Israel Coverage Falloff
Michael Oren reports in Ha’aretz that American media interest in Israel is waning for now:
The good news is that Israel is no longer in the news. And the bad news is that Israel is no longer in the news. For the past month, at least, Israel – indeed, the entire Middle East – has been knocked out of the newspapers and from television screens in the United States, the victim of a one-two media punch. . .
This is good news for those Israelis who have always felt that they receive too much attention in the American press, that the Jewish state is unfairly placed under a media microscope intent on magnifying its faults. From this perspective, the current situation presents an unprecedented opportunity for censure-free action by Israel to clamp down on Palestinian terror and accelerate construction in the territories. . .
But the absence of media interest in Israel is bad news for those eager to see America more vigorously engaged in securing a settlement freeze and advancing the peace process. Though not as powerful as the Israeli press, which effectively dictates national priorities and dominates decision-making in its country, the media in the United States does influence the political agenda. . .
Whether one regards it as good news or bad, the falloff of coverage of Israel in the United States is almost certain to be temporary.
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