Latest Example of Media Bias Against Israel

And now from the other side of The New York Times, here’s CAMERA:

In the New York Times’ front page story today about a volunteer national service program in Israel, reporter Jodi Rudoren notes that “62 percent of the Arab public backed the program.”

It is curious, then, that 82 percent of the article’s quoted words from Arabs are spoken against national service. (This figure actually understates the disproportion. It includes everyone quoted except for two Israeli professors, both of whom highlight only Arab perspectives against national service. And it does not include the quoted words of posters that likewise argue against the program.)

The problem here is not that Rudoren provides fake quotes. Of course she doesn’t. It’s an issue of framing. Even though most Arabs in Israel support national service, the piece is written in a way that leaves readers with an overwhelming and predominant sense of Arab opposition to the program.

Readers hear from a single young Arab girl, Nagham Ma’abuk, who supports and participates in the national service program. But her voice gets lost in a staccato of quotes by opponents of integration and national service: Ehab Helo comes out against integration with the state. Radical Arab parliamentarian Hanin Zoabi jumps on the opportunity to level sharp words agaist national service, and against Israel as a whole. Four teenagers express that they are “against, against, against and against” the program. Rozeen Kanboura adds another “against.” And Ayan Abunasra makes her “articulate” case in opposition to the program.

This is analogous to a presidential debate in which viewers hear from one candidate, then from his opponent — and then from each member of the opponent’s senior campaign team. A stacked deck affects perception.

Click here to read the full, disturbing article.