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JewishAmerica's 'Unbiased' Journalism Contest

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Please e-mail us at Webmaster@JewishAmerica.com

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You know where the winners can go, dont you?

This entry comes from http://www.infobeat.com

Here are the headlines in a subsection of their April 7th 1998 e-mail publication.

India and the Middle East

*** Palestinian probe says Hamas killed bomber
*** Over 200 Tibetans go on hunger strike in India
*** S. Lanka police question Clarke over tabloid charge
*** 23 bodies recovered from India boat accident
*** Arab shot dead by Israeli police near Jerusalem
*** UN council calls for Afghan cease-fire, talks

Arab shot dead by Israeli police near Jerusalem. Hmmm.

Suppose you don't have the time to read through the article which provides detail for this headline . You just walk away with an impression from these headlines.

"Arab shot dead" (sounds quite brutal) "by Israeli police" (there they go again, those Israelis, with more police brutality against the Arabs who are unfortunate enough to be under their their control) "near Jerusalem" (the world certainly can't afford to let the Israelis have sovereignty over Jerusalem!)

Well, here is the full story, if you have the time to read it. Do you think that the headline matches the story. Do you think that it could have been worded in a different manner? Do you think that the first sentence is really necessary? Would the article evoked a different emotion if it were left out?

Israeli police chased a suspicious car and shot dead the Arab driver on the outskirts of Jerusalem Monday, a senior police officer said. Israeli security forces have been on heightened alert for possible Palestinian guerrilla bombings following the death last week in the West Bank town of Ramallah of Muhyideen al-Sharif, a master bombmaker of the Muslim militant group Hamas. A van with Israeli license plates, declared unroadworthy several months ago, fled from two police cars in a chase that ended outside Ramallah, said Jerusalem police. "It hit several parked cars. A number of shots were fired, the driver was hit and he died later in hospital," police said.
See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2553638997-b56

---

This entry also comes from http://www.infobeat.com

Here are the headlines in a subsection of their April 8th 1998 e-mail publication. It is interesting to note that our first entry from Infobeat was just yesterday.

This time we went to their source page, which turned out to be a download from Reuters, known for their enthusiastic view of Israel.

World Front Page Stories

*** N. Ireland killing ahead of key peace talks
*** Monitors say Israel, Lebanon violate ceasefire
*** Serbia backs referendum after talks snub
*** Muslims mark Feast of Sacrifice at hajj end
*** Freed Cuban prisoners plan to leave Canada for U.S.
*** Rwanda-type crisis still unstoppable - U.S. official

Let's look at that second item.

*** Monitors say Israel, Lebanon violate ceasefire

Say, what's that comma doing there? My 5th grade English teacher taught me that we use commas to separate three or more items.

You know, a comma also makes for a good pause. It gives the reader a chance to let the message sink in a bit.

In the list of cease-fire violators, Israel is mentioned first. Perhaps, the writer also wanted Israel to be in the sink.

So, if you only have time to read the headlines then Israel has done it, again.

Let's look at the story in two levels.

First we'll look at the summary that came with the headline. Then we'll look at the detail from their website.

Here's the summary:

*** Monitors say Israel, Lebanon violate ceasefire

An international group monitoring a south Lebanon cease-fire agreement said Tuesday that both Lebanon and Israel had recently violated the accord. "The Monitoring Group acknowledged that on March 31, 1998, a roadside bomb placed by a Lebanese Armed Group on a road linking the military position of Kawka'be to the village of Kawka'be was detonated, killing six civilians and wounding a seventh," the group said. The U.S.-brokered cease-fire, which ended a period of intense Israeli shelling of southern Lebanon in 1996, bars civilian attacks.
See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2553650479-c09

Hey, wait a minute. The headlines said "Israel, Lebananon violate ceasefire." The story says that "both Lebanon and Israel had recently violated the accord." Who bears prime the responsibility?

Another question. Who is this "international group monitoring.. the cease-fire agreement" I guess this is explained on the web site.

They say "a roadside bomb placed by a Lebanese Armed Group" killed some civilians. So, the killers were Lebanese, not Israelis. Why were the Israelis listed first in the headline? And with a comma, too? I'm getting a sinking feeling.

OK. Ready for the website and REUTERS. I can't resist interjecting my comments. I'll put them inside <markers>.

02:14 PM ET 04/07/98

Monitors say Israel, Lebanon violate ceasefire

BEIRUT (Reuters) - An international group monitoring a south Lebanon cease-fire agreement said Tuesday that both Lebanon and Israel had recently violated the accord.

``The Monitoring Group acknowledged that on March 31, 1998, a roadside bomb placed by a Lebanese Armed Group on a road linking the military position of Kawka'be to the village of Kawka'be was detonated, killing six civilians and wounding a seventh,'' the group said in a statement. 

The statement said that the Lebanese delegate to the group's April 6-7 deliberations had said those killed and wounded were civilians used by Israel for paramilitary purposes and that made the Jewish state responsible.

<Wait a minute. This monitoring group did NOT monitor the tragedy. Rather, some "Lebanese delegate" told them that this happened. Who was that person? Don't know.>

<Next. The "killed and wounded were civilians used by Israel for paramilitary purposes and that made the Jewish state responsible." Oh? We have facts that may or may not be true. We also have a judgement which uses the facts, that since the civilians were used by Israel, the Jewish State is responsible. Do you agree with this judgement? It is logical enough to base a headline on it, that "Israel, Lebanon violate ceasefire">

<Also remember again, that it was a Lebanese Armed Group that killed the civilians, not the Israelis. Wonder what type of Armed Group this was. Hmmmm.>

<Further>

The cease-fire monitors said the employment of civilians in military sites puts them at risk, but concluded that the incident violated the cease-fire.

<Oh. Now they were civilian employees. Now I better understand the first paragraph. They weren't paramilitary operatives. Rather, they were doing something that needed to be done for paramilitary purposes. Wonder what type of work they were doing? Read on.>

``The Group called upon Lebanon to take all necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents,'' it said.

<If Israel is responsible, why didn't they call upon Israel to take necessary measures. Maybe Isreal really wasn't responsible.>

The U.S.-brokered cease-fire, which ended a period of intense Israeli shelling of southern Lebanon in 1996, bars attacks on civilians.

The cease-fire monitors come from Lebanon, Israel, Syria, France and the United States.

<Enough with this monitor business. Pardon my French. Who in the *&!$ are these cease-fire monitors? Who appointed them? What are their credentials? Don't know.>

In the Kawka'be incident, six Lebanese construction workers were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their pickup truck in the bloodiest single attack on civilians in south Lebanon in over four months.

<Now I'm getting the bloody picture. They were construction workers. They needed some work and the Israelis offered them a job. I'm sure that the Israelis gave them a salary and that they voluntarily accepted the job, together with all of the risks involved in working in a war zone. They were unfortunately killed by some Lebanese Armed Group. Do you agree that "the incident violated the cease-fire" and that the "Jewish State is responsible"? >

<Again, what in the world was this Armed Group?>

<Further>

Citing a separate incident, the monitoring group said that April 2 heavy machinegun fire ``by Israel or those cooperating with it'' had killed a civilian farmer on the road between Jarjua and Louaize.

<This is a good time to bring on all of the shmutz about Israel that you can find.>

<Someone was killed ``by Israel or those cooperating with it'' No additional facts provided. No clear focus of responsibility. This doesn't seem to matter.>

``The Group concluded that this attack constituted a violation of the Understanding and called upon Israel and those cooperating with it to take all necessary measures to prevent a recurrence of such incidents,'' the statement said.

<Shall Israel listen to this advice and fire all of the Lebanese people that they provided with economic opportunity?>

Pro-Iranian Hizbollah guerrillas are waging a war of attrition to oust Israeli troops and their South Lebanon Army (SLA) militia allies from the Jewish state's south Lebanon occupation zone. Civilians are often caught in the middle.

<OK, now. The "Armed Group" consisted of pro-Iranian Hizbollah guerrillas. It took quite a long time for them to say this. Now I understand why they called upon Lebanon to take all necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. Why was Israel listed first in the headline? When Hizbollah guerrillas kill Lebanese civilians, why did people say Israel violated a ceasefire?>

So far this year, nine civilians have been killed and 19 wounded.

<By who?>

^REUTERS@

<Thanks, again.>