Ten Years On

During the Second Intifada in 2000, the Associated Press published a photograph of an Israeli police officer, baton raised, standing over a wounded man. The photograph’s caption indicated the wounded man was a palestinian, implying that the police officer beat the living daylights out of him. The photograph was disseminated worldwide, in publications such as The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

The bloodied and beaten man’s identity was soon revealed to be Tuvia Grossman, an American Jewish student in Israel, after his father wrote the following to the New York Times:

Regarding your picture on page A5 of the Israeli soldier and the Palestinian on the Temple Mount — that Palestinian is actually my son, Tuvia Grossman, a Jewish student from Chicago. He, and two of his friends, were pulled from their taxicab while traveling in Jerusalem, by a mob of Palestinian Arabs, and were severely beaten and stabbed.

That picture could not have been taken on the Temple Mount because there are no gas stations on the Temple Mount and certainly none with Hebrew lettering, like the one clearly seen behind the Israeli soldier attempting to protect my son from the mob.

Ten years late, Honest Reporting was able to bring together Tuvia – now a citizen of Israel – with the police officer who saved his life.

About the Author

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

Filed Under: General

Tags: AP, Honest Reporting, Media Bias, Tuvia Grossman