In his weekly Canadian Jewish News media analysis column “According to Reports,†Paul Michaels, CIC Director of Communications, looks at the sensational coverge given the unproven allegations of IDF wrong-doing in Gaza:
Allegations that some Israeli soldiers wantonly violated the Israel Defence Forces’ code of conduct during the Gaza military campaign, recklessly killing Palestinian civilians, broke first in the Israeli press. But the story quickly gained prominence in the Canadian and international media as well.
The Toronto Star‘s Oakland Ross reported on the story March 20, in a piece sensationally headlined “Israeli soldiers ran wild in Gaza; ‘The most moral army in the world’ killed civilians without cause.”
In the article, Ross made it clear that the assertion that Israeli soldiers had killed unarmed Palestinian civilians “without provocation or warning” had come from soldiers’ reports at a military college, and that the IDF had pledged to investigate the charges.
Ross cited the stories that had appeared in the Israeli newspapers Haaretz and Maariv. These papers alleged that four Palestinian civilians, including two children, had been recklessly killed in two separate incidents during Israel’s recent Gaza incursion.
Nonetheless, the headline and front-page placement of the story left the impression of widespread wrongdoing – of an army out of control.
But the Star’s sensational treatment paled in comparison with what occurred in the British media, according to the Jerusalem Post editorial “Purity of Arms” (March 22).
The Post said that the BBC “played up [the] claims: ‘Israel troops admit Gaza abuses…including cold-blooded murder.’ The International Herald Tribune led its Friday paper with ‘Grim testimony on Israeli assault: Soldiers report killing of unarmed civilians in Gaza.’ And London’s matchless Independent splashed its entire front page with ‘Israel’s dirty secrets in Gaza.’”
In “A farewell to the purity of arms,” (Globe and Mail, March 21) Patrick Martin approached the allegations from a more unusual angle – looking at the soul-searching within Israeli society about Jewish ethics and conduct during warfare.
Martin also paid attention to the broader context, noting that the allegations are not unique to Israel: “[S]uch behaviour is found in almost every military force (think Serbs in Bosnia, Americans at Abu Ghraib and Canadians in Somalia) and has existed as long as there has been war.”
The National Post‘s March. 23 editorial, “The Middle East’s moral gulf” noted, “What is…remarkable is how this all has been handled in Israel itself. As soon as the allegations surfaced, Israel’s military advocate general launched an investigation… Israel is an open society in which ordinary soldiers often discuss their combat experiences in op-ed articles, blogs and radio programs. Indeed, this whole story was originally broken by Israeli newspapers.”
The Post also observed that, while none of the accounts had been verified, “no one should be surprised if some turn out to be true. No army – even one serving a humane, democratic nation such as Israel, tragically well-practiced in the art of counter-terrorism – is staffed by unbroken legions of angels. There are always bad apples.”
No doubt this may be true, in a general sense. But a March 25 Jerusalem Post article “IDF Source: Charges of civilian shootings false” by Yaakov Lappin – which just before this column’s deadline – cast doubt on the veracity of the charges and raised questions about the media frenzy that had surrounded the allegations.
Lappin wrote: “Allegations that IDF soldiers deliberately shot and killed Palestinian civilians in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead have been found to be categorically untrue in official army investigations, an IDF source told The Jerusalem Post on [March 25].”
The investigation (which as of that date had not been officially released) found that the soldiers who had made the claims in both cases had not witnessed the events they described but had based their reports on rumours. Moreover, further inquiry ruled out that events had occurred as depicted.
An IDF source remarked to Lappin: “Unfortunately, due to competition, sections of the press picked up this story and ran with it. It is a shame the media promoted this sort of spin all over the world.”
Lappin concluded: “It is unlikely the damage to Israel’s image from the allegations can be repaired, irrespective of the results of the investigation, he noted.”
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