Protest Petition
2013-07-23
In response to the Israeli Hebrew media's lack of coverage and dearth of analysis regarding the Palestinian public's protests to the Prawer Plan we put out a petition that to date has received 150 signatories, among them journalists, writers, activists, academics, and public figures. The Prawer Plan seeks to displace up to 70,000 Palestinians from the Naqab, cut off the community's ties to their historical lands and force them into towns specially designated for them. Please see the petition below.
Protest Petition
We, the undersigned journalists, writers, activists, academics, and public figures, denounce the Israeli media's coverage and treatment of the protests by Palestinian citizens against the implementation of the “Prawer” Plan which will confiscate 800,000 dunams of land and expel tens of thousands of Naqab (Negev) Palestinians from their homes.
Most Israeli media preferred to ignore the event, and did not cover it at all. This violated the Israeli media's ethical and professional commitment to the public's right to know.
The media coverage was minimal – as hundreds protested and a general strike was held. The Israeli media focused instead on what it called “riots”, reporting the story of Israeli officials and police officers.
Israeli media did not make an effort to present the necessary facts of the “Prawer” plan and population projections of the Naqab. Rather, they used loaded language and accepted Israeli institutional propaganda fully, as if the “organized settlement of the Negev” wasn't accompanied by an intentional disregard for the human and social costs of the plan, nor did they offer any alternative views on the plan.
Based on the above, we demand that the Israeli media commit itself to its ethical and professional duty reflect reality by giving space to a wide range of voices on the Israeli street, including an immediate halt to blindly adopting the official narrative of the Israeli establishment.
We believe that the true test of the media's claim to professional and ethical credibility is its strength in defending human rights and universal values. Therefore Israeli media remains indebted to the Palestinian community, and they have to pay this debt if they wish to save face, as professional and legitimate media.
