At Haaretz, Is Style Guide Just a Suggestion?

By Published On: May 11, 2016

style guide heading.JPG

About the word “settlement,” Haaretz‘s English style guide states:

In these parts, a word with political connotations. Use it only for a Jewish locale in the West Bank (or former/evacuated settlements in Gaza).

Indeed, in the Israeli-Palestinian context, the word “settlement” refers to an Israeli community over the Green Line and that is how it is most often understood.

Nevertheless, in his Haaretz Op-Ed earlier this week, Moshe Arens uses the term to mean something else. His Op-Ed begins:

In Israel’s doorstep — within mortar range of Israeli settlements and rocket range of Ben-Gurion Aiport — live two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Arens isn’t referring here to a Jewish locale in the West Bank or an evacuated settlement in Gaza. He is talking about Jewish communities in southern Israel, close to the Gaza Strip.

CAMERA yesterday informed Haaretz English edition editors of the inconsistency with Haaretz‘s style guide. As of this writing, they have declined to amend the misleading language.

In 2014, Haaretz corrected after misleadingly identifying a Jewish community near the Gaza Strip as a “settlement.” It’s unclear why, in this case, they have declined to correct. Is the Haaretz style guide merely a suggestion? Do style guidelines, which promote consistency, accuracy and clarity, not apply to Haaretz Op-Eds?

We expose the anti-Israel lies so you don't have to. But we can't do it without your help. Join the fight -- Donate now
CAMERA logo
Tell the World – Share Now!

More from SNAPSHOTS

  • The Washington Post Omits the Anti-Israel Record of Human Rights Watch

    February 27, 2017

    Robert Bernstein A Feb. 24, 2017 Washington Post report on the decision by Israeli authorities to block the entry of an anti-Israel Human Rights Watch (HRW) employee omitted key information (“Human Rights Watch worker barred [...]

  • Where’s the Coverage? Iran Calls for Palestinian Terrorist Attacks

    February 27, 2017

    Ayatollah Ali Khamenei The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called for Palestinians to carry out terror attacks against Israel. Khamenei’s Feb. 21, 2017 exhortation was underreported by major U.S. news media outlets. Reuters [...]

  • NY Times: Hamas Seeking to Put Off War, Israelis Itching for Conflict

    February 23, 2017

    There's a peculiar juxtaposition in yesterday's front page New York Times story, contrasting how Israel and Hamas supposedly view the possibility of renewed confrontation. The insinuation seems to be that Israelis are seeking war, while [...]

  • Diminishing Morale and Dissension Within Hezbollah

    February 23, 2017

    Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia and terror group, has been fighting in Syria for 5 years at the behest of Iran. An article by Lebanese journalist Hannin Gadar contends that the group's most experienced fighters [...]

  • Success: PBS Ombudsman Blogs About Miko Peled Interview

    February 22, 2017

    Earlier this month, CAMERA sent an alert to our members and posted an article on our website regarding Tavis Smiley and his interview with radical anti-Israel activist Miko Peled, which was aired on PBS. During [...]

  • Israel and U.S. Military Aid

    February 15, 2017

    One common narrative in media reports about Israel is that Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid. The Brookings Institution’s Shibley Telhami, for example, made the claim in Newsweek in September (“Is America [...]

  • Jewish Voice for Peace Hosts Convicted Palestinian Terrorist

    February 15, 2017

    Jewish Voice for Peace, the misnamed anti-Israel organization, will be hosting a convicted Palestinian terrorist at its upcoming conference in Chicago on March 31 to April 2, 2017. Rasmea Odeh, a member of the Popular [...]

  • Hamas Members Defect to ISIS

    February 13, 2017

    Hamas naval commandos Hamas, the U.S.-designated terror group that rules the Gaza Strip, is losing operatives to the Sinai-affiliate of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The two groups, while rivals, share similar [...]

  • In Haaretz in English, Petah Tikvah Attack Is Only ‘Suspected’

    February 12, 2017

    On Thursday, an assailant opened fire on shoppers in the central Israeli town of Petah Tivkah, and stabbed one, injuring a total of five people. The suspected attacker is an 18-year-old from Nablus. That this [...]

  • Igor Sadikov’s Insincere Apology at McGill

    February 10, 2017

    Igor Sadikov, a student at McGill University in Montreal, Canada has revealed the underlying hostility toward Israel and Jews motivating the BDS campaign on college campuses. Sadikov, a BDS activist and a member of the [...]