Divide grows between Israeli, Palestinian journalists

Journalists are supposed to cover the news, not become the subject of it. This was the case, however, with two Israeli journalists who defied a request by Palestinian demonstrators not to film their bare faces.

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Mourners carry the bodies of two Palestinians, who were shot dead by Israeli forces, during their funeral in Ramallah, the West Bank, May 16, 2014. (photo by REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman)


Most journalists in the field, especially photographers, know the feeling of angry demonstrators approaching a camera crew asking them not to record images of uncovered faces for fear of retaliation by the governing authority. Most photographers can easily gauge the seriousness of the request and judge responsibly whether to walk away and take pictures from afar or stand their ground and insist on the right to film.

Israeli journalist Avi Issacharoff, by his own admission, mistakenly thought he and photographer Daniel Book could stay put and weather the storm. As a result, he was pushed around by Palestinian demonstrators until he decided to leave, along with two Palestinian security officials. Assertions by the Israeli journalist that he had escaped a near lynching, instigated simply because he is an Israeli journalist, seem a bit exaggerated by his own description of the event as well as those of fellow Israelis who were at the scene and were not attacked.

The incident took place in the Palestinian town of Beitunia, south of Ramallah, on May 16. A day earlier, two Palestinian youths, Muhammad Odeh Abu al-Daher and Nadeem Siam Nawara, had been shot and killed by Israeli soldiers using live ammunition. While Israel has promised to conduct an investigation into the fatal shootings, previous investigations have resulted in a white washing of events and absolution of the soldiers involved.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/05/israel-palestine-journalist-beitunia-occupation-protest.html#ixzz32pT63YzV