By Tom Brennan
Watching the evening news is a very trying time for supporters of Israel. We hear of a high number of civilian casualties in Gaza. We as Christians must mourn for the innocent. We must also denounce the terrorists who declare that the civilians “stand their ground” and stay in their villages and homes as the IDF tries to stop the launching of rockets against civilian targets in Israel. Certainly no one with any credibility will question that the rockets were fired first and that they continue to fall. However, has any reporter, anchor or media agency asked for the source of the casualty lists? Has traditional journalistic objectivity been replaced by prejudiced subjectivity of corporate owners of most mainstream media?
William Randolph Hearst is best known for espousing “yellow journalism”. This refers to a sensationalistic type of news reporting which attracts public attention through manipulation of facts, even stating supposition as fact. The goal of his newspaper chain was to sell newspapers and gain profit and power. Instantaneous communication has made the competition to get something and anything on the air first a battle of unprecedented frenzy. Body counts always gains the ear and eye. What is troubling is that the terror group Hamas and its spokesmen are given equality by the world media in comparison to a legitimate democratically elected government.
Reports of the unbelievably complex and sophisticated tunnel network built by Hamas are just beginning to be distributed. Even the IDF is amazed by the scale of these tunnels. They are a mix of bunkers, storage areas, manufacturing areas and storage for the munitions used in attacks on Israel and entrance ways into nearby Israeli settlements and kibbutzes. From these tunnels terrorists have been able to enter Israeli territory and commit raids and murders. We are forced to confront ourselves as to finishing the question of who invaded who? So far at least 31 tunnels, with at least half entering into Israel have been found. These tunnels are a sort of Maginot Line and underground fortress for terrorists. Even the soldiers who have led the necessary ground attack are astounded by the complexity of the network. Brave IDF soldiers will be needed to root out the dangerous foes and close down the network; and they will succeed.
It is obvious that much of the world press has turned against Israel and even Christianity. But we as Christians are obliged to seek out the truth and reject deliberate lies and manipulations. As news and information consumers and friends and supporters of Israel we cannot be satisfied with the status quo. Polite and businesslike letter to print press sources, emails to radio stations and TV stations, using sources like Google+ to support reporters who go out of their way to support Israel and report accurately are positive ways to address the issue.
We certainly cannot read or watch every media source, but we can be selective. Recommending the best and most objective media can support that particular source and hopefully influence the others to follow suit. Media is a very competitive business. Numbers of daily issues printed and distributed sell advertising, numbers of “likes”, followers and page views get a website to high page rankings. Quality has worth and meaning still.
Hopefully, brave reporters, ethical editors and producers and a more savvy news and information consuming public will pressure all the media, online and print to seek out and verify their numbers, informants and sources and restore the trust they once had. As Christians we cannot accept untruth and rumor, no matter how useful it may seem to prove our point or support our opinions. Simply put “ you don’t vote on truth”. Support for Israel must always comply with the Biblical standards we all share. On that you can be sure.
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