I’m so glad you wrote this. If journalists and other news media professionals have no scruples about falsely claiming proven combatants in Press vests are “journalists,” it’s no wonder the news coverage of this war is so appallingly biased and unreliable. It’s truly the worst I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. To insist they’re journalists, even after evidence of them being combatants is presented, is to reveal an inexcusable level of bias and blind favoritism toward one side in the conflict. A journalist who refuses to acknowledge substantial evidence of a person’s combatant status likely doesn’t feel the need to report the truth about aid deliveries either, and will pretend not to notice the difference between a starving child and one who’s wasting away as a result of illness or disease. It’s really criminal, what so-called journalists are doing these days.
Every single organization covering the Israel-Hamas War no matter what it is and whom it employs or relies on like those mentioned in the article and others, has ZERO CREDIBILITY and should not be taken seriously. This propaganda war by the complicit media is as deadly as the Hamas terrorist death cult.
Question for you, Avi (it's a little off topic) At one time, you were an international media spokesperson for the IDF. I assume these spokespeople still exist? I don't recall ever reading anything in the American media coming from Israel's perspective. Nothing from IDF spokespeople or spokespeople for the Israeli government. Am I missing something? It frustrates me to no end that Israel is completely absent from the information war-- and I agree with you that Israel's ban on journalists in Gaza harms us.
Hi Lori. Some of the IDF's international media spokespeople over the years have more visible and some less so. The same goes for government spokespeople. It's also important to note that some journalists turn to government and military spokespeople to respond to allegations or to a story that has already largely been written, so even if their response is noted, it is sometimes relatively parenthetical and easily overlooked.
I was very clear in this piece that, when serving in the Spokesperson’s Unit, I would have been a legitimate military target. The same goes for Hamas propagandists. That’s the point.
I do not receive payment from the Israeli government to do anything, nor do many of the people you mentioned. If you don’t see a difference between pro-Israel advocacy and being directly employed by a designated terrorist organization on a full-time basis to engage in operational propaganda on its behalf, I think that says more about you than about any of the people you’re trying to smear.
You are intentionally misconstruing my argument. I didn’t say the individuals who posed with Hamas leaders and celebrated October 7 were affiliated. And I reject the notion that this has been the deadliest conflict for journalists in a century – not least because many of those counted as journalists weren’t journalists at all – which is why I didn’t mention it.
Thank you Avi, for this informative and insightful discussion of the role of journalists and their obligations, particularly in war time.
I’m so glad you wrote this. If journalists and other news media professionals have no scruples about falsely claiming proven combatants in Press vests are “journalists,” it’s no wonder the news coverage of this war is so appallingly biased and unreliable. It’s truly the worst I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. To insist they’re journalists, even after evidence of them being combatants is presented, is to reveal an inexcusable level of bias and blind favoritism toward one side in the conflict. A journalist who refuses to acknowledge substantial evidence of a person’s combatant status likely doesn’t feel the need to report the truth about aid deliveries either, and will pretend not to notice the difference between a starving child and one who’s wasting away as a result of illness or disease. It’s really criminal, what so-called journalists are doing these days.
Every single organization covering the Israel-Hamas War no matter what it is and whom it employs or relies on like those mentioned in the article and others, has ZERO CREDIBILITY and should not be taken seriously. This propaganda war by the complicit media is as deadly as the Hamas terrorist death cult.
Question for you, Avi (it's a little off topic) At one time, you were an international media spokesperson for the IDF. I assume these spokespeople still exist? I don't recall ever reading anything in the American media coming from Israel's perspective. Nothing from IDF spokespeople or spokespeople for the Israeli government. Am I missing something? It frustrates me to no end that Israel is completely absent from the information war-- and I agree with you that Israel's ban on journalists in Gaza harms us.
Hi Lori. Some of the IDF's international media spokespeople over the years have more visible and some less so. The same goes for government spokespeople. It's also important to note that some journalists turn to government and military spokespeople to respond to allegations or to a story that has already largely been written, so even if their response is noted, it is sometimes relatively parenthetical and easily overlooked.
I was very clear in this piece that, when serving in the Spokesperson’s Unit, I would have been a legitimate military target. The same goes for Hamas propagandists. That’s the point.
I do not receive payment from the Israeli government to do anything, nor do many of the people you mentioned. If you don’t see a difference between pro-Israel advocacy and being directly employed by a designated terrorist organization on a full-time basis to engage in operational propaganda on its behalf, I think that says more about you than about any of the people you’re trying to smear.
You are intentionally misconstruing my argument. I didn’t say the individuals who posed with Hamas leaders and celebrated October 7 were affiliated. And I reject the notion that this has been the deadliest conflict for journalists in a century – not least because many of those counted as journalists weren’t journalists at all – which is why I didn’t mention it.