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Human Rights Watch Accuses Israel of War Crimes For Indiscriminately
Targeting Lebanese Civilians
Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land: Documentary Examines
US Media Coverage of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict
Is America Watching a Different War? American, Lebanese and
Israeli Panel on How the US Media is Covering the Invasion
of Lebanon
Human Rights Watch Accuses Israel of War Crimes For
Indiscriminately Targeting Lebanese Civilians
HRW Emergencies Director Peter Bouckaert speaks from Beirut
on the bombing of Qana, Israel’s use of cluster bombs,
phosphorous weapons and depleted uranium. Earlier today Human
Rights Watch issued a new report titled “Fatal Strikes:
Israel's Indiscriminate Attacks Against Civilians in Lebanon."
[includes rush
transcript]
Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of committing war crimes
for systematically failing to distinguish between combatants
and civilians in their attack on Lebanon. Last night the group
issued a major new report titled "Fatal Strikes: Israel's
Indiscriminate Attacks Against Civilians in Lebanon."
The co-author of the report, Peter Bouckaert, joins us on
the line from Beirut. He is the the emergencies director for
Human Rights Watch.
Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land: Documentary
Examines US Media Coverage of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict
How has the US media covered the conflict in the Middle
East? We play an excerpt of the documentary “Peace Propaganda
and the Promised Land: U.S. Media & the Israeli-Palestinian
Conflict.” The film was directed by Bathsheba Ratzkoff
and Sut Jhally of the Media Education Foundation. [includes
rush
transcript]
We continue our coverage of the situation in the Middle East
by examining how the U.S. press has been reporting on Lebanon,
Israel and Gaza. Some have suggested that America is watching
a different war than much of the world. The British journalist
Julian Borger came to that conclusion after watching the news
in Washington and London.
The British press, he said, overwhelmingly emphasized the
civilian casualties in Lebanon. Meanwhile the U.S. media has
focused on the situation in Israeli cities like Haifa. Some
journalists from the Middle East are now refusing to work
with American news outlets.
Earlier this week, two producers working for Fox News in
Amman Jordan resigned in protest. In their resignation letter,
Serene Sabbagh and Jomana Karadsheh wrote "We can no
longer work with a news organization that claims to be fair
and balanced when you are so far from that. Not only are you
an instrument of the Bush White House, and Israeli propaganda,
you are war mongers with no sense of decency, nor professionalism.”
We air an excerpt from the documentary “Peace Propaganda
and the Promised Land: U.S. Media & the Israeli-Palestinian
Conflict.” The film was directed by Bathsheba Ratzkoff
and Sut Jhally of the Media Education Foundation.
- Peace Propaganda and the Promised Land: U.S. Media &
the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Film directed by Bathsheba
Ratzkoff and Sut Jhally of the Media
Education Foundation. More info on the documentary online
at www.pppl.org
Is America Watching a Different War? American, Lebanese
and Israeli Panel on How the US Media is Covering the Invasion
of Lebanon
Some have suggested that Americans are watching a different
war in Lebanon than much of the world. We’re joined
by three panelists -- Peter Hart of Fairness and Accuracy
in Reporting (FAIR) in New York, Middle East Broadcasters
editor Habib Battah in Beirut and Ha'aretz reporter Gideon
Levy in Tel Aviv. [includes rush
transcript]
We continue our coverage of the situation in the Middle East
by examining how the U.S. press has been reporting on Lebanon,
Israel and Gaza. Some have suggested that America is watching
a different war than much of the world. The British journalist
Julian Borger came to that conclusion after watching the news
in Washington and London.
The British press, he said, overwhelmingly emphasized the
civilian casualties in Lebanon. Meanwhile the U.S. media has
focused on the situation in Israeli cities like Haifa. Meanwhile
some journalists from the Middle East are now refusing to
work with American news outlets.
Earlier this week, two producers working for Fox News in
Amman Jordan resigned in protest. In their resignation letter,
Serene Sabbagh and Jomana Karadsheh wrote "We can no
longer work with a news organization that claims to be fair
and balanced when you are so far from that."
They went on to write “Not only are you an instrument
of the Bush White House, and Israeli propaganda, you are war
mongers with no sense of decency, nor professionalism.”
We speak with a panel of media analysts and journalists here
in New York as well as in Lebanon and Israel.
We are joined by Peter Hart in our New York studio as well
as Habib Battah in Lebanon and Gideon Levy in Israel. Peter
Hart is a media analyst with Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.
Habib Battah is managing editor of Middle East Broadcasters
Journal. He is a former correspondent for The Daily Star and
al Jazeera. Gideon Levy is a journalist working for the Israeli
newspaper Ha’aretz.
- Gideon Levy. Journalist working for the Israeli newspaper
Ha'aretz.
- Habib Battah. Managing editor of Middle East Broadcasters
Journal.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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