Palestinian-Arab Media Frames and Stereotypes of Israeli-Jews

Conclusion

This study sought to take the pulse on the modern-day Israeli-Palestinian conflict with hopes of better understanding the Palestinians’ perception of Israeli-Jews and of Palestinian-Israeli conflict at large. The author analyzed editorial, opinion and news analysis items on three Arab-Palestinian news websites to see their portrayal of Israel and Israeli-Jews. The key findings of this study include (1) the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is largely defined in terms of land and territory; (2) violence attributed to the Israeli military generates a stereotype that many Palestinians apply to all Israeli-Jews; and (3) stories seek to appeal to emotion and evoke sympathy in order to legitimatize the Palestinians’ claim of true victimization.

Some of the limitations of this study include the generalizability of the study.

Due to time constraints, the author limited the sample size to thirty articles. Future studies should analyze more articles from a broader range of sources over a longer period of time. It should also be noted that the researcher selected articles only from Palestinian news websites that make their content available online for free and in English because the author cannot understand articles written in Arabic. Secondly, since the coding was done by the author alone, her subjectivity might creep in the analysis. Future studies should hire a second coder to enhance the reliability of research findings.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to extend many thanks to Professor Dr. David Copeland for his guidance, encouragement and advice, all of which the article could not be published. The author is also thankful to Professor Skube for sparking the author’s interest in the Middle East, and Dr. Byung Lee for his supervision and help of revision for this article.

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Appendix: List of News Accounts

Al Ghussain, Alia. “Israeli occupation leaves psychological not just physical scars.” The Electronic Intifada. September 11, 2013. http://electronicintifada.net/content/israeli-occupation-leaves-psychological-notjust- physical-scars/12759 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Al-Shabaka. “Analysis: Can Oslo’s failed aid model be laid to rest?” Ma’an News Agency. November 2, 2013. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=643596 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Alsaafin, Linah. “Resist Israel’s unjust system, don’t operate within it.” The Electronic Intifada.” September 7, 2013. http://electronicintifada.net/content/resist-israels-unjust-system-dont-operate-within-it/12751 (accessed November 10, 2013).

Baroud, Ramzy. “Ramallah, Gaza and the Palestinian identity crisis.” Ma’an News Agency. September 14, 2013. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=629688 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Collins, Dylan. “Six-year-old loses eye from bullets Israel promised to phase out.” The Electronic Intifada. October 7, 2013. http://electronicintifada.net/content/six-year-old-loses-eye-bullets-israel-promisedphase-out/12830 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Cook, Jonathon. “Even the World Bank Understands: Palestine is Being Disappeared.” The Palestinian Chronicle. October 17, 2013. http://www.palestinechronicle.com/even-the-world-bank-understandspalestine-is-being-disappeared/#.UoOo8znA5Hx (accessed November 13, 2013).

Cook, Jonathan. “Talking Nonsense about Apartheid: How Come Uri Avnery Knows So Little about Israel?” The Palestinian Chronicle. October 28, 2013. http://www.palestinechronicle.com/talking-nonsenseabout-apartheid-how-come-uri-avnery-knows-so-little-about-israel/#.Un5rBTnA5Hw (accessed November 13, 2013).

Cook, Jonathan. “Whatever Happened to Peace Talks? Israel Gets Building While Negotiations Go Nowhere.” The Palestinian Chronicle. October 31, 2013. http://www.palestinechronicle.com/whatever-happenedto-peace-talks-israel-gets-building-while-negotiations-go-nowhere/#.UoOnYjnA5Hx (accessed November 13, 2013).

Cotto, Joseph. “Israel and the Dangers of Ethnic Nationalism: An Interview with Jonathan Cook.” The Palestinian Chronicle. November 7, 2013. http://www.palestinechronicle.com/israel-and-the-dangers-ofethnic-nationalism-an-interview-with-jonathan-cook/#.UoOm_jnA5Hx (accessed November 13).

Forer, Richard. “A Jewish journey towards compassion in Israel-Palestine.” Ma’an News Agency. October 8, 2013. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=636825 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Gordon, Neve. “High Court Rules: It is Impossible to Be Israeli.” The Palestinian Chronicle. October 21, 2013. http://www.palestinechronicle.com/high-court-rules-it-is-impossible-to-be-israeli/#.UoOouTnA5Hx (accessed November 13, 2013).

Hassan, Youssef Budour. “Israel’s killing of five young Palestinians exposes ‘peace’ talks as charade.” The Electronic Intifada. September 24, 2013. http://electronicintifada.net/content/israels-killing-five-youngpalestinians-exposes-peace-talks-charade/12797 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Hassan, Youssef Budour. “The second intifada put holes in Israel’s wall of fear.” The Electronic Intifada. October 4, 2013. http://electronicintifada.net/content/second-intifada-put-holes-israels-wall-fear/12826 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Kassis, Rifat Odeh. “Equal laws, discriminatory practice: the plight of Jerusalem children.” Ma’an News Agency. October 29, 2013. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=642347 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Khalilieh, Suhail. “20 years of Oslo: Maybe the best thing to happen to Palestinians.” Ma’an News Agency. September 18, 2013. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=631016 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Kuttab, Daoud. “Netanyahu attacks Iran rather than face the Palestinian issue.” Ma’an News Agency. October 3, 2013. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=635574 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Kuttab, Daoud. “Jerusalem elections boycott sends ‘strong’ statement to Israel.” Ma’an News Agency. October 25, 2013. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=641102 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Lahham, Nasser. “Editorial: Oslo is dead, long live Palestine.” Ma’an News Agency. September 14, 2013. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=629718 (accessed November 13).

Louis, Zarah. “Containment of Holocaust Education: Lessons Unlearned.” The Palestinian Chronicle. October 25, 2013. http://www.palestinechronicle.com/containment-of-holocaust-education-lessons-unlearned/#. UoOoTznA5Hx (accessed November 13, 2013).

Nadim, Nashef. “Palestinian youth assert right of return with direct action.” The Electronic Intifada. September 11, 2013. http://electronicintifada.net/content/israeli-occupation-leaves-psychological-not-just-physical-scars/12759 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Nasser, Nicola. “Drying up Ideological Wellsprings of Arab-Israeli Conflict.” The Palestinian Chronicle. October 30, 2013. http://www.palestinechronicle.com/drying-up-ideological-wellsprings-of-arab-israeli-conflict/#. UoOnyznA5Hx (accessed November 13, 2013).

Qumsiyeh, Mazin. “Palestinians do have options for change and resistance.” Ma’an News Agency. October 6, 2013. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=636397 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Pappe, Iian. “Reclaiming Judaism from Zionism.” The Electronic Intifada. October 18, 2013. http://electronicintifada.net/content/reclaiming-judaism-zionism/12859 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Persson, Anders. “New EU settlements guidelines already biting.” Ma’an News Agency. September 10, 2013. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=637350 (accessed November 13).

Sheen, David. “Video: Israeli crowd cheers as Africans called ‘slaves.’” The Electronic Intifada. October 8, 2013. http://electronicintifada.net/content/video-israeli-crowd-cheers-africans-called-slaves/12833 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Strickland, Patrick O. “We’ll never forget October 1956 massacre, say Palestinians in Israel.” The Electronic Intifada. October 29, 2013. http://electronicintifada.net/content/well-never-forget-october-1956-massacre-say-palestinians-israel/12883 (accessed November 13).

Strickland, Patrick O. “Palestinian lawyer faces Israeli jail for ‘organizing demonstrations.’” The Electronic Intifada. October 31, 2013. http://electronicintifada.net/content/palestinian-lawyer-faces-israeli-jailorganizing-demonstrations/12886 (accessed November 13, 2013).

Vlazna, Vacy. “The Gatekeepers: Locking in Palestinians as Terrorists.” The Palestinian Chronicle. October 4, 2013. http://www.palestinechronicle.com/the-gatekeepers-locking-in-palestinians-as-terrorists/#. UoOpdDnA5Hx (accessed November 13, 2013).

Vlazna, Vacy. “Israelis Turning Blood into Money: The Lab Review.” The Palestinian Chronicle. October 16, 2013. http://www.palestinechronicle.com/israelis-turning-blood-into-money-the-lab-review/#.UoOpNDnA5Hx (accessed November 13, 2013).

Whitbeck, John V. “Palestine: Give Democracy A Chance.” The Palestinian Chronicle. September 24, 2013. http://www.palestinechronicle.com/palestine-give-democracy-a-chance/#.UoOp8jnA5Hx

Endnotes

1. David Shipler, Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land (London: Times Books, 1986), 166.
2. Ibid., 165-166.
3. Ibid., 184.
4. Ibid., 186.
5. Ibid., 187.
6. Mohammed Daraghmeh, “Effects of the Conflict on the Palestinian Media,” Palestine-Israel Journal Of Politics, Economics & Culture 10.2 (June 2003).
7. Timothy Siedel, “Development, Religion, and Modernity in Palestine-Israel Development, Religion, and Modernity in Palestine-Israel,” Cross Currents 62.4 (December 2012): 424-441.
8. Shipler, Arab and Jew, 232.
9. Ibid., 233.
10. Ibid., 231.
11. "Can Muslims Accept Israel in Their Midst?" American Foreign Policy Interests 33.4 (July 2011): 178-184.
12. Shipler, Arab and Jew, 165-231.
13. Ala Qeimari, “Israeli Media: Serving the ‘Patriotic’ Cause,” Palestine-Israel Journal Of Politics, Economics & Culture 10.2 (June 2003): 23.
14. Shipler, Arab and Jew, 228.
15. Ibid., 170.
16. Anat First, “Are They Still the Enemy? The Representation of Arabs in Israeli Television News,” in Jews, Muslims and Mass Media: Mediating the ‘Other,’ ed. Tudor Parfitt with Yulia Egorova, (New York, 2004), 190..
17. B. Anderson, Imagined Communities (London: Verso, 1991).
18. First, Are They Still the Enemy?, 190.
19. Stuart Hall, “The Spectacle of the ‘Other,’” in Representation: Cultural Representation and Signifying Practices, ed. Stuart Hall (London: Sage Publications, 1994), 267.
20. Ibid.
21. Melanie Suchet, “Face to Face,” Psychoanalytic Dialogues 20.2 (March 2010): 158-171.
22. Richard Landes, “Edward Said and the Culture of Honour and Shame: Orientalism and Our Misperceptions of the Arab-Israeli Conflict,” Israel Affairs 13.4 (October 2007): 844-858.
23. Ibid.
24. Suchet, “Face to Face,” 164.
25. Ibid., 165.
26. Ibid., 164.
27. H. Lindholm-Schulz, The Palestinian diaspora: formation of identities and politics of homeland (London:Routledge, 2003).
28. Beverley Butler,”’Othering’ the archive - from exile to inclusion and heritage dignity: the case of Palestinian archival memory,” Archival Science 9.1 (2009), p. 64.
29. Ibid., 60.
30. Ibid., 61.
31. Ariella Azoulay, Aliniut mekhonenet 1947-1950: Geneologiyah hazulit shelmishtar ve-kafikhat ha-ason le- ”ason mi-nekudat mabatam” (Tel Aviv, 2009).
32. Cohen, Adoni, Bantz, Social Conflicts and Television News; A.A. Cohen, G. Wolfsfeld, Framing Intifada: People and Media, Norwood, NJ, 1993; Liebes, Reporting the Arab-Iraeli Conflict; Wolfsfeld, Media and Political Conflict.
33. E. Avraham, Media and Social Construction of Reality: The Coverage of Settlements in Marginal Areas in National Newspapers, Thesis accepted for the Doctor of Philosophy degree (Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 1998).
34. Robert M. Entman, “Framing Bias: Media in the Distribution of Power.” Journal Of Communication 57.1 (March 2007): 163-173.
35. First, “Are They Still the Enemy?,” 209.
36. Gaye Tuchman, Making News: A Study in the Construction of Reality (New York: Free Press, 1978), 193.
37. Neve Gordon, “A Villa in the Jungle: The Arab Awakening through the Lens of the Israeli Media,” Middle East Law & Governance (February 2011): 105-117.
38. Shamir Herzog, ‘Negotiated Society? Media Discourse on Israeli Jewish/Arab Relations’ Israel Social Science Review, 9.18 (1994) 55-88.
39. First, “Are They Still the Enemy?” 195.
40. Matt Evans, “Framing International Conflicts: Media coverage of fighting in the Middle East,” International Journal Of Media & Cultural Politics 6.2 (September 2010): 209-233.
41. Ibid.
42. Jeremy Ginges, et al. “Foreign Wars and Domestic Prejudice: How Media Exposure to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Predicts Ethnic Stereotyping by Jewish and Arab American Adolescents,” Journal Of Research On Adolescence (Wiley-Blackwell) 22.3 (September 2012): 556-570.
43. Ibid., 560.
44. “About Electronic Intifada,” Electronic Intifada About Page, http://electronicintifada.net/about-ei (November 7, 2013).
45. WM. David Sloan, and Lisa Mullikan Parcell, Media Bias: Finding It, Fixing It, (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2002), 14.
46. Ibid.
47. Gil Ronen, “Report: Hamas and Fatah ‘Agree on Unity,’ Israel National News, http://www.israelnationalnews. com/News/News.aspx/175248#.UrIF2TnA5Hy (December 17, 2013).
48. “About Us Ma’an News Agency,” Ma’an News Agency About Us Page. http://www.maannews.net/eng/View-Content.aspx?PAGE=AboutUs (November 7, 2013).
49. “Danida,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs Denmark, http://ramallah.um.dk/en/danida-en/ (December 18, 2013).
50. “About Palestinian Chronicle,” The Palestinian Chronicle About Page, http://www.palestinechronicle.com/about/ (November 7, 2013).
51. Ibid.
52. Ibid.
53. Siedel, “Development, Religion, and Modernity,” 424-441.
54. Jonathan Cook, “Whatever Happened to Peace Talks? Israel Gets Building While Negotiations Go Nowhere,” The Palestinian Chronicle, October 31, 2013.
55. Rifat Odeh Kassis, “Equal laws, discriminatory practice: the plight of Jerusalem children,” Ma’an News Agency, October 29, 2013.
56. Joseph Cotto,“Israel and the Dangers of Ethnic Nationalism: An Interview with Jonathan Cook,” The Palestinian Chronicle, November 7, 2013.
57. Alia Al Ghussain, “Israeli occupation leaves psychological not just physical scars,” The Electronic Intifada, September 11, 2013.
58. Jonathan Cook, “Talking Nonsense about Apartheid: How Come Uri Avnery Knows So Little about Israel?” The Palestinian Chronicle, October 28, 2013.
59. Vacy Vlazna, “The Gatekeepers: Locking in Palestinians as Terrorists,” The Palestinian Chronicle, October 4, 2013.
60. Nicola Nasser, “Drying up Ideological Wellsprings of Arab-Israeli Conflict,” The Palestinian Chronicle, October 30, 2013.
61. Vacy Vlazna, “Israelis Turning Blood into Money: The Lab Review,” The Palestinian Chronicle, October 16, 2013.
62. Iian Pappe, “Reclaiming Judaism from Zionism,” The Electronic Intifada, October 18, 2013.
63. Dylan Collins, “Six-year-old loses eye from bullets Israel promised to phase out,” The Electronic Intifada, October 7, 2013.
64. S. Hall, ‘The Spectacle of the “Other”’ in S. Hall, ed., Representation, p. 257
65. Rifat Odeh Kassis, “Equal laws, discriminatory practice: the plight of Jerusalem children,” Ma’an News Agency, October 29, 2013.
66. Ramzy Baroud, “Ramallah, Gaza and the Palestinian identity crisis,” Ma’an News Agency, September 14, 2013.
67. Al-Shabaka, “Analysis: Can Oslo’s failed aid model be laid to rest?” Ma’an News Agency, November 2, 2013.
68. Shipler, Arab and Jew, 166.
69. David Sheen, “Video: Israeli crowd cheers as Africans called ‘slaves,’” The Electronic Intifada, October 8, 2013.
70. Alia Al Ghussain, “Israeli occupation leaves psychological not just physical scars,” The Electronic Intifada, September 11, 2013.
71. Vacy Vlazna, “The Gatekeepers: Locking in Palestinians as Terrorists,” The Palestinian Chronicle, October 4, 2013.