November 9: Be accurate

Why would The Jerusalem Post, imitating the worst of Israel's detractors, use a photo depicting the 6% of the anti-terror barrier which is a concrete wall to illustrate a story?

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Be accurate Sir, - Your excellent expose of the cessation of work on the anti-terror barrier ("No kms added to fence since July," October 31) was marred by the accompanying photo. "Fence" indeed it is: fully 94%. So why would The Jerusalem Post, imitating the worst of Israel's detractors, use a photo depicting the remaining 6%, which is a concrete wall, to illustrate the story? (Especially considering the story is about extensions of the barrier in the South, all of which will be fence and not wall.) This isn't a PR issue; it's about being accurate and fair. We demand the truth from the world's media; we certainly expect the same from you. ARYEH GREEN Beit Shemesh Loud & clear Sir, - I am not sure if Israel understands the importance of how the world media, including Toronto's, often deliver an obtuse and inaccurate picture of what goes on in Israel. I strongly encourage those in Israel responsible for PR and those who distribute the news to be louder and clearer in regard to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In the case of the "Gaza sanctions," it appears on this side of the world that the Israelis are the bad guys, and the Palestinians are the victims ("Palestinians protest Israeli fuel cuts," November 7). I would agree that Palestinians are victims, but not of what some describe as "Israel's collective punishment of Palestinians," rather of the manner in which the Palestinian leadership, in this case Hamas, provokes Israel to act in defense of its citizens. Currently in Ontario, a land dispute has been going on for some time in an area named Caledon, where native Indians have made a claim on land. I cannot imagine that we here would justify daily rocket attacks by native Indians who have a dispute with the Government of Ontario. Cutting off electricity in Gaza after Kassam attacks by Palestinians originating from Gaza is reasonably not collective punishment. Were native Indians rocketing the citizens of Ontario, I can assure you that cutting off electricity would be the last form of defense acceptable to Ontario residents. We would expect the militaryto act aggressively and expeditiously. I highly recommend that you step up your media campaign around the world and promulgate an accurate account of what goes on in Israel. Equating Israel with apartheid S. Africa is just one example of the ridiculous and obtuse way in which Israel is portrayed. Being a Canadian, I would have expected more of an even hand in treating Israel from Canada's own Louise Arbour, who sits at the United Nations. This only underlines the importance of my message, showing that even a leading democracy such as Canada cannot always be trusted in its account of events, and highlighting the unreasonable expectations that can be placed on a friend - moreso seeing that even Canada could not live up to the expectation of taking over 2,000 hits by Kassam rockets on its population without a forceful response. I cannot imagine Arbour justifying Caledon's Indians firing even a single shot from a pistol, let alone a rocket. HARRY LIEBERMAN Toronto, Ontario