CARLSBAD, Calif.—During a recent phone call on my radio show (LeChaim to Life with Rabbi E) a caller asked why the “mainstream” media is so acutely biased against Israel? Subsequently, while driving and listening to the news on one of the main networks I heard an update about the Middle Eastern crises. I was amazed when almost the entire report emphasized the damage being done to Lebanon, particularly “civilian” installations, infrastructure and apartment buildings. 

My mind screamed, “What about the damage being done to Israel?” “Why is this network not reporting on the cause of the Israeli action?” “Why have they not explained that this whole mess is a result of a proxy war being fought by Iran against the West in general and Israel in particular, to take the West’s attention from the brewing crisis regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions?” “If they do choose to focus upon the human angle of this struggle why don’t they at least interview some Israelis who are suffering profoundly from these barbaric and unprovoked attacks?”

Unfortunately, this type of reporting is not the exception but the rule when it comes to Israel’s struggles against terrorism. Israel it seems is always blamed. Israel undergoes an unprovoked attack by terrorists, Israel gets the blame at worst, or Israel’s violent response is focused upon at best. Hundreds and now thousands of rockets are shot into Israeli territory, the media focuses upon Israel’s necessarily violent response. Headlines scream out “Israel Intensifies Attacks in Lebanon,” and the reader is largely left to his own devices to figure out why Israel is suddenly bombing the heck out of its tiny and weak Northern neighbor.

These same media outlets report with great clarity the calls from world leaders for Israel to respond “proportionally” to these unprovoked attacks, and even give plenty of airtime to active terrorists mouthpieces. Often times, even when they do interview an Israeli, they specifically choose someone from Israel’s left, who almost gives credence to the claims of the terrorists and at least partially blames Israel and/or the US for these attacks. For goodness sakes, most of the mainstream media refuse to call a terrorist a terrorist, instead using the euphemism “militant.” The media miserably fails to give the story any historical context from Israel’s perspective. The media miserably fails to give Israel’s strategic goals any exposure. For instance, no one has mentioned why Israel chose to bomb Lebanon’s only international airport (to stop the re-supply of Hizbollah via the air).

Why does the free press utilize such shoddy, lazy, and misleading reporting methods when it comes to Israel? This question has been brewing in mind for a long time, but now it has become more pertinent than ever before. Is there any media that covers these important stories with the depth and intellectual honesty they deserve? This question is of critical importance, for as we all know, one of the cornerstones of a true democracy is a free and unbiased press.

There are plenty of possible answers to these questions, and each of these possible answers is more disturbing than the one before it.

1. “Rooting for the Underdog.” The press has a propensity of fighting for the underdog, making the weaker party in a dispute, automatically the favored party in the press. In fact, rooting for the underdog is as American as apple pie. There are times, however, when the weaker party is weaker because they deserve to be weaker. Who is more powerful, the Taliban in Afghanistan or the US? Clearly the US holds the advantage in that conflict, big time, and thank G-d for that! If the Taliban were more powerful than the US we would all be subjected to their laws, and many of us would already be dead because we are the infidels.

Perhaps this is why Israel’s homicidal neighbors are given preferential treatment in the press. The Palestinians are weaker than Israel, therefore they have become the darlings of the press, never held accountable for their election of the terrorist Hamas group, nor for their celebrations when Westerners are slaughtered like goats, nor for radicalizing their own children and turning them into human bombs. Their numerous and heinous trespasses are glossed over or ignored, while the freedom loving Israelis are vilified. Sometimes their atrocities and Israeli reprisals are even compared in terminology like “cycle of violence.” This grants a moral equivalency between homicide bombers and legitimate self-defense.

2. “The Laziness Factor.” It is much easier for a reporter to write an article based upon things he may have heard or seen in another article than to really research an article. When one reads or hears many of these reports one is left to conclude that current events exist in a vacuum, which is of course nonsense. To paint a clear picture of what is happening historical background is critical to accuracy. This type of coverage rarely if ever is pursued in this era of soundbites and instant gratification.

3. “The Customer is always Right.” Everyone in business knows this statement to be true. The problem here is that it is not the press’ job to pander to the reader, or even the general populace, but instead to tell the truth. Truth in general and in this case in particular will go a long way in influencing public opinion. Americans are perhaps the most fair-minded of all peoples. When presented with facts, even uncomfortable facts, Americans will typically react appropriately.

Unfortunately it seems that some intense pandering to Islamic interests is at work in the media. The reaction of the Muslim “street” seems to be festering in editor’s minds, as they cringe in fear from being targeted by Islamic terror. Don’t buy it? Look at the ridiculous Muslim reactions to the cartoons printed in the Danish newspapers earlier this year. Entire European countries were engulfed by rioting due to some cartoons of Mohammed. The truth is that Muslim newspapers routinely run much worse cartoons of Jews and nary a word is heard in protest. I suppose that the media outlets in question prefer to pander to the world’s 1+ billion Muslims for the sake of expediency and at the price of truth.

4. “Follow the Money.” Another golden rule in worldwide events is to follow the money trail. This is something that the mainstream media excels at when trying to bring down a politician they may not agree with, but eerily, they leave this tried and true method to unravel their own obvious biases in Middle East reporting. Who is ultimately pulling the strings in some of these media outlets that have become so skewed in their reporting that they have relegated themselves to the position of being propaganda ministries for some of the most corrupt and evil people the world has seen since World War II. I for one am very curious to know what percentage of the BBC or Reuters are owned by people with anti-Israel agendas.

What about media outlets under Jewish management? How come some media outlets that have Jews in positions of power also seem to be involved in this type of anti-Israel bias? It may be there are Jews in management, but that does not make it Jewish management. Jews who do not behave according to the directives of Judaism may be Jewish, but that doesn’t make their actions Jewish. In fact unfortunately many of them may be termed as self-hating Jews. They are for some reason embarrassed by their glorious Jewish heritage. Perhaps they are striving to be more American than the Jones’, a long and thoroughly embarrassing aspect of Jewish life. Historically, prominent Jews have often led the way in movements that are antithetical to Jewish values, as they have taken those same Jewish values and have perverted them to fit an anti-G-d agenda.

 Jews also seem to have this inborn need to be viewed as being fair, and so they will strengthen their enemies’ positions even to their own detriment, all in the name of appearing fair.  Finally, Jews are trained from birth to try and see the G-dly in every person. This makes it hard for some Jews to identify evil in others. Even if they see it they are reticent to point out that evil for they never want to appear to be judgmental. I know, crazy, but true!

5. “Ye Ole Traditional Anti-Semitism.” I know, I know, we Jews always seem to play the Anti-Semite card. But, for the life of me, I don’t know how else to explain this confounding media bias! I cannot imagine that the powers behind the mainstream news headlines don’t recognize the inherent imbalances in their stories. I am positive they must be cognizant of their subtle, and not so subtle, slants against Israel. At worst this makes them blatantly Anti-Semitic. At best this Anti-Israel bias makes them slaves to the expedient, which manifests itself in the fact that they are willing to sacrifice Israel on the altar of appeasement. Whichever it is these media are complicit in physical attacks against Israel and the attendant attacks against Jews worldwide (like in France and Russia). It was the same realization that led the totally secular Jew Theodore Herzl to start the modern Secular Zionist Movement.

What the astonishing anti-Israel bias will do is cause lots of very real damage and suffering. The war against Israel is nothing less than a war against the West. If Israel falls, G-d forbid, the Western world is next (starting in Europe most probably). It will be then that those numerous talking heads will find that their heads have been removed from the rest of their bodies. Last I checked countries like Iran, Syria, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia do not countenance a free press. In fact, only one country in that entire region does, Israel of course!