{"id":1746,"date":"2014-07-08T21:44:58","date_gmt":"2014-07-08T21:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/?p=1746"},"modified":"2014-07-09T06:06:07","modified_gmt":"2014-07-09T06:06:07","slug":"the-other-side-of-the-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/the-other-side-of-the-story\/","title":{"rendered":"The Other Side of the Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Elisabeth Hinze<\/p>\n

Just after 1am last night, the IDF Spokesperson unit took to Twitter to announce the start of Operation Protective Edge in Gaza against Hamas \u201cin order to stop the terror Israel\u2019s citizens face on a daily basis.\u201d <\/p>\n

Over the past three weeks, more than 200 rockets have slammed into the south of Israel. And Israel responded to those rockets with airstrikes on Gaza. Yesterday things took a turn for the worse. Between 20:00 and 20:10 last night, a barrage of 30 rockets rained down on Israel. Let that sink in for a moment. Thirty rockets in 10 minutes\u2026 That brings the total rocket count for Monday to 80.
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\"Qassam_Launchers_in_Gaza\"<\/a>

Qassam_Launchers_in_Gaza<\/p><\/div>
\nIn the days to come, the international media will have a field day covering events here in Israel. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve already seen some of the headlines, read the newspaper articles and heard the snippets on radio and television. But here is my concern. I follow the coverage of Israel in my country pretty closely. And honestly, if I hadn\u2019t been here, if I didn\u2019t see or experience the other side of the story, if I had to rely on what the media had to say, I\u2019d have believed Israel to be a nation of cruel, heartless thugs without any regard for human life, always looking for an excuse to march off to war. I would have. Because that\u2019s the message the media in my country so manipulatively feeds us. And I\u2019m concerned that the media in your country might be up to the same subtle tricks.<\/p>\n

See, I often meet people who have this violent, cruel picture of who Israel is. When I ask why, they can\u2019t tell me. It\u2019s not something they have a strong opinion on or even think about. It\u2019s just this impression, this vague subconscious belief of that being the way it is. Which comes from the images, the phrases, the headlines you read on your way to work and the snippets you hear on the radio. Painting Israel as the villain is what the media in my country aims at. And they seem to be doing a stellar job.
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\"Israel<\/a>

Israel Under Fire<\/p><\/div>
\nMake no mistake, the media twists, frames, emphasises or hurls facts out of context to make sure that you get only the story they want you to hear. I worked in media for years. I know the subtle tricks.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been here in Israel for the past few weeks. I\u2019ve seen the events unfold and the intensity of emotions they evoke. And I followed the coverage internationally. What I\u2019d like to give you is an objective, outsider\u2019s glimpse of how subtly the media plant little seeds of discord towards Israel amongst their readers. <\/p>\n

Which brings me to the first thing to remember about airstrikes on Gaza: the key word is retaliation. Israel retaliates. Why? Well, what would you do about someone attacking your house? Wouldn\u2019t you do everything in your power to keep your family safe? <\/p>\n

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