Witness the mysterious alchemy of the British press: a persistent pattern of Israeli provocation (discernible even when one leaves aside the crucial context of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories) becomes a persistent pattern of Israeli retaliation:
AMW Study: The British Media & 'Retaliation' in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The portrayal of retaliation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is of crucial importance. Where a news outlet consistently represents one side as retaliating against the other, it promotes an understanding of that party as the victim of a conflict instigated by the other, and influences public opinion to be sympathetic with the former. Any action taken by the retaliating party is contextualised and potentially legitimised as defensive.
For this study, Arab Media Watch monitored the representation of retaliation in British press coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from January through June 2008 to determine in what proportion Israel and the Palestinians are represented as retaliating in the conflict. The study reveals that when the British press represents a party as retaliating in the conflict, that party is Israel almost three-quarters of the time.
The full report can be viewed / downloaded here.
The Israeli Ambassador has also been popping up all over the British press, according to another illuminating report by AMW - receiving 2000% more coverage the Palestinian Ambassador. What better example can there be of the media acting as a propaganda organ on behalf of the powerful?
