THE MEDIA'S WAR AGAINST ISRAEL

by Stephen & Peter E. Goldman--Eds. Karetzky ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 30, 1985

It is now a common assertion that the media is biased. Individuals and proponents of various causes have perceived the media as prejudiced against them. Among such are those who support Israel; many pro-Israel observers claim there is a decidedly anti-Israel coloration to media reports about the Middle East. One reaction to such perceptions is to create a biased report of one's own, castigating the entire media and relying only on one's own narrow ideological viewpoint. It must be difficult for angry critics to resist such a temptation, but when they do, and when they produce a scrupulous, patiently gathered, rigorously argued book, the result can be devastating. This is that kind of book. The editors have gathered a series of articles which, cumulatively, provide an indictment of many of the major media. There are provocative essays by such writers as Norman Podhoretz, Rael Jean Isaac, and David Bar-Ilan. The longest essay is by Karetzky, who spends 90 pages taking apart The New York Times, line by line. The issue of media bias against Israel is treated here as a serious breach of journalistic ethics and an affront to truth. The arguments are manifold, and include the beliefs that Israel is judged by a double standard, that reporters are intimidated, sometimes physically, by anti-Israel Arabs, and that incomplete, inaccurate reporting and editing are the norm. The most serious charge is that some journalists may be engaged in an effort to mislead the public because of a political bias in favor of Third World movements (like the Palestinian Arabs) and against Western values (read Israel). True or not, this book provides sober, vital reading for those who unquestioningly accept the objectivity of the media; it is must reading for those in the media concerned about the moral foundations of their profession.

Pub Date: Dec. 30, 1985

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Steimatzky (56 E. 11 St., NYC 10003)

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1985

Categories: NONFICTION