CAMERA Snapshots..
11 April '13..
Last week, journalist Amira Hass authored an opinion piece in the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz condoning and even encouraging violent Palestinian stone-throwing. In the editorial, Hass wrote that “throwing stones is the birthright and duty” of Palestinians and that it “is an action as well as a metaphor of resistance.” Hass received quite a bit of criticism in Israel, and that criticism was covered by British newspaper, The Guardian:
A prominent Israeli journalist, Amira Hass, has been subjected to a wave of hate mail and calls for prosecution for incitement to violence since writing an article defending the throwing of stones by Palestinian youths at Israeli soldiers.
In paragraph six of the story, The Guardian finally got around to mentioning Adele Bitton, a toddler who remains in intensive care in Israel after the car in which she was riding was involved in an accident caused by a non-metaphorical stone.
Adele’s mother, Adva Bitton, responded to Hass’ article with an open letter published on the Hebrew Web site, NRG, translated here:
Amira, come to the intensive care unit, and see my Adele, a 3-year-old girl, attached to tubes. Experience with me the difficult trial with which I am coping. Amira, a rock does not distinguish between blood and blood, or between an adult and a 3-year-old girl. A rock kills. A rock is a deadly weapon in every way. Three weeks ago, I experienced on my own flesh how a single rock has caused the life of an entire family to be turned upside down.
Prior to Hass’ editorial, The Guardian did not see fit to report on Adele Bitton. Neither could CAMERA locate much coverage in other major news media outlets. Though The New York Times focuses disproportionally on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and even ran an 8,000-word New York Times Magazine cover story glorifying stone-throwers, the newspaper found room for only a 94-word brief on page A-6:
An Israeli mother and three children were seriously injured in a car crash in the West Bank on Thursday after stones thrown by Palestinians apparently hit their vehicle, the police said. Several other vehicles were also hit. Tensions have increased in the West Bank recently, with Palestinians protesting against hardship and Israeli actions in Gaza, and in support of Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man in the Hebron area on Tuesday. Israeli authorities said the soldiers were chasing Palestinians who had thrown a firebomb when they were attacked by and opened fire.
And not one of the 94 words was the name of the beautiful, innocent baby who still struggles for life, Adele… Where’s the coverage?
Link: http://blog.camera.org/archives/2013/04/wheres_the_coverage_toddler_vi_1.html
Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.
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