It is Thursday, March 17, 2011 and I can’t even see a headline about the Fogel family. The only headline I found with regards to Israel on Fox News was “UK urges Israel to return to peace talks” (http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/17/uk-urges-israel-return-peace-talks/#) where William Hague—Britain’s foreign secretary—voices concerns to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak with regards to settlement construction in the West Bank, settlements that “run contrary to peace” according to Hague. I find this incredible; not a week has passed since the terrible murders of the Fogels, and we are already back on the theory that it is the settlements that are undermined the peace process. A hundred years from now, historians and students will be at a loss to understand that, I am sure.
On the CNN website, it is worse, true story. No mention of Israel at all on the main page. If we venture under the “world” tab, the 4th top world story read “Netanyahu on Japan and nuclear power,” a video where Netanyahu worries about having nuclear plants in Israel and announces that Israel will not develop nuclear energy for civilian use (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/03/17/exp.piers.morgan.netanyahu.japan.cnn). But if you keep on scrolling down and reach the end of the page, you will find another article about Israel. There is nothing about the family that was slaughtered less than a week ago in Israel, of course not. Rather, there is an article about the interception of a weapon shipment, originating from Iran, which was bond to reach Gaza. That’s a good consolation!
I agree that what little headline space the Fogel family received is pretty much gone now. But even a day or so after, NYT's article responding to the tragedy headlined, "Israel to Step Up Pace of Construction in West Bank Areas." This was the response to the tragedy, but it's as if the tragedy itself wasn't newsworthy.
ReplyDeleteI don't mean to belittle the tragic deaths of the Fogel family in the slightest but the brutal truth as I see it, is that on a global scale the violent murder of a family is certainly not unheard of. So I can certainly understand how a news organization could decide not to report this.
ReplyDeleteYes, on a global scale the murder of an Israeli family does not equal news. I too understand why news organizations would chose not to report this especially in light of what's going on in Japan. But the American media would report on it more if the family were more relatable to the average America. The media eats up tragedies that hit close to home (literally or otherwise). But in this situation it only hits us close to home, not the average American.
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