THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VI, Issue # 131, June 20, 2004
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PALESTINIANS:
A BRIEFING PRESENTED TO THE MIDDLE EAST FORUM
By Khaled Abu Toameh
FULL STORY:
As an Arab journalist working among Palestinians, I am often asked if I feel threatened while I work. I am indeed frequently placed in
life-threatening situations, yet the threats I experience do not come from the Israeli occupation, but from Yasir Arafat's Palestinian
Authority (PA). At least 12 Palestinian journalists have been attacked by masked men in the past five months in what appears to be
an organized campaign to intimidate the media. Two weeks ago, a photographer working for Agence France-Presse had his arms
broken by a masked man in Ramallah. Agence France-Presse did not do anything about this attack, but a great outcry is raised when
Israeli soldiers allegedly harass journalists in the territories.
THE LACK OF INDEPENDENCE IN THE PALESTINIAN MEDIA
Twenty years ago, while studying at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, I worked for the Palestine Liberation Organization's newspaper
Al Fajr (The Dawn). Al Fajr was more than a paper; it was a Palistine Liberation Organization (PLO) institution.
At the paper, we basically received and carried out orders from Arafat's office in Tunisia. Although I eventually became an editor
there, I did not mention my position at Al Fajr on my resume for years because I did not consider the work that went on there
to be real journalism. Now, after being censured for my outspokenly critical views of the Palestinian media, I consider my time at
Al Fajr testament to my knowledge of the lack of journalistic freedom at the PLO newspaper.
I continue to witness what is happening to the Palestinian media under Arafat. Many of my Palestinian colleagues actually envy me
for writing for an Israeli paper. Working for the PLO, I was not able to write a word of my own free will. Yet, in two years at the
Jerusalem Post, my editors have never told me what to write. I can function as a journalist at the Jerusalem Post in a
way that many Palestinians have tried to function under Arafat, but have failed.
ARAFAT'S ATTACK ON FREE SPEECH
When Arafat returned to the West Bank and Gaza from his exile, his security forces ignored pursuing terrorists and instead arrested
independent journalists not loyal enough to the PLO. Over 38 journalists were forced out of their jobs or the country. This was not
given much attention by the foreign media because, at the time, Arafat was allowed to do whatever he wanted in the name of Oslo.
Although they did not cover the story heavily, I was not alone in pointing out to foreign journalists that the first thing Arafat did,
when the PLO returned to the territories, was to restrict freedom of speech.
Arafat has complete control over the Palestinian media to this day. Almost all Palestinian newspapers are financed by the PLO, and
serve as a mouthpiece for the organization, which is basically Arafat's office. Some days, the headlines for the three major
Palestinians papers are identical. The lack of freedom at these papers is a big disappointment for Palestinian journalists; they were
freer to write what they wanted under Israeli occupation, before the PLO returned from exile.
Arafat's suppression of free speech is another example of an Arab leader not allowing the people to speak out. In this way Arafat is
no different from other Arab dictators, who see the role of the media as subservient to – and a mouthpiece for – their regimes. In the
Arab world, if you are an independent journalist or you criticize the regime, then you are branded a traitor – and that kind of
suppression of dissent is how dictatorial Arab regimes survive.
THE PALESTINIAN MEDIA & ITS IMPACT ON FOREIGN MEDIA
The lack of free speech in the territories should not be dismissed as an internal Palestinian problem. When Palestinian journalists are
intimidated, it affects foreign journalists, who depend on Palestinians to be their guides and translators in the territories. When foreign
journalists interview Palestinians, many translators often mistranslate or even reprimand Palestinian interviewees critical of the
Palestinian Authority, and foreign journalists' ability to accurately gather facts is thus hampered.
Another problem with the Palestinian media is the sad fact that some Palestinian journalists see themselves as foot soldiers serving the
revolution. These socalled journalists are often politically affiliated with one group or another. Under the PA, you basically cannot be a
journalist, if you are not a member of Fatah or the security forces. All the credible independent journalists have been fired by the three
major Palestinian newspapers, and there are many professional Palestinian journalists, but they have been forced to seek work with the
Arab and foreign media.
There are some in the foreign media who knowingly hire consultants or journalists who are really political activists, and rely heavily on
them for their reporting. These "consultants" include former security prisoners and political activists who are hired by major media
organizations, including American ones, who are often aware of these socalled journalists' problematic backgrounds. Despite the bias
of their consultants, which inevitably affects their reporting, the media organizations keep quiet about the consultants' backgrounds. It
is hard to say if this acquiescence by foreign media organizations is due to intimidation or to the need to maintain a good relationship
with the PA, but it seriously affects the ability of journalists in the region to report the facts on the ground to the world.
CONCLUSION
People in the rest of the world, therefore, do not get an accurate picture of what happens in the region, and there are two parties to
blame for this journalistic failure. Partly to blame are foreign journalists who allow themselves to be misled by some of their
Palestinian consultants. The bulk of the blame, however, rests with the PA, whose tyrannical approach and control of the media
creates an atmosphere of intimidation and fear among Palestinian journalists.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
The Israeli-Arab Conflict
The Middle East & the Arabs
Radical Islam & Islamic Terrorism
More on Radical Islam & Islamic Terrorism
War & Peace in the Real World
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
Khaled Abu Toameh, an Israeli Arab, is the West Bank and Gaza correspondent for the Jerusalem Post and U.S. News and
World Report. He previously served as a senior writer for the Jerusalem Report, and a correspondent for Al-Fajr. He
has produced several documentaries on the Palestinians for BBC and many other networks, including those that exposed the
connection between Arafat and payments to the armed wing of Fatah and the financial corruption within the Palestinian Authority.
Abu Toameh received his BA in English Literature from Hebrew University and currently lives in Jerusalem with his wife and three
children. He addressed the Middle East Forum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 27, 2004, and presented his briefing.on the
Palestinians and the lack of media independence and press freedom under the authoritarian political regime of Yasser Arafat, the
Palestinian Authority, & the Palestine Liberation Organization.
The foregoing summary account of the briefing was written by Robert Blum, a research assistant at the Middle East Forum. The
original version of the summary account can be found on the Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum.
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
June 5, 2004
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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