Ed O’Loughlin, The Sydney Morning Herald’s correspondent in Jerusalem, shows what sloppy reporting is all about, in his report on the scandal surrounding Esterina Tartman, a candidate for the position of Israel’s Tourism Minister.
In her first week as Israel’s new Tourism Minister the far-right politician Esterina Tartman has announced she wants to strip citizenship from all Arab-Israelis who refuse to swear loyalty to their country as a Jewish state.
In a television interview on Tuesday Ms Tartman said that “any citizen
who is not loyal to the idea of a Jewish state, his citizenship should
be rescinded”.
About one-fifth of Israel’s 7 million people are
Arabs, most of whom claim that instead of being a legally Jewish state,
Israel should treat all its citizens equally, regardless or race or
religion.
Tartman was not Israel’s new Tourism Minister. She was a candidate for the position, and her candidacy has since been withdrawn. Oops.
But while this is an error borne from sloppiness, what is even more unforgivable is O’Loughlin’s dishonesty.
For a start, this report – entitled Scandals mount for Israeli cabinet’s newest member – focuses on Tartman’s proposal to rescind the citizenship of any citizen who refuses to pledge loyalty to Israel as a Jewish state, as if this is the scandal, and not her false academic degree claims.
O’Loughlin is clearly connecting the issue of disloyal citizens being stripped of citizenship with the wider issue of Arab-Israeli rights in Israel. But notice how Tartman spoke of rescinding the citizenship of citizens not loyal to the idea of a Jewish state, and not specifically Arab-Israelis. This could theoretically include other groups – such as Jews – and not just Arab-Israelis (although this phenomenon is obviously more prevalent in the Arab-Israeli sector).
In fact, The Age’s version of this story – also written by O’Loughlin – actually spells this out.
In the interview, Ms Tartman said Arabs and ultra-Orthodox Jews who refused to sign a declaration of loyalty to Israel as a Jewish state and then to perform national service should be allowed to remain only as residents without citizens’ rights.
This does not, however, deter O’Loughlin (or the Age editors, as the case may be) from using the misleading (and inflammatory) headline Take citizenship off Arab Israelis: MP.
For the record, I fully support rescinding the citizenship of those who do not pledge loyalty to Israel. Israel is a Jewish state – deal with it – and to expect loyalty from her citizens is reasonable, especially since the stakes are so high.
Update: And still on the topic of how Israel treats its Arab citizens.
Israel got its first Arab president yesterday – even if it’s only for a week.
Acting President Dalia Itzik left yesterday on a trip to the United States, leaving Majalli Wahaba, a Druse, as Israel’s ceremonial president.
Wahaba’s unexpected journey to the president’s office began last month, when President Moshe Katsav was suspended as he faced several criminal charges, including rape. Itzik, who is the speaker of parliament, stepped in to take his place.
With Itzik gone, Wahaba, who is her deputy, takes over both her roles – running the parliament and assuming the presidency – making him the first member of Israel’s minority Arab community to serve in the country’s top ceremonial post.
