Ha’aretz Lost in Translation, VI

By Published On: May 22, 2011

Ha’aretz‘s chronic lost in translation affliction rears its head again, albeit in a slightly more complex strain.

A news analysis by Aluf Benn in Friday’s (May 20) English edition, states:

Netanyahu will have to reply to Obama by accepting the principle of “1967 borders with agreed land swaps.”

Except that’s not what President Obama actually said. His words were:

The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.

The difference between lines and borders is significant. Of course, Aluf Benn isn’t the first to misrepresent Obama’s words. He’s just the first (that we’re aware of) who did it in a direct quote, an even more galling journalisitc wrongdoing.

The Hebrew version of this article, especially the second half, is not a direct translation of the English edition. Since the misquote does not appear in the Hebrew version it’s hard to know where the error was introduced — either Aluf Benn, who wrote in Hebrew, mistranslated Obama’s words and the English translator did not bother to check the original speech, or a translator or editor is responsible for the misquote.

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