– Israelis do not want to know about what is going on in Gaza. They can’t bear to take the humanitarian crisis inside them, says the Israeli journalist Anat Saragusti to news. The major TV channels in Israel show images of soldiers on mission in Gaza and glimpses of life in the field. Fallen soldiers and the families of the Israeli hostages are also given a lot of sympathy and attention. In the television studios, experts and analysts discuss the army’s tactics. But the consequence of warfare is missing. The suffering of the Palestinians cannot be seen. – The Israeli media are not doing their job, says Anat Saragusti. For 25 years, she covered Gaza for Israel’s channel 12, which is still one of Israel’s most popular. CRITICAL: Photographer and journalist Anat Saragusti believes the Israeli media are not doing their job. She herself reported from Gaza for 25 years. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer Landing in a bubble – After talking to many Israelis after 7 October, the impression is that people do not know about, or are not interested in, the humanitarian crisis inside Gaza? – They don’t know, they don’t care and they don’t want to know either. They have enough with themselves because Israeli society is so destroyed after the attack on 7 October, believes Saragusti. When the Israelis don’t see what the rest of the world gets to see, they end up in a bubble, she believes. Thus, the Israelis do not understand why the Gaza war upsets so many outside Israel. OWN MOURNING: Israeli soldiers say goodbye to a fallen fellow soldier. Israelis are still in shock after Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023. Photo: Reuters – In a way, I understand why it is, because we are still trying to understand what happened to us on October 7. We try to take in the scope and then there is no room for the other person’s suffering and trauma at the same time, says Saragusti. Now only the left-wing newspaper Ha’aretz covers the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Gaza. THE HOSTAGES: Families of hostages in Gaza receive a lot of attention and enormous sympathy in the media. Photo: Reuters Compared to 11 September Israeli media’s main goal is to win the war, or what looks like an attempt to win the war, says one of Israel’s leading investigative journalists, Raviv Drucker, to The Guardian. He believes it can be compared to how the American media covered September 11. – The shock is so brutal, and the trauma so great that journalists see it as a task to help the state win the war. Part of this is to show as little as possible of the suffering in Gaza, and minimize criticism of the army, he says. The black Saturday TV ANCHOR: Program leader Ofer Hadad has never experienced such an intense time at work as after 7 October. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news When Hamas attacked the communities around the Gaza Strip in October, more than 1,100 people were killed, both Israelis and people of other nationalities. Not since the Nazi Holocaust had so many Jews lost their lives in one day. More than 230 were taken hostage. – In the 17 years I have worked at Kanal 12, we have never seen anything like what we are working with now, says Ofer Hadad, presenter of the news broadcasts on Kanal 12 and one of Israel’s best-known TV faces. – But we must be professional and ask the right questions, also in this difficult time, emphasizes Hadad. PANELS: Ofer Hadad leads another panel discussing the tactics of the Israeli army. On the big screen it says “Israel at war”. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news – How are Israelis supposed to understand the international reactions to the war and the enormous death toll if you don’t show the whole picture? – First, all Israelis serve in the IDF (Israel’s Army), myself included, and I know that we do everything we can to avoid harming civilians, we all know that. Also, we have a disproportionate war, we are fighting a terrorist organization and it is very difficult. Ofer Hadad believes that 7 October came out of nowhere. According to him, Hamas attacked without Israel having done anything. Context is difficult Two words that have become difficult in the coverage are “context” and “background”. Why the background is so difficult became clear when UN Secretary-General António Guterres reminded that the attack on 7 October did not happen in a vacuum. Guterres’ comment that decades of occupation played a role sent the Jerusalem Post crashing into the lead. “But the historical context cannot be ignored,” writes Israeli historian Ilan Pappe in Al Jazeera. He has written several books about the expulsion of the Palestinians in 1948 and the occupation after 1967. – The Israelis must understand that the international community criticizes Israel because of what is happening in Gaza now. They must understand that not all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitism, says Anat Saragusti. RARELY SHOWN: Israel’s warfare takes its toll on the children, something the rest of the world is outraged about. But images like this rarely appear in Israeli media. Photo: AFP Showing sympathy for the Palestinians can be costly for Israelis. Then trolling on social media, insults and the risk of losing your job await. – You can be seen as a traitor. You get threats. Not everyone wants to put themselves through it. Be strong and brave, says Saragusti. Failure In the many years she reported daily from Gaza, she made reports about daily life, about new cafes that opened, wedding parties and family life on the beaches in the hope that the Israelis would see the Palestinians as fellow human beings. – Now I feel that I failed to build trust and hope across borders. Now most Israelis see the Palestinians, and especially those in Gaza, as a large mass of terrorists and Hamas supporters. FOOD SHORTAGE: Displaced Palestinians hope to get some of the food distributed in Rafah. The hunger that is spreading in Gaza does not get much attention in Israel. Photo: Reuters – But they are still people. We do not have to sympathize with them, but we must at least know what happens to them during Israel’s warfare. She tries as best she can to follow what is happening inside Gaza. – I am devastated and infinitely sad. I have hardly been able to work since October 7th. Now she only sees darkness and she doesn’t know how to fix it.
ttn-69
Israeli media do not show what the rest of the world sees – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
