Where’s the Coverage? Israelis Help Syrian Refugees in Jordan and Turkey
As Syria spirals out of control, tens of thousands of refugees attempt to escape the violence. Rightfully the media continues to cover this story. A Google News search turned up 9,580 results in 0.10 seconds.
Among the media stories, Fox News reported on Syrian refugees in Jordan and The Washington Post reported on Syrian refugees in Turkey. Reuters’ AlertNet reported that:
…Syrian refugees are dependent on humanitarian aid, with some coming with only the clothes on their backs…
So there are stories on Syrian refugees in Jordan and Turkey receiving humanitarian aid. Yet there are no mainstream media reports on Syrian refugees in Jordan and Turkey receiving humanitarian aid from Israelis. But they are and the Israeli media has covered the story. The Times of Israel wrote:
Israeli aid groups are providing “food, medicine, and a lot of help” to Syrian refugees who have fled to Jordan and Turkey, Likud MK Ayoub Kara told AFP Thursday. The Israeli groups have been working under the auspices of European institutions to provide direct aid to the refugees, including children and infants, over the past two months, he said.
Israel National News (Arutz Sheva) wrote:
Kara, a member of Israel’s Druze minority, said the governments of Jordan and Turkey “know about the work of the Israeli organizations.”
He also noted that efforts are underway in an attempt to bring wounded Syrian refugees to Israel for treatment, AFP reported.
Note that both of the stories refer to Agence France-Presse reporting and while numerous mainstream media outlets frequently pick up AFP stories, none has seen fit to follow up on this one. As far as CAMERA could determine, the only outlet, other than Israeli media, to cover the story is L’Orient Le Jour, a French language Lebanese newspaper.
When it comes to Israel and refugees, the media is awash in flawed and incomplete stories portraying Israel negatively. A recent CAMERA article, “On Refugees and Racism, a Double Standard Against Israel,” noted:
Recent press attention has focused on the repatriation of illegal African migrants from Israel. Reuters, the Associated Press, AFP, and UPI have disseminated stories. The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Financial Times, ABC, CNN, CBC, BBC and others have added their own reports.
But, when Israelis go out of their way to help refugees from a country at war with Israel in countries unfriendly to Israel, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Financial Times, ABC, CNN, CBC, BBC and others are silent. Where’s the fairness? Where’s the balance? Where’s the coverage?
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