|
Trending Topics
|
Arab TV Takes a Break From Bashing Israel for Ramadan
(Wall Street Journal) Judith Miller - During Islam's holy month of Ramadan, which began this weekend, TV viewership throughout the Arab world typically surges. For the 400 million Arabs in 22 Middle Eastern and North African countries, in previous years, almost every Arab TV network has devoted at least one of its Ramadan series to the perfidy of the "Zionist enemy" and the suffering of Palestinians. This year, none of the new series premiering during Ramadan focuses on Israel or the Palestinians. Instead viewers will see series that focus on the Arab world's growing poverty and the evisceration of much of the Arab middle class. Explanations abound for the absence of Israel and the sacred cause of Palestine on Arab television. One possibility is that Arab governments, which control much of what is shown on broadcast networks and are eager for an extension of the ceasefire in Gaza, urged the media to avoid demonizing Israel. Arab officials may also be seeking to defuse popular sympathy for President Trump's demand that they take in refugees while Gaza is being rebuilt. Yet there's still no shortage of rhetorical support in the Arab world for the Palestinians and their cause - on television and elsewhere.