Analysis: US Media Coverage Of Gaza Invasion Largely Biased Towards Israel

Israel launched its much-anticipated invasion of Gaza on Saturday. For over a week, U.S. media had provided largely one-sided coverage of the conflict, with little editorializing or commentary arguing against broader Israeli actions.

Most notably, after more than eight days of Israeli bombing and Hamas rocket launching in Gaza, The New York Times had produced exactly one editorial, not a single commentary by any of its columnists, and only two op-eds (one already published elsewhere). The editorial, several days ago, did argue against the wisdom of a ground invasion - - but even though that invasion had become ever more likely all week the paper did not return to this subject.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[LetMeUnderstandThis]

Is anybody surprised by the bias?

[MagisterLudi]

Of course, not. Israel is an ally and Hamas is an entity despised by liberals and progressive the wold over. The concern is about the safely of civilian Palestinans and Israel. As amply expressed by the mass media.

[Mekarri]

How long is the US going to kiss Israel a$$? I mean they act as if these people can do no wrong. Killing civilians make you a bad guy in my book. Looks like thay are taking a page on bush the idiot book. It didn't work for him, most people hate bush and if Israel isn't careful they will be viewed the same way.

[MagisterLudi]

Many Palestinians ridicule Hamas, saying its melodramatic promises of resistance to Israeli assault proved to be an empty boast.
Hamas , very brave to lob missiles at innocent civilians, seem to be quite reluctant to confront the IDF, preferring to hide in densely populated areas.
Senior Hamas officials frequently wander around the maternity ward of Gaza City's Main Hospital, using it as refuge from Israeli wrath. Most of the Hamas militants can be seen nervously congregating near the hospitals and headquarters for international organizations, such as the Red Cross and the United Nations.

[Michale32086]

Do you know how many civilians the US killed in WWII??

So, I guess in "your book" every country who has been to war are the "bad guys"... :^/

Michale.....

[newideaz]

My first language is not english but , it is not largely biased, heading should read absolutely Biased.

Is there any doubt, after all this is continuation of Crusades as claimed by your soon to be ex president Bush.

Are Muslims whining, if they are then they should stop and defend their Holy land.
With son of Qadafi paying Million dollars to Hookers on new year night and then Arabs believe the rest of Mulsims coming out to help them , morally. but why?

[MagisterLudi]

Crusades??
One can easily evaluate the primitive state of of Arab media by reading comments from people who been brainwashed by it.

[greysilk]

Really - US news biased towards Israel? I'm shocked, shocked, lol - go over to the BBC and check out the difference! The BBC is covering this slaughter like a real news organization - CNN is Olmert's poodle.

[MagisterLudi]

"The BBC is covering this slaughter like a real news organization - "
I also had this opnion of BBC. Until Georgian Russian conflict.
What with BBC's non-ending fake pictures of Georgian grandmas in ruined buildings and hysterically virulent and mostly wrong anti-Russian headlines. Spoon fed to gullible BBc by Georgian propaganda.
It took BBC about 3 month to actually admit that they totally missed the facts on the ground. But no apology and revision of process occurred..
BBC just plows on with smug upper class Brit twit self-righteousness. Ra-a-a-ther....

[hamchunk]

Exactly - or watch al-Jezeera English TV.

[Michale32086]

@SiberianRat

}}}}
but this threat is much like the threat of Saddam Hussein's WMDs--hyped up and not true.
{{{{

Tell that to the families of the 20 people who died..

Tell those people that the threat is "hyped up and not true"..

I wonder how they would feel about your "hyped up and not true" threat...

Michale.....

[The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker]

Ah, those Khazar 13th-Tribers: Warlike, aggressive, acquisitive . . . But not exactly original thinkers:

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-keeping-out-the-cameras-and-reporters-simply-doesnt-work-1225800.html

Now the Israeli army is trying the same doomed tactic again. Ban the press. Keep the cameras out. By yesterday morning, only hours after the Israeli army went clanking into Gaza to kill more Hamas members " and, of course, more civilians " Hamas was reporting the capture of two Israeli soldiers. Reporters on the ground could have sorted out the truth or the lie about that. But without a single Western journalist in Gaza, the Israelis were left to tell the world that they didn't know if the story was true.

[Michale32086]

A picture is worth a thousand words...

I invite everyone to take a tour of Gaza..

http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=31.573526,34.517326&spn=0.020585,0.04549&t=h&z=15

This depicts the north central Gaza/Israel border.

Take a look around. What you will see are wide open areas that would actually INCREASE the range of Hamas missiles.

Get that??

If Hamas actually placed their launchers AWAY from crowded civilian areas, their missiles WOULD BE MORE EFFECTIVE!!!

Of course, Hamas would still be committing terrorism against Israel.. For a short time, anyways.. :)

But doing this would virtually ELIMINATE innocent civilian Palestinian casualties...

So, you have to ask yourselves..

WHY is HAMAS placing military hardware inside civilian areas??

Michale.....

[whosyourdaddy]

It's not particularly hard to understand why there is a bias towards Israel in this conflict. Israel has asked to be left alone, has been attacked during a truce and Hamas has sworn to wipe them off the map. Reasonable people all over the world are becoming biased towards Israel.

[sq1972]

Great headline, I've got another scoop for you: "Humans need oxygen to breathe..."

[Magenta]

Morally and ethically, Israel is in the wrong and has received 22 UN resolutions against its military aggression, 5 more than Saddam's.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/04/israel-gaza-hamas-hidden-agenda

"...the truce was thrown into jeopardy in November when the Israeli military killed six Hamas gunmen in a raid on Gaza... Between June 2007 and June 2008, Israeli attacks killed 68 Palestinian children and young people in Gaza...

In February, an Israeli missile killed four boys, aged eight to 14, playing football in the street in Jabalia. In April, Meyasar Abu-Me'tiq and her four children, aged one to five years old, were killed when an Israeli missile hit their house as they were having breakfast. Even during the ceasefire, Israel killed 22 people in Gaza, including two children and a woman...

But Israel did not end the siege that was wrecking the economy and causing desperate shortages of food, fuel and medicine...

"When the Israelis pulled out... We didn't expect that we would have to beg to allow food in," she said. Yossi Alpher, a former Israeli Mossad official and an ex-adviser on peace negotiations said the blockade of Gaza is a failed strategy that might have strengthened Hamas. "... It's collective punishment, humanitarian suffering... "I think people really believed that, if you starved Gazans, they will get Hamas to stop the attacks. It's repeating a failed policy, mindlessly."

[miamia]

The Palestinians need to lay down their weapons and find a civil rights leader to help them organize and fight for their rights.. Where is Jesse Jackson when you need him...??

[Pastprologue]

Shocking! Simply shocking!

[Jamesdean]

the irony is that this website is carrying this news!!!

[Pastprologue]

Right on!

[therealtruthteller]

The US government and media are never, I repeat never, biased when it comes to Israel. Both have been exceedingly objective, fair and balanced when it comes to that country, which is why the whole world, especially the Arabs, love and admire both entities. (for those who missed the point: it's called sarcasm)

[Michale32086]

There is a reason for the alleged Israeli "bias" in the media.

It's because morally, ethically and legally, Israel is in the right and Hamas is in the wrong.

Here are some quotes from the International Criminal Court that may clear things up for the Hamas supporters out there..

"Our thumb is on the scale in favour of the defender", such that the magnitude of the response may exceed the degree of danger created by the initial attack"

" the personal interests of the aggressor are significantly diminished due to the aggressor"s culpability in launching the attack."

Even the ICC, the court so vaunted amongst the hysterical Left in their unending pursuit of President Bush, has made it perfectly clear that Israel is in the morally, ethically and legally in the right.

Michale.....

[Hirnlego]

And you'd be saying that ANC was wrong too.. you'd support the South African apartheid government.
"ifamericanskew"