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When Israel Refutes Defamation Quickly, Media Coverage Improves

[Jerusalem Post] Andrea Levin - After a UN World Health Organization report harshly condemned Israel for allegedly preventing Palestinians from gaining admission to Israeli hospitals, media coverage of the report greatly benefitted from the swift and effective response by Israeli officials. The New York Times noted that "Israeli officials rejected the findings....They said that the people who had compiled the report had never asked them about the cases, that Israeli officials had no records of entry permits being sought in some of the cases, and that details of other cases were inaccurate." In one case, Col. Nir Press, commander of the Israel Defense Forces' Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration, responded specifically to a WHO claim that Israeli delays had caused the death of a critically ill boy. Disputing the charges, Press said Israel approved an application for the patient's transfer to an Israeli hospital the same day it was received, but that delay ensued at the behest of a Palestinian doctor seeking to stabilize the boy's condition before moving him. Press' rejoinders and their reverberation in the media's coverage are a reminder that nothing in the war of ideas and images takes the place of the all-important work of refuting defamation. The writer is Executive Director of CAMERA, Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America.
2008-04-30 01:00:00
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