I mentioned this assignment, and all the trouble I was having with it, to my boyfriend, Liad, who is Israeli. He thought about it for a minute, and his first response was “what about that picture of Gilad Shalit?” I didn’t know who he was talking about. He explained to me that Shalit is the captured soldier that Israel is trying to negotiate the release of from Hamas. I had known there of the negotiations, but didn’t remember the actual name of the soldier. Liad went on to explain to me that this picture is everywhere in Israel, on facebook and blogs, and it is what really unified the country during the last conflict in Gaza. We went on to discuss the American media coverage of the conflicts in the Middle East, and the biases we see.
Above is a picture of the captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit retrieved from: http://greenerisrael.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/gilad_shalit.jpg
Having heard a predominantly pro-Israel perspective growing up, I began seeking out independant news coverage that was more sympathetic to the Palestinian side. So when mainstream media sources like CNN started to sway more towards the Palestinian side, as Liad pointed out, I didn’t notice. This was until he and I watched news coverage of the conflict in January together, and Liad would get frustrated with how they (CNN) would show pictures of wounded Palestinians followed by doctors and others speaking of the atrocities, but didn't give as much time let alone such "human interest" footage of what was and had been happening to the Israelis. He told me about the daily rocket attacks on Sderot that have occurred for almost 8 years. Liad's family lives in the north and he told me about his experience a few years ago during the conflict with Hezbollah of trying to go about your daily life, but dropping everything when you hear the siren go off saying you have about 15 seconds to get to a shelter before a missile hits (and he kept stressing this went on for only a month and a half, vs. 8 years). These are very messy conflicts and I don't believe either side is innocent, but it was interesting for me, an outsider, to hear another point of view from someone who has lived through something similar while watching the newscast.
In our discussion about Gilad Shalit and the conflict between Hamas and Israel I was reminded of how no news coverage is completely objective, or gives you a full story. Also, you are less likely to see the bias when your own opinions are in line with what is being said. I had not heard the Shalit's name enough for it to stick in my memory, but in Israel his picture is apparently everywhere, and holds great meaning to their soldiers and citizens. In my busy schedule, I have not dedicated the time to suitably educate myself on most current news events, especially those of importance to me, and this discussion with Liad was a wake-up call for me. This image (and the discussion around it) is a powerful reminder for me of how important it is to search for information from a variety of sources to try to find out what is really going on in the world, especially before you pass judgments.
