Yesterday, I posted the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s South Park-eque video mocking foreign reporters reporting in Gaza.
The Foreign Press Association has responded, and I think it’s safe to say they are not happy.
The Foreign Press Association is surprised and alarmed by the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s decision to produce a cartoon mocking the foreign media’s coverage of last year’s war in Gaza.
At a time when Israel has serious issues to deal with in Iran and Syria, it is disconcerting that the ministry would spend its time producing a 50-second video that attempts to ridicule journalists reporting on a conflict in which 2,100 Palestinians and 72 Israelis were killed.
Israel’s diplomatic corps wants to be taken seriously in the world. Posting misleading and poorly conceived videos on YouTube is inappropriate, unhelpful and undermines the ministry, which says it respects the foreign press and its freedom to work in Gaza
The Board of the Foreign Press Association, 15th June 2015
Note the language. The FPA is “surprised and alarmed” by the video. Incidentally, I do not see any statements on their site expressing “alarm” at a Hamas terrorist impersonating a journalist. Just as an example.
Then there’s the faux concern about the “serious issues” Israel has to deal with, followed by a mention of Operation Protective Edge, and the inclusion of numbers of terrorists killed in the palestinian casualty figures.
In other words, the FPA’s response to the video probably does more to damage their credibility than the video itself.