Sunday, August 26, 2007

It is all in the presentation of words

Sitting in your comfortable homes 7,000-10,000 miles away you rely upon the media to send you the news. You probably have never been to this part of the world; you may not even be familiar with its culture and the ongoing daily behaviors exhibited here. Consequently your “view” of this corner of the world and your perception of events, people, circumstances and situations here are shaped and actually framed by the reporting media.
GS Don Morris, Ph.D.
August 26, 2007

Dependent upon the “word smith” and how he or she chooses to report events a particular mindset is formed and over time becomes adopted by most Americans and other western people. What you “know” or think you know has been created for you by others. Usually these others aka reporters are driven by their own social-political agendas. Last year’s Lebanon-Israeli war demonstrated how photographs and words were terribly distorted to misrepresent facts on the ground. This is not new information!

Words are important. They create one’s perception that in turn becomes one’s reality. The power of language can be used for good, bad, truth or lies. Language can easily frame one’s opinion and repeated often enough can be understood as ‘truth”. Selection of words and the sequence they are placed can paint two completely different meanings. The old adage of “be wary of what you reading the newspaper” is as true today as it was in our parent’s time. Perhaps, more so today with the advent of the Internet, Photo-Shop and other programs.

To put this into perspective I decided to examine a recent story (August 26, 2007) appearing in a Middle East Arab news site. What follows is initially the story as it appeared on the Arab site. I then altered the story, using primarily their words, and added but a few of my own. You will note that the “message” and the tone of the two stories are quite different. You see, it is all in how you sequence words as well as what words you select to pint the picture for your readers. Of course, be wary of my words-perhaps you may want to begin using multiple sources to confirm or deny what is being said. Yes, this takes time but then, perhaps, just perhaps, you will become an informed consumer of the news establishment.

First, the original story as it appeared on an Arab new site August 26:

8 Palestinians Die in Clashes With Israel Hisham Abu Taha, Arab News —

GAZA CITY, 26 August 2007 — Eight Palestinians were shot dead yesterday by Israeli soldiers in an upsurge in violence while two Palestinians launched a daring attack and infiltrated Israel before being gunned down.The Israeli Army said one of its soldiers was also wounded in the shootout with the Palestinian raiders who attacked an Israeli liaison office near the Erez border crossing with Gaza with firearms and grenades.

Soldiers from Israel’s elite Golani regiment moved in as reinforcement and killed the two, he added.“With the help of the morning fog, two armed Palestinians managed to infiltrate Saturday into Israeli territory in the area of the Erez and Netiv Haassarah kibbutzim,” Tal Lev-Ram, an Israeli officer, told AFP. Communities neighboring the collective farming villages were put on alert and roads were closed to traffic.

It was only the second Palestinian operation of its kind since June last year when Gilad Shalit, a young Israeli soldier, was captured by Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip.Three armed resistance factions, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, Al-Naser Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, and the National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) have claimed responsibility for the latest “joint attack on Israeli territory.” A joint statement identified the dead as Khader Aokal, 22, a fighter from the Popular Resistance Committees, and Mohammed Saker, 22, from the DFLP.

The Popular Resistance Committees said one of its fighters acted as a watchman for the two others, but did not cross the border.The groups boasted that they “managed to infiltrate Israeli territory and reach the Netiv Haassarah settlement where its two martyred fighters fought for three hours with the Israeli Army.” The same groups also claimed responsibility for a joint operation in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday evening in which two Palestinian fighters were killed by Israeli troops.The Gaza Strip is now run by the Islamist group Hamas, which captured the territory in June from forces loyal to the secular Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The incidents marked a surge in clashes with the Israeli Army in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip.In the northern West Bank town of Jenin yesterday, Israeli forces killed one Islamic Jihad fighter wanted by Israel and wounded two others, including one seriously, a Palestinian security official said.A security official later reported that the seriously wounded fighter died of his wounds.Two bystanders also sustained bullet wounds in the operation, the official added. An Israeli Army spokeswoman said troops shot three armed men in a car, without saying whether they killed any of them. A 13-year-old Arab Israeli boy and a fighter from Islamic Jihad were shot dead late Friday when Israeli troops traded fire with fighters in the northern West Bank village of Saida, a Palestinian security source said.— With input from agencies



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Now, my “revised” version will be presented. Please note that basically I used their words. I simply changed the sequence of the words and I added a few of my own. I did use their words in my revised headline-it was the Jihadists themselves who said they ordered the “attack” Curious how the Arab writer chose a different set of words for his headline!

8 Palestinians stopped from attacking Israeli towns

GAZA CITY, 26 August 2007

“With the help of the morning fog, two armed Palestinians managed to infiltrate Saturday into Israeli territory in the area of the Erez and Netiv Haassarah kibbutzim,” Tal Lev-Ram, an Israeli officer, told AFP.

Communities neighboring the collective farming villages were put on alert and roads were closed to traffic. It was only the second Palestinian operation of its kind since June last year when Gilad Shalit, a young Israeli soldier, was captured by Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip.

Three armed resistance factions, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, Al-Naser Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, and the National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) have claimed responsibility for the latest “joint attack on Israeli territory.” A joint statement identified the dead as Khader Aokal, 22, a fighter from the Popular Resistance Committees, and Mohammed Saker, 22, from the DFLP.

The Gaza Strip is now run by the Islamist group Hamas, which captured the territory in June from forces loyal to the secular Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The attack groups boasted that they “managed to infiltrate Israeli territory and reach the Netiv Haassarah settlement where its two martyred fighters fought for three hours with the Israeli Army.” The same groups also claimed responsibility for a joint operation in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday evening in which two Palestinian fighters were killed by Israeli troops.

The incidents marked a surge in clashes with the Israeli Army in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In the northern West Bank town of Jenin yesterday, Israeli forces killed one Islamic Jihad fighter wanted by Israel and wounded two others, including one seriously, a Palestinian security official said. A security official later reported that the seriously wounded fighter died of his wounds. This has not however been validated as of this edition.

Two bystanders also sustained bullet wounds in the operation, the official added. The question why they were out in the open during a gunfight remains unanswered. An Israeli Army spokeswoman said troops shot three armed men in a car, considered enroute to attack Israeli citizens. No confirmation regarding their status. A 13-year-old Arab Israeli boy and a fighter from Islamic Jihad were shot dead late Friday when Israeli troops traded fire with fighters in the northern West Bank village of Saida, a Palestinian security source said. It is unclear why a young teenager was standing along side an armed Jihadist while he engaged in a Para-military action against the Israeli army.

Final Comment: Words are important; their use must be ethically guarded and promoted. Our enemy operates out of a completely different value system when it comes to sharing events as they unfold. We must remain vigilant. We must retain our courage to ask critical questions even in the face of ridicule and disparaging statements from others. Democracy is built upon the backs and shoulders of individuals able to stand tall in the face of detritus.





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