Deciding to Investigate

"Israeli Accounts Allege Loose Rules of Engagement in Gaza"; By Ethan Bronner; A6

In what is a continuation of yesterday's article, "Accounts of Gaza Killings Raise Furor in Israel," Ethan Bronner pursues the release of a series of testimonies by Israeli soldiers about their conduct during January's Gaza offensive. Although no evidence exists of systematic abuse, NYT is eager to report any information that will cast a pall over Israel's decision to enter Gaza to fight Hamas. 

The most important part of the article is reportage about the military advocate general's decision to investigate the allegations. This decision is what makes Israel unique. No matter how limited the infraction, Israel willingly examines its own conduct for the sake of improving it. 

Unconvincing Inconclusiveness

"In Village, Palestinians Face Gas With Rocks"; By Isabel Kershner; A6

The beginning of a report about a confrontation between the IDF and Palestinians in the village of Nilin casts Israeli soldiers as hunters stalking prey: "Camouflaged among the olive trees...they were waiting for the village youths to arrive."

The offensive characterization is followed by counterclaims from the IDF and Palestinian protesters regarding the latter's adherence to non-violence. The reader is eager to discover who the journalist will expose as the liar through her investigation.

In the meantime, Isabel Kershner presents a skeptical account of the purpose and success of the security barrier, despite evidence that testifies to its effectiveness in preventing suicide bombings. She offers one of her classic he said, she said accounts:

"Israel started building the separation barrier in 2002, saying that it was necessary to prevent Palestinian suicide bombers from reaching Israeli cities...The [Palestinian] villagers and their supporters are convinced that this barrier is not about security, but about the Israeli occupation and appetite for land." 

Returning to the issue of who initiates the confrontation between the IDF and Palestinians, IK concludes weakly and anti-climactically on what she observed:

"The crowd quickly dispersed; it was hard to determine whether the protesters started throwing stones or whether the Israeli forces waiting for them opened fire first." 

IK's inconclusiveness is unconvincing.

United Jerusalem

"Mayor's Vision of a Unified Jerusalem Also Divides"; By Ethan Bronner; A7

In an article about Jerusalem, Ethan Bronner neglects to mention the Jerusalem Law of 1980, by which the Knesset annexed the eastern portion of the city. Inserting this crucial fact might cast Mayor Nir Barkat’s vision for Jerusalem in a less negative light than that cast by the reporter. In addition, Bronner does not independently investigate a matter, preferring to present Palestinian advocates’ of a position as if it were definitive.

EB acknowledges that Arab residents of east Jerusalem build illegally but then offers their own justification without determining its veracity. Arab residents say that “Israel almost never grants them legal permits.” The reporter’s job is to investigate the matter so that readers may know where responsibility lies in this dispute.

As reported, Palestinians say that Barkat’s vision of encouraging Jewish residence in east Jerusalem “could end any prospect for a two-state solution.” Such a fatalistic statement demands explanation, but none is forthcoming from the Palestinians or anyone else. Advocates for a Palestinian state must answer one question, above all, Why is the presence of Jews in a Palestinian state anathema? In other words, Why would a Jewish presence in east Jerusalem derail a two state solution? No reasonable answer can be proffered.

Reiterating the Accusation

"Accounts of Gaza Killings Raise Furor in Israel"; By Ethan Bronner; A1; A9

To his credit, Ethan Bronner pits the casualty count of the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights against the Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Israel for the January Gaza Offensive. The count of the Institute appears to be more accurate.

The topic of the article is a collection of testimonies by soldiers from the recent war, in which they admit misconduct and to tie it to the ethos of the Israeli army. Ethan Bronner quotes Professor Moshe Habertal an author of  the IDF's code of military ethics and a company commander, who offer a countervailing perspective to the testimonies. 

Bronner's report ends strangely with a quote that, at once, sustains the testimonies about civilian deaths while undermining the generality the testifiers attempt to convey about IDF conduct. 

"The army believes that a weak spot of Israeli deterrence is its strong commitment not to kill civilians, and there has grown the sense that it might have to temporarily overcome that weakness in order to restore deterrence," says Professor Yaron Ezrahi.

Thus, the matter of "wanton killing," about which EB promises to report in his introductory paragraph, retains its media life but remains unverified. The effect: Israel receives the bad press that allows its international isolation to continue, but NYT stops short of reporting untruths.

The First Word

"10 Hamas Leaders Arrested By Israel in the West Bank"; By Isabel Kershner; A9

In the introductory paragraph of her article, Isabel Kershner permits Hamas to opine on the IDF's decision to arrest 10 of its leaders Wednesday, an opportunity that it unsurprisingly exploits to propagandize against Israel. 

The arrests were "an attempt to put pressure on the organization after the collapse of negotiations for the release of a captive Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit," Hamas said. 

Although IK allows for the Israeli military to explain the reason for the arrests, she returns to Hamas later in the article, quoting it directly. The statement adds nothing new, but it does reinforce Hamas' message for the reader.

Un-benign Neglect

"Israel Confronts Deeper Isolation In Gaza's Wake"; By Ethan Bronner; A1, A9

Ethan Bronner gives voice to the view that the Gaza Offensive has increased Israel’s diplomatic isolation, but he fails to credit other factors, which, though they arise within his article, are not given adequate attention. The reason for this neglect may be that NYT's unstated goal ofin undermining any military action Israel takes to weaken Hamas.

As noted in the article, Mauritania closed down its embassy two weeks ago, and Turkey has spoken nastily about Israel’s Gaza Offensive. Yet, both of these countries are motivated by their own internal dynamics, as their governments have become increasingly Islamic recently. In a World Briefing on March 7, Isabel Kershner noted that Mauritania has moved closer to Iran of late after a military junta.

The Turkish government shut down two political parties to which the current Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan belonged, first in 1997 and again in 2001, because of their anti-secular, pro-Islamic views.

Another reason that Israel may be feeling isolated, Bronner suggests, is the strong electoral showings of Benjamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman, whose successes are independent of the Gaza Offensive. This factor deserves exploration, but one of the consistent weaknesses of Bronner's reporting is his unwillingness to engage Israelis-on-the-street, who supported the Gaza Offensive overwhelmingly and elected a right of center government.

Bronner allows one note of pro-Israel advocacy - from Professor Eytan Gilboa at Bar-Ilan - into his article. “Even suicide bombings by Palestinians are seen as our fault for not establishing a Palestinian state," he says.

To minimize the impact of Gilboa's wry, telling remark, the following paragraph is a litany of complaint from “Israel’s critics” who most generously “support the existence of a Jewish state.”

One Life

"Olmert Rejects Hamas Demands for Soldier"; By Isabel Kershner; A10

Although the continued captivity of Gilad Shalit is sad, it exposes a beautiful facet about Israeli society.  The Israeli Defense Forces is a people's army, made up of the sons and daughters of the majority of families in Israel. As a result, the pain of one family is felt by all. 

The Israelis offered to release 320 prisoners for one soldier, demonstrating the value Israel places on one person and the cheapness with which human beings.

Imagine, the families of those 320 men appealing publicly to Hamas leaders for their release. It is a fantasy.  

Both her sympathies and sense of reason come through in Isabel Kershner's upsetting, but well done, report on Hamas' rejection of an exchange.