HonestReporting Defending Israel From Media Bias
2017ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT
INCLUDING
Program Highlights Inside www.honestreporting.com We believe Israel deserves fair treatment in the news. We know public opinion is shaped by the media. We empower the grassroots to respond to media bias.
Join 150,000 others demanding fair media coverage for Israel: honestreporting.com/start/
HonestReporting USA Board of Directors President of the Board: Robert A. Blum
Members of the Board Martha Barvin • Daniela Bendor • Max Blankfeld • David A. Barish, Ph.D. • Morris F. Mintz • Sharon Mishkin
Executive Staff Joe Hyams, CEO HonestReporting.com, Inc. •
International Staff Simon Plosker, Managing Editor • Jerry Glazer, Senior Manager, Finance, Payroll and Personnel Suzanne Lieberman, Missions Director • Jonny Perl, Head of MediaCentral HonestReporting Defending Israel From Media Bias
2017ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT
www.honestreporting.com This annual report is also available online as a downloadable PDF with additional content hyperlinks at www.honestreporting.com/2017-annual-report/ Why HonestReporting?
We deliver real solutions to We mobilize at a real problems. moment’s notice.
Media bias is a global problem that affects Israel and The longer biased news is out there, the more people it Jewish communities around the world. With our will misinform. That’s why we activate rapid response. monitoring, critiques, education, and social media We monitor the news as it comes out, and respond to presence, we put the media on notice and hold them to inaccuracy and bias as it happens. Corrections begin account. to appear within minutes, and we keep news agencies on notice.
We have leverage. Our team of non-profit professionals make every dollar The most valuable assets for news agencies are their reputation and credibility. They know who we are, go the extra mile. they know about our reach and our impact. We put the We monitor the events and news coverage, we reach out media on notice: they have to do their jobs right, or risk to our community, we provide education and events, we being exposed. engage with the media, and we get results.
Our track record is unparalleled. We don’t just critique the media, we also educate the wider public. For 17 years we’ve been obtaining corrections, expanding our community, and pressing the news media to do their Our staff have intimate knowledge of the issues and jobs with fairness and accuracy. are able to effectively disseminate accurate and relevant information. Our news literacy materials are an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to advocate for Israel today.
We are on the ground,
in the heart of Jerusalem. We are the only organization that is directly involved, in person, at every stage of the news cycle: before, during and after.
4 A Message from HR’s CEO
2017 was a year of growth for HonestReporting, both externally and internally.
Externally, we expanded our two new language sites, saw more video views than any year in our history, and generated a reach of over 14 million on Facebook alone! Within the organization, we’ve been busy developing our desktop as well as mobile website experience to become best-in-class, and integrated cutting edge software to help us more rapidly track and respond to breaking Israel news. With your help, these investments, and our dedication to being the very best media monitor on the front lines for Israel, translate into one of our most impactful years on record. Not only did we welcome our largest Israel Mission ever, but we succeeded in securing more media corrections, revisions and retractions than EVER before. That’s a testament to our team’s dedication and skill, as well as our global readership engaging fully with our tools, educational products and grassroots campaigning. I couldn’t be more proud.
In the coming year HonestReporting will be relocating our Jerusalem Headquarters to accommodate our growing team and number of programs. Our new home will feature state of the art technology, lecture facilities, a video suite, media briefing space and more. This exciting venture has been made possible through the generosity of Laura & Peter D Weinstein, who invite you to join our efforts towards our $1 million new building campaign. Please consider one of the dedication opportunities at our new home, and you are invited to come and visit on your next journey to Israel. You can learn more about our new premises and dedication opportunities at honestreporting.com/future
From all of us, my wishes for a peaceful 2018,
Joe Hyams CEO, HonestReporting
HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 5 Stats 2017
In 2017, HonestReporting’s editorial and video output significantly increased along with our reach on social media. More people than ever before are engaging with HonestReporting! PRODUCTION
298 207 67 Featured Articles Daily News Roundups Email Campaigns
OVER
Corrections, revisions10 and retractions 0by the mainstream media.
REACH
6 WEB SITE
Time on web site Pageviews 11.7 2.4 676 MILLION MILLION POSTS MINUTES
VIDEOS 42 Videos
What’s the point in praying if you can’t bring your gun? Published July 23, 2017
Reach Shares Comments English 825,286 7,579 1,819 Portuguese 66,800 819 118 Hebrew (Halelu Page) 819,242 7,980 200 Total 1,711,328 16,378 2,137
In some cases our reach was so great that we bypassed mainstream media completely, directly reaching significant numbers of news consumers, as events were unfolding: such as our video on this summer’s crisis at the Temple Mount, viewed almost a million times, and sparking over 50 thousand comments, reactions and shares.
Our videos have been translated around the world, including into Hebrew, Polish, Czech and of course: French and Portuguese.
HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 7 Media Corrections 2017
During 2017, HonestReporting and its affiliates have achieved over 100 significant corrections, over double the number from the previous year!
Our results demonstrate our ability to not only effectively monitor the media but also our credibility, as editors respond to our requests and those of our readers when errors or bias occur.
Media outlets that issued corrections include:
x3 x3 x3
x3 x5
x7 x16 x8
x14
x2 x7
x3
8 Case Studies Fixing Google and the Oxford English Dictionary
When HonestReporting readers alerted us to an alarming issue discovered in Google Translate, it not only led to a significant result but also uncovered a wider problem with Google’s original source, the Oxford Dictionary.
When the term European was typed into Google Translate, the Definitions section gave these examples of the adjective and noun:
“We Europeans may take Palestinian land to give it to former European inhabitants, the Jews.”
“He compares the Palestinians at the time to Native Americans when Europeans first showed up in North America.”
We contacted sources at Google as well as flagging the issue on Twitter.
It also became apparent that typing Jew into Google came up with this definition:
“bargain with someone in a miserly or petty way.”
Anti-Semitic definitions of Jews should have no place on Google.
Google agreed and as a result of HonestReporting’s contacts and the exposure on Twitter, Google programmers got to work and fixed the problems.
We traced the origin of the definitions to the online Oxford English Dictionary. Following our exposure of the problem, we were contacted directly by Oxford University Press and the offending example sentences were removed from the online dictionary.
HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 9 Newsweek Retracts Two False Stories
In the space of two weeks, HonestReporting critiqued two articles written by Tom O’Connor for Newsweek. That O’Connor was responsible for the following tweet referencing Israeli “apartheid” should have raised flags concerning his ability to report in a fair and accurate manner on Israel:
Nice, so when does “birthright” include #Palestinians ? #Apartheid #Israelhttp://t.co/tBVQo0G8Qr
— Tom Roggio O’Connor (@ShaolinTom) January 23, 2014
HonestReporting contacted Newsweek editors and asked them to read our detailed critiques that systematically took apart O’Connor’s reporting.
Newsweek agreed with us, tweeting the following:
Newsweek retracted both stories and apologized.
In correspondence with HonestReporting, Newsweek’s then Global Editor-in-Chief Matt McAllester expressed his commitment to maintaining Newsweek’s standards and, in this case, he had clearly done so.
Tom O’Connor subsequently deleted his prejudicial tweet. That his bias has been exposed and two of his articles retracted represents a serious blow to his credibility.
Newsweek’s retractions and apology represent a significant success for HonestReporting, once again demonstrating our credibility with major media outlets and our ability to get concrete results in improving media coverage of Israel.
10 Media Corrections 2017
New Website
HonestReporting is constantly growing, and not just in the physical world! As our reach and support base continue to expand, we’re keeping up with the latest advances in technology and design.
With this in mind, we launched our new website, a significant upgrade in user experience. Features include a fresh, modern new style; more effective content organization; a dynamic sidebar for easy updates on what’s new; and a wider format to take advantage of the shape of today’s modern computer screens.
HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 11 HR IN THE MEDIA 2017
HonestReporting staff continue to be cited and appear in the media, raising awareness of our activities and expertise, ensuring our goal of promoting wider concern for media standards.
• As Israelis wake up to the impact that negative foreign media coverage is having on their country in the eyes of the world, so the issue of media bias is becoming a news item in itself. Joe Hyams was interviewed in the prestigious Hebrew edition of Globes, Israel’s premier financial paper.
On the left of the feature article is an interview with Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs, Gilad Erdan. While HonestReporting is proud of its independence, we also greatly value our important relationship with Erdan’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs, including keeping Ministry staff abreast of developments in media coverage.
• HR Senior Editor Daniel Pomerantz is a weekly guest on i24 News – the fastest-growing Israeli news broadcaster on the international stage. Our weekly contribution is reaching people far and wide. We are the only media watchdog featured in this way. Debates featuring Daniel have included Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy, Newsweek columnist Marc Schulman, Deputy Minister of Defense Eli Ben Dahan, Deputy Minister of Public Diplomacy, former Israeli ambassador to the US and Member of Knesset Michael Oren, Members of Knesset Meirav Ben Ari (Kulanu) and Nurit Koren (Likud), Fatah party member Ahmed Ghoneim, Omar Baddar, Deputy Haaretz’s Gideon Levy (l) with Daniel Pomerantz Director of the Arab American Institute, and Israel’s Consul General to New York, Danny Dayan.
• We were deeply saddened by the death of Israel’s most renowned photojournalist, David Rubinger, who was a great friend of HonestReporting and a greatly appreciated Mission speaker. Joe’s heartfelt and personal tribute to Rubinger became the top item on The Times of Israel website and its top opinion piece in the days following Rubinger’s death.
12 • HonestReporting has achieved numerous corrections from media outlets that have erroneously stated that the Western Wall, rather than the Temple Mount, is the holiest site in Judaism. Following The Guardian’s refusal to correct, Simon Plosker wrote an op-ed for The Times of Israel on the importance of the issue. The article was featured by TOI and achieved the position of most popular opinion item over the course of 48 hours.
• Joe Hyams also wrote a piece for Times of Israel concerning the media coverage of the terrorist murder of Israeli border policewoman Hadas Malka, part of a sustained campaign to expose the media double-standards in reporting on terrorist attacks in Israel compared to other Western states. Joe’s article also made it into The Times of Israel’s most popular section.
• Simon Plosker was interviewed on Israel Now News, a weekly TV news magazine presenting a unique perspective of Israel’s current events, politics, and culture to millions of Christian supporters of Israel.
• Simon Plosker has a weekly slot on South African Jewish community radio station Chai FM, broadcasting to the greater Johannesburg area on the afternoon show.
In addition, HR has been cited in the following:
• Jerusalem Post • Gatestone Institute • Israel National News • Australian Jewish News • J-Wire • Hillsdale Collegian
HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 13 International Expansion 2017
HR DOWN UNDER
Last year we set out to better serve our growing Australian and New Zealand-based readership through dedicated content and increased media monitoring. HR Down Under is making an impact and achieving positive results.
For example, the Sydney Morning Herald initially refused to correct an error implying that Tel Aviv is Israel’s capital. Our subsequent grassroots effort and formal complaint to the Australian Press Council triggered a pre- emptive correction by the SMH, thereby avoiding a formal adjudication by the APC. This success was covered by the Australian Jewish News.
In another case, HonestReporting defended Australia’s then-Ambassador to Israel, David Sharma, from libelous accusations regarding his relationships with Israeli-based organizations.
HonestReporting received private appreciation from the ambassador for publicly defending him on Twitter and for the more detailed communique that was published on the issue, which was also republished by J-Wire.
Other highlights of the year include:
• Achieving corrections from media outlets including The Australian, The Age and ABC News.
• Exposing anti-Semitism in a New Zealand newspaper, assisting the local Jewish community to lodge official complaints.
• Critiquing Sophie McNeill, ABC’s Middle East correspondent, forcing her to publicly justify her work on Twitter.
• Critiquing an anti-Israel feature on Channel Nine’s flagship 60 Minutes program.
HR BRAZIL
HR Brazil’s Editor Tamara Stern visited Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, to demonstrate the important work that has been developed in only a short time since the creation of our Portuguese-language affiliate.
Tamara presented HR Brazil’s steady growth on social media, highlighted the numerous corrections achieved in the Brazilian media and presented videos specially developed to give the public a greater understanding of the complex and sometimes controversial issues that dominate the discourse on Israel in the media and elsewhere.
HR Brazil, through partnerships with key Brazilian Jewish communal institutions, is now the go-to place for media advocacy for the Brazilian pro-Israel community. Tamara also met with journalists and professionals committed to defending Israel through enlightenment, education and diplomacy in an effort to bring the media closer to us.
14 Examples of HR Brazil’s increasing reach include the aftermath, in June, of the brutal terrorist stabbing of Israeli border policewoman Hadas Malka. Many Brazilian media outlets followed the pattern of English-language international media by placing the emphasis in their headlines on the deaths of the terrorists rather than the victim. Tamara Stern presents to an audience in Brazil
HR Brazil’s response was shared more than 2,000 times through the HR website and social media as well as reaching more than 27,000 people on Facebook.
An accompanying video on the topic was posted on Facebook where it got more than 110,000 reach in only 24 hours, and thousands of reactions (likes, shares and comments).
In another case, the Brazilian GloboNews produced a biased documentary to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War. HR Brazil’s response got more than 2,500 shares on the HR website and social media and reached more than 10,000 people on Facebook. During her trip, Tamara was featured in the Jewish community’s Alef magazine as well as being interviewed by the Jewish community’s HR FRANCE TV show “Comunidade na TV.”
For too long, French-speaking journalists have not been held to account for unprofessional or biased reporting.
HR France is taking the lead in exposing serious breaches of journalistic ethics. For example, in March, HR France produced a detailed expose of Jerusalem-based Medi 1 journalist Valérie Féron, outing her as an active supporter of the BDS movement. This has had a significant impact on her status as an accredited journalist working in Israel.
Furthermore, HR France is now firmly on the radar of major French Jewish organizations including CRIF (the representative body of French Jewry) as well as the Israeli Embassy in Paris, which have retweeted HR France content on social media.
Increasing numbers of followers have started to turn to HR France as a credible source of analysis on news items to monitor for bias or false information and the HR France Facebook page has now reached 5,000 likes and growing.
Other highlights of the year include:
• Achieving corrections in media outlets including Le Monde, L’Obs, Le Parisien, La Dépêche du Midi and AFP.
• Exposing a French journalist who compared ISIS with Israel on her social media platforms.
• Exposing an academic who invented non-existent “Israeli invasions of Gaza” in an article.
• Obtaining two corrections from Le Monde which published AFP wire stories that were subsequently replaced with more accurate and balanced in-depth analysis articles.
HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 15 GUEST CONTENT 2017
It is extremely rare to find journalists who either openly sympathize with Israel or admit that they have erred by taking an anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian stance.
In an exclusive article for HonestReporting, foreign journalist Hunter Stuart recounted how he was exposed to the realities of reporting from Israel and found that his pro- Palestinian views were dramatically changed as a result.
“While living in Israel, I noticed that a lot of journalists seemed to think of themselves as advocates. They spoke of journalism as a way to give voice to the underdog, and for too many of them, Palestinians were the underdog. Good journalism, of course, does not advocate. It tells the truth, regardless of who looks good and who looks bad.” Hunter Stuart Hunter’s remarkable story of his experiences reporting from Israel and the Palestinian territories created a huge amount of online interest, drawing over 10,000 Facebook likes and shares from the HR website while reaching over 90,000 people through HR’s Facebook page.
There are few people more qualified to talk about issues concerning the IDF’s everyday interaction with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip than Col. (Res.) Grisha Yakubovich, former Head Col. (Res.) Grisha Yakubovich of the Civilian Department in the IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit. At the height of the Gaza electricity crisis, Grisha contributed a guest article explaining the real story behind the headlines and its implications for Israel.
Jerusalem city councilwoman Fleur Hassan-Nahoum chose HonestReporting as the vehicle to promote her video showing the reality of Israel facilitating the transport of Palestinians to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan. The video achieved close to a quarter of a million reach on Facebook with 106,000 views.
16 GLOBAL LECTURES AND EVENTS 2017
Joe Hyams addressing the JNF Northern New Jersey Breakfast for Israel US LECTURES • In January, Joe Hyams was invited by CJP, Greater Boston’s Jewish Federation to lead an advocacy training class as well as addressing a meeting of CJP Young Financial Services (YFS) on the topics of fake news and imbalanced media coverage of domestic and global events.
In addition, Joe spoke to students at the Gann Academy in Waltham, Massachusetts.
• Joe was a guest of the Jewish National Fund on two occasions during the year. In March he had the opportunity to meet with staff and lay leadership as well as address a range of public and private audiences in South Florida about our work exposing and defending Israel from media bias.
• In May, Joe also spoke at two regional events in New Jersey and Albany, New York, on the subject of recognizing and countering media bias in an age of “fake news.”
In advance of his speaking engagements, the Jewish Joe Hyams with JNF Miami-Dade staff and Board of Directors Standard of New Jersey published an extensive interview with Joe about the work of HonestReporting.
Joe Hyams meets with JNFutures/Young Professionals in Miami
HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 17 • In October, Joe again took HonestReporting on the road, speaking at the Merrick Jewish Centre, Congregation Ohr Torah in New York and at the Boston headquarters of the IAC (the Israeli American Council), where he opened a six part lecture series offered by Hakol: An Israel Leadership Program – and hosted by CJP’s Strategic Israel Engagement Team.
In Boston, Joe was hosted by CJP: the Combined Jewish Philanthropies for their Israel360 podcast, talking all things newsy: including questions of Joe Hyams and the Israel360 podcast team distinction between fake news vs. news we just don’t like.
• From there, Joe headed over to Montreal where he was hosted by Congregation Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem for a night of insight and discussion on media bias, and how we can each play a role in identifying and pushing back against journalistic failures.
• In October, Simon Plosker addressed Jewish Studies students at Charleston College via Skype to discuss media issues in a special class arranged by Visiting Chair in Jewish Studies and Haaretz journalist Allison Kaplan Sommer.
CEO Joe Hyams at IAC in Boston
CEO Joe Hyams presenting to Congregation Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem, Montreal
18 GLOBAL LECTURES AND EVENTS 2017
EYELESS IN GAZA Eyeless in Gaza is an award-winning documentary that follows journalists who covered the 2014 Gaza conflict, exposing the biased narrative told by international media through authentic footage and interviews with journalists willing to acknowledge the real story behind the stories.
HonestReporting has been at the forefront of addressing the distorted media coverage of the Gaza conflict and anti-Israel media bias more generally. So it was a natural fit for our New York office to partner with Eyeless in Gaza’s producer Robert Magid for a series of pre-release screenings in the New York City area.
Two events took place in February, where, following the screenings, Magid was joined for a panel discussion and analysis of the film moderated by HonestReporting staff. Panelists included former CNN Mideast correspondent Linda Scherzer, film critic and journalist Alison Bailes, producer and Jewish community leader Morris S. Levy, and Professor Paul Glader, a former Wall Street Journal reporter and head of the journalism program at The King’s College in New York City where one of the screenings took place. (See photo at the top of page)
Eighty students and scholars at The Kings College were invited by HonestReporting and the Philos Project, not only to see Eyeless in Gaza, but also to learn more about media bias against Israel and the work that HonestReporting does to address this.
In June, HonestReporting took the next step by bringing the same format to a wider online audience by broadcasting our first ever Facebook livestream. HR subscribers were invited to watch the movie online for free followed by a Facebook livestream panel discussion with filmmaker Magid and HR’s Simon Plosker and Daniel Pomerantz. Screenshot of Robert Magid (c) with Simon Plosker Over 1,300 people viewed it live with questions being contributed (l) and Daniel Pomerantz (r) during the live Facebook in real time, while thousands more have viewed the archived footage stream. on Facebook.
ISRAEL LECTURES • During the year, Simon Plosker spoke to students at the Midreshet Lindenbaum program on two occasions and a delegation from the Australian Union of Jewish Students.
• At the invitation of Nitzan Chen, Director of Israel’s Government Press Office (GPO), Daniel Pomerantz helped train Israeli masters students who are studying international business management. Topics included: challenges of representing Israel abroad in a world filled with media bias, and communicating effectively through cultural differences. Daniel introduced the students to HR’s up-to-date information resources and approaches to communication while strengthening HR’s relationship with the GPO.
HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 19 SHIMON MERCER- WOOD The opening of our New York office continues to expand our schedule of activities in the region. A highlight included an event graciously hosted by Rebecca and Joseph Harary, which brought a renewed commitment from the HR community in New York. Over 25 people heard from our special guest speaker, Shimon Mercer- Wood, Consul for Media Affairs at the Consulate Shimon-Mercer Wood Meeting General of Israel in New York, who offered in-depth discussion on Israel’s challenges in the media and insights into developments in the region.
LIMMUD FESTIVAL With over 2,500 participants and 1,000 sessions spread over five days, Limmud Festival that took place over December in the UK, is one of the world’s largest Jewish educational events.
Simon Plosker presented sessions on the work of HonestReporting as well as teaching Red Lines: The Eight Categories of Media Bias.
He also took part in two high- level panels alongside Jerusalem Post political correspondent Lahav Harkov, Haaretz managing editor Simon Spungin, Jewish Agency spokesperson Avi Mayer, Jerusalem city councilor Arieh King and academic and political activist Dr. David Hirsh.
Some 100 participants attended Simon’s sessions over the course of Limmud.
20 GLOBAL LECTURES AND EVENTS 2017 SIX-DAY WAR & JERUSALEM REUNIFICATION: SPECIAL 50 YEAR ANNIVERSARY MISSION
Forty-five participants from around the world joined HonestReporting to commemorate 50 years since Israel’s astonishing victory in the Six-Day War and the reunification of Israel’s capital city Jerusalem.
Fifty Years Since Jerusalem’s Reunification A week of high-level speakers, field tours, discussions and debate kicked off with the inspiring story of American-born Rabbi Dov Lipman’s immigration to Israel and subsequent election to the Knesset.
While the visit of US President Donald Trump brought much of Dov Lipman at the HR Mission opening dinner Jerusalem to a virtual standstill, Colonel (ret.) Miri Eisin gave the HR Mission a seminar on the political, religious and strategic environment of the city that would have exceeded anything that the US State Department could have produced for POTUS.
From geo-politics down to the municipal level, Jerusalem city councilor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum explained in a behind-the-scenes briefing at City Hall, how the Municipality serves the different sectors of Jerusalem’s population, including the unique difficulties of providing for the Palestinian residents of eastern Jerusalem who, by and large, refuse to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the city, yet benefit from generous health provisions, national insurance and other services that all Israelis enjoy.
The Evolution of Warfare Miri Eisin speaks against the stunning backdrop from The consequences of Israel’s 1967 victory continue to loom large, the roof of Jerusalem’s Mamilla Hotel raising questions over Israel’s future. Mission participants gained vital history and context courtesy of military analyst and IDF Major (res.) Elliot Chodoff who examined the evolution of warfare tactics over the past 50 years on a field tour of battle sites in Israel’s north as well as the Latrun Armored Corps Memorial Site.
This also included an exclusive VIP briefing with Major Simcha Shore, newly retired head of Israel’s drone program within the IDF Intelligence Corps. Mission participants even had a chance to try out The Mission at the Latrun Museum their skills flying their own drones.
Are Settlements the Real Obstacle to Peace? Are settlements the real obstacle to peace? The Mission group attempted to answer this question, learning about the history and unique challenges of the region thanks to the expertise of IDF Brigadier-General (res.) Bentzi Gruber. The group toured communities in the disputed territories, hearing from both settlers and those who oppose them.
HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 21 The Mission group visits Israel’s north
But it’s not only facts on the ground. International law expert Professor Eugene Kontorovich addressed the legal status of Judea and Samaria 50 years later giving an exhaustive overview of the status of Jewish settlements and Israeli rights in the disputed territories going back decades before the birth of the modern state of Israel.
Israeli Hi-Tech and Cyber-Security Having looked at the past, the Mission also looked into the future on a visit to the southern city of Beersheva, hearing from executives pioneering ingenious start-ups in the field of cyber-security and hi-tech that is driving the Israeli economy forward.
What Really Goes on Behind the Scenes The Mission also got to hear from voices able to give a direct insight into their fields. Israeli-Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh spoke about the dangers and difficulties of reporting on the Palestinian Authority and Hamas while exposing what Palestinian leaders really say to their people in Arabic. ABC and i24 News reporter Jordana Miller gave her own personal stories about how the foreign media operate from and report on Israel, while the Rev. Dr. Petra Heldt gave a comprehensive briefing on the status of Christians in the Holy Land and the many different internal politics at play between the different denominations.
Deputy Minister Michael Oren Addresses the Mission Who better to address the Six-Day War than the most prominent historian of the conflict, Deputy Minister for Diplomacy in the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr. Michael Oren, who gave the Mission his thoughts 50 years on and the thinking behind the Israeli government’s current policies.
The Diplomatic Challenges of Presenting Israel’s Case It was also an honor to be hosted by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs where the Mission heard from spokesperson Emmanuel Nahshon on the challenges of presenting Israel’s case to the media and the world, while Director of Digital Diplomacy DJ Schneeweiss outlined the huge impact that Israel is having on social media platforms.
Of course, the Mission benefited from hands-on advocacy training courtesy of Neil Lazarus, learning how to win any debate about Israel in two minutes as well as hearing from HonestReporting’s Managing Editor and CEO about the Deputy Minister Michael Oren (l) with HR CEO Joe Hyams latest developments within the organization and the exciting projects taking place.
22 GLOBAL LECTURES AND EVENTS 2017
Quantitative Evaluation 50% The educational benefits 38% After Mission of the Mission were seen Before Mission of 25% in the overwhelmingly participants positive feedback to responding 13% the question of how confident participants felt 0% discussing events in the 1 Extremely uncomfortable Middle East with others 2 following the Mission compared with before. 3 4 Confidence 5
The trend line shows that the Mission group, as a 6 whole, had increased confidence levels in discussing 7 events in the Middle East by over 30% as a result of Good luck to the other side the Mission.
Feedback data shows that the Mission group, as a whole, had a self-reported positive shift of over 20% in their knowledge of Israel and the Middle East as a result of the Mission.
of participants responding Qualitative Evaluation 0% Here's what participants said: 1 Knows nothing 2 3 After Mission 4 This has been an exceptional learning 5 Before Mission and touring experience with a no e ge e e 6 committed and available staff, and 7 warm fellow Mission members. The Expert on israel & middle-east issues that have troubled me and the world about Israel today are now personal to me. Can't wait to do another Mission.
The HR Mission presents a view into the Israel-Arab conflict that combines This is my 2nd Mission. The variety, richness, quality of speakers and trips The variety and expertise history, analysis, and clarity that is of the speakers, Mission unparalleled. The breadth and depth of are extraordinary. I learned much and was inspired. A priceless Mission and attendees, venues, make this topics covered, combined with field trips a remarkable experience. is an education to even those who have eye-opening view of Israel. experienced Israel before.
HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 23 GLOBAL LECTURES AND EVENTS 2017
GAZA BORDER TRIP In April, 40 people, many of them visiting Israel for the Passover holiday, spent a unique day with HonestReporting, focusing on the policy, economics, infrastructure, society and security of the Gaza Strip, both from a historical perspective, current issues, and what to expect from the future.
The tour was led by former Head of the Civilian Department in the IDF’s Coordinator of Government Participants visit the moshav Netiv HaAsara, the closest Israeli Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit, Colonel (Res.) community to Gaza, located 400 meters away from the edge of the Grisha Yakubovich. Palestinian town of Beit Lahiya. Three concrete walls have been built on the border to defend against Palestinian snipers.
FIELD TRIP TO VISIT SYRIAN PATIENTS TREATED IN ISRAEL In October, HonestReporting took a group of 40 supporters to meet victims of the Syrian civil war being treated in Ziv Hospital in the north of Israel.
It was both illuminating and emotionally touching to talk directly (through Arabic translators) with Syrian patients, as well as the doctors and Arabic- speaking social workers who help provide care. This is a highly unusual privilege: due to security concerns, visitors are almost never permitted to directly meet the Syrian patients themselves, much less to speak with them at length.
Druze-Israeli tour guide (and Druze cultural expert) Ihab Zaidan then took the group on a unique exploration of the Druze history in Israel: a special example of Jewish and Arab co-existence and deep loyalty to the state.
ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE EUROPEAN LEFT- WING In November, HonestReporting was proud to be a co- sponsor of a special event in Jerusalem discussing anti- Semitism in the European left-wing. With an introduction from HR’s Simon Plosker and a keynote speech from the University of London’s Dr. David Hirsh, over 150 people listened to a panel including Dr. David Gurevich from Haifa University, former MK Einat Wilf, Jewish Agency spokesperson Avi Mayer, and Research Fellow at the Dr. David Hirsch, Dr. Einat Wilf, and Avi Mayer Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) Dr. Michal Hatuel-Radoshitzky.
24 EDUCATION 2017
RED LINES
Red Lines continues to be a “must read” for anyone attempting to understand whether the news reports they are reading are accurate or biased. Our educational e-book on media bias and ethics has garnered wider attention beyond the media’s reporting of the Middle East and is being used to teach about media ethics and bias in general.
In one example a professor at the University of South Carolina Upstate is using Red Lines as part of his course on news and biased media.
SIX-DAY WAR PRIMER
This year has seen the 50th anniversary of Israel’s remarkable victory in the 1967 Six-Day War. While Israelis have commemorated events including the reunification of Jerusalem, the anniversary has also brought with it plenty of media coverage, including attempts to distort history and to promote a one-sided anti-Israel narrative.
HonestReporting has worked to counter this narrative, through obtaining media corrections and exposing bias as usual but also with the release of our Six-Day War resource site. This well-received product brought together historical information, The MFA’s DJ Schneeweiss credits the work of analysis, news items, images and videos but most uniquely, also HonestReporting’s Six-Day War resource site included significant numbers of personal eyewitness accounts from ordinary during the HR Mission. people in Israel and the Diaspora before, during and after the war.
INTERNS
HonestReporting is a highly sought after internship placement for high- caliber students from Israel’s best international school programs as well as Jewish Agency-sponsored programs bringing young Diaspora Jews to Israel.
French native Ilan Mimoun put his IT and computer programming skills to use helping our tech department as part of his Jewish Agency MASA work experience program with an eye on immigrating to Israel.
To assist with content and videos we were joined by North Carolina native Harrison Friedman from the post-high school Aardvark program, and Czech Republic student at Herzliya’s IDC, Veronika Becvarova.
HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 25 2017
Dear Friends –
2017 was an outstanding year at MediaCentral. We’ve been busy covering Israeli breaking news, feature stories and historic anniversaries; and investing in the resources for continuing success. When Israel returned to headline news during President Trump’s visit, his subsequent Jerusalem announcement, Temple Mount escalations, and UNESCO resolutions; journalists turned to MediaCentral for immediate contacts, field tours, and experts who could succinctly and accurately analyze the tumultuous events.
When Israel was calmer, MediaCentral arranged field Leading English-Speaking Journalists Attending MC tours for journalists to focus on Israeli cutting edge technology, economic growth, and minority populations. MediaCentral also featured inherent problems within Palestinian society including incitement in the PA, honor killings, and polygamy. Additionally, MediaCentral arranged events and tours to focus on anniversaries this year with historical impact, including the 70th of the UN Partition resolution, and the 50th of the Six-Day-War and reunification of Jerusalem. MediaCentral provided journalists with an array of speakers and topics to help them report on the positive and nuanced facets of Israel.
Consistently over the past ten years, more senior foreign journalists from top-tier English speaking outlets used MediaCentral. This year, dozens of new journalists contacted MediaCentral asking to join the mailing lists. Many news agencies including the Washington Post and the New York Times had staff turnover; many departing journalists expressed their appreciation for MediaCentral and introduced MediaCentral to their replacements. To continue this growth, MediaCentral created a modern website, designed a new logo, and generated a social media presence; all focused on the current and expected needs of the journalists.
MediaCentral predicts 2018 will be at least as interesting, challenging, and meaningful as this past year. We anticipate increasing demand for our services as the country celebrates the 70th anniversary of its founding.
On a personal note, I want to thank you for a wonderful year and wish you a fantastic year ahead.
Warmest regards,
Jonny Perl Head of MediaCentral
26 Journalist Appreciation
"Excellent tour. You left nothing out. I really appreciate you assembling all the speakers. I didn’t want to come but once I saw your line up of speakers I couldn’t resist.” Bloomberg after the Medical Cannabis Field Tour
“Thank you for the informative, timely conference.” The New York Times after a phone briefing about Israeli politics
“Thank you for providing the excellent contact and so quickly.” NBC News after the Halamish /Neve Tzuf terror attack
“Thank you for organizing this tour. You lined up a great list of speakers and are a pleasure to work with.” Reuters after Medical Cannabis Field Tour
‘’I wanted to get contacts, feel the atmosphere and speak to people, therefore this tour was perfect. We want to go back, to write an in-depth story.” ABC after the Amona Evacuation Field Tour
“I love MC’s tours, they open a window to places you can’t always get on your own. Thanks to all of you for the great tour!” Washington Post after Field Tour of Judea Samaria Communities
“Thank you for the contact you gave me. It provided a great balance to the story. Without you, I could only find Palestinian families who were in Israel for over 100 years. Because you provided a Jewish family, I made a video broadcast showing the deep roots of both sides. Thank you.” Channel News Asia after providing them a contact of a Jewish family residing over 100 years in Jerusalem Channel News Asia
I never imagined that Israel, or any country in the Middle East, was so progressive. Israel lets gays openly serve in the military, Spain would never allow that. EFE, Leading Spanish News Agency and world’s fourth largest wire service after Tel Aviv Gay Pride Parade Tour
Many thanks for this and for all help today, I think it will make a really nice report and inevitably there is lots of interest. BBC after Field Tour of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 27 2017
President Trump’s Historic Fifty Years Since the Six-Day War Jerusalem Announcement and his Event Series Visit to Israel
Deputy Minister Michael Oren briefed journalists A Jewish Old City resident showed journalists photos during a MC phone conference of her family living in Jerusalem’s Old City pre-1948 and the men taken captive by Jordanian officers
The Washington Post and over twenty other journalists The New York Times, Bloomberg, NBC, Time Magazine joined MediaCentral’s event series on Fifty Years since the and over 60 more journalists joined MediaCentral events Six-Day War. MediaCentral led two field tours; one to Judea covering President Trump’s historic trip to Israel and his and Samaria, and the other to Jerusalem’s Old City to meet announcement about Jerusalem. MediaCentral provided the historic and diverse communities there. For example, journalists with access to senior speakers including journalists met a Jewish family that was expelled from Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and former Jerusalem by the Jordanians in 1948 after living there for ambassador to the United States Michael Oren, and former over 100 years. Journalists also saw that the communities ambassador of the United States to Israel, Daniel Shapiro. that live over the 1949 Armistice Line, also called the The director of the foreign press department at the Israeli Green Line, are 1/3 national religious, 1/3 secular, and 1/3 Government Press Office contacted MediaCentral to Haredi. Rather than one sect, they, like much of Israel, collaborate on how to assist all the journalists who flew to are diverse. Some are native-born Israelis, others are Israel for President Trump’s visit. MediaCentral staff met immigrants from Russia, South America, Europe, and North with dozens of journalists in the Government Press Office’s America. Foreign media were surprised that they spoke the station and outside Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate, as the same native language as people from these communities. news was happening, to provide journalists with logistical assistance, contacts, and information as they needed it.
28 The UNESCO Hebron Vote and the Temple Mount Security Crisis
MediaCentral Field Tour to riots outside the Temple Mount
MediaCentral assisted over 50 journalists including ABC News and the LA Times to report about the Jewish historic and religious connection to Hebron and Jerusalem following UNESCO’s vote on Hebron and the terrorist attack outside the Temple Mount. During MediaCentral’s field tours, briefings, and individual exclusive assistance, journalists were shocked to hear that the Palestinian religious leadership rejects all Jewish claims to the Temple Mount. MediaCentral showed journalists the Jewish religious, legal, and historical connection to Hebron and how the UNESCO resolution denies it.
Amona Evacuations and Initial Rebuilding
The New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, LA Times, NPR and over twenty more news agencies attended a MediaCentral field tour of the Amona evacuation. Journalists appreciated that with an hour’s notice, MediaCentral organized a field tour to the restricted area of the evacuation, guided journalists through the outpost, arranged interviews with police officials, local public figures, Members of the Knesset, and residents. Journalists on an MC field tour interviewing MediaCentral was the only organization that brought residents of Amona during the evacuation journalists to where this was happening and gave the families there the opportunity to present their case. The tour enabled journalists to gain a new perspective on Jewish residents whom the media often call “radical settlers.” A few months later, MediaCentral provided the only access for journalists to Amichai, a community being built intended to house Amona evacuees, and explained how this community is being built exclusively on legally owned land.
HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 29 2017
PA Incitement Israeli Aid to Syria Event Series
CEO of IMPACT-se, Marcus Sheff, discussed the newly-released MediaCentral Skyped a Syrian Rebel Commander known only by study on the Palestinian curriculum in MediaCentral’s office his nom de guerre, Abu Hamad
Twenty journalists were shocked when they joined USA Today and over thirty other journalists joined MediaCentral’s in-depth briefing and meetings with PA MediaCentral events covering Israel’s humanitarian aid to officials on Palestinian incitement. Through briefings and Syria. MediaCentral brought journalists to the hospital to field tours, MediaCentral brought Palestinian officials to meet Israeli doctors and Syrian patients. MediaCentral also explain incitement in Palestinian school textbooks, PA live Skyped a rebel commander in Syria who explained how payment of salaries to convicted terrorists, and PA naming his community is dependent on Israeli aid “for everything. of streets and schools after murderers. PA officials revealed Israel provides us with milk for the children.” Even the how they calculate the amount paid to each terrorist. Arabic media, Alhurra, attended and was impressed by how (Basic monthly payment is 1,400 NIS + 400 NIS for the wife much Israel is assisting the Syrian people. + 200 NIS per child.)
Palestinian Social Problems Jordan-Israel Gas Deal Briefing with Yossi Abu, CEO Delek Drilling MediaCentral brought media Reuters, Defense attention to News and Palestinian other senior social problems agencies joined that are rarely MediaCentral’s addressed and briefing about which limit Israel’s gas Palestinian Journalists interviewing a Bedouin sheikh fields. Right opportunities. and pro-polygamy activist in his tent after the historic Over twenty news announcement agencies joined MediaCentral for field tours concerning Gas deal briefing with Delek CEO, Yossi Abu on the tribal law among Palestinian clans and about polygamy commencement in Bedouin society. An example of tribal law is the of gas flow from Israel to Jordan, Delek Drilling’s CEO importance of honor killings. Journalists heard how discussed how Israel’s developing energy market can internal Palestinian problems, including forced marriages, improve its strategic and economic status both in Europe polygamy, and tribal affiliation cause Palestinian poverty and in the Middle East. He addressed the economic and and civil rights abuses. political implications of the upcoming development of Israel’s Leviathan natural gas reservoir as Israel changes from energy-dependent to an energy supplier.
30 Haredi Perspectives on the Army Church of the Holy Sepulchre Draft Renovations
President and Co-Founder of Amutat Netzah Yehuda (Nahal Interviewing Father Euginio Alliata, Custody of the Haredi), Rabbi Klebanow, briefing journalists Holy Land, at the Church of Holy Sepulchre
MediaCentral addressed one of Israel’s most controversial BBC, AP, NBC News, Reuters and over fifteen more news topics: Haredi Jews and the Israeli draft. Haredim were agencies joined MediaCentral’s exclusive tour to be the closing roads to protest being drafted and between the first to enter and film the completion of the renovations language barrier and general distrust, Haredim did not of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and meet with church explain to foreign journalists why they were doing this. leaders. This was the first restoration in over 200 years. MediaCentral invited the spokesperson of the Haredi group leading the demonstrations against the draft, a Haredi student who was imprisoned for draft evasion, and a Haredi rabbi who helps Haredim serve in the army. USA Today and leading European papers learned the spectrum of Haredi perspectives on this topic. While Haredim are often skeptical of journalists and avoid interviews, they were willing to be interviewed at MediaCentral and appreciated that journalists took them seriously.
81 1,073 202 Meetings with members Emails, calls, Research requests Just the Facts of the foreign press drop-ins, and other personal 2017 interaction 623 80 73 Event participants Events Tracked articles 33 Are Exclusive Individual Events
HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 31 Why imagine the future, when we can build it together?
A Message from our CEO
For almost seven years, HonestReporting has monitored and responded to global media bias against Israel from our first, and current Jerusalem office. We’ve trained thousands of advocates and hosted hundreds of Mission participants, generated countless media corrections in multiple languages, and more. With the advent of social media and expansion of news networks, the time has come for us to grow and expand to keep pace, and keep watch on the media frontlines.
I’m immensely proud of just how efficient and cost effective we’ve been in our current premises, but recognize the demand from evermore student groups to train with us, and from interns willing and ready to help us monitor the plethora of media channels still under-scrutinized. Our new International Headquarters have been given an incredible head-start, with a founding gift of US$400,000 by Laura & Peter D. Weinstein who have underwritten our new home as we strive to reach our US$1,000,000 goal. I need your partnership to realize this dream.
As Israel continues to lead the world in counter-terrorism, our work is more important than ever as social media and cyber-influence play an increasing role in the spread of false, malicious and dangerous ideas. As yet, there is no Iron Dome against hate. That’s why we’ll be here monitoring and responding so that Israel and the Jewish people continue to shine the beacon of truth and pride for all that Israel is, and strives to be. Your legacy investment to our future, is an investment in Israel’s future.
Now is the time to join me - I’m proud to build a stronger, safer media environment for Israel the world over, with your one time dedication, today. Joe Hyams CEO, HonestReporting
32 Dedication opportunities include:
Executive Office - $50,000 Editorial Suite - $25,000 Capacity to demonstrate, in privacy and comfort, Rapid Response like never before. Workspaces for our best work to leaders, dignitaries and HR’s Managing Editor, Blog Master, Social Media partners. A professional setting to ensure our Editor and Special Reports Editor. To include growing responsibilities for leadership and staff state of the art communications and connectivity management are attended to with appropriate infrastructure plus modular equipment enabling real- systems and software in a secure, central location. time content creation and collaborative engagement.
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Your generous tax-deductible dedication makes a real difference.
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HonestReporting 2017 Annual Report • 33 Tired of seeing Israel slammed in the media?
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