News reports, as we all know, are meant to describe what happened yesterday, but what will happen tomorrow is a matter, at the most, for the editorial pages. However, that rule, like many other journalistic ethics, does not apply to the haredi (?ultra-Orthodox?) population in Israel. In their news reports regarding the haredi community, the Israeli media consistently displays powers of prophecy.
One Friday in June a parade was held in Jerusalem. Ma?ariv, one of two major national dailies, published, under the headline ?Jerusalem: Pride and Prejudice?, a picture of a haredi man walking innocently in Jerusalem, with the caption: ?The police are out in force to protect the parade from, among other things, haredi elements and Kach members who announced their intention to attack the parade-goers.? Who are these mysterious ?haredi elements"? And where did they retreat to once Friday had passed peacefully?
More examples of prophetic abilities:
?A tattoo exhibition at the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem may lead to confrontations between haredim and the secular.? ? Yehonatan Liss, Ha?aretz, 12.6.02.
Following the death of Rabbi Yehuda Samet (during a confrontation with a secular shop-owner in Jerusalem): ?The rabbis are the ones who will now decide if a wave of haredi violence will sweep Jerusalem, in retaliation for ?the criminal murder?. At the same time, past experience in Jerusalem has shown that there are always those who do not listen to the rabbis, even when they have published public, unequivocal condemnations of violence and stone-throwing.? ? Nadav Shragai, Baruch Kara, Yair Sheleg, Ha?aretz, 23.11.01.
?A furious reaction is expected in the haredi community [to the Interior Ministry decision that consulates could conduct civil marriages].? - Shachar Ilan, Ha?aretz, 14.2.00.
?The police are concerned that haredim will try to attack Dana International.? - Ma?ariv, 10.5.99.
?The haredim are threatening to attack Conservative worshippers at the Western Wall on Tisha B?Av.? ? Yediot Aharonot, 21.7.99.
On the day of the magistrate?s court verdict in the case of Shas leader Aryeh Der?i: ?Shas activists are planning to hold violent demonstrations in cities on the periphery, far from Jerusalem. They hope that Der?i will be unable to stop them.? ? Shachar Ilan, Ha?aretz, 16.3.99.
The most fascinating aspect of all of these dark prophesies is that the day after the event, there was nothing to report. Nothing happened. The terrible violence is always on its way, tomorrow; but almost never, yesterday.
At the time of the huge demonstration against the Supreme Court, newspaper headlines promised riots and ?haredi violence.? However, in practice, there was not a single incident that even approached the definition of ?violent? during the entire event. The press, the radio and the television blew up a story of police reinforcements and expected haredi riots to the point of hysteria. Despite the statements by the heads of the haredi community and the organizers of the demonstration, the press continued to rant and rave, exacerbating the feeling of anxiety. The President called for restraint, thousands of police officers were sent into the field, a Border Guard unit was sent to defend the Supreme Court building, snipers were placed on the rooftops, police choppers hovered overhead and a command post was established nearby. However, surprisingly, the fearsome snowball melted when exposed to the sunlight of reality, leaving behind nothing but a putrid puddle of prejudices, stigmas and racist stereotypes. The mountain wasn?t even a molehill.
The prejudices held by the media and the police, with each reinforcing the other, regarding the violence of Jews with skullcaps, is totally divorced from reality. The fact that the police and the media, supposed to act according to objective criteria, fall prey again and again to stigmas raises questions regarding the professional judgement of ?correspondents for haredi affairs.?
What motivates responsible and professional newspapers to take a chance, again and again, with false prophecies, to threaten the public with dark, fearsome predictions, based on hearsay and anonymous sources, which sometimes cause the government to make large expenditures and to waste resources?
It may be that there are those in the Israeli media who have grown frustrated with the facts and are trying to create a new reality that is more in line with their own world view. The media, in those instances, betrays its purpose and, instead of objective reporting, attempts to create a frame of reference that portrays the haredi community in the most negative of lights. The media shapes public opinion and influences it, creating news rather than reporting it. Baseless, manipulative accusations are published in full and the media creates a confrontational atmosphere intentionally. Journalistic prophecies and anti-religious worldviews go hand in hand. The proof?
Hey, who cares about yesterday?s ?flop?? Forward, into the black and threatening tomorrow!
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Shai Horowitz is a researcher and writer for (?Manof ? the Jewish Information Center? in Jerusalem.
Translated from the Hebrew original, as it appeared in the Emes news service.
One Friday in June a parade was held in Jerusalem. Ma?ariv, one of two major national dailies, published, under the headline ?Jerusalem: Pride and Prejudice?, a picture of a haredi man walking innocently in Jerusalem, with the caption: ?The police are out in force to protect the parade from, among other things, haredi elements and Kach members who announced their intention to attack the parade-goers.? Who are these mysterious ?haredi elements"? And where did they retreat to once Friday had passed peacefully?
More examples of prophetic abilities:
?A tattoo exhibition at the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem may lead to confrontations between haredim and the secular.? ? Yehonatan Liss, Ha?aretz, 12.6.02.
Following the death of Rabbi Yehuda Samet (during a confrontation with a secular shop-owner in Jerusalem): ?The rabbis are the ones who will now decide if a wave of haredi violence will sweep Jerusalem, in retaliation for ?the criminal murder?. At the same time, past experience in Jerusalem has shown that there are always those who do not listen to the rabbis, even when they have published public, unequivocal condemnations of violence and stone-throwing.? ? Nadav Shragai, Baruch Kara, Yair Sheleg, Ha?aretz, 23.11.01.
?A furious reaction is expected in the haredi community [to the Interior Ministry decision that consulates could conduct civil marriages].? - Shachar Ilan, Ha?aretz, 14.2.00.
?The police are concerned that haredim will try to attack Dana International.? - Ma?ariv, 10.5.99.
?The haredim are threatening to attack Conservative worshippers at the Western Wall on Tisha B?Av.? ? Yediot Aharonot, 21.7.99.
On the day of the magistrate?s court verdict in the case of Shas leader Aryeh Der?i: ?Shas activists are planning to hold violent demonstrations in cities on the periphery, far from Jerusalem. They hope that Der?i will be unable to stop them.? ? Shachar Ilan, Ha?aretz, 16.3.99.
The most fascinating aspect of all of these dark prophesies is that the day after the event, there was nothing to report. Nothing happened. The terrible violence is always on its way, tomorrow; but almost never, yesterday.
At the time of the huge demonstration against the Supreme Court, newspaper headlines promised riots and ?haredi violence.? However, in practice, there was not a single incident that even approached the definition of ?violent? during the entire event. The press, the radio and the television blew up a story of police reinforcements and expected haredi riots to the point of hysteria. Despite the statements by the heads of the haredi community and the organizers of the demonstration, the press continued to rant and rave, exacerbating the feeling of anxiety. The President called for restraint, thousands of police officers were sent into the field, a Border Guard unit was sent to defend the Supreme Court building, snipers were placed on the rooftops, police choppers hovered overhead and a command post was established nearby. However, surprisingly, the fearsome snowball melted when exposed to the sunlight of reality, leaving behind nothing but a putrid puddle of prejudices, stigmas and racist stereotypes. The mountain wasn?t even a molehill.
The prejudices held by the media and the police, with each reinforcing the other, regarding the violence of Jews with skullcaps, is totally divorced from reality. The fact that the police and the media, supposed to act according to objective criteria, fall prey again and again to stigmas raises questions regarding the professional judgement of ?correspondents for haredi affairs.?
What motivates responsible and professional newspapers to take a chance, again and again, with false prophecies, to threaten the public with dark, fearsome predictions, based on hearsay and anonymous sources, which sometimes cause the government to make large expenditures and to waste resources?
It may be that there are those in the Israeli media who have grown frustrated with the facts and are trying to create a new reality that is more in line with their own world view. The media, in those instances, betrays its purpose and, instead of objective reporting, attempts to create a frame of reference that portrays the haredi community in the most negative of lights. The media shapes public opinion and influences it, creating news rather than reporting it. Baseless, manipulative accusations are published in full and the media creates a confrontational atmosphere intentionally. Journalistic prophecies and anti-religious worldviews go hand in hand. The proof?
Hey, who cares about yesterday?s ?flop?? Forward, into the black and threatening tomorrow!
----------------------------------
Shai Horowitz is a researcher and writer for (?Manof ? the Jewish Information Center? in Jerusalem.
Translated from the Hebrew original, as it appeared in the Emes news service.