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July 26, 2002/Av 17 5762, Vol. 54, No. 45
Passions flare on coverage
RACHEL POMERANCE
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
ORLANDO, Fla.- Even before Zev Chafets arrived for a media panel here, he was being goaded by his peers.
The conservative columnist for the New York Daily News said he had received quite a few e-mails instructing him, in "genteel terms," to "kick" the "ass" of National Public Radio president Kevin Klose.
Along with New York Times contributor Samuel Freedman, Chafets and Klose appeared on a panel at Hadassah's 88th annual convention here July 22-23, addressing media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The issue has been a widespread source of dismay for the Jewish community, which complains that much reporting falsely portrays Israel as the aggressor.
While civil and even jocular, the Hadassah forum demonstrated American Jews' frustration with the media.
And NPR - widely regarded by Hadassah activists, who represent all religious streams and political ideologies within American Zionism, as skewed against Israel - became a lightning rod for criticism.
After waiting in a long line for their turns at the microphone, activists faulted NPR and other major media outlets for alleged sensationalism, ignorance and lack of context and follow-up.
Chafets, the panelist representing the right wing - Freedman apparently was picked as the centrist and Klose as the liberal - seemed to have the audience's allegiance.
His opening speech, which called for pro-Israel spin, earned sustained applause.
Major American media organizations like NPR and The New York Times are not anti-Israel or anti-Semitic, or even inaccurate, Chafets said.
They simply "are balanced organizations in a situation where balance" is inappropriate, he said.
"In a war between America's enemies and America's allies," the free press should take a clear stand on the side of democracy, Chafets said.
Klose responded that advocacy is not NPR's role.
Freedman agreed that the media is not there to "reify Jewish solidarity with Israel."
When complaining to news outlets, activists should include some positive feedback with their criticism, advised Freedman, a professor at Columbia University's School of Journalism. He also blasted the idea of boycotting media outlets perceived as pro-Palestinian, as some pro-Israel activists have urged.
Klose suggested that American Jews may believe the American public should be partial to Israel, and they then direct their frustration over the conflict at the media - a notion that offended some activists.
Audience members praised Klose for holding a dialogue with a group that is critical of his network, yet most remained skeptical of his message.
"He had me" until he refused to call suicide bombers murderers, said Eileen Chepenik, president of the Charleston, S. C., chapter of Hadassah.
"We're not going to make a finding of guilt," he said. "Murder" is a determination that only the court system can make, Klose said.
Since May, NPR has responded to complaints of unfair coverage by posting transcripts of its Middle East reportage on its Web site. It also aims to bolster coverage by adding a third staff member to its Middle East bureau.
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