Al Jazeera's Israel problem
Al Jazeera's interviews with Israeli spokespeople are nothing more than a fig leaf, as its coverage of the conflict is far from neutral.
On July 22, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, Israeli coordinator of government activities in the territories and former spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), sat for an interview on Al Jazeera's Arabic channel. Mordechai had been invited to the network's Tel Aviv studios by virtue of his fluency in Arabic, which he mastered at university during his studies for a bachelor of arts degree. His fluency, however, was merely a pretext cited by the network for an interview in uniform. Actually, the interview was designed to demonstrate that the network was true to the motto it adopted nearly 20 years ago — “The opinion, and the other opinion.”
Two decades, thousands of hours of live broadcasts and “a new Middle East” have shown that Al Jazeera not only cheers on revolutions, but also covers radical Islamic movements in the turbulent Middle East with sympathy and empathy. It began with its exclusive releases of al-Qaeda videos back in the days of Osama bin Laden and was subsequently manifest in its unqualified support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, as well as in its backing of Hamas in Gaza – and this, not for the first time.
Its support of Hamas was especially notable during the coup staged by the movement's military wing in Gaza in June 2007 and the ensuing violent expulsion of Fatah activists. The network’s correspondents in Gaza and its newscasters in Qatar have not criticized the perpetrators of the Gaza coup or the rule of fear established there by Hamas. The editorial line of Al Jazeera on the Palestinian issue has been clear and transparent. It has been and still is hostile to the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank and favors Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Hence, the tone of the network’s broadcasts throughout the military operation in Gaza should have come as no surprise to anyone. Nevertheless, for some reason or another, the coordinator of government activities in the territories, as well as other Israeli spokespeople, on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the English-speaking spokespeople appeared on Al Jazeera's international broadcasts), decided for some reason to accept the network's invitation. Perhaps, they figured, or hoped, that they would be able to convince its anchors and the tens of millions of its viewers that Hamas is the bad guy in the conflict. The interview went as follows.
