(Israel Government Press Office/IMRA) We find the Foreign Press Association in Israel's condemnation of Israel puzzling, hypocritical, and pretentious. Puzzling, since if there were no persons present in the building attacked, in what way does the FPA consider this "callous disregard for the life and security of journalists"? Hypocritical, because the FPA has repeatedly demanded that Israel not prevent the entry of journalists into Gaza, despite it being an area of conflict and regardless of the obvious dangers to the journalists themselves. Pretentious, since if members of the press are going to involve themselves in business relations with elements known to have connections with - and in service of - terrorist organizations, one would expect them to also assess the risks involved with such a venture. Finally, we are curious as to whether the FPA will also protest the reckless behavior of Hamas, whose indiscriminate shelling of Sderot must certainly be endangering the many journalists who are there.
2004-06-30 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive