The one-sided New York Times coverage of the latest news from Israel and Palestine continues, unchanged.
*Times reports on the release of people held in captivity continue to be slanted. Israelis who are freed are called “hostages,” and human interest details accompany the detailed coverage. Palestinian are “prisoners,” even though many of them, most likely hundreds, were also held without trial or any due process — and the sparest of personal details accompany the Times reports.
* The Times covered the burial of 3 members of the Israeli Bibas family on February 26 in detail, with a long article plus a video report. Times correspondent Isabel Kershner did spend a few paragraphs reporting on criticism of the Netanyahu government by some Bibas family supporters, but she barely scratched the surface of their anger; huge numbers of Israelis continue to say that Netanyahu is actually delaying the prisoner exchanges for his own political and personal benefit, and at least one man — the body of his son is still being held in Gaza — charged the Israeli leader with “murder” as a consequence.
* Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the brave administrator of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, remains imprisoned by Israel, and there are sickening reports that he is being tortured. The Times has not mentioned his name once since January 7, even though human rights agencies have conducted a global campaign for his release.
A Times report on February 26 about the exchange of captives was revealing. Here’s one key sentence, that appeared down in paragraph 13, after the report had repeatedly and characteristically called the released Israelis “hostages,” while the Palestinians were labeled as “prisoners.”
“Some of the Palestinian prisoners listed for release were convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis. Others — including minors — were arrested without formal charges after Israeli forces swept through Gaza during a ground invasion.”Times editors must have taken the day off. How many “prisoners” were convicted of “deadly attacks?” How many “others — including minors” were arrested without formal charges? (Why aren’t these Palestinian minors also called “hostages?”) Let’s turn to the Bibas family. At least Isabel Kershner did not try to hide how many Israelis feel anger toward the government. Her report said that Israelis attending the funerals said that, “The military had failed to come to their rescue and the government failed to bring them, and many other hostages, home in time.” This is an astonishing effort to downplay the truth. Many Israelis since way back in October 2023 have charged that Benjamin Netanyahu has deliberately refused to come to an agreement that would have returned Israeli hostages because 1) A deal would have ripped apart his fragile far-right ruling coalition, which 2) would have meant new elections, that he would have lost, which then 3) would have meant that his criminal trials for corruption re-started, which 4) could have ended with him in prison. Why the New York Times has all along been squeamish about reporting this ugly reality is a mystery. Tens of thousands of Israelis assert it, loudly and frequently. Let’s now turn to Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. This site noted that even though his courage in walking through the north Gaza rubble toward an Israeli tank back in December had been immortalized in a now iconic photo, and his arrest had been followed by global concern and outrage, the New York Times had barely covered the event, (and not reproduced that photo). We also said that the paper should have commissioned a profile of the doctor, who has an international reputation. Another month has passed, and not a single word about Dr. Safiya in the Times. Instead though, there are frightening reports elsewhere; his attorney told Al-Jazeera that he is being “subjected to various forms of intense torture and inhumane treatment in an Israeli military prison.” Let’s hope Dr. Safiya is released soon. The Times will then face a dilemma: Was he a “prisoner?” Or a “hostage?”