American journalist criticizes American Media coverage of Palestinian issues

Thursday September 20, 2007 13:00 by IMEMC Staff - IMEMC News

In a lecture organized by the Al Najah University of Nablus on Wednesday, Alison Weir, founder of the ‘If Americans knew’ organization, criticized the biased American Media coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Alison Weir the founder of founder of If Americans knew

The ‘If Americans Knew’ organization was founded to inform and educate the American public on issues of major significance that are unreported, underreported, or misreported in the American media.

In the course of the speech, Weir spoke about the activities her organization and analyzed American media coverage of the conflict, arguing that it misrepresents what is, in essence, a brutal war of oppression against the Palestinians.

A study conducted by her organization revealed that US media reported on Israeli victims of the conflict 15% more than Palestinian children victims, despite the fact that many more Palestinians have been killed – a fact supported by the research of various human rights groups in Israel and abroad.

Weir urged Palestinians to improve the quality and frequency of information regarding Israeli attacks, stating that "Israel controls the American Media’s coverage of stories from this region,” and called on Palestinian journalists to use terminology that the West could understand.

Weir concluded her speech by highlighting that the American government gives Israel 8 to 10 million USD per year from the tax money of the American people, arguing that most American people are unaware of this fact.

The ‘If Americans Knew’ website is host to a wealth of information and statistics on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, all of which are offered free of use to local and international journalists.

Translated by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC newsroom

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