In Haaretz News, ‘Extremist’ Marzel vs. ‘Outspoken’ Zoabi
“Zoabi and Marzel should not be treated equally,” posited the Feb. 15 Haaretz editorial (“Israel’s ban of Arab lawmaker from election is unjust“), referring to last week’s decision by the Central Elections Committee to disqualify MK Haneen Zoabi (Balad) and Baruch Marzel from the upcoming Israeli elections.
Haaretz‘s English news writers apparently agreed. That alone is not a problem. Haaretz news reporters and translators, along with the editorial writers, are entitled to their personal opinions on every subject.
But it is a problem when Haaretz journalists inject their personal views into news articles. Which is just what happened in a Feb. 12 news article which began:
The Central Elections Committee on Thursday disqualified a Jewish far-right extremist and an outspoken Arab lawmaker from running in the March election. (Emphasis added.)
Israel Press Council’s “Rules of Journalistic Ethics” states: “A newspaper and a journalist shall distinguish in the publication between news items and opinion.”
By what criteria, did the translators/English writers determine that Haneen Zoabi is “outspoken” (which carries a positive connotation), as opposed to “extremist,” like Baruch Marzel?
The article’s headline — “Jewish extremist, Israeli Arab lawmaker disqualified from Knesset run” — contains the same double standard. (Marzel, a member of the outlawed Kach party, is identified as extremist, and Zoabi, who has said that the Palestinians who kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teens are not “terrorists” and whose writing has appeared on Hamas’ Web site, is not subject to any qualitative description. Just her profession is noted.)
Moreover, in what way does this language comply with the Israel Press Council’s call for objectivity? Specifically, its guidelines state that “A newspaper and a journalist shall distinguish in the publication between news items and opinion.” By applying inconsistent language, Haaretz mixes news and views.
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