Ha’aretz Print Edition’s Subtle Selectivity
Israeli Arabs riot following the attack on the Basilica of the Annunciation/Photo by AP
On Friday night, a Jewish Israeli man, his Christian wife, and their daughter entered a Christian holy site in Nazareth and detonated fireworks. As the online edition of Ha’aretz reported today:
The Tiberias Magistrate’s Court issued Saturday evening a 15-day remand extension for the three family members suspected of detonating fireworks in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth the night before.
One of the suspects, Violet Habibi, collapsed on the way out of the courthouse. An ambulance arrived at the scene to give her medical treatment.
Police rescued the Habibi family members from the church after they detonated fireworks during a prayer service.
But today’s print edition of Ha’aretz singles out the Jewish man in a headline and the lead paragraph. The headline reads:
Riots follow attack in crowded Nazareth church
Authorities move to restore calm after Jewish man set off firecrackers inside basilica
And the lead paragraph states:
Thousands of people marched through Nazareth yesterday afternoon to protest Friday night’s incident during which a Jewish man detonated firecrackers in the Basilica of the Annunication in an act that his daughter said was motivated by “economic distress.”
Two paragraphs later, readers learn that the Jewish man, Haim Habibi did not act alone, but was joined by his Christian wife Violette and their daughter Odelia.
Given the explosiveness of issues concerning holy sites in Israel and the Palestinian areas, media outlets must take extra care to report on tensions with extreme precision. An earlier example of a media misrepresentation about an attack on a holy site is (mis)coverage of the 1969 attack by an Australian Protestant Al Aksa Mosque.
(Hat tip: Mickey S.)
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