PrintMarch 25, 2011
The New York Times and Itamar
The murders of the Fogel family, including three children stabbed to death in their beds, obviously posed a dilemma for the New York Times. Fixated as it is on a story line in which Israel, and especially Israeli settlers, bear central responsibility for ongoing tensions with the Arabs, the Times covered the killings with the strained circumlocutions, omissions and colored language typical for the paper's editors and reporters when addressing peril to Jews and the Jewish state. The first major account of the carnage by reporter Isabel Kershner appeared on March 13 -- on page 16 with no photo. A day later, updates on the story appeared closer to the front of the paper, on page 4, as the focus turned to Israel's announcement of renewed construction in several settlements. Two photos ran that day of the Fogel funerals. A telling caption read: "About 20,000 attended the funerals for the Fogels, whose deaths outraged settlers." Did the Times think only "settlers"...(Read Full Article)
