Israel Newspaper

In this nuanced and detailed study of newspaper reporting during the escalation of the second Intifada in the fall of 2000, Daniel Dor shows how real events are subject to distortion and manipulation by the media. In an analysis of the heart of Israel's media establishment--the newspapers "Yediot Ahronot, Ma'ariv, and "Ha'aretz--he finds a wide gap between the reality reported by field reporters and the eventual newspaper accounts framed by editors. Led by beliefs, opinions, and emotional responses rather than the facts provided by their reporters, these editors created a platform on which a new and fearful narrative for Israeli-Palestinian relations are built. Yet while Dor demonstrates that the media construct the news rather than simply report it, his sophisticated analysis also shows that no one entity or person is responsible. Rather than a supreme authority, Dor argues, it is the influence of fear, anger, ignorance, and a desire to please and sell newspapers that threatens the freedom of the press in a liberal democracy.

Edward Said demonstrates why he is considered the preeminent observer and critic of the Middle East peace process in this collection of fifty essays, written mostly for Arab and European newspapers in the last five years and previously not readily available to American readers. Said uncovers the political mechanism that advertises reconciliation in the Middle East while keeping peace out of the picture. He cites the imbalance of power that forces Palestinians and Arab states to accept the concessions of the United States and Israel, thus prohibiting real negotiations and promoting the second-class treatment of Palestinians. He critiques Arafat's self-interested leadership and the oppressive Palestinian Authority, criticizes the general quiescence of Palestinian life, and denounces Israel's refusal to recognize Palestine's past. In this unflinching cry for civic justice and self-determination, Said promotes not a political agenda but a transcendent alternative: the peaceful coexistence of Arabs and Jews enjoying equal rights and shared citizenship.