For years, the right-wing has been complaining about the partisanship and lack of balance in the Israeli media, pointing to the near total domination of this important medium by people who are politically-driven and overwhelmingly left-wing.

These allegations were almost always met with a dismissive sneer and a wave of the hand, despite overwhelming evidence to back them up.

But now, one of Israel’s top journalists has come along and essentially confirmed what we knew to be true all along: that the media in this country is agenda-driven, and aggressively so.

Speaking at a conference held at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem, Amnon Abramovich, who is considered one of the country’s leading commentators and investigative reporters, had this to say about the role of Israel’s media in the run-up to the proposed Gaza withdrawal: “I think that we need to protect Sharon like an etrog [a citron fruit used by religious Jews on the Sukkot festival which requires special care and protection]”.

In case anyone did not understand the thrust of his remarks, Abramovich added, “The person who established the settlement enterprise is Sharon, and if a good spirit has come over him toward the end of his life and he is ready to tear it down, then in my opinion we need to protect him not only from political obstacles but also from legal obstacles too” (Maariv, April 26, 2005).

Hmmm – so according to Abramovich, now that Sharon is carrying out the policies of the left, the job of the media watchdogs is no longer to monitor him and serve as a check on his power, but to “protect” him and enable him to fulfill his political agenda. Silly me – I thought that newspapers were supposed to report the news, not try to shape it.

Some of Abramovich’s media colleagues were quick to dispute his assertions, obviously dismayed that he would dare to reveal one of the deepest and darkest secrets of their trade – namely, that Israel’s newspapers are manned largely by propagandists, not journalists.

But the cat, as they say, is now out of the bag – Israel’s major papers are little more than partisan broadsheets, and they can no longer deny it.

As Jews around the world gather together to celebrate the start of Passover this weekend, our thoughts and prayers inevitably turn towards our brethren living in Gush Katif and northern Samaria.

Despite enduring  what must be indescribable pressure and anxiety, the 8,500 Jews living in the areas slated for expulsion continue with their daily lives, cleaning their homes and getting ready for the beginning of the festival.

Like Jews everywhere, they will recite the Haggadah on Saturday night, recounting the Exodus of our ancestors from Egypt so very long ago, and hoping for a better future for our people wherever they might be.

In these difficult times, with so much uncertainty in the air, it pays to remember the central lesson of the Passover story - namely, that G-d is actively involved in history, and He does intervene on behalf of His People. And we hope that He will see fit to do so once again.

So when you reach the end of the Haggadah, and you raise your voice to declare "Next Year in Jerusalem", consider adding an additional thought - that not only should we merit to see the Holy City of Jerusalem rebuilt in all its glory, but that those celebrating Passover in Gush Katif this week should also be able to welcome the festival there again next year, too. And for many more years to come.

Chag Pesach Kasher V'Sameach - a happy and kosher Passover for all.

One of the most worrisome - and least known - developments in Israel in recent years is the tendency of some Israeli writers and journalists to spew forth anti-Semitic venom on par with that of our foes.

When a prominent journalist in Ha'aretz says that Israel exploits the Holocaust for political gain, or when an Israeli writer in Yediot Aharonot says that the Jews are acting like Pharaoh, it is time for all of us to wake up and take notice.

These types of anti-Jewish tirades, which I describe in the article below, only serve to give ammunition to anti-Semites and neo-Nazis everywhere, who can now more easily defend themselves by saying: hey, what do you want from me? I was only quoting Ha'aretz, etc.

It is essential that we speak out and protest against this trend, and demand that Israel's media stop serving as a platform for Jewish self-hatred. We already have plenty of enemies out there as it is - there is no reason for Israel's media to be playing along with them.

The Jerusalem Post, April 21, 2005

Global Anti-Semitism Goes Local?

By Michael Freund

The global rise in anti-Semitism over the past several years has left few parts of the world unscathed. From Western Europe to the Arab countries, Jews have become the targets of renewed vitriol and fury, leading various Jewish organizations to intensify their efforts to monitor and track this growing and worrisome trend.

But for all the attention being paid to international outbursts of anti-Semitism, there is one place in the world where this phenomenon has largely gone overlooked: right here in the State of Israel, under our very own (Jewish) noses.

That's correct – there is anti-Semitism here in Israel, too, and plenty of it. If you find this hard to believe, then just take a look at some of what appears in the local press and decide for yourself.

Take, for example, an article that ran this past Sunday in Haaretz. Zvi Barel, one of the paper's correspondents, wrote a piece entitled "To find shades of the old Harlem, or a Jewish Sadr City, look to Hebron." His main point: to compare the Jews living in Hebron's Avraham Avinu neighborhood with Iraqi Shi'ites in Baghdad who carry out terrorist attacks against US troops in the area.

Barel is, of course, entitled to his opinion about the Jews of Hebron, but to compare them to followers of renegade Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is simply twisted and hate-filled demagoguery.

Don't find it sick or offensive? Well, then, how about this from Amira Hass, writing in Haaretz on March 21: "Israel has turned the liquidation of Europe's Jews into an asset. Our murdered relatives are being enlisted to enable Israel to continue not giving a damn about international decisions against the occupation."

The last time I checked, accusing Israel of exploiting the Holocaust for political gain is considered to be blatant anti-Semitism. Indeed, just last month, the Anti-Defamation League released a report on anti-Semitism in the Arab press, noting with dismay that "many newspaper articles accused Jews of using the Holocaust to justify the persecution of others."

Yet, that is precisely what Hass herself was doing. And if you don't believe me, just check out the headline of her article: "Using the Holocaust to ward off criticism."

The anti-Jewish tirades in Israel's media don't end there. In a pre-Pessah article in Yediot Aharonot recently, one writer mused, "That which the Egyptians did to us, along with many other nations throughout our long history, we are now doing to the Palestinians."

That's right – the Jews are cast as Pharaoh and his evil taskmasters, playing the role of villains who enslave others.

And how about this pearl from Ma'ariv last October: "There is one principal difference between the ayatollahs in Iran and rabbis in Israel. There, religious rulings are compulsory; here they are merely a recommendation. But as the need and the response to such recommendations increases, so too the differences grow blurred."

The writer, one Moshe Gorali, was criticizing various rabbis for their opposition to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan. Apparently, he saw nothing wrong with comparing Israel's sages to the fanatical rulers in Teheran, the very same ayatollahs who seek Israel's destruction.

It would be easy to dismiss the rantings of such people as little more than angry rhetoric, the journalistic equivalent of those who spray offensive graffiti on the sides of buildings.

But to do so understates just how dangerous such hatred can be. If Israel's own newspapers are filled with anti-Semitic rhetoric, then how can we expect anything better from our neighbors? And the fact that the people who write such horrible things in the Israeli media also happen to be Jewish should in no way excuse the gravity of what they do. An article should be judged to be anti-Semitic on the basis of what it says, and not because of the religious beliefs of the person who wrote it.

It is therefore time for Jewish groups worldwide to consider adding a new section to their reports on global anti-Semitism, and to start monitoring some of the odious and hateful language that appears in Israel's own press.

As news consumers, it is our responsibility to raise our voices in protest whenever anti-Jewish rhetoric rears its head. We should flood Israeli newspapers that print anti-Semitic venom with phone calls, letters to the editor and protests, just as we would any other newspaper around the world.

Simply because the Israeli media operate in a Jewish country does not place them above criticism, or excuse their decision to publish what no one else would dare to say.

In the age of the Internet, when every newspaper has a potentially global audience, there is no telling just how far anti-Jewish sentiments can reach. The hatred may start at home, but it won't necessarily end there.

And that is why, now more than ever, we must do our utmost to bring about an end to the self-loathing and self-hate that is so rampant among us.

The following is an article of mine that appeared in the Jerusalem Post the other day about the political climate here in Israel, and how many opponents of the Gaza withdrawal plan are feeling less and less free to express themselves and their opinions.

This is not a matter of "crying wolf" - there have simply been too many instances in which people exercising their basic democratic right to protest government policy have found themselves on the receiving end of some less than democratic treatment. We all need to speak out against this worrying trend.

A Chilling Pattern of Harassment

By Michael Freund

After listening to the joint press conference between President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday, I curled up in front of my laptop ready to pen a blistering critique of the premier and his plan to withdraw from Gaza. But as the words began to flow, so did my perspiration, as I began to consider some of the heavy-handed tactics now being used against critics of the withdrawal.

In recent weeks especially, there have been a growing number of incidents in which those opposed to the plan, or even those merely assumed to hold such views, have found themselves and their most basic of freedoms trampled upon.

Take, for example, the mass arrest of dozens of Orthodox Jewish youth this past Sunday after protesters blocked Tel Aviv's Ayalon highway for several minutes.

According to various reports, many of those detained by the police had nothing to do with the demonstration. They were arrested simply because they were religious and happened to be in the vicinity of the protest. This included a 10-year-old boy wearing a kippa, and a religious soldier in uniform.

Several teenage kids in the area were said to have been taken to police stations and held incommunicado for hours without their parents receiving notification, as required by law.

There have also been a number of instances in which people standing on street corners and holding signs against the Gaza withdrawal were taken away by police – for no apparent reason other than exercising their right to protest peacefully.

In one case, a 14-year-old girl was arrested a few weeks ago and held for 24 hours in police custody without being allowed to see her parents. She was denied access to her medications, even though she suffers from chronic asthma and was at risk of a potentially dangerous asthma attack.

With less than 100 days to go until the proposed Gaza withdrawal, something terribly frightening is happening here in Israel. Some of the tactics being employed by the authorities simply have no place in a democratic society, calling into question their underlying commitment to that most fundamental of civil liberties – the right to disagree with government policy.

Now I don't consider myself an alarmist; nor do I belong to the category of those who employ frenzied language to get a point across. But I don't think it is exaggerating to say that many people opposed to the withdrawal are starting to wonder whether they can truly express themselves without fear.

Earlier this month, late one night, a prominent activist involved in organizing buses for people to visit Jewish communities in Hebron and Gaza was arrested at his home in the center of the country and held into the early hours of the morning. It remains unclear why he was taken into custody, other than to frighten and intimidate him.

Things have reached the point where even people who "look" like they might be going to a protest can find themselves receiving special attention from the security forces.

This past Monday evening, a busload of Jews from Samaria was stopped by police as it made its way toward the Gush Dan area to deliver Pessah goods to needy families. According to eyewitnesses, the police refused to let the bus continue on its way, claiming that it posed a "potential threat that may lead to the blocking of roads and other protest actions."

Only after being held up for 90 minutes were the 50 passengers allowed to continue with their charitable undertaking.

Say what you will about Sharon's plan to withdraw, there can be no excuse for such tactics. If it were just a matter of an isolated incident or two, it could perhaps be dismissed as an aberration. But the sad fact is that there is a clearly a pattern at work, one in which innocent Israeli citizens are being harassed and/or silenced because of their political views.

Of course, you won't read a great deal about this in much of the mainstream media; and don't expect to hear any of Israel's myriad human rights groups speaking up against this worrisome phenomenon. Their commitment to principle seems to extend only to those who share their liberal point of view.

But that should not deter the rest of us from speaking out, if only to ensure that Israel's democracy remains vibrant and strong. Just because someone wears a kippa, or holds a placard opposing the withdrawal from Gaza, it does not make him an "extremist" or "threat" to the country's future.

I thought twice about whether to submit this column, but realized in the end that I simply had no choice. Because if we ever reach a point where we can no longer legitimately criticize the prime minister and his policies without fear of reprisal, something will truly have gone wrong in Zion.

The only way to ensure that never occurs is to stand up without fear for what we know in our hearts to be true – that the Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, and to no one else.

-----------------------------------

The writer served as an aide to former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Not that we should need any reminders, but just in case anyone out there has somehow forgotten just what it is that Israel is up against, check out the following news item:

Boy carrying 5 bombs detained

            By Efrat Weiss

IDF forces apprehend a 15-year-old Palestinian boy carrying five pipe bombs at the Hawara roadblock south of the West Bank town of Nablus; "I looked into his eyes, he was on the brink of tears and scared to death,” soldier tells Ynet

That’s right – Palestinian terror groups sent a 15-year old kid, one of their own children, for G-d’s sake, to serve as a weapons delivery system.

Nonetheless, Israel’s Prime Minister still plans on going ahead with the withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria in less than 100 days – even as the Palestinians continue trying to kill innocent Jews. So much for appeasement.

In case this story sounds familiar – that’s because it is the second time in the past three months that a 15-year old Palestinian was caught at the very same roadblock while trying to sneak through with explosives for use in anti-Israel terror.

Keep that in mind the next time you hear someone in the media complaining about those “Israeli army checkpoints” and the “daily humiliation” they impose on the Palestinians.

Were it not for those checkpoints, a lot more innocent people would no longer be with us.

G-d bless the IDF.