Picture the Bias

Palestinian children Abdullah Samad and his sister Dalal sit in the backseat of their father’s car after receiving first aid at a hospital in Jerusalem following an explosion near the Kalandia Israeli army checkpoint.(AFP/Awad Awad)

No mention of the perpetrators of this “explosion.” It could have been an accident, or perpetrated by an Israeli. But we all know the truth. AFP just don’t want you to find out.

An Israeli Army soldier comforts a Palestinian woman at the Kalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Ramallah Wednesday Aug. 11, 2004. A West Bank militant detonated a large bomb near Kalandia checkpoint Wednesday, killing two Palestinian men and wounding some 13, including 10 Palestinian civilians and three Israeli border policemen. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

Nice picture, right? It shows the IDF we know and love, rather than the one the media tries to portray all the time. But look at the caption. West Bank militant? That is a phrase the media applies to the so-called Jewish “settlers.”

Israeli soldiers arrest a suspected Palestinian at Qalandiya checkpoint at the entrance to the West Bank of Ramallah August 11, 2004. A bomb exploded between two Israeli army checkpoints on a busy transit route outside Jerusalem on Wednesday, killing two Palestinians and wounding 16 people, medics said. Israel Radio said a Palestinian in a car being checked by police at the West Bank checkpoint of Qalandiya was believed to have detonated a bomb either hidden on his person or rigged to the vehicle. REUTERS/Loay Abu Haykel

What is Reuters trying to tell us here? That IDF soldiers arrest anyone suspected of being a PLO Arab? Methinks the word “terrorist” is missing from the highlighted phrase.

In the following example, Reuters cannot help but draw attention to Israel’s security fence (in a bid to criticize it), even as they describe the terror attack at the Kalandia checkpoint (which should remind everyone why it is necessary).

Israeli policemen inspect cars destroyed by a bomb at the Qalandiya check point near the West Bank city of Ramallah, as a wall forming part of Israel’s controversial ‘security’ barrier can be seen in the background, August 11, 2004. A bomb exploded between two Israeli army checkpoints on a busy transit route outside Jerusalem on Wednesday, killing two Palestinians and wounding 16 people, medics said. Israel Radio said a Palestinian in a car being checked by police at the West Bank checkpoint of Qalandiya was believed to have detonated a bomb either hidden on his person or rigged to the vehicle. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen

This morning, I went through my daily ritual of checking out the news photos on Yahoo. One thing that is guaranteed is that the Middle East photos, and their captions will be biased against Israel. Check out these examples from today:

About the Author

An Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.

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