Minister of Public Diplomacy Yuli Edelstein (pictured) sent a letter to Reuters chief executive Tom Glocer Monday expressing the “grave concern of the government of Israel” that the agency had deliberately cropped photographs taken aboard the Mavi Marama last week to exclude images of knives in the hands of activists.
“I am sure you are aware that pictures – originally produced by the
violent activists aboard the Mavi Marama and published in the Turkish
media – clearly show the use of knives against Israeli servicemen,”
Edelstein wrote.
“However, when these pictures were initially distributed on the wires by
Reuters picture service, they were cropped to exclude the knives and
blood that bore evidence of the violent intentions of those who
participated in the attacks, and provided vital evidence in support of
Israel’s claims.”
The letter, in which Edelstein called the cropping an “abuse of
photo-imagery by Reuters,” was cc’ed to David Thomson, chairman of
Thomson Reuters, the wire service’s parent company, and Alistair
MacDonald, the Reuters bureau chief in Jerusalem.
Edelstein acknowledged that Reuters later “distributed the original
images.”