the occupation of the american mind [transcript] - … · the occupation of the american mind ......

©2016TheMediaEducationFoundation|mediaed.org 1

THEOCCUPATIONOFTHEAMERICANMINDIsrael’sPublicRelationsWarintheU.S.

[Transcript]

IntroductionText on screen: “It doesn't matter if justice is on your side. You have to depict yourpositionasjust.”–BenjaminNetanyahu,PrimeMinisterofIsraelNarrator:OnJuly8,2014,IsraellaunchedadevastatingmilitaryattackontheGazaStrip.Overthecourseof51days,theIsraelimilitarydroppednearly20,000tonsofexplosivesonGaza,adenselypopulatedareathesizeofPhiladelphia,killingover2,000Palestiniansandwounding tens of thousandsmore. The overwhelmingmajority of these casualtieswerecivilians.Televisionnewsmontage: This strip of land is beingbombarded from the air, sea, andland…Israellaunchedatleast160strikesontheGazastrip…Andthere’sonelesshospitalinGazanow.IsraeltodayflattenedWafaHospital.Narrator: The sheer scale of the attacks sparked outrage and condemnation around theworld.News anchor: Israel’s month-long pounding of Gaza shocked many people around theworld.Massdemonstrationshavebeenheldinmanyoftheworld’smajorcities.Narrator: But in the United States, the story was different. Polls showed the AmericanpeopleholdingfirmintheirsupportforIsrael.Anderson Cooper, CNN anchor: This is the latest CNN-ORC poll of Americans – shows57%ofthosepolledsayIsrael’sactioninGazaisjustified,34%sayunjustified.Narrator:Thesenumberswerestriking,buttheyweren’tnew.Overthecourseofaconflictin which Palestinian casualties have far outnumbered Israeli casualties, the AmericanpeoplehaveconsistentlyshownfarmoresympathyforIsraelisthanforPalestinians.PeterHart,CommunicationsDirector,NationalCoalitionAgainstCensorship:It’sverydifficult to divorce public opinion on any question from themedia coverage that peoplerely on to form opinions. And I think the most prevalent lesson from looking at thecoverageisthatthecoveragetendstoseethisconflictfromtheIsraeliside.SutJhally,ProfessorofCommunication,UniversityofMassachusetts-Amherst:StudyafterstudyhasdemonstratedthatIsraeliperspectivesdominateAmericanmediacoverage.Soby far themost common thingwe’veheard is that everything comesdown to Israel’srighttodefenditself.


TzipiLivni, IsraeliForeignMinister(2006-2009): Israel is a state that implements itsrighttodefenditselfanditscitizens.YousefMunayyer,ExecutiveDirector,U.S.CampaigntoEndtheIsraeliOccupation:Itisatalkingpointthatissetfromthetop,andbythetopImeanfromthehighestofficials,government officials, who are commenting on this issue, which the media obsessivelycoversandrepeats.BenjaminNetanyahu,PrimeMinisterofIsrael:Aman’sgottadowhataman’sgottado,andyousayacountry’sgottadowhatacountry’sgottado.Wehavetodefendourselves.YousefMunayyer:Inthemostrecentwarin2014,whenwelookedatmainstreammediaoutlets,almostbyamarginof3to1,IsraelispokespeoplewereoverrepresentedcomparedtoPalestinianspokespeople.SoalmosteverytimeyouturnedonthescreentherewasanIsraeli representative on the screen telling you Israel is the one that’s in a position ofdefense.Itisbeingattacked.RonProsor,IsraeliUNAmbassador(2011-15):Andbasically, Israel issaying:hey,youdon’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that if rockets fly on yourhead, you’reallowedtodefendyourself.Yousef Munayyer: Add to this the fact that you have American elected officials alsoreinforcingIsrael'srighttodefenditself.President Barack Obama: As I’ve said many times, Israel has a right to defend itselfagainstrocketandtunnelattacksfromHamas.YousefMunayyer:AndyouhearsomeofthesameframingbyanchorswhoreiterateandreinforcemanyofthesametalkingpointsthattheIsraeliofficialspokespeoplearemaking.JakeTapper,CNNanchor:IsraelhastherighttodefenditselfagainstHamas,ofcourse–agroupthatisfiringrocketsonIsrael,comingoutoftunnelstoattackIsraelis.YousefMunayyer:Thatimbalancetherewasverysignificantinshapingthewaythepublicunderstoodthisconflict.RulaJebreal,journalist,formerMSNBCcommentator:IworkedintheEuropeanmediafor a long time. The coverage is the opposite. There's Palestinian legislators, Palestinianthinkers,Palestinianintellectuals,andpro-Palestinianthinkers.Manyvoices.HananAshwari (appearingonBBC): So letme say then very frankly, it’s very easy toblamethevictim.It’sveryeasytopullouttheterroristlabel.RulaJebreal:YoucometoAmericaandyouthinkthatyouareanalien,you'relookingatadifferentworld,oradifferentplanet,andI’mthinking,"What'sgoingonhere?"


Mark Crispin Miller, Professor of Media Studies, New York University: When anarrativeissodominant…MichaelOren,IsraeliAmbassadortotheU.S.(2009-13):Thousandsofrockets…MarkCrispinMiller:…withoutanyvisibledissentorcomplication,it’sextremelydifficulttomakecleartopeoplethatitis–itisbasicallyapropagandastory.U.S.SecretaryofStateJohnKerry:Israelisundersiegebyaterroristorganization.MarkCrispinMiller:Howdo youmake that clearwhen themainstream spectacle is sounrelentingandtotal?Sut Jhally: We hear over and over again that the conflict comes down to Palestinianterrorismand Israeli security, andwhatgetspushedoutof the frameentirely is the factnow that for almost 50 years, Palestinians have been systematically dispossessed fromtheirlandanddeniedtheirmostbasichumanrights.TheCatastropheArchival newsreel: Pioneers and refugees from countries of the oppression, young andold,theyaregoingnowtoaland,whichacceptsthem.TheywillmarchtotheirworkintheJewish settlements: To build roads. To quarry stones. Theywill drill wells to restore toPalestine’ssoilitslong-neglectedfruitfulness.Narrator: Zionism, the nationalistmovement that emerged in Europe in the late 1800s,was dedicated to the idea that the Jewish people, after centuries of living as persecutedminoritieswithinothercountries,wereentitledtoastateinhistoricPalestine,theBiblicalhomelandoftheJewsmorethan3,000yearsbefore.Buttherewasabasicproblemwiththechoicefromthestart.Palestinewasalreadyhometo hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs, who had been living in Palestine forcenturies– firstunder theruleof theOttomanEmpire,andsinceWorldWar Iunder thecontrol of the British Empire – and for decades had aspirations of their own for anindependentstateinPalestine.Tensions steadily escalated during the 1930s, placing more and more pressure on theBritishcolonialgovernmenttoreconcilethecompetinginterestsofbothsides.AfterWorldWarIIandtheHolocaust,thesituationreachedabreakpoint.UltimatelytheBritishcolonialgovernment made the decision to withdraw and to pass the problem on to the newlycreatedUnitedNations.In1947,UNResolution181recommendedthatPalestinebesplitintotwoparts.Jews,whowereathirdofthepopulation,wouldreceive56%oftheland.Palestinians,whoweretwo-thirdsofthepopulationandpossessedmorethan90%ofhistoricPalestine,wouldreceive


44%.ThesetermswereimmediatelyrejectedbyArableadersasunfair.Butinthespringof1948,ZionistleadersdeclaredIsraelastatealongtheproposedbordersanyway,triggeringthefirstArab-Israeliwar.Archivalnewsreel: Arab armies set out to destroy the newly born nation, and sufferedrepeateddefeats.Narrator:Afterwinningacrushingvictory, Israel tookpossessionofevenmore land.Bythe timearmisticewasdeclared in1949, Israel controlled78%ofhistoricPalestine.ThecreationofthenewstatewouldbecelebratedbyIsraelisasatriumph.Buttothisday,itiscommemoratedbyPalestiniansas“TheNakba”–theArabictermfor“TheCatastrophe”–inmemoryofthehundredsofthousandsofPalestinianswhoweredrivenfromtheirhomestomakewayforthenewJewishstate.Alltold,approximately700,000people,morethanhalfofPalestine’snativepopulation,wereuprooted.YousefMunayyer:There'salotofsympathythatcanbegenerated,andIthinkrightlyso,for what Jewish people as a whole have dealt with in Western societies, and globally,becauseofanti-Semitism.Thequestionthenbecomes:whatistheproperresponsetothat?The Zionist answer is, of course, statehood, and there's many people who wouldsympathizewith that if itwas in factdone in a vacuum, and if itwas, in fact, done for apeoplewithoutalandinalandwithoutpeople.Therealityisthat’sjustnotthewaythatithappened. Therewere people here. They lost their homes, their livelihood, their nation,theireverything.Rami Khouri, columnist, Beirut Daily Star: This was a land, in 1910, that was 93%PalestinianArabandsix, sevenpercent Jewish.Howdid it suddenlybecome80%Jewishand 20% Palestinian? This was not a normal demographic transition. This was aconsequenceofIsrael’sdesiretocreateaJewishstate,andtodothatithadtogetridofasmanyPalestiniansaspossible.There'sothermorecomplexfactors,butthat’scuttingittoitsbarebonesasweseeit.Rashid Khalidi, Professor of Modern Arab Studies, Columbia University: That is, Ithinkinacertainsense,thecoreoftheconflict.ThePalestinianshavesufferedinordinatelyasaresultofthecreationofIsrael.ThecreationofaJewishstate,inacountrythathadanArabmajority,necessarilyandinevitablycausedthemirreparableharm.PhyllisBennis,InstituteforPolicyStudies:ThePalestiniansusethetermcatastrophetospeakofthe1948consequences,whentheylosttheirlandthefirsttimearound.In’67,itwasanotherNakba,anothercatastrophe.Narrator:InJuneof1967,IsraelwonwhatwasperceivedasastunningunderdogvictoryovermuchlargerArabarmiesduringtheSixDayWar.Withvictory, inadditiontotakingland from Egypt and Syria, Israel began to militarily occupy all remaining PalestinianterritoryintheWestBank,theGazaStrip,andEastJerusalem.


PhyllisBennis:SuddenlyallofPalestineisnowlost.WenowhadnoPalestinianlandleftunderPalestiniancontrol.YouhadahugePalestinianpopulationlivingasrefugeesorlivingunder occupation. Palestinians are governed under military law. They are essentiallyprisoners.Theyaretreatedasiftheywereallprisonersofwar.Theyhavenorights.Narrator:Intheimmediateaftermathofthe’67war,theUnitedNationsSecurityCouncilpassedResolution242.Citinginternationallawforbiddingthetakeoverofterritorybywar,242 explicitly called for Israel to withdraw its armed forces. But to this day, Israel haslargelyfailedtocomply–notonlyholdingPalestinianterritory,butconfiscatingadditionallandandbuildingmassiveJewishsettlementblocksintheWestBankandEastJerusalemindirect violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which expressly forbids states fromtransferringcivilianpopulationsintoterritoryitoccupies.Inaddition,IsraelhasestablishedanentirematrixofsecuritycontrolonPalestinianlandtosecure these settlements, including checkpoints that prevent Palestinians from travelingfreelywithintheirownland,anda440-milesecuritywallalongtheIsraeliborderthatcutsintoPalestinianterritory.YousefMunayyer: We're talking about massive denial of human rights, for millions ofpeople. At themost basic level, the government that is ruling over these people is not agovernmentinwhichthesepeople,thePalestinians,haveavoice.Sut Jhally: There’s really no way to fully understand why the Palestinian people haveresisted Israel for so longwithout understanding this basic history of dispossession andoccupation.Butforthemostpart,thisisn’tthestorywegetinAmericanmediacoverage.Instead, the legitimate grievancesofPalestinians, including their right to resist an illegalmilitary occupation, get pushed out of the frame by this constant discussion aboutextremismandterrorismandanti-Semitism.Bill O’Reilly, Fox News Channel anchor: You know, rational, clear-minded peopleunderstand thatHamas is a terror group and it is committed to killing Jews andwipingIsraeloffthefaceoftheearth.That’snotdebatable.That’safact.Phyllis Bennis: It’s never about land somehow, that gets dropped out. It’s never aboutsettlements.It’salwaysabout“theyhateusbecausewe’reJewish.”RashidKhalidi:Whatever the Palestinians have done is portrayed in terms ofmindlessviolence against Jews out of some kind of primeval anti-Semitism. No sense of how thisstarted,wherethisanimuscomesfrom.It’scompletelyinexplicableinthewayinwhichit’sgenerallypresentedandthesepeoplebasicallykillbecausetheyhateandtheyhatebecausethey’reirrationalMuslimfanaticsorwhatever.BenjaminNetanyahu:AndIthinkAmericanslargelygetit.Theyknowwhothegoodguysareandwhothebadguysare.


RashidKhalidi:Thisisnotanillusion.AmericanpublicopinionisgenerallysupportiveofIsraelbecauseit’sbeenledtobelievethatIsraelisintherightandtheArabsarebadguys.Sut Jhally: And none of this is by accident. It’s the result of a deliberate effort to shapeAmericanperceptionsoftheconflict–apropagandaeffortthatreallybeginstotakeshapewithIsrael’sinvasionofLebanonin1982.“Propagandaisnotadirtyword”Television news montage: Israel unleashed another massive air attack on Palestinianguerilla targets in Lebanon today… From the sky, the howl of Israeli jets, bombing andbombing…Tonight,Israelhasneverbeencloserto,normoreincontrolof,anArabcapital.Narrator: In the summer of 1982, Israel invaded neighboring Lebanon in an attempt todrive the Palestinian Liberation Organization out of its encampments on the southernborderwithIsrael.Israeliofficialsjustifiedtheattackasadefensiveactionrequiredtotakeout terrorists. But as the story played out on American television, a different narrativebegantoemerge,onethatpresentedIsraelastheaggressor.John Chancellor, NBC Nightly News anchor: What in the world is going on? Israel’ssecurityproblem,onitsborder,is50milestothesouth.What’sanIsraeliarmydoinghereinBeirut?TheansweristhatwearenowdealingwithanimperialIsrael,whichissolvingitsproblemsinsomeoneelse’scountry,worldopinionbedamned.Norman Solomon, media critic, founder of The Institute for Public Accuracy: TheIsraeliinvasionofLebanonin1982wasawatershed.ItwasIsraelbreakingoutbeyonditsimmediateregiontoaggressivelyattackanothercountryanditwasabitofashocktomanypeople.RichardThrelkeld, ABCNews reporter: Israel was always that gallant little underdogdemocracy fighting for survival against all the odds.Now the Israelis have annexedEastJerusalemandtheGolanHeights,settleddownmoreorlesspermanentlyontheWestBank,and occupied close to half of Lebanon. In the interests of self-defense, that gallant littleunderdog,Israel,hassuddenlystartedbehavingliketheneighborhoodbully.Narrator:By the time thewarwasover, the Israelimilitarywouldkill 17,000LebaneseandPalestinians,andwoundanother30,000,almostallofthemcivilians.Newsreporter: InWestBeirut, hospitals are so packedwith the injured that they havebecome specialized. This center takes only burn victims of phosphorous shells. Shrapnelcases,concussions,andfracturesaredirectedtootherfacilities.Narrator: And just a few months later, American media coverage would take an evendarkerturn.


Bob Schieffer, CBS Evening News anchor: There’s been another horrendous turn ofevents in theMiddleEast.Hundredsofmen,women,andchildren,perhapsasmanyasathousand people in all, have beenmassacred in two Palestinian refugee camps inWestBeirut.Narrator: Israel’s Lebanese allies, operatingwith the consent of the Israeli government,hadmassacred several thousand Palestinian civilians in the refugee camps of Sabra andShatila.AndAmericannewsmediahadthepicturestoproveit.Newsreporter:TheIsraelispermittedanarmoredcolumnofright-wingChristiangunmentoenterWestBeirutlateFriday.TheytookuppositionssurroundingShatilarefugeecamplastnight,andthismorningtheyweregone.News reporter: A bloodymassacrewhich has heightened tensions between the US andIsrael.PhyllisBennis: Sabra-Shatilawas hardly the firstmassacre committed by Israel againstPalestinians and against Arabs. There’s a dirty legacy of Israelimassacres from the pre-state through the creation of the state and beyond. The big differencewas this onewastelevised.CBSreporter:Byall appearances, groupsofmenhadbeenordered to standagainst thewallandthengunneddownincoldblood.NBC reporter: Today, Palestinians searched frantically for relatives. They took ourchildren,onesaid.They’rekillingourfamilies.PhyllisBennis:Thiswasagame-changerintermsofhowIsraelwasgoingtodealwiththequestionofpublicity.Theywentontheoffensiveforthefirsttime.DanMeridor, Israeli government spokesperson: All the direct or implicit accusationsthat the IDFbear anyblamewhatsoever for this human tragedy in the Shatila camp areentirelybaselessandwithoutanyfoundation.ThegovernmentofIsraelrejectsthemwiththecontemptwhichtheydeserve.PhyllisBennis: Itwasperhaps the first time theyrecognizedat thehighest levels insideIsraelhowmuchtheyneededtodothatiftheyexpectedtomaintainthekindofunderstoodsupportintheUnitedStates–Israelcandonowrong,Israelisalwaysthevictim,IsraelisthelittleDavidagainstthebigbadGoliath.Narrator:TwoyearsaftertheLebanoninvasion,theAmericanJewishCongresssponsoredaconferenceinJerusalemtodeviseaformalpublicrelationsstrategy–knowninHebrewas “Hasbara.” Participants included PR and advertising executives, media specialists,journalists,andleadersofmajorJewishgroups.AccordingtoabrochurefromtheCongress,“No single event brought home the need for a more effective hasbara, or informationprogram,morepersuasivelythanthe1982warinLebanonandtheeventsthatfollowed.”


Asoneconferenceparticipantput it,“Israel isnolongerperceivedtobe ‘littleDavid’,butGoliathsteamrollingacrossthemap.”The primary aim of the conference was to develop strategies to spin unpopular Israelipolicies and to counter negative press coverage by shaping themedia frame in advance.“News doesn’t just jump into a camera,” a conference delegate said. “It’s directed, it’smanaged,it’smadeaccessible.”Israel-basedadvertisingexecutiveMartinFentonwouldputitinevenmorebluntterms:“Propagandaisnotadirtyword,”hesaid.“Faceit.Weareinthegameofchangingpeople’sminds,ofmakingthemthinkdifferently.Toaccomplishthatweneedpropaganda.”The conference was chaired by U.S. advertising executive Carl Spielvogel, the legendaryadmanwhocreatedthehighlyacclaimedMillerLiteBeeradsinthe1970s.SutJhally:ThechoiceofSpielvogelmakesperfectsense.He’sknownasamasterofimageinversion and re-branding… the adman responsible for transformingMiller Lite,whichhadbeenviewedbeforeasawomen’sbeer,intoamanlybeerthattoughguyswoulddrink.MillerLiteBeertelevisionadvertisement:

- Thebestpartisthatittastessogreat.- Thebestpartisit’slessfilling.- Nah,tastesgreat!- Lessfilling!

Sut Jhally: His job with Israel would require the same kind of re-branding, only in theopposite direction – to help soften the image of a country that’s coming to be seen as abully.Soherecommendscreatingacabinetpostdedicatedexclusivelytoexplainingpolicy,whosejobwouldnotbesettingpolicy,butpresentingit inthemostattractivewaytotherestoftheworld.NormanSolomon:ClassicPRistosay,theproblemisnotthepolicy;it'sthepresentation.When the policies are so reprehensible that many people become critical, rather thanacknowledge there's anythingwrongwith thepolicy, there's a doublingdownon thePReffort.SutJhally:AfterLebanon,youstarttoseethebasichasbarastrategyinaction. ImagesofPalestinians fighting back against Israel’s occupation make their way onto Americantelevision screens – and the Israeli military crushes this resistance in brutal ways thatundercutIsrael’simageasunderdogandvictim.NBCnewsreporter:Israelihelicoptergunshipsdeliberatelyfiredamissileintoacrowdofcivilianslastnight,killingsevenPalestiniansandwounding70more.Sut Jhally: Then Israeli officials go into full hasbara mode and act like the occupationdoesn’tevenexist,framingallPalestinianresistanceasterrorismandIsraeliaggressionasself-defense.


Israeligovernmentspokesperson:Wewilldowhateverittakestodefendourselves,anddefendourselveswewill.Sut Jhally: That’s the basic hasbara strategy in a nutshell. Even when you’re violentlycrushingresistancetoyourownbrutaloccupation,portrayIsraelasaninnocentvictimbydemonizingPalestiniansasnothingbutterrorists.Israeli government spokesperson: The Palestinian terror campaign continues. It onlyjustifiesagainandagainthatwe,Israel,havetocontinuetodefendourselves.PhyllisBennis:TherehavebeenhorrificPalestinianterroristattacks,andIusethatwordveryspecificallytomeanwhatterrorismmeans,whichisattacksonciviliansforapoliticalpurpose.News reporter: Anger in Israel today over last night’s suicide bomb in Tel Aviv, whichkilledfourandwoundedaroundfifty.Phyllis Bennis: Those are horrific attacks, which should be condemned. They areviolationsofinternationallaw,period.ButtheproblemisthatIsraeliviolenceisassumedtobelegitimatebecauseit’salwaysself-defense.Newsreporter:Someof thepeoplewhohavebeenkilledaresaidtobecivilians. In fact,twoof themaresaid tobe littlegirls.But the Israelimilitarysays they try to thebestoftheirknowledgetomakesurewhoevertheyarestrikingwasaknownmilitant.Amira Hass, reporter, Haaretz newspaper in Israel: All the cases when Palestinianpeople were killed by the Israeli military, and this is not called acts of terror. And oneshouldaskwhyifitiscivilianswhoarebeingkilled,butfromaplaneandnotbyasuicidebomber, why this is not terror and only terror is when somebody’s killed by a suicidebomber.NormanSolomon: If the terrorist label can only be affixed to one set of people but notanother set of people, then you’re in an Orwellian zone, you’re down a rabbit hole oflinguisticmanipulation.BenjaminNetanyahu:Thelastthingtheywantisapoliticalsettlement.Whattheywantismoredemonstrations,moreriots,morebodies–that’swhattheywant.YousefMunayyer: And so this becomes the framingof the situation: Israel is defendingitself,whichmeansIsraelisnottheaggressorhere.Thatdoesn'tsquarewiththerealityontheground,andweknowthat.Youhavearighttodefendyourself.Youdon'thavearighttooccupypeople,denythemtheirhumanrights,andthencryfoulwhentheyresist.That'snottherighttoself-defense.That'stherighttorepression.That'swhatIsraelisaskingforhere:Letusdoawaywiththesedissenters,thesePalestiniandissenters,andcallitdefense.


Narrator:Asnewsmediahaveproliferatedovertheyears,Israel’spublicrelationseffortshaveonlybecomemoreandmoreexplicitandintense.ThemesongfromNBCrealityshow,TheApprentice:Money,money,money,money…money!Max Blumenthal, journalist, author: In the United States, we have a show called TheApprentice,whereDonaldTrumpauditionspeopletoworkinhiscorporateboardroom.InIsrael,theversionofTheApprenticeiscalledTheAmbassador.Announcer(televisionpromotionforTheAmbassador):TheAmbassador! Inaworldwhere the real battles take place in newsrooms and TV studios, the ability to create apositiveimageforyourcountryisacrucialtaskforeveryambassador.MaxBlumenthal:It’sashowwhereIsraeliscompeteforwhocanofferthebesthasbara–thatmeansexplaininHebrew,explainoursituation.CNN reporter: While The Apprentice tests contestants’ ability to sell lemonade on thestreet or handle office politics, The Ambassador finalists have learned that selling realpoliticsisalotharder.Contestant,TheAmbassador:Theproblemisthatwhenyouselllemonade,nobodyhateslemonade. Nobody is going to say that your lemonade occupies territories or that yourlemonadekillsbabies.Max Blumenthal: Israel’s mechanism of projecting its propaganda, or what they callhasbara, isoneof themostsophisticatedarmsof itsgovernment. It’saweaponof Israeliwarfare.SutJhally:Andwhenyoulooktodayathowthemediacovertheconflict,youseejusthowsuccessfulIsrael'spropagandahasbeeninreversingthelegacyofLebanon.BenjaminNetanyahu:Ifthere’sanycomplaints,andthereshouldbe,aboutciviliandeaths,theresponsibility,theblame,belongsinoneplace:Hamas.Idon’tthinkanyoneshouldgetthatwrong.PeterHart: The Israeli position is the first position. They are allowed to determine thenarrative,determinethefactsontheground.RonDermer,IsraeliAmbassadortotheU.S.:Hamasisaterrororganizationcommittedtoourdestruction.Theyfirethousandsofrocketsatourcities.PeterHart:ItbecomesastoryofIsraelisrespondingtoPalestinianattacks.Newsreporter:Israelsaysthisisaresponsetothealmost800rocketsthathadlandedinIsraelfromGazathisyearalone.


SutJhally:Againandagain,thewidercontextofIsrael’soccupationsimplydropsoutofthecoverage,sothatitcomesacrossasthisconfusingandendlesscycleofviolencethatbeginswhenPalestiniansattackandIsraelisretaliateinself-defense.News anchor: Three Palestinians were shot and killed while allegedly trying to attackIsraeliswithkitchenknives.BrianWilliams, NBC anchor: This cycle of violence continues. When Hamas launchesrocketsfromGaza,Israelhitsback.YousefMunayyer:Cycleofviolencepre-supposes thisbackand forthretaliation. It's thesamesortofthingwith“alullintheviolence”or“arelativecalm.”JakeTapper, CNNanchor: After three days of relative calm, the violence is once againpickinguphereintheMiddleEast.YousefMunayyer:Well,relativetowhoandtowhat?Right?What'sactuallygoingon–ontheground–isnoteveralullintheviolenceforPalestinians.Infact,occupationisasystemofviolencethatgoesoneverysingleday.Justbecausethere’snoviolencethatIsraelisarewitnessing for a particular period of time before it resumes again, does not mean thatthere’snoviolence facingPalestinians from theoccupation. So this lull in theviolence isonlyseenthroughtheprismofIsraelivictimhood,notPalestinianvictimhood.PeterHart:It’snowonderthatAmericanswouldidentifywiththeIsraelisideorsupportit.Itwouldbeshockingiftheydidn’t.AndIthinkthisisthelessontobedrawnfromthirtyyearsofmediacoveragethatIthinkhasbeenslantedheavilyinfavorofIsraeliinterests.Sut Jhally: What we’ve seen is really another kind of occupation – an occupation ofAmericanmedia and what we could call "the Americanmind" by a pro-Israel narrativethat’sdeflectedattentionawayfromwhatvirtuallyeveryonerecognizesasthebestwaytoresolvethisconflict:endtheoccupationandthesettlementssothatPalestinianscanfinallyhaveastateoftheirown.“Terror,notterritory”WhiteHousepublicaddressannouncer:Ladiesandgentlemen,Mr.Arafat,ChairmanoftheExecutiveCouncilofthePalestineLiberationOrganization,hisexcellencyYitzakRabin,PrimeMinisterofIsrael,andthePresidentoftheUnitedStates.Narrator:TheongoingpeaceprocessthatbeganwiththeOsloPeaceAccordsin1993wasdesigned to negotiate the terms of Israel’s withdrawal from Palestinian territory inaccordancewith UN Resolution 242, whichmade an explicit connection between Israeliwithdrawalandajustandlastingpeace.


Noam Chomsky, Professor Emeritus, M.I.T.: For decades, there has been anoverwhelming international consensus on a political settlement of the conflict, namely asettlementontheinternationallyrecognizedborder.SutJhally:Theinternationalconsensusforatwo-statesolutionisbasedonthebordersinplacebeforethe‘67War.ThismeansthatIsraelgets78%andthePalestiniansgettherest–22%ofhistoricPalestine.22%.That’sit.Narrator:ButsinceOslo,IsraelhasactuallytakenmorePalestinianlandforitsJewish-onlysettlements.In1993,therewereapproximately200,000illegalJewishsettlerslivingintheOccupied Palestinian Territories. Since then, that number has more than tripled, withapproximately 650,000 settlers now living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Inaddition,since1967,Israelhasalsodemolishedapproximately28,000Palestinianhomes.BBCnewsanchor:TheUnitedNationssaysthere’sbeenabig increase inthenumberofPalestinianhomesdemolishedbyIsraeliforces.BBCnews reporter: This iswhat Palestinians have called ethnic cleansing. DemolitionsandevictionscarriedoutbyIsraelintheoccupiedWestBank.Palestiniangirl(translated,Englishsubtitles):Whatdidwedotothemtodestroyourlife?NormanFinkelstein,politicalscientist:Soifyoulookattheresult,notthewordsandtheprettyphrases,what’shappenedoverthepast20years,andwasinauguratedatOslo,wasnotapeaceprocess.Itwasanannexationprocess.RashidKhalidi:What has happened is that nowone in eleven Israeli Jews live in theseillegal settlements. So the failure to confront the settlement enterprise from the verybeginning,Ithink,hascreatedaalmostinsuperableobstacletoacreationofaPalestinianstate.There’snoplacetoputit.PhyllisBennis:Andthat’swhatthesettlementsareallabout–it’stoclaimtheland,factsontheground,thatbecome“nothingwecandoaboutitnow;it’stoolate.”Israelwantsasmuchofthelandastheycangetawaywith,withasfewPalestiniansonitaspossible.Henry Siegman, Professor, University of London: Israeli governments from the verybeginning, after the ‘67war,never consideredgivingup Israeli controlof the territories.Moshe Dayan, who served as defense minister and foreign minister, people asked him:whatwillbethefuturenowthatwe’recontrollingtheterritories?Textonscreen:“WhatexiststodaymustremainasapermanentarrangementintheWestBank.’–MosheDayan,MinisterofDefense,1968HenrySiegman:Andhesaidthefuturewillbeexactlywhatitistoday.Wemustcontinuetoretaincontroloftheseterritories.


SutJhally:JustlistentoNetanyahutalkinginprivatetohisrightwingsettlerbasein2001abouthowhehasnointention,despitewhatIsraelagreedtoatOslo,ofgivinguplandandendingitsillegalsettlementexpansionintheWestBankandtherestoftheJordanValley.Benjamin Netanyahu, talking to settlers (secret recording, translated, subtitles):TheyaskedmebeforetheelectionifI’dhonortheOsloaccords.IsaidIwould,butI’mgoingto interpret theaccords in suchaway thatwill allowme toput anend to this gallopingforward to the ’67borders.Howdidwedo it?Nobody saidwhatdefinedmilitary zoneswere.Definedmilitaryzonesaresecurityzones.AsfarasI’mconcerned,theentireJordanValleyisadefinedmilitaryzone.SutJhally:Netanyahu'sclearthatIsrael’snotgivinganythingup–buthe’salsoveryclearthat the way to make that argument is to invoke security threats. And he’s especiallyconfidentthathecanmanipulatetheAmericanpeopletobuyintothissecurityargument.Woman(recordingcontinues):Butthentheworldwillsayhowcomeyou’reconqueringagain?Benjamin Netanyahu: I know what America is. America is a thing you can move veryeasily,moveitintherightdirection.SutJhally:And thisofcourse isexactly thecasehe’smade to theAmericanpeople, timeandtimeagain,wheneverIsrael'sbeencalledoutforrefusingtoendtheoccupationanditssettlementproject.Netanyahu(inspeechatJewishFederations):We’rewillingtomakegreatconcessionsfor peace, but there is something that I will never compromise on. And that’s Israel’ssecurity.Norman Solomon: The conventional wisdom is that continuing the occupation makesIsraelmoresecure.Andifyoubuythatargument,thenit'salicensetooccupyindefinitely.Yousef Munayyer: What we're talking about here is something that is completelyindefensible.Israelknowsthis–Israelknowsthisverywell–andforthatreasonwantstotalkaboutanythingandeverythingelse.They'drathertalkaboutterrorism.They'drathertalkaboutsecurity.They'drathertalkaboutIran–anythingbuttheoccupation.SutJhally:Thereasonthey’vebeenabletosoeffectivelychangethesubjectisn’tbecausethey’re practicing some kind of mass mind control. The main reason is that the USgovernmentitselfhashadavestedinterestinpromotingthissamenarrativeforalmost50yearsnow.Thisgoesbacktothestartoftheso-calledspecialrelationshipwithIsraelinthelate1960s,whentheUSdecidestodeputizeIsraelandmakeitwhattheNixonadministrationcalleda


“cop on the beat” to protectAmerican interests in theMiddle East, especiallyUS energysupplies.Eversince,theAmericangovernmenthascontinuedtogiveIsraelroughly$3billionayearin military aid while also vetoing one UN resolution after another condemning theoccupationandsettlements.Thechallenge is tomakesurethat theAmericanpeoplestayonboardwithUSaiddespitewhatIsraelisdoing.Narrator:Anumberofwell-fundedpublicrelationsorganizationshaveemergedwithintheUnitedStatestohelpIsraeljustifyitspolicies,especiallytheoccupationandsettlements,onsecurity grounds. One of these groups is the Israel Project. In 2009, the Israel Projectturnedtoconservativepollsterandre-brandingexpertFrankLuntz.StephenColbert,TheColbertReport,ComedyCentral:FrankLuntz!Thisisthemanthatreframed the estate tax as the death tax, health care reform as government takeover ofhealth care. Now some critics have called Luntz a spin-doctor who manipulates publicemotion.ButLuntzwouldreframethatasFoxNewsanalyst.Narrator:The IsraelProjecthiredhimtodeterminewhich talkingpointsusedby IsraeliandUSofficialsovertimehavebeenmosteffectiveinmaintainingAmericansympathyforIsrael.Luntzwroteuphisrecommendationsina2009reportcalledTheGlobalLanguageDictionary.SutJhally:Ifyouwanttounderstandhowthepropagandaworks,especiallyintheU.S.,youneedtoreadtheLuntzdocument.He’sreallyclearthattheoccupation–andespeciallythesettlements–areaproblem.AndhepointstopollsthatshowalargemajorityofAmericansactuallythinkthatIsraelshouldretreattothe ’67borders.Infact,hesays,whenyoutalkabout land in termsof ’67,youcompletely flipAmericansentimentagainstyou.But,andthisishissolution,ifyoubringupthedangerofterrorism,youwinbackthesupport.Thekey, Luntz says, is to claim that the fight is over ideology, not land – about terror, notterritory. In fact, these threewords – terror, not territory – summarize the basis of thepropagandacampaignintheU.S.And Luntz goes onto say that one of themost effectiveways tomake the conflict aboutterrorismistorefertoanobscurepoliticaldocumentwrittenin1988byasmallgroupofideologues, the Hamas Charter, that calls for the destruction of Israel. Even though theHamas leadershipeffectivelydisowned theChartera long timeago, it’sbeenPRgold forIsrael. Luntz’s research discovered thatwhen Americans hear thewords of the Charter,Israelgoesfrombullytovictim,andsympathyfortheplightofthePalestiniansdissipates.So,hesays,Don’tjustquoteit,readit--outloud--againandagain.Andhisadvicehasbeentakenup–oftenhysterically–byIsrael’sadvocates.MortonKlein, ZionistOrganization ofAmerica: The Hamas Charter not only calls forIsrael’s destruction, ladies and gentlemen. Article 7 calls for themurder of every Jew! ItcallsforthemurderofeveryJew!It’saNazidocument!


YousefMunayyer:WehavetheIsraeliprimeministersayingmovementslikeHamasthatarenationalmovementsarethesamethingasISIS.BenjaminNetanyahu:HamasislikeIsis,HamasislikealQaeda,HamasislikeHezbollah,HamasislikeBokoHaram.Yousef Munayyer: And they're completely not the same thing. And anyone whounderstands anything about theMiddleEast andpolitical dynamics therewill explain toyouexactlywhythatisthecaseandimmediatelyspotthatforthepropagandathatitis.HenrySiegman:Hamasisasmuchanationalistmovementasitisareligiousmovement.And,infact,itoftenassignsprioritytoitsnationalistgoalsoveritsreligiousgoals.Thisfalsenotion that Hamas is part of this al-Qaeda network is not bought even by importantelementsoftheAmericanmilitary.Narrator:In2010,theUnitedStatesCentralCommand,orCENTCOM,thehighestmilitarycommand in theU.S., issueda classified report thatquestioned the currentU.S. policyofisolatingandmarginalizingHamas,aswellasHezbollahinLebanon.Thereportdescribedthe two groups as “pragmatic,” and argued that putting them and al Qaeda in the samesentence as if they’re all the same “is just stupid.” And it directly repudiated Israel’spublicly stated view that Hamas and Hezbollah are incapable of change and must beconfronted with force, warning that failing to recognize their grievances and objectiveswouldresultincontinuedfailureinmoderatingtheirbehavior.Sut Jhally: And the U.S. military isn't alone in this assessment. Isis itself has attackedHamasagainandagainbecausethey'renotradicalenough.They'retoopragmaticandtoocompromising.ButnoneofthesefactsstoppeoplefromgoingonandonabouttheHamascharteranywayinordertopaintHamaswiththesamebrushasIsis.SeanHannity,FoxNewsChannelanchor: I’vespenta lotof timeonmyradioprogramgoingoverHamas’sCharter,whatitsays.ItwantstoobliterateIsrael.Itwantstodestroythe Jews. It is a sick, twisted, you know, perverted ideology, a religion that has beenhijacked by radicals, and it manifests itself in different forms – Muslim Brotherhood,IslamicJihad,Hamas,Hezbollah,Isis,alQaeda,it’sallthesamething.Sut Jhally:Meanwhile, youhearnext tonothing about another extremepolitical charterthat hasmuchmore relevance to the conflict – theplatformof the ruling Likudparty inIsrael.Yousef Munayyer: Well, if you look at the language that's in that charter – the Likudcharter–itflatlyrejects,quote,flatlyrejectstheexistenceofaPalestinianstateanywhere,anywhere,onthatsideoftheJordanRiver.Inotherwords,completelydenyingtherightofastateofPalestinetoexist.That’sfarmorerelevanttohavelanguagelikethelanguageintheLikudCharterbeinthecharterofapartythatisthelargestinanIsraeligovernment,drivinganIsraelistate,andhasthecapacitytoactuponthewordsintheircharterinawaythatnootherpartydoes.


Narrator: To strengthen the case that the conflict is about terrorism, and not territory,Luntzpointstotheeffectivenessofanotherwell-establishedIsraelitalkingpoint:theclaimthat Israel gave up control of Gaza in 2005 in hopes of achieving peace and a two-statesolutionandgotonlyrocketsinreturn.RonProsor,IsraeliUNAmbassador:We leftGazacompletely.WehadGaza, theycouldhave turned it into a flourishing,wonderfulplace to live in. Lookatwhat theydid.Theyturneditintoahavenofterroristscomingfromallovertheworld.YousefMunayyer:It'scompletelyuntruethatIsraellefttheGazastrip.Theydidwithdrawtheircolonists,butatthesametimetheytightenedtheircontrolovertheGazaStrip.Reporter: This isGaza’smain freight route into Israel, andnormally this roadwouldbebumpertobumperwithheavilyladentrucks.Butit’scompletelyclosed,asiseveryotherbordercrossinginthecountry.Nothing’scomingintoGaza,andnothingisgettingout.YousefMunayyer:SotheideathatIsraelleftis100%bogus.PhyllisBennis:Gazaremainsoccupied.Gazahasnocontroloveritscoast,overitswaters,over itsharbor, over its airspace, over the landor itsborders, over itspeople—whocancomeandgoistotallyattheIsraelidiscretion.InGaza,thereareconstantmilitaryattacksbytheIsraeliairforce,bydrones.Targetedassassinationsgoonallthetime.PeterHart:Itwasn’treallyawithdrawal.Buttheconventionalshorthandinthemediaisthat Israelwaswilling to “give up” an enormous amount to the Palestinian side and thePalestiniansrespondedwithviolence.SenatorHarryReid:Israel,since1967,controlledGaza.TheygaveittothePalestiniansinagestureofpeace,andalltheygotareabunchofrocketsinreturn.Sut Jhally: This is the basic frame of Israel’s PR campaign –make sure themedia staysfocused on terrorism and Hamas extremism as the source of the conflict – not theoccupationandsettlements.IfyouwanttoseethisinoperationjustlookatthecoverageofanyofIsrael’smanyattacksonGazaoverthepastfewyears.“Inthewarofthepictureswelose”News montage: Good evening. In the 60 years of conflict between Israeli and thePalestinians,therehavebeenfewifanydayslikethisone…Thescaleandintensityofthisattackweresurprising–thedeadliestoperationagainstPalestiniansindecades…Afteranintensethree-weekassault,1,300dead,5,000wounded.Narrator: In late December of 2008, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, a massivegroundandairassaultontheGazaStrip.Overaperiodofthreeweeks,theIsraelimilitary


dropped over 600 tons of bombs on Gaza. Nearly 1,400 Palestinians were killed, andthousandsmoreinjured.NBCNightlyNews reporter: Thewoundedwere carried on corrugated iron, in privatecars, on backs, and in arms. The worst one-day casualty toll in Gaza anybody canremember.RamiKhouri:Normallyinaconflict,civilianscanrunfortheirlives.Gazawasoneofthefew, if not the only,modern conflictwhere the helpless civilianswhowere subjected tomassivetechnologicallyadvancedfirepowerbytheIsraelishadnoescaperoutes.CBSEveningNews reporter:With Gaza City bombed and burning, Palestinians heededIsrael’swarningtogetoutoftheway,butfoundtheyhadnowheretogo.Reporter (translatingwordsofPalestinianwoman):What’sasafeplace forus togo, thewomancried.NottheUNcompound,where700peopletookshelter.Israeliartilleryhitit,thenhititagain.Noam Chomsky: It was a brutal, murderous attack, devastating. This attack wasmurderous.Narrator: As with the Lebanon invasion three decades before, horrific images ofdestruction spilled onto television screens around the world. But this time the Israeligovernmentwasprepared. Sixmonthsearlier, ithadsetupanewunitwithintheIsraeliPrimeMinister’sOffice tohelpcoordinate thegovernment’smessagingonce the invasionstarted.NBCNightlyNewsreporter: Israel isdefending itsactionssaying thisassault isadirectresponsetoalmostdailyrocketandmortarattacks.M.J. Rosenberg, former AIPAC staff member: If you ask any American why that warstartedtheywouldsaybecausethePalestiniansstartedyouknowfiringrocketsatIsrael.Trace Gallagher, Fox News Channel anchor: Hamas – keeping up the rocket fire thattriggeredtheIsraeliattacksinthefirstplace.Shepard Smith, Fox News Channel anchor: Hamas once again firing several dozensrocketsintoIsraeltoday.M.J.Rosenberg: They’re always preparingAmericans for an attack against these peoplewhoareincorrigibleterroristswhoareconstantlyshootingrocketsandneverevergivingtheothersideofthestory.PeterHart:WeweretoldendlesslyinanymediaoutletyouwanttolookatthatIsraelhadtoinvadeandattacktheGazastripbecauseofanunendingassaultfromHamasandvariousmilitantgroupsinGaza.


CBSEveningNewsreporter(interviewingIsraeliDefenseMinisterEhudBarak):Whatarethegoalsofthatoperationrightnow?Ehud Barak: To change totally the behavior of the Hamas. It is a terrorist regime thatkeepsshellingIsraelwiththousandsofrocketsandmortarshells.PeterHart:Whatthisforgetsisthatforthelatterhalfof2008therewasaverysuccessfulceasefire thatcurtailedrocket fire into Israeldramatically–almost to thepointatwhichtherewasnone.ThiswasshatteredinNovemberof2008whenIsraelattackedwhattheysaidwas a tunnel buildingproject, killed sixHamasmilitants.At thatpoint the ceasefirewasoff.AndtheNewYorkTimes,theso-calledpaperofrecord,reportedthisveryclearly–onetime.Sut Jhally: The story getsburiedonPage8of theNewYorkTimes andhardly registersanywhere else. Why? Well, look at the day that Israel chose to break the ceasefire,November4,2008,whichjustcoincidentallyhappenedtobethedayofthehistoricelectionofBarackObama. Itvirtuallyguaranteedthatnoone inAmericawouldnotice.Andthat’sexactly how it played out. When Hamas resumed rocket attacks after Israel broke theceasefire, IsraeliofficialswentonAmericantelevisionandgotawaywithblamingHamasforbreakingtheceasefire.Mark Regev, CNN: You know, it was Hamas that unilaterally tore up the ceasefireunderstandings. It was Hamas that escalated the violence that reached a crescendo onChristmasday,whenwehad in one24-hourperiod some80 rockets,mortar shells, andmissiles coming into Israel, attacking our civilians. Now we want to work with thePalestiniangovernment…SutJhally:AndtheliewasthenrepeateduncriticallybyUSnewsmedia.LarryKing,CNN:James,there’snoquestionhere,isthere,thatHamasstartedthis?FredBarnes,FoxNewsChannel:Well, I don’t think Israelhadany choice.Therewasaceasefire thatwasbrokenbyHamas.They fired something like300 rockets into Israel. Imeanthisisanactofwar.Whatweretheysupposedtodo?SutJhally:JustcomparethistohowmediaoutsidetheUSdealtwiththis.Anchor,Channel4,Britain:Isn’titafactthatduringtheceasefirenotasingleIsraeliwaskilledandthereasonforthatwasbecauseHamasfirednotasinglerocket.Israeli government spokesperson: No, I think you’re wrong, unfortunately. Becauseduringthatceasefireofsixmonths,theywerefiringrocketsondailybasis.SutJhally:OnChannel4inBritain,yousawananchorpresentingevidencethattheIsraeligovernmentitselfacknowledgedthatHamasobservedtheceasefire.


Anchor, Channel 4: This is actually a document given to journalists by the Israeligovernmentandinthisdocumentitsays,andI’mquoting:“Hamaswascarefultomaintaintheceasefire.”SutJhally:TheIsraeliofficial,clearlycaughtinalie,attemptstochangethesubjecttohowevilHamasis.Buttheinterviewerdoesn’tlethimgetawaywithit.Israeligovernmentspokesperson:Theywerefiringrockets,andthey’realwaystryingtotargetcivilians.Theirmaingoalistotrytokillchildrenandwomen.And…Anchor,Channel4:I’mgoingtohavetostopyou.Becausethisdocumentispublishedbythe intelligence and terrorism information center, at the Israel IntelligenceHeritage andCommemorationCenter,andtheysaythatHamas…Israeligovernmentspokesperson:It’snotthegovernment,sorry…Anchor,Channel4:TheysaythatHamasmaintainedtheceasefire.Israeligovernmentspokesperson:It’snotthegovernment;it’saprivateinstitution…Anchor,Channel4: It’sgivento foreign journalistsby thegovernmentasastatementoffact.Nowthefactsare…Israeligovernmentspokesperson:Listen!Wouldyouliketohearthefactsorwouldyouliketoinventsomefacts?Anchor,Channel4:Yes,Iwouldlikeyoutotellmethefacts!SutJhally:ExchangesliketheseareunthinkableintheUS,eventhoughIsrael,itself,behindthescenes,acknowledgedHamashadobservedtheceasefire–somethinganotherBritishreporterforcedIsraelispokespersonMarkRegevtoadmitoncamera.Channel4,Britain,reporter:TherewerenoHamasrocketsduringtheceasefire.BeforeNovemberthe4th,therewerenoHamasrocketsforfourmonths.MarkRegev:Andthat’scorrect.NoamChomsky:Israelofficiallyrecognizesthatuntilitbroketheceasefire,Hamasdidn’tfire a single rocket. I mean, the propaganda is so powerful that these truisms, literallytruisms,arealmostinexpressible.PeterHart:Thelessonisthatthisconflictstartedwhenwesayitstarted.AndwhenwesayitstartedwhenIsraelwasattacked.


Narrator: In 2012, and again in 2014, Israel launched twomore devastating attacks onGaza.SutJhally:Israelcansaturatethemediawithitsspokespeople,butthere’sstilltheproblemofmassivePalestiniancasualtiesshowingupon televisionscreens.Youcan’tmake thoseimagesgoaway.AnIsraeliofficialactuallysaid,"Inthewarofthepictureswelose…soyouneedtocorrect,explain,orbalanceitinotherways."Hereagain,theLuntzdocumentspellsout which talking points have been most effective in spinning the brutal reality ofPalestiniancasualties.Hesays the first thing thepro-Israelspokespeopleshoulddo, is toexpressempathyfortheinnocentvictims.Israeligovernmentspokesperson (onFoxNews):Unfortunately, innocentsdogethurt.Andwe,wereallygrievethat.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (on Fox News): We’re sad for every civiliancasualty.Michael Oren, former Israel Ambassador to US (on MSNBC): The entire situation istragic.Sut Jhally: Once you’ve done that, Luntz says, you also have to get people to empathizewithIsraelisbydescribingwhatlifeislikeforthemlivinginconstantfearofHamasrocketattacks. So again and againwe hear the focus-tested phrase that the rockets are rainingdownonIsrael.MichaelOren:Wehavethousandsofrocketsrainingdownonourcivilians.HillaryClinton:RocketswererainingdownonIsrael.NormanSolomon: Any advertising executivewill tell you, the essence of propaganda isrepetition.News Montage: Rockets raining down on Southern Israel… Rockets raining down onIsrael…Well,HamasrocketsraineddownonIsraelibordertowns.Sut Jhally: Then Luntz tells PR spokespeople to “turn the tables” and ask the Americanpeople:“Whatwouldyoudo?”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (on ABC News): So what would you do in theUnitedStates?Ron Dermer, Israeli Ambassador to US (on CNN): Could you imagine what Americawoulddoifitwerefacingasimilarthreat?Israeligovernmentspokesperson(talkingtoCNNanchorWolfBlitzer):Wealwaystrytoaskyouthequestionweaskourselves.Whatwillyoudo?


PrimeMinisterBenjaminNetanyahu(onNBCNightlyNews):Whatwouldyoudo?MarkRegev(onCNN):Whatwouldyoudoifmorethan3,000rocketshadbeenfiredonyourcities?SeanHannity(FoxNewsChannel):Whatwouldyoudo?3,000rockets.Mark Regev (on CNN): What would you do if terrorists were tunneling under yourfrontiers?Sean Hannity (Fox News Channel): What would you do if three kids are kidnappedbecauseofatunnelnetwork?YousefMunayyer:Whatsortofquestionisthis?Ofcourse,anybodywouldacttodefendthemselvesagainstunprovokedaggression.Butitisaquestionthatiscompletelydevoidofanycontext.Whatdrivesa society toapointwhereaftermultipledevastatingwars theycontinue to resist with these most feeble methods? They don’t want you to ask thatquestion.Theydon’twantyoutoaskwhatisbehindthis,whatisthehistoryhere,whoarethesepeople?Wheredidtheycomefrom?Whyaretheysodesperate?No.Theywantyouto understand Israeli behavior. Israeli behavior is always characterized as a reaction tounprovokedviolence.SutJhally:Thenontopofthat,whenmassivenumbersofPalestiniancivilianspredictablydie from Israeli attacks, Israel claims it’spartofadeliberateHamasstrategy todrumupsympathy.PrimeMinisterBenjaminNetanyahu: Theyuse telegenically deadPalestinian for theircause.Theywant,themoredeadthebetter.SutJhally:Sothatyouendupinthisupside-down,OrwellianworldwhereIsraeliskillingciviliansbecomesanunforgivabletransgressionagainstIsraelis.BobSchieffer,CBSEveningNewsanchor: It ishard tocomeawaywithany feelingbutthatweareinthemidstofaworldgonemad.LastweekIfoundaquoteofmanyyearsagobyGoldaMeir,oneofIsrael’searlyleaders,whichmighthavebeensaidyesterday."Wecanforgive the Arabs for killing our children," she said, "butwe can never forgive them forforcingustokilltheirchildren."PeterHart: It’s not difficult to imagineAmericans identifyingwithPalestinianswho aresuffering.Buttheyneedtobeabletoseethatsufferingontheirtelevisionscreensandintheirnewspapers.Newsreporter:Israelsaidtodayitsnewoffensiveistargetingterrorists.


PeterHart: And when your sense of the coverage is that, there’s something that thesepeople did to deserve this, or they are affiliated with terrorists and terrorist-mindedgovernments,thefalloutofthatisaninabilitytoidentifywithpeoplewhoaresufferinginfargreaternumbersandinfargreaterproportionthantheirIsraelicounterparts.TheLobbyNarrator:TheefforttoshapeAmericanperceptionsof theIsraeli-Palestinianconflicthasbeentakenupbyanumberofpro-IsraelgroupsbasedintheU.S.TogetherthesegroupsarecommonlyreferredtoastheIsraelLobby.Nowherehasthelobby’spowertoshapeapro-IsraelnarrativebeenmorevisiblethanintheUSCongress,duelargelytotheeffortsofoneofthemostinfluentiallobbyinggroupsworkingonCapitolHilltoday–theAmericanIsraelPublicAffairsCommittee–betterknownasAIPAC.AIPACPromotionalVideo:

- Obama:Itisgreattoseesomanygoodfriendsfromallacrossthecountry.- CongressmanEricCantor(R-Virginia):Iseemorethan10,000people,youngand

old.Narrator: AIPAC’s annual conference draws nearly 10,000 attendees from around thecountry, including the most influential members of both houses of Congress from bothparties.AIPACpromotionalvideo(continues):

- AIPACtourbusguide:RemembertherearesevenCongressionalofficebuildings.- SenatorBobCasey (D-Pennsylvania):Asyou leavehere today tomeetwithyour

SenatorsandRepresentatives, Iwantyou togo thereknowingwith certainty thatyou’llmakeadifferencewitheverymemberthatyoumeet.

- AIPACrepresentative: You’re going to feel so goodwhen, sixmonths fromnow,youseethethreemajortalkingpointsevolvetothreepointsoflegislationfortheUSgovernment.

RashidKhalidi:ItwouldbeveryhardforordinaryAmericanstoknowthatthey’rebeingdeceived,thatsomeverycompetentexpertsatspinmanagementareinfactdeludingthem.There are many reasons for this. One of them is that the American political class hasbasicallyswallowedthelinehook,line,andsinker.Congressman Dan Burton (R-Indiana): They keep getting rocket attack after rocketattack, and then they’re criticized for human rights problems because they defendthemselves!RashidKhalidi:ThisisparticularlytrueforRepublicans…


CongressmanScottPerry (R-Pennsylvania):They’reresponding,Mr.Speaker, toattackson their civilianpopulation. Imean,what is it that theywant?Well,weknowwhat theywant.TheywantIsraelobliteratedfromthemap,Mr.Speaker.RashidKhalidi:Butit’salsotrueformanyDemocrats.Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey): We stand with our ally. We stand with thedemocraticstateofIsrael.Westandagainstterrorism.HillaryClinton:ThisadministrationwillalwaysstandupforIsrael’srighttodefenditself.RashidKhalidi:TheymadethemistakeofactuallyleavingAIPAC’sfaxaddressononebillthatwasactuallylaidbeforeCongress.Andofcourse,nobodywasapparentlyembarrassed.The fact that AIPAC writes the legislation for them, or writes their speeches for them,doesn’tseemintheleasttobotherpeople.StephenWalt:There’snothinghappeninghere that’ssecretorunder the table, it’snotacabal, it’snotconspiracy. It is, in fact,domesticpolitics theway it’spracticedhere in theUnitedStates.Thereareroughlythree-dozenorsopro-IsraeliPACsthatgivemoney.Overthelast15or20years,they’vegiven55-60milliondollarsinAmericanelections.Thereare one or two Arab-American PACs, and I believe the last time I looked they’ve given800,000toamillion.Soyou’vegot55milliondollarsofPACcontributionsononeside,andyou’ve gotmaybe amillion atmost on the other side. And that gives you a pretty goodsenseofwhatthebalanceofpoweris,ifyou’replanningonrunningforCongress.M.J.Rosenberg:It’sallaboutthemoney.IsraeliPrimeMinisterBenjaminNetanyahu(speakingbeforeJointSessionofCongress):AndIdoseealotofoldfriendshere.AndIseealotofnewfriendsofIsraelhereaswell,DemocratsandRepublicansalike.M.J.Rosenberg: Bibi Netanyahu got a joint session, so that Democrats and Republicanswouldhavetheopportunitytostandupandcheerforhimanditwouldbegoodfortheircampaigns to raisemoney. He put out themost hardline propaganda thatwent entirelyagainstUSpolicy.IsraeliPrimeMinisterBenjaminNetanyahu:Theborderwillbedifferent than theonethatexistedonJune4,1967.Israelwillnotreturntotheindefensibleboundariesof1967.M.J.Rosenberg:Andhegets29or39standingovations.Whatare theyapplauding?Thecontinuation of the conflict?Are they applauding thatmore Israelis andPalestinians aregoing to keep dying? Is thatwhat they’re applauding? No, they’re applauding, ‘Wewantmoremoneyinthenextcampaign!’That’swhatit’sentirelyabout.Thereisnootherissuelikethis.


Sut Jhally: For the most part, the lobby pushes policies that are consistent with USinterests anyway. Andwhen these interests don’t align, we see the limits of the lobby’spower,aswesawwithObama’sIranpolicy,whichpasseddespiteanintensecampaignbythe lobby to defeat it. Sowe shouldn't overstate the influence of the lobby onAmericanforeignpolicy.Butatthesametime,weshouldn’tunderestimatethelobby’spowertolimitdebateaboutIsraelipoliciesintheoccupiedterritories,especiallyfarrightIsraelipoliciesthatareoftenwayoutofstepwiththepoliticalviewsofmostAmericanJews. In fact, it’snotaccuratetocallittheJewishlobbyatall.It’stheIsraellobby.Rashid Khalidi: The actual views of most people in the American Jewish community,according to every poll, diverge greatly from the extreme right-wing, neoconservativeviewsoftheentireestablishmentleadershipofthatcommunity.MostpeopleintheJewishcommunityaremuchmoreliberal.They’reagainstsettlement;they’reagainstoccupation;theywanta two-state solution.The lobbyand itsvariousother institutionsare themainsupportsandpropsofsettlementandoccupationandofprotectionofthestatusquo.StephenWalt: And there are some key elements of what we call the Israel Lobby thataren’tJewish,theso-calledChristianZionists.Christiannetworknewsanchor:EvangelicalChristiansinAmericahavebecomeIsrael’sstaunchestallyinanincreasinglyhostileworld.SutJhally:Powerfulgroups likeCUFI,ChristiansUnited for Israel, lobbyCongress foranexpansionofIsraeliterritorybecausetheybelievethat’swhattheBiblecallsfor.Christians United For Israel (CUFI) promotional video announcer: CUFIrepresentatives fromall fiftystateswent toCapitolHill.Theirpurposewas topersonallyspeak with their elected officials and express concerns for Israel’s security and theirsupportofIsrael’srighttothelandbybiblicalmandate.NoamChomsky:IntheUnitedStates,roughlyathirdofthepopulationbelievesthateverywordof thebible is literally true. If thebible is literally true, then the landof IsraelwaspromisedtotheJewsbyGod,andtheyhaveeveryrighttotakeitoverfromtheusurpers.PastorJohnHagee,founderofCUFI:Listenclosely,thoseofyouwhoarelisteningintheliberalmedia.TheJewishpeoplearenotoccupyingthelandofIsrael.TheyownthelandofIsrael.ThetruthaboutIsraelisGodgavethelandofIsraeltoAbrahaminaneternalbloodcovenant4,000yearsago.ThelandofIsraelbelongedtotheJewishpeoplethen,itbelongstotheJewishpeopletoday,anditwillbelongtotheJewishpeopleforever.Thelandistheirland.StephenWalt:Oneof theproblemswith the influence the Israel lobbyhas in theUnitedStatesnowisithasbeenhardforgovernmentofficialstohaveanhonestdiscussion.Sut Jhally: Just lookwhat happened to President Obamawhen hemade themistake ofsimplysayingoutloudwhattheinternationalconsensusis.


PresidentBarackObama:WebelievethebordersofIsraelandPalestineshouldbebasedonthe1967lines,withmutuallyagreedswaps,sothatsecureandrecognizedbordersareestablishedforbothstates.SutJhally:Itdidn’tmatterthatObamawasjustrepeatingwhathadbeenofficialUSpolicyfordecades,orthatright-wingpresidentRonaldReaganhadsaidessentiallythesamethinginthe1980s,inevenstrongerlanguage.President Ronald Reagan: UN Resolution 242 remains wholly valid as the foundationstoneofAmerica’sMiddleEastpeaceeffort.It istheUnitedStatesposition,thatinreturnforpeace, thewithdrawalprovisionofResolution242applies to all fronts, including theWestBankandGaza.FurthersettlementactivityisinnowaynecessaryforthesecurityofIsrael,andonlydiminishestheconfidenceoftheArabsthata finaloutcomecanbefreelyandfairlynegotiated.Sut Jhally: When Obama said it, he was immediately accused by right-wing groups ofsettingupIsraelforanotherHolocaust.Announcer,pro-Israeladvocacygrouptelevisionad:HasPresidentObamaabandonedIsrael?Afterstrongsupportby11consecutiveAmericanpresidents,itappearsObamahasmovedsharplytowardsIsrael’senemies.Andtheresultscouldbedisastrous.TheleaderofHezbollahhasvowedtofinishthejobHitlerstarted.Uptillnow,America’sstrongbackingof Israelmade that impossible.ButwithObama’swaffling, cana secondHolocaustbeontheway?Crowd,atpro-Israelrally,chanting:“NoAuschwitzborders!”Sut Jhally: It’s a pretty ingenious tactic: how are you supposed to have a rationaldiscussion about the occupation when pro-Israel extremists call the ’67 borders theAushwitzborders?Crowd:“NoAuschwitzborders!”M.J.Rosenberg:Thesearethetwoalternatives:you’reeithergoingtobeinAuschwitzoryou’resupportingIsrael.BecauseIsraelwasinfactcreatedinthewakeoftheHolocaust,itisn’tthatextraordinarythatthetwowouldbelinkedthatway.Ihaveaproblemwiththeidea of exploiting the link and using those sixmillion Jews almost, inmymind, it’s likesayingAnneFrankwouldwanttheoccupationtocontinue.Mark Crispin Miller: You know, the Jews have gone through unspeakable historicaltrauma, right? But, the fact is that if you look at other reactionary or right wingpropagandasof variouskinds, nationalistic and soon, you see thatwhat they all kindofhaveincommonisthisviewthatweareindanger,wearebeset,wevictims,they’retryingtodestroyus.


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: If history has taught the Jewish peopleanything,itisthatwemusttakecallsforourdestructionseriously.We’reanationthatrosefromtheashesoftheHolocaust.Whenwesay,neveragainwemeanneveragain!MarkCrispinMiller: You're thevictim, so anythingyoudo in self-defense is okay, eventhoughithasyouactinglikeamonster,right?Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas): A suggestion that Israel has committed war crimes isparticularly offensive given that the Jewish people suffered under themost horrificwarcrimesintheHolocaust.Norman Finkelstein: It’s the argument that they always use, remember the Holocaust.AlwaysinvokingtheHolocaustinordertojustifyIsraelbeingheldtoadifferentstandardthaneveryoneelseisbeingheldto.AmiraHass,correspondent,HaaretzofIsrael:IseealotofmanipulationhereaboutthevictimhoodofIsraeliJews,thesenseofvictimhood.AndI’machildofsurvivors,Holocaustsurvivors,soI’llbethelastonetounderestimatetheimportanceofhistoryandthehistoryofpersecutionofJewsintheIsraeli-Palestiniancontext.ButdoesitmeanthatJewsnowinIsraelgoeverydayandthinkaboutAuschwitz?Idoubtit.StephenWalt:Anyonewhoiscriticalofthespecialrelationship,criticizestheactivitiesofthelobby,ordisagreeswiththepoliciestheyrecommend,oriscriticalofIsrael’sconduct,isvirtuallycertaintobeattacked,usuallyinveryharshwaysbyIsrael’sdefenders.Therearewatchdog groups that keep track of what different media organizations publish orbroadcast and if they’re not happy about it, they either publish their own attacks, theyorganizeconsumerboycotts.M.J.Rosenberg:Israelisandthelobbydonotthinkthere’severanyproblemwithpolicy.The problem is only the way it's covered, which is why they have organizations likeCAMERA,which is, youknow,CommitteeonMiddleEastAccuracy.Accuracymeans thatyoupresentthesidethatmakesIsraellookgood.ThelobbyandtheIsraelisbelievethatthemainstreammediainAmericaispro-Palestinian!Imeanit’slaughable.SteveEmerson(onFoxNewsChannel):ConsistentlytheTimeshassuppressedanystorythatwould portray Israel sympathetically. And on the other hand haswritten dozens ofstoriesportrayingthePalestinianssympathetically.CalThomas(onFoxNewsChannel):Israelisnowportrayedinmuchofthemajormedia,especiallyCNN,theBBC,astheaggressor,asthepredatornation,andthepoorPalestiniansandArabsasthevictims.


PeterHart:It’soneofthemostprofoundlysuccessfultacticsofrightwingmediapressureandmediacriticismgroups.Andtheyaregoingtoarguethatit’strueinviolationofallthefacts.CNN anchor: You’re saying that because CNN has interviewed Palestinian families andshownPalestinianchildrenwhohavebeenwoundedorkilledthatsomehowCNNissayingthatHamasisokay?Idon’tthinkthatthosetwoareequivalent.We’renotallowedtoshowthecivilianscaughtinthecrossfire?Ben Shapiro, Editor for Breitbart News: Of course you’re allowed to show civilianscaught in the crossfire. You should alsomention all the restrictions that Hamas puts onyourreportinginsidetheGazaStrip.YoushouldalsomentionallthecontextwithregardtoHamas putting children in harm’s way. You should also routinely mention the fact thatHamas’chartercallsforthedestructionnotonlyofthestateofIsrael,butforthemurderofJewsacrosstheworld.Whichofcourse,CNNdoesnot.CNNanchor:That’ssilly,Ben.Wetalkaboutthatallthetime.Wetalkaboutthecharter,theHamascharter that says theywant toobliterate Israelandwipe Israeloff the faceof themap.You’rejustnotbeingfair.That’snottrue.Ben Shapiro: Youmention it occasionally in themidst of vast swaths of imagery aboutIsraelusingwhatyouwouldtermexcessiveforce.PeterHart:Themediaoutletsdon’tseethepushbackfromtheotherside.Theydon’tseetheupsidetostandingupfortheirownreporting.SoIthinkinmostcasestheycave.Sut Jhally: Look at the pressure that came down on veteran NBC reporter AymanMohyeldinwhenhewascoveringthe2014GazainvasionforNBC.Mohyeldinwasplayingsocceronabeachwith fourPalestiniankids justmomentsbefore theywerekilledbyanIsraeli rocket. And he talked about this on social media, and shared video of theheartbroken reactions of the kids’ parents. (Scene of Palestinian parents weeping) AndwhatdidNBCdo?TheyrespondedbypullingMohyeldinfromGaza.And of course there’s no greater weapon in the attack arsenal than equating criticalcoverageofIsrael’spolicieswithanti-Semitism.O’ReillyFactor,FoxNewsChannel:

- Bill O’Reilly, host: Any fair-mind personwho follows Al Jazeera knows it’s anti-Americanandanti-Semitic.You’reaJewishman,correct?

- AlanColmes:Yes,Iam.- Bill O’Reilly: It doesn’t come more anti-Semitic than Al Jazeera. They would do

violencetoyou.- AlanColmes:Who?AjournalistatAlJazeera?- BillO’Reilly:Thepeoplewhorunthatnetwork.Theywoulddoviolencetoyou.- AlanColmes:Ihardlythinkso.


NoamChomsky:AbbaEbanwroteanarticleinwhichheexplainedtoAmericanJewswhattheir taskwas. Their task is to show that anyonewho’s a critic of Zionism, bywhich hemeans a critic of the policies of the state of Israel, must be either an anti-Semite or aneuroticself-hatingJew.Thatcovers100%ofpossiblecriticism.TheDailyShow(ComedyCentral):

- JonStewart:We’llstarttonightintheMiddleEast,whereIsrael…- Person1:WhatIsraelisn'tsupposedtodefenditself?- Person2:Ohyeah,ifMexicobombedTexaswouldweexercisethesameright?- Person3:WhatothercountryisheldtothesamestandardasIsrael?- Person4:Self-hatingJew!

M.J.Rosenberg:SoitusedtobeIwasalwayscalledaself-hatingJew,andeverybodylikemewascalledaself-hatingJew.Iamnownotonlyaself-hatingJew,buttheyalsocallmeananti-Semite.HowI,withmyfourJewishgrandparents,I’mstillananti-Semite.MywifewasborninadisplacedpersonscampinGermanyandI’mananti-Semite.Yousef Munayyer: They have for a very long time been able to effectively defend theindefensibletotheAmericanpublicthroughmiseducationandmisinformationcampaigns,through effective talking points, through smearing individuals on the opposite side ofthings–labelingthemallkindsofthings,sympathizerswithterrorism.I’vedonedozensofinterviews,whichbeginfromtheterrorismdeparturepoint.Butwhengiven an opportunity to actually speak and present a different perspective, that candissolveratherquickly.Hannity,FoxNewsChannel:

- SeanHannity:IsHamasaterroristorganization?- YousefMunayyer:DoIgettoactuallyspeaknow?- Hannity:Yougettoanswerthequestion.It’sasimpleyesornoquestion.- Munayyer:Sir,youinvitedmeonhere…- Hannity: Is Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel, is that a

terroristorganization?That’sayesornoquestion.- Munayyer:Thankyouforyourquestion.- Hannity:Finally.- Munayyer:It’sverytellingtome,anditshouldbetellingtoyourviewersaswell,by

theway,thatthemomentyouhaveaPalestinianvoiceonyourprogram,whobeginstoexplainthelegitimategrievancesofPalestiniansontheground…

- Hannity:IsHamasaterroristorganization?- Munayyer:NotjustHamas.- Hannity:Answer!Answerthequestion!- Munayyer:Letmefinish!- Hannity: What part of this can’t you get through your thick head? Is Hamas a

terrorist?- Munayyer:Excuseme?- Hannity:Yes?OrNo?!


Munayyer:Theonlythingthatyou’regoingtosayiswhatwewantyoutosay,andifyoudon’tsayit,we’renotgoingtoletyouspeak.SutJhally: Soyouendupwithreporting thatgiveswaymorepriorityandweight to theofficial Israeli perspective than to the Palestinian one. Look at how American mediacoveredIsrael’s2014attackonGaza.Akeywordsearchofallthemajornetworksshowedthatoverthecourseofthe51-dayassault, Israel’songoingmilitarysiegeandblockadeofGazawerebarelymentionedcomparedtothethousandsoftimesHamasrocketattacksonIsraelwerementioned.CNNAnchor JakeTapper:Why is Hamas launchingmissiles into population centers ofIsrael?SutJhally:Thebasicpropagandaframeisbuiltintotheveryassumptionsjournalistsbringtothetable.CNNAnchorJakeTapper:SinceIsraelpulledoutofGazain2005,8000rocketshavebeenfiredfromGazaintoIsrael.SutJhally:Thisishowpropagandaworks.Itworksbygettingyourwordsinthemouthsofotherpeople,especiallythemouthsofsupposedlyobjectivemediacommentators.David Gregory, anchor, NBC’s Meet The Press (interviewing Palestinian leader): I’mwondering,though,whetheryou’reoutragedbytheconductofHamas,startingtheconflictby firing rockets, building tunnels to kill and kidnap Israelis, beingmore thanwilling tosacrifice Palestinian lives by embedding them into their own kind of arsenal and usingthem,asIsraelcontends,ashumanshields.DoyouhavealevelofoutrageatHamasitself?SutJhally:Itdoesn’tseemlikepropagandaatall…itjustseemslikenews.Andthisgoesacrossallthemajormedia,includingthesupposedlymostliberal.LookatRachelMaddowonMSNBC,who’sknownastheleadingprogressivevoiceonmainstreamtelevision.Shedidonlyfoursegmentsonthewar.AndduringthesefewsegmentssheneveroncementionedIsrael’songoingoccupationoftheWestBankoritssiegeandblockadeofGaza,andneveroncementioned the fact that the US has armed Israelwith the veryweapons thatwerebeingusedagainstadefenselesscivilianpopulation.Insteadchoosingtoframetheinvasionaspartofasenselesscycleofviolenceperpetratedbybothsides.RachelMaddow: It’sbeenaconstantcycleof fightingbetween IsraelandHamas for thepast several years in Gaza. And the fighting and the cause of the fighting feel terriblyfamiliarbecausethisisbasicallyarecurringwar.Andifitfeelslikedejavu,ifitfeels,ugh,I’veheardallofthisbefore,youarerightbecausethisreallydoeskeephappening,overandoveragain.RulaJebreal:RachelMaddow,themostimportantwomanonMSNBC,theleaderwhenitcomes to politics. In sixweeks ofwar, nevermentioned theword blockade, occupation,


illegal settlements. Never mentioned the support that Congress have for Israel,unconditionalamountofmoney,billionsofdollars.Whatisthat?Whatadisappointment!Ourmediaoperations–nationalmedia–isascandalwhenitcomestoIsrael.IlookattheUK,withallitsdeficit,andthere’srealdebate.Forexample,there’sthisanchor,calledJohnSnow, Channel 4 in the UK, and he interviewed Mark Regev and he grilled him withquestions.Grilledhim.JonSnow,Channel4News,U.K.interviewingMarkRegev:

- Jon Snow: Mark Regev, how does killing children on a beach contribute to thatpurpose?WhatwasthepointofbombingtheElWafahospital, forgoodnesssake?Therearegraveuncertaintiesaboutwhetheryouareactingwithinthelaw.

- MarkRegev:Idisagree.- Snow:Ohyes.Ohyes.Youaredeliberately targetingneighborhoods inwhichyou

know there are women and children. You’ve tried everything with Gaza. You’vebesiegedit forsevenyears.Thepeople liveanintolerableandghastly lifeandyouknowthatbetter thananybody.Whydon’tyou tryoneother thing?Talking?Whynottalk?Whynotbebraveandtalkdirectlywiththem?Whynot?

Rula Jebreal: I can never see this in America. I’ve never seen anything like this in theUnitedStates.SutJhally:TherehavebeenoccasionalexamplesofAmerican journalistswho’vehad thecouragetochallengetheofficialIsraeliline.Backinthe50s,CBS'sMikeWallacedidn’tbackdown fromgrilling Israeli AmbassadorAbbaEban about Israel’s illegal takeover ofArabland.MikeWallace,CBS,60Minutes:ThefactremainsthatIsraelbenefittedterritoriallyfromawar, fromarmedviolence.Asamemberof the Judaic faith,whichcherishessocial justiceandmorality,doyoubelievethatanycountryshouldprofitterritoriallyfromviolence?SutJhally:Andyearslater,Wallacedidn’tshyawayfromcomparingtheterroristtacticsofPalestinianmilitantswiththeterroristtacticsofJewishmilitantsinthe1940s.MikeWallace,CBS,60Minutes:Thefactisthatinnocentpeoplediefromterror,whoeverthe terrorists. The Jewish independence fighters, trying to hasten the exit of the BritishfromPalestineand to intimidate theArabpopulation there,bombedbusstopsandofficebuildings,railroadtrainsandshoppingcrowds.ThefightersofSternandIrguntookatollofinnocentvictimsthatranintothehundreds.SutJhally:Morerecently,in2012,duringa60Minutespiece,thelateBobSimondaredtoreport on what day-to-day life is like for Palestinian Christians who live under Israelioccupation.BobSimon(CBS,60Minutes):IsraelhasoccupiedtheWestBankfor45years,turningthelittle townwhere Christwas born intowhat its residents call an open-air prison. Kristy


Anastis liveswithhermotherClair,herfather,brother,andsister, inthishouse,whichissurroundedonthreesidesbythewall.BobSimon(towomanonthestreet):Howdoyoulivewiththis?Sut Jhally: Simon’s report was seen as so unusual, and so incendiary, that IsraeliAmbassadorMichaelOrenactuallytriedtospikeit–censorit–leadingSimontodirectlyconfronthimoncamera.60Minutes:

- MichaelOren:WhenIheardthatyouweregoingtodoastoryaboutChristiansintheHolyLand,andmyassump–andhadIbelieve–informationaboutthenatureofit,andit’sbeenconfirmedbythisinterviewtoday…

- Bob Simon: Nothing has been confirmed by the interview, Mr. Ambassador!Becauseyoudon’tknowwhat’sgoingtobeputonair.

- Oren:Okay,Idon’t.True.- Simon:Mr.Ambassador, I’vebeendoing thisa long time,and I’vereceived lotsof

reactionsfromjustabouteveryoneI’vedonestoriesabout.ButI’venevergottenareactionbeforefromastorythathasn’tbeenbroadcastyet.

- Oren:Well…there’safirsttimeforeverything,Bob.Sut Jhally:Theseareexamplesof exceptional reporting,but theyare theexception.Andthere’sareasonforthat.Ineachofthesecases,thesejournalistsweremercilesslyattackedandlabeledanti-Semitic.Itdidn’tmatterthattheywerebothJewish.That’showtheclimateofintimidationworks.RashidKhalidi:It’salmostimpossibletogetanyviewthatisn’tonewayoranothershapedbyanIsraeliperspective,almostimpossible.Itcannotgetinwithoutfacingafirestormofpit-bullattackstomakesurethatthelineisfollowed.MaxBlumenthal:Everyonewho’stryingtotelltheAmericanpublicadifferentsideofthestory,analternativeviewoftheconflictthat’sreality-based,hasalreadycrossedabarrieroffear,andIthinkthey’vealreadytoldthemselves,well,I’mgoingtopayforthis,butI’mreadytopaytheprice.ChangingPerceptionsNarrator:Overjustthepastfewyears,theproliferationofsocialmediaandInternetnewssourceshasmadeitincreasinglydifficultfortheIsraeligovernmentandpro-IsraelgroupsintheUStomanageAmericanperceptionsoftheconflict.VideofootageandreportingfromthegroundbearingwitnesstotherealityoftheoccupationarenowmoreaccessiblethaneverontheInternet.


In addition, over the past few years a number of high-profile documentaries –made byIsraeli and Palestinian filmmakers alike – have trained a harsh light on current IsraelipolicyandtherepressionofPalestinianrights.Scenefrom5BrokenCameras:Palestinianman, challenging Israeli soldiers (translated, English subtitles): This is asmallvillage.Whatdoyouthink?Haveyounoheart?Nofamily?Everyoneofyouknowsthatthisisvillageland!Youstolemyland!Narrator:Atthesametime,apowerfulnewboycott,divestment,andsanctionsmovementhas been gainingmomentum and raising awareness of the occupation …while activistsfrom the Black LivesMattermovement have beenmaking explicit connections betweenpolice violence against African Americans and the Israeli military’s repression ofPalestinians.Marc LamontHill, journalist and activist, inNazareth:We stand next to peoplewhocontinuetocourageouslystruggleandresisttheoccupation,peoplewhocontinuetodreamandfightforfreedom.FromFergusontoPalestine,thestruggleforfreedomcontinues.Narrator:Andallofthesedevelopmentsseemtobehavinganeffect.Pollsnowshowthatwhile sympathy for Israel remains at all-time highs among older Americans, it has beenhemorrhagingamongyoungpeople.SutJhally:Despitetheeffortsofthelobby,somethingreallystrikingistakingplace.Lotsofyoung people are abandoning the mainstream media and turning instead to otherindependent sources. So they have a totally different way of making sense of what’shappening–anunfilteredviewofIsrael’srepression.Andpro-IsraeloperativeslikeFrankLuntz are in a panic. In his latest report, he callswhat’s happeningwith youngpeople a“disaster,”anddemandsthatIsrael’ssupportersrespond.Andpeoplehaveansweredthecall.Youhavepowerfulright-wingbillionaireslikeSheldonAdelson, amajor donor toRepublican candidates, bankrolling a campaign to silence andintimidatestudent-activistsoncollegecampuses.Butit’snotworking.GroupslikeStudentsfor Justice in Palestine,who seewhat’s happening to Palestinians as a civil rights issue,haverefusedtobeintimidated–they'rerefusingtobackdowneventhoughthey'rebeinglabeledasanti-Semiticandterroristsympathizers–andtheirnumbersaregrowing.Yousef Munayyer: As the discourse begins to open, more people are starting tounderstandthisasarights-basedissue.Notanissueofradicalism.Thisisamovementfortherightsofpeoplewho'srightsarebeingdenied–whoarelivingunderoccupation;whowanttoliveintheircountry,freely,justlikeanybodyelse.RashidKhalidi:Youcanseejustsomanyvideoclipsofkidshavingtheirhandssmashedby soldierswithbatons.You can see just somanypicturesof thousandsofpeoplebeing


killed as happened in Gaza. And at a certain point there’s a cognitive dissonance. Yourealizethatwhatyou’rebeingtoldisapackoflies.MarkCrispinMiller:Let’sjustgetawayfrommythologiesandtalkaboutthereality.Andthen maybe be able to persuade people that they should not any longer give theirunwavering support to anation that is engaged in apolicy that’s not just inhumaneandbrutalbutultimatelysuicidal.StephenWalt:GiventhecentralrolethattheUnitedStatesplaysinbackingIsrael,itseemstomeAmericans,allAmericans,havearighttoquestionparticularIsraelipolicies,andinparticulartheprolongedoccupation–thefactthatthePalestinianpeoplehavebeenkeptwithoutastateandwithoutanypoliticalrightsfordecadesnow.Phyllis Bennis: For us in the United States, I think, the issue has to be what is ourgovernment doing? How is our government allowing, enabling, supporting, arming,defendingIsraeliviolations?SutJhally:Intheend,thiscomesdowntoabattleforthemindsoftheAmericanpeople.Abattleoverthestoriesthey'retoldtomakesenseofthisconflict.Abattleoverperception.ThemoreAmericansareabletoseetherealityofoccupationwiththeirowneyes…toseeimagesofroutinedailyviolence,of therepressionandhumiliation thatnevermaketheirwayintomainstreamnews…themorethey’llquestiontheimageofIsraelasthistinylittleDavid up against a bullying Arab Goliath … and start to wonder if it’s actually theoutgunnedPalestinianswhomightbetherealDavidshere.WhenthatstartsbecomingthedominantperceptionhereintheUS,allbetsareoff.ItallcomesdowntoAmericanpublicperception.Noam Chomsky: That’s the one way to change anything. Changing perception andunderstanding here leading to a change of policy here. As long as the United StatessupportsIsraelnothingisgoingtohappen.USgovernmentwillsupportitaslongastheUSpopulationtoleratesit.

[END]

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