Shimshon 9

The media monitoring unit Muftah published the results of a July poll of local journalists over media coverage of the internal Palestinian conflicts on web-based news outlets.

Those polled were Palestinians working in print or electronic media outlets, the survey sample was 111.

Journalists were asked about the coverage of Ma’an News Agency, the Palestine News Network (PNN), the official Palestinian Authority (PA) news agency WAFA, and the Palestine Press Agency (PPA).

Results of the poll were as follows:

Asked whether each of the news agencies were biased, respondents answered:

Ma’an: 43% biased, 56% unbiased
PNN: 81% biased, 14% unbiased
WAFA: 87% biased, 13% unbiased
PPA: 85% biased, 10% unbiased

Asked about what sort of bias each of the news outlets had, respondents answered:

Ma’an: 34% Fatah, 9% Hamas, 55% no bias
PNN: 14% Fatah, 72% Hamas, 9% unbiased
WAFA: 94% Fatah
PPA: 79% Fatah, 10% Hamas, 8% unbiased

During the past year there have been accusations that media sources have inflamed and even fueled the factional conflicts between Hamas and Fatah. Asked their opinion on which news agencies were primarily responsible for this action, respondents replied:

Ma’an: 15% largely contributed (to factional rift), 27% average contribution, 30% slight contribution, 26% no contribution.

PNN: 51% largely contributed, 28% average contribution, 14% slight contribution, 6% no contribution.

The survey did not publish results for the WAFA or PPA contribution to factional tensions.

Asked whether media coverage affected Palestinians’ desire to strengthen national unity,

72% believed that media coverage “slightly affected” Palestinians’ desire for unity, while

27% believed that media coverage “largely affected” Palestinians’ desire for unity

Respondents’ were then asked whether their wish to support democracy and promote unity was a factor in media coverage,

81% said it was a “minor factor;”

17% said it was a factor

However, 65% of respondents said the desire to maintain good relations between media agencies was a factor in what was published with regards to the internal Palestinian conflict.

Who determines content

Asked who in the news agency or media outlet determined daily content, correspondents of editors, results  said:

Correspondents: 41% said they have most say, 57% said they have a minor role

Editors: 59% of respondents said editors played the major role in deciding content, while 38% said editors played a minor role in determining content.

Chief Editors: 90% of the respondents thought that it was chief editors who determined the content of coverage, and 10% said chief editors played a minor role in determining that content.

Credibility of sources

Journalists and media workers were asked to evaluate the credibility of several popular sources:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: 17% “high credibility”, 45% “moderate credibility” and 38% said his credibility was “low.”

Caretaker government in the West Bank: 15% “high credibility,” 52% “moderate credibility,” 37% “low credibility.”

Fatah spokespeople: 6% “high,” 40% “moderate,” 54% “low.”

Hamas spokespeople: 6% “high,” 43% “moderate,” 51% “low.”

Various Civil Society organizations: 23% “highly credible,” 55% “moderate credibility,” 21% “we rarely depend on these organizations as sources of information.”

Responding to a question about who was the source of information related to Hamas-Fatah clashes, 48% of respondents said Fatah information was taken from their spokesperson, who was trusted as a main source of information. For the Hamas spokesperson the number was 29%, with 59% saying that the Hamas spokesperson was used as a “partial” information source.

Does electronic journalism accurately describe the internal Palestinian conflict?

Of the journalists and media workers polled66% said Palestinian electronic media failed in its efforts to represent the internal Palestinian conflict, 73% said that electronic media outlets were unable to accurately portray the internal Palestinian conflict, while 28% thought that the portrayal was accurate.

Media Education?

The final question of the poll was whether educational workshops for journalists could improve electronic journalism, 70% said yes and 30% answered no.

Israel’s population at Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year’s) 5769 is 7,337,000, of whom 5.54 million are Jews, 1.48 million are Arabs (20.1%), and 318,000 (4.3%) are non-Arab others, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today (Globes).

Haaretz reports that Israel Police on Monday said a Palestinian shepherd found dead in the West Bank late Saturday was killed in an accidental explosion, not by settlers. This doesn’t really comes as a surprise, since the arab media was very quick on putting the blame on Israel. The Forensics experts say that he was killed when picking up an unexploded shell, but the other version would be that the “Sheperd” was on his way to a terror attack. This sound more logical and also fits into the time line of recent events.

With scores of terror warnings current for the Jewish New Year starting sundown Monday, Sept. 9, a beefed up Jerusalem Border Police squad detained a Palestinian from the West Bank of Jenin early Monday, on his way to a knifing attack on the route leading to the Western Wall in the Old City. In his pockets were a large knife and letters stating his intention to be a “martyr”. (DEBKAfile)

Greetings by the President of the State of Israel, Mr. Shimon Peres, to the Jewish People, on the occasion of the Jewish New Year 5769

A country as small in size as Israel has little alternative but to seek greatness in other facets. It must explore strength of spirit, depth of faith, the bid for innovation and the hidden promise of science.

Since its inception, 60 years ago, Israel has proven that despite the shortage of land and water, it developed one of the most advanced and resilient economies on earth. Facing challenges disproportionate to its territorial and demographic scale, as well as existential threats, Israel nevertheless persevered. It did so, through the mobilization of its human resources and military fortitude. It reinforced its democracy and desire for peace.

Israel went through seven wars in its sixty years. Outnumbered and under-gunned, it was self reliant and confident. Winning wars enabled Israel to triumph in its battle for peace and to sign peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan. Today, it continues to negotiate with the Palestinians, never losing hope of making peace with the entire Arab world.

By promoting a policy of peace and being true to the Jewish ethic, “Love thy neighbour like thyself, maintaining a defense system that pre-empts danger, and a resilient democracy guided by the moral values of our tradition, we can prove that what was bestowed upon us on Mount Sinai was not lost in the desert.

The realization of the Zionist vision is a story that inspired both nation and state. With its establishment, the Jewish people entrusted Israel with the role of preserving and developing the Jewish historic heritage, on the moral platform, proclaiming that “All human beings are born in the image of the Lord. “

Committed to our faith and to the value of Tikkun Olam, Israel must continue to play a role in meeting the global challenges of tomorrow. Being small in size and people, we must be greater in the field of science and serve as a world laboratory in a quest for alternative energy, mostly from the sun, so as to decrease pollution and dry the petro-dollar swamp that breeds terror.

Humanity will have to generate water to meet growing human demand, prevent thirst and enable a harmonious and sustainable environment for man and nature. Israel excelled in that domain and we have to continue investing efforts in this pursuit.

We must also cultivate an innovative teaching system focused on thinking tools and capacities, rather than just on the accumulation of data. The historic strength of the Jewish people was, and must remain, anchored in learning and applying knowledge.

We have proven in the past, and we must do so again in the future, that the Jewish people can serve as leaders at the forefront of modernity and innovation, in order to tackle challenges such as violence and ubiquitous terror which the world now faces.

Likewise, we need to address the challenges which face Jewish communities throughout the world, such as assimilation, a growing gap between the different communities and a greater need to strengthen the ties between Jewish youth in the diaspora and in Israel.

It is precisely because we are a small nation, that the Jewish people must generate the greatness inherent in the human capacities.

Rosh Ha’Shana Sameach!

Shimon Peres

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Saturday in response to the fatal attack in Damascus that:

“Israel is one of those who have the most to gain from this criminal act,” Kuwaiti news agency Kuna reported.

Seventeen people were killed and dozens were injured in the Syrian capital Saturday morning when a booby-trapped car exploded on the road leading to the country’s international airport.

I just wonder what Israel has to gain from this attack? Again the blame is on Israel!

Update: An initial investigation into Saturday’s fatal attack in Damascus revealed that a radical Islamic organization was responsible for the car bomb which killed 17 people.

The “improved” security situation in Iraq is not benefiting all Iraqis, especially not those who are gay. Islamist death squads are engaged in a homophobic killing spree with the active encouragement of leading Muslim clerics, such as Moqtada al-Sadr, as Newsweek recently revealed.

My friends in Iraq have relayed to me the tragic story of five gay activists, who belonged to the underground gay rights movement, Iraqi LGBT.

Eye-witnesses confirm that they saw the men being led out of a house at gunpoint by officers in police uniform. Yes, Iraqi police! Nothing has been heard of the five victims since then. In all probability, they have been executed by the police – or by Islamist death squads who have infiltrated the Iraqi police and who are using their uniforms to carry out so-called honour killings of gay people, unchaste women and many others.

Their abduction is just one of many outrages by anti-gay death squads. lslamist killers burst into the home of two lesbian women in the city of Najaf. They shot them dead, slashed their throats, and also murdered a young child who the women had rescued from the sex trade. The two women, both in their mid-30s, were members of Iraqi LGBT. They were providing a safe house for gay men on the run from death squads. By sheer luck, none of the men who were being given shelter in the house were at home when the assassins struck. They have since fled to Baghdad, and are hiding in an Iraqi LGBT safe house there (Sexual cleansing in Iraq).

And this is yet another example of the hateful, corrosive influence of Islam…

The most creative/clever delivery of the new year!! Four friends on rollerblades follow a carefully planned route around Tel Aviv and record their tracks with a GPS device. The result is a stunning greeting for Rosh Hashanah across the entire city - Shana Tova!!

Palestinians fired at two Israeli vehicles near the West Bank city of Qaliqilya early on Saturday. One of the drivers was lightly injured and his car damaged. He was evacuated to a Petah Tikva hospital, and IDF forces began to search the area for the suspects.The incident took place at 3 am. Two cars driven by Israelis were making their way to the West Bank settlement of Alei Zahav, located south of Qalqilya. They were fired upon, apparently by Palestinians hiding in the area.

Painful lesson: While driving to his base Thursday morning, an F-16 pilot was harassed by two Bedouins - an incident that ended badly for the Bedouins, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

Around 8:30 am, while the pilot was traveling to the Nevatim army base near the town of Arad, two cars driven by two Bedouins approached the pilot’s car. One Bedouin drove passed the pilot at high speed and then stopped abruptly. Later, the two Bedouins attempted to force the pilot’s car to the side of the road. During this entire incident, the pilot was signaling to the other drivers that they were behaving dangerously and that he would not take part in this game.

At one point the Bedouins managed to forced the pilot to stop the car at the side of the road. They subsequently approached his car with bats.

When the pilot got out of his car, one of the Bedouins attempted to slap him. Unfortunately for the attackers, it turned out that the pilot is not only proficient in flying aircraft, but also in hand-to-hand combat. After a short struggle, both Bedouins were on the ground, moaning in pain.

Cabinet briefed on kidnapping threats made by Hizbullah against Israelis, Counter Terrorism Bureau travel advisories; learns at least 10 potential abductions of officers stationed abroad were averted recently.

Lawmaker Ahmed Abu Helbiya tells crowd of over 2,000 protestors, ‘We call on all the factions to undertake efforts to contain the enemy and halt its aggression by planning martyrdom operations’ (Ynet)

Are we en route to an other Intifada?

A handy guide on divestment from the evil Jewish state - everything you need to know on boycotting Israel (it might alter your life but everything for the cause right?..)

Syria has deployed military forces along its northern Lebanon border and Beirut officials now fear an incursion is imminent, according to a report in The Times. Damascus has insisted its forces are involved in an anti-smuggling operation along the border, yet the Lebanese Government is braced for the first incursion since Syrian forces pulled out three years ago.

Did you ever wanted to get a personal New Years greeting from Binyamin Netanyahu or did you ever wanted to send one to on of your friends or family? Now you can. Go to the Likud Website and follow the instructions!

Shana Tova!