will help Israel win the media battle. "Middle East Media Watch" (DBA HonestReporting) is a section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, contributions to which are deductible for U.S. income tax purposes. Please send contributions to:
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