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November 22, 2006
NYT Roundup of Israel / Palestine Events
Under the title "U.N. Official Touring Israel Is Near Area Hit by Rocket," the NYT threw several disparate parts into a one column article on Israel / Palestine. It does start with a look at UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour's trip to Sderot and Beit Hanun. Then it veers off into an account of the Israeli army murdering three people, including a 70-year old woman, in Gaza City. (These murders are apparently justified because the other two victims were allegedly militants.) Then it lets us know that Italian Red Cross workers were briefly abducted in Palestine. I'm still unclear why militants are abducting aid workers - are they just looking for media attention? Finally, it closes with the poignant tale of a lost tribe of Jews from India immigrating to Israel. Good thing those crazy rabbis decided to accept the Indians as Jewish. They supposedly left Israel 2700 years ago and now get to return home. Needless to say, the article does not point out that people who lived there 60 years ago are still barred from returning home.
Full Story: "U.N. Official Touring Israel Is Near Area Hit by Rocket," by Greg Myre
In fairness, this has been a relatively good week for NYT coverage of the Middle East. Yesterday, the top story was on Israel stealing private Palestinian land to create their illegal settlements in the West Bank. It was based on research provided by Peace Now, an Israeli peace organization (with a US affiliate - Americans for Peace Now).
Full article:"Israeli Map Says West Bank Posts Sit on Arab Land," by Steven Erlanger on 11/21/06
Following the international backlash on its lethal targeting of civilian populations in Gaza, the Israeli army held its fire on 11/19, which was a story also worthy of the NYT:
"Israel Holds Fire as Gazans Rally at House," by Ian Fisher, published 11/20
On Saturday, the NYT featured a report on how difficult it is for Palestinians to move around within Palestine because of the extensive road blocks and road closures created by the Israeli military within the West Bank and Gaza. Its the most interesting NYT article on the conflict that I've read in the past year. A picture from a road block was even featured as the lead photo on the national edition of the newspaper.
"For West Bank, It’s a Highway to Frustration," by Greg Myre, written on November 14 and published on November 18 in the NYT. Perhaps this important article was too "pro-Palestinian" for the higher circulation Tuesday edition of the NYT.
Posted by cj at November 22, 2006 8:26 PM
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