Nothing on the illegality of the settlements. Very disappointed to see this very important point totally ignored. That and lumping together a Democratic/Jewish nation. Complete oxymoron which is impossible. One last point: the interview might have gotten more credence for neutrality had the "host" not been Jewish also.
I wonder about the effects on entire generations of Palestinian children raised under military law, with all it's trappings, then seemingly punished for hating their captors. Could the current isolated 'terrorist attacks be connected with those 'feelings'.?
1
@Robert, I wonder about the effects on entire generations of Palestinians, raised to hate Jews, inculcated from birth that with a false narrative that completely omits all the violence, terror, warfare, etc... directed by Arabs against Jews for the last 100 years; as well as the myth that Jews have no historical connections to the land of Israel, to Jerusalem, or to the Temple Mount. Could the current stabbings and terrorist attacks have something to do with raising your kids on these lies?
2
Dear Jodi, I thought you did a bang up job being fair to the Palestinians as well as the fractious Israeli policy. It maybe my bias but I couldn't believe how fair you were given that you are openly Jewish, as am I. Many of us on the left in Israel had no problem but pleasure reading you. I am openly on the left as are all of my dear friends, and we applaud you.
During World War II the New York Times didn't even write about the Holocaust unless it was a few measly paragraphs deep inside the newspaper. This is an omission that years later they apologized for but the fear of being considered a "Jewish" newspaper is engrained. Yes there is a strong bias against Israel in the paper and every other liberal outle.
3
Jodi is about as balanced on Israel as Chuck Schumer. By her own admission in the podcast, her favorites about everything - books, restaurants, social life, places to go, second language ability, etc., were all Israeli. How much time did she spend in places like Bi'Lin?
Like any experienced reporter, she excelled at masking her biases but influencing the reader nonetheless. A case in point was her chronic use of the word "horror" when describing Israeli reaction to acts of Palestinian violence. Conversely, she almost never used that word when referring to how Palestinians felt in the face of IDF atrocities.
In fairness, we have to cut her some slack. Does anyone think the NYT would have their Jerusalem Bureau headed by someone with even the slightest tinge of neutrality. (Just look at her predecessors!)
Maybe the new Times reporter could split the year up with five months in Jerusalem, five in Hebron and a couple of weeks in Palestinian refugee camps like Sabra & Shatila? If nothing else, we'd get a more balanced use of "horror."
Like any experienced reporter, she excelled at masking her biases but influencing the reader nonetheless. A case in point was her chronic use of the word "horror" when describing Israeli reaction to acts of Palestinian violence. Conversely, she almost never used that word when referring to how Palestinians felt in the face of IDF atrocities.
In fairness, we have to cut her some slack. Does anyone think the NYT would have their Jerusalem Bureau headed by someone with even the slightest tinge of neutrality. (Just look at her predecessors!)
Maybe the new Times reporter could split the year up with five months in Jerusalem, five in Hebron and a couple of weeks in Palestinian refugee camps like Sabra & Shatila? If nothing else, we'd get a more balanced use of "horror."
5
But you express no horror at the chilling anti-Semitism coming out of those Palestinian camps, and the Palestinian media, schools, mosques, etc. Not merely anti-Israeli, but anti-Semitic. Calling Jews pigs and apes; sub humans. If that isn't appalling, what is? Perhaps too many people, in the attempt to be pro-Palestinian, have set too high a bar of tolerance for old fashioned Jew hatred.
1
@Shamus, complete and total nonsense. The NY Times bends over backwards to minimize Palestinian terror, incitement, and rejection of the rights of Jews to self determination in their historic homeland of Israel.
2
Whereas Israel has a ubiquitous and free press, the Palestinians have used threats, intimidation, and kidnapping of reporters to control their "narrative". Are the New York Times and other foriegn media able to state how this affects their reporting?
7
Thank you for sharing your experiences. Your podcast made me think more about the power of empathy and role it plays in journalism. It also made me think about how different the coverage of Israel is in comparison to the rest of the Middle East. The interest in Israel by the U.S. and the European Union is one of the causes for the feeling that there is bias in the coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
1
Can you please release a transcript, with questions highlighted, so we can review and read what we wish? Making this available only as a half-hour video will cut your audience by about 99%. Thank you.
7
Ms. Lehman, do you find that some or most Israelis believe that some of the criticism of Zionist policies toward the Muslim Arab population from 1948 to the present has basis or is just a cover for anti-Semitism?
6
*Please* post a transcript. We don't all have time to listen to a half-hour podcast. Thank you!
6
The NYT often publish pieces that place Israel and Israeli claims in a more negative light while ignoring bad acts by the Arab world. A recent example was the October article on archeological evidence for the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. The article has been corrected over and over since it was first published, but still gives the casual reader the impression that there really is no firm evidence that there was a Jewish temple at the site. The article misleadingly writes that the Waqf doesn't allow archaeological digging at the site, that might prove the previous existence of a Jewish temple, not mentioning the fact that the Waqf has for years been actively destroying archaeological evidence.
15
I'd have liked to hear a word from Jodi about the permanent local staffer in Jerusalem, Isabel Kershner. When I see her by-line, I know I'm going to get a a balanced, well written insightful story.
3
You cannot have negotiations without some recognition of basic truth. For example, if 90% of the citizens of Jordan are self-identified Palestinians, doesn't that indicate there already is a Palestinian country? Compare: Only about 75% of the population of Israel is Jewish. And please note the Jewish population of Jordan: ZERO. Egypt? Twenty five. Saudi Arabia? Zero. Etc. And another relevant/related truth: ~50% of the Jewish population of Israel arrived from Moslem countries, generally without being given a choice. Am I just bringing up irrelevant, old data? Not irrelevant, forgotten. Imagine if Israel summarily expelled all Moslems....
21
Egyptians and Persians saved jews.
March 4, 1524, is remembered by Jewish tradition as the day on which the Jews of Cairo were spared from the slaughter planned for them by the city’s Ottoman vizier Ahmed Pasha. Instead, it was Ahmed himself who lost his life on this day, an event commemorated each year with a “little Purim,” a local holiday celebrating deliverance from destruction, much as the standard Purim recalls how the Jews of Persia were saved from the designs of the evil vizier Haman.
March 4, 1524, is remembered by Jewish tradition as the day on which the Jews of Cairo were spared from the slaughter planned for them by the city’s Ottoman vizier Ahmed Pasha. Instead, it was Ahmed himself who lost his life on this day, an event commemorated each year with a “little Purim,” a local holiday celebrating deliverance from destruction, much as the standard Purim recalls how the Jews of Persia were saved from the designs of the evil vizier Haman.
2
You either have a civil secular plural egalitarian democracy where everyone is divinely naturally created equal with certain unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Or you do not.
Any state that defines itself by color, race, ethnicity or faith can be called a myriad of things but a democracy is not one of them.
Any state that defines itself by color, race, ethnicity or faith can be called a myriad of things but a democracy is not one of them.
3
Gee, BlackMamba. do you apply those same standards to the 56 or so countries who are members of the Association of Islamic States? To countries like the Islamic Republic of Iran, or the Syrian Arab Republic? To countries that identify themselves with a strong French, or English, or Polish, or Italian, or Japanese nationality? To countries in Africa with a strong tribal or black African identity?
Or do you reserve all your righteous indignation for the single tiny Jewish state on this planet?
Or do you reserve all your righteous indignation for the single tiny Jewish state on this planet?
1
If you've ever been in Jerusalem seeing Arab youth, including girls in hijabs walking alone if in pairs in malls and streets, or Arab families picnicking in parks in mainly Jewish areas, you would know that,yes, it is safe for Arab youth not carrying knives in Jerusalem.
29
seems to me that you have never visited israel or the West Bank.
Muslims and jews were living in peace before the invention of the Zionist entity in the heart of the Arab World.
Germany had the obligation to give a part of its territory for the jews to create a state, as a way to compensate Nazi crimes. Not the Palestinians.
Muslims and jews were living in peace before the invention of the Zionist entity in the heart of the Arab World.
Germany had the obligation to give a part of its territory for the jews to create a state, as a way to compensate Nazi crimes. Not the Palestinians.
4
Gaza? West Bank? East Jerusalem? Golan Heights?
1
is life in jeruselem for an arab youth safer than living in New York? It used to be very safe for white people in South Africa during the good old apartheid days!
10
The people who get stabbed on a daily basis aren't arabs.
16
Were blacks allowed to vote in apartheid South Africa like Arabs are in Israeli elections?
6
What would you know about that? Most of the ones getting killed by airstrike and sniper are Palestinians and the ones being stabbed are Israelis. But what's your point or are you just another one-sided interpreter of the conflict?
1
Some useful insights, thank you. The intractability of the conflict seems to rest on the fact that you can't have peace without justice, but you can't have justice without peace. So both sides have neither. It'll be this way for a while more.
Your plea for empathy was poignant. Hearts hardened by tragedy - on both sides. I would have liked to read more in the NY Times about initiatives like The Landa Foundation. We've read enough about what divides people. What about attempts to reconcile?
Your plea for empathy was poignant. Hearts hardened by tragedy - on both sides. I would have liked to read more in the NY Times about initiatives like The Landa Foundation. We've read enough about what divides people. What about attempts to reconcile?
7
CAMERA has called the NYT on factual errors time and time again. And the NYT has, more often then not, had to correct/clarify their mis-statements. Exactly how is that bias on CAMERA's part?
23
Hello Ms. Rudoren. Just finished listening to your podcast as I was cooking dinner. Your episode about having empathy for the mother of a soldier, only son, who was killed in the Yom Kippur War, that drew anger from a Palestinian official, is revealing. I understand that some very right wing Israelis do not have empathy for Palestinians. But the majority of Israelis do, beyond the joint schools and soccer teams; even among some settlers from whom I least expect it.
No doubt there are some Palestinians who can empathize; I remember watching a CNN interview after Cast Lead that simultaneously interviewed a mother from Gaza and Tel Aviv. Yet, empathy, understanding is rigorously drummed out of the Palestinian mindset, on purpose. From early schooling onwards. That is precisely why any solution is likely doomed to fail. You are also correct that young Palestinians speak about a one state solution, but it's obvious that's code for a state of their own, with few if any Jews allowed, and only on their terms. I didn't expect an answer to my question, but I think your experience with the (assumed) lack of empathy by Palestinians, and a rigidity of denying an old Jewish connection to Israel, answers me.
Good luck in your new position. After hearing you speak, I can better appreciate the difficulty of trying to stay neutral. Nonetheless, I don't think the editorial board is objective, over all. Mrs. Lieberman, Chicago
No doubt there are some Palestinians who can empathize; I remember watching a CNN interview after Cast Lead that simultaneously interviewed a mother from Gaza and Tel Aviv. Yet, empathy, understanding is rigorously drummed out of the Palestinian mindset, on purpose. From early schooling onwards. That is precisely why any solution is likely doomed to fail. You are also correct that young Palestinians speak about a one state solution, but it's obvious that's code for a state of their own, with few if any Jews allowed, and only on their terms. I didn't expect an answer to my question, but I think your experience with the (assumed) lack of empathy by Palestinians, and a rigidity of denying an old Jewish connection to Israel, answers me.
Good luck in your new position. After hearing you speak, I can better appreciate the difficulty of trying to stay neutral. Nonetheless, I don't think the editorial board is objective, over all. Mrs. Lieberman, Chicago
20
And how many Arab American Muslims does the NYT have as journalists, columnists and editors?
There is nothing neutral nor natural about dueling supernatural prophets, deities and scriptures.
There is nothing humane nor empathetic nor neutral about 550+ dead Palestinian kids left in the wake of Operation Protective Edge.
There is nothing neutral nor natural about dueling supernatural prophets, deities and scriptures.
There is nothing humane nor empathetic nor neutral about 550+ dead Palestinian kids left in the wake of Operation Protective Edge.
2
You commonly find people who are guilty of oppressing another group claiming to feel empathy for them-- it's a way of feeling better about themselves. They may then use their empathy and the anger of their victims as further proof of their own moral superiority. I saw this growing up in the South soon after Jim Crow had ended. It was common to hear whites claim that blacks were the real racists. They hated whites, it was said, and with the end of legal discrimination they had no reason for this. Yes, literally just a few years after the white and colored signs had come down many whites thought everything should be great, and if there were any problems, it wasn't their fault.
People are very very good at deflecting blame.
People are very very good at deflecting blame.
The New York Times coverage of Israelis and Palestinians is "balanced." Unless of course you're a Kurd or Uighur or Tibetan or Rohingya, and you're wondering whether the Times will ever devote more resources to getting people interested in your rights.
24
The topic of over coverage of Israel came up. I think that just like foreign governments busy themselves with trying to come up with a break-thru peace plan between Israelis and Palestinians, always having that issue on a front burner, so too the press is always onto something Israeli or Palestinian. Though, often, the true pulse of what goes on is typically overlooked. Like Palestinian incitement against Jews (not Israelis, simply Jews). Why? In the effort to create an artificial balance.
9
I agree, the bias against Israel is strong at the NYT. Part of the reason is that Israel has a free press and China, Russia, etc., do not. If Israel controlled the press, you wouldn't hear about it so often.
13
"... a Kurd or Uighur Or Tibetan or Rohingya..."
Or a teacher intern or medical student in Morocco. protesting draconian budget cuts by our "chief African ally in the war on terrorism."
Or a teacher intern or medical student in Morocco. protesting draconian budget cuts by our "chief African ally in the war on terrorism."
The major cause of tension and extremism, not only in the Middle East region but in the whole world, is Israeli Palestinian conflict.
Solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would take away much of the motivation for terrorism and the radicalization of Muslims in the World. Everyone's been saying that for years. We should start sending security bills to Tel-Aviv.
The mother of all terrorism in the World is the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
There was no ISIS, Al Qaeda, Taliban, Hezbollah, or even Hamas before the invention of Israel. Israel was created by Irgun and Gangstern Zionist terrorists, led by Manahem Begin who later became Israel’s P.M.