CAMERA - The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America - reports that it has closely tracked media coverage of Israel and the Middle East for over 20 years, "contacting countless outlets with questions about factual accuracy and in many instances eliciting corrections." The Israeli Hebrew daily Haaretz, however, ignores CAMERA's queries, the organization says.

CAMERA states, "Virtually every major media outlet in America and some beyond U.S. shores have corrected errors in response to CAMERA, in accordance with professional journalistic standards asserting the paramount importance of accuracy -- and accountability. Among those issuing corrections, often multiple times, have been the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, International Herald Tribune, National Public Radio, ABC News, and CNN."

A recent CAMERA report states that though the organization contacted Haaretz with information on several instances of mis-reporting in the paper, Haaretz did not respond - and in fact "has stonewalled completely, refusing to correct errors." Questions as to whether this was purposeful policy or merely one of omission appeared to be answered when CAMERA received a mis-directed email explaining Haaretz's policy.

In response to a request for a correction on a particular issue, CAMERA reports, Haaretz "inadvertently sent CAMERA what was clearly meant to be an internal Haaretz email. Addressed to a Haaretz employee who apparently handles phone calls, the email warned (in Hebrew):

"In the event that this [CAMERA complaint] gets to you: We have a quasi
'policy,' on the orders of [editor-in-chief] David [Landau], to ignore this
organization and all of its complaints, including not responding to
telephone messages and screening calls from Tamar Sternhal [sic], director of CAMERA. Otherwise, we will never finish with them."


Among the errors CAMERA claims to have found in Haaretz are the following:

* The mention of "Jewish-only roads in the West Bank," when in fact the roads are fully accessible to and regularly used by Israeli-Arabs and other non-Jews.

* An op-ed claim that from 1957 to 1967 "only 20 people were killed [in Israel] from hostile operations" - when at least 40 Israelis were killed in hostile acts during that period.

* The claim in Jan. 2004 that the Absentee Property Law "stipulates that the property of such an absentee would be transferred to the Custodian of Absentee Property, with no possibility of appeal or compensation" - when in fact, CAMERA states, both appeal and compensation are possible, and landowners have exercised these rights and been compensated.

* A front-page caption on Jan. 26, 2005 stating that the PA police had acted the day before "for the first time against illegal construction." CAMERA provided Haaretz with news reports showing earlier such action taken by the PA in 1994, 1995, and 1998.

Arutz-7 contacted Haaretz today for a response, which will be published in part or in full when received. In July, however, the Israeli weekly Makor Rishon quoted Haaretz Editor David Landau as saying [translation courtesy of CAMERA]:
"I confirm that we relate to CAMERA as if they have a personal vendetta against us. I have experience of many years with them. We encourage readers to write to us, and we publicize every day or two days corrections of errors according to need, but everything depends on the clean hands of the writer."

CAMERA added that it is "the only organization to press Haaretz for factual
accountability in a systematic way. Thus, it is CAMERA's unique agenda to
promote accountability which makes Haaretz's relationship with us 'different.'"