HonestReporting Defending Israel From Media Bias 2014 ANNUAL REPORT www.honestreporting.com HonestReporting is a global community fghting for fair media coverage of Israel. CONTENTS 4 International Outreach 6 United States Outreach 8 Engaging Radio, Video, and Social Media 10 The Blankfeld Award for HonestReporting Board of Directors Media Critique President of the Board: David A. Barish, Ph.D. 11 Fighting BDS Members of the Board 12 Holding the Media to Account 14 Operation Protective Edge Executive Staf 16 Getting the Corrections 17 HR in the Media 18 HR Missions to Israel International Staf 19 Guest Lecturers 20 MediaCentral 22 Financial Report This publication contains underlined hyperlinks. Clicking them from this PDF will open a related web page. The Table of Contents above is linked to interior pages. A Message from our President Dear Friends, A Message from our CEO Dear Friends, ONE DAY: Global scope of the Israel Daily News Stream email 48,117 OPENS 22,036 CLICKS International Outreach HR Managing Editor Simon Plosker spoke to against Israel. The visit was part of a two-day a group from the Onward Israel program of Student Activism seminar run by Neil Lazarus Australian and South African students. of Awesome Seminars. The seminar includes Simon was also on an Israel advocacy panel sessions on various elements in advocacy as part of a two-day “Next Israel” seminar training so that the students are equipped to organized by the IDC Herzliya’s student defend Israel when they return to the U.S. union in response to anti-Israel activities Thirty participants of the Israel Government on campuses worldwide. Simon addressed Fellows program heard from Simon Plosker students on media bias and how they could who explained the types of media bias HR take action before a panel discussion that included representatives from StandWithUs perceptions of Israel on the world stage. and NGO Monitor. Simon also outlined the reasons behind the HonestReporting ran an informational stall at bias and how these could be addressed. the World Union of Jewish Students Congress During a visit to the UK, Simon was the guest fair. speaker at a solidarity meeting in NW London Students from the Golda Och Academy in New Jersey paid a visit to MediaCentral for the media bias and his experiences as an HonestReporting sessions about media bias 4 GLOBAL COMMUNITY PAGE 9 / HR 2014 Q1 REVIEW HR HOSTS HORNSTEIN PROGRAM HR’s Israel Daily News Stream f enjoyed all-time readership highs this year. More than 1.9 million readers turned to the IDNS to stay up to PAGE 8 / HR 2014 Q1 REVIEW date on this year’s news, issues, and media trends. Nowhere was this more 1 evident than during the saturation coverage of Operation Protective Edge. When Joe Hyams learned that to “go beyond the simplistic his Hornstein group of students “The opportunity to polarizations of Israel as good or There were more than 637,000 page from his Brandeis program would host graduate students bad, or Israeli Jews as religious views in the 3rd quarter of 2014, be spending 10 days in Israel, he from Boston is exciting or secular,” in order to see the jumped at the chance to host a complexity and richness of Israel. JOE HYAMS by far the IDNS’ most successful session at the HonestReporting in its own right,” Joe “The delegtimization of Israel has International Headquarters in everyone, from right to left, looking quarter of all time. Overall, the IDNS Jerusalem. The opportunity, at Israel in these simplistic and he said, underscored how his citizen living among often extreme boxes,” he said. accounted for 40 percent of HR’s web traffc. SCREENSHOT: HONESTREPORTING HonestReporting and the larger Prof. Troy’s latest book, Jewish world. Community, I get to details the 1975 look at Israel from battle in the UN over the resolution AT AIPAC that declared Zionism as a form the outside in and of racism, which many consider HonestReporting’s website to bridge the gaps the start of the internationalOxfam, and created Joe met with a wide range of campaign to delegitimize Israel that attracted 4.8 million visits between Israel and is still underway. The bookan is the alternative to the policy makers and opinion leaders U.S.-based leadership. perfect starting point for anyone seeking to understand howdogma the that Israel’s throughout the conference, during 2014. 2 I’m proud to be a part anti-Zionist idea, or the movement to delegitimize Israel, grewpresence and in the West including current ministers in the of that emerging and spread. important trend.” The program also includedBank is entirely bad Israeli government, leaders of 1 The biggestThe session referring at HonestReporting sitepresentations to from MediaCentralfor the Palestinians.” local communities across the U.S., featured McGill University Professor director Aryeh Green and Smadar Bakovic, a MediaCentral staffer. The 22 students from Joe Hyams’ Gil Troy and was attended by authors, journalists and activists. HonestReporting the 22 students of the program. remained Judging by the Hornstein program at Brandeis were Prof. Troy spoke about the need audience response, which included hosted at HR’s Jerusalem HQ and heard Facebook, which sent more live tweets throughout the talk, from McGill University Professor Gil than 700,000 visitors. Troy. The students also heard from Joe’s message clearly hit its target. MediaCentral director Aryeh Green and The Israel Joe also talked about the elements and Smadar Bakovic, a MediaCentral of fair media coverage and what staffer. PHOTO: HONESTREPORTING Project’sDear Mr. CEO, Hyams, Josh Israel’s advocates can reasonably expect from the media. BlockI would on alike panel to thank you 2 for the wonderful night But the annual AIPAC Conference Joe joined CAMERA’s CEO, Andrea is more than just three days of Levin, and The Israel Project’s CEO, that you gave us. Your speeches and panels on the Josh Block on a panel discussing presentation certainly biggest issues facing Israel. It’s “Middle East Media: Covering a Region a Region in Turmoil,” also an opportunity to exchange clarifed many doubts about in Turmoil,” on the second day of on the second day ideas with the brightest stars in the the AIPAC Policy Conference. Joe met the international media.world of Israel advocacy and create with a wide range of policy makers opportunities for collaboration and opinion leaders throughout Simon Weinberg the conference, including current Conference. As an invited speaker and not ministers in the Israeli government, Parents Commission numerous unexpected ways. just a delegate attending the leaders of local communities across WhileBnei Prime Akiva Minister Benjamin conference, Joe was in high the U.S., authors, journalists and Netanyahu declared to the AIPAC demand, even when he attended activists. PHOTO: HONESTREPORTING audienceSao Paulo,that the BDS Brazil movement sessions by other speakers. would fail, Joe took up the chal- During a working dinner, Joe was lenge of showing the audience how. addressed from the podium, with the speaker informing “Unlike traditional forms of media the audience that Joe was “a bias from the mainstreamWWW.HONESTREPORTING.COM press, 5 temporary Bostonian” and which stand to lose credibility when recommending him as a keynote they are shown to be violating prin- speaker for upcoming events. ciples of journalism, BDS thrives on media exposure,” Joe said. Joe’s appearance at AIPAC was an important gateway to bringing “The only way to address it is to HonestReporting’s message to subvert its message. SodaStream a wider audience. And it comes is the most successful high just as the wider Jewish world has come to see the depth of the he continued. “They managed to media threat HonestReporting has appear more humanitarian than United States Outreach U.S.A. Executive Director Gary Kenzer has Congregational events in the Chicagoland travelled the length and breadth of the area and Illinois; Salem, Oregon; Milwaukee, country on behalf of HonestReporting. His Wisconsin; Chai Center, Dix Hills, New York many speaking engagements have reached Jewish war veterans in the Highland Park hundreds of participants and include: area. Limmud programs in Houston, Texas; Chicago area chapter of Parents of North Winnipeg Canada; Baltimore, Maryland; and Americans in Israel. the Bay area near San Francisco, California. Guest presenter at the 4th Annual Step Up for Guest lecturer and Super Sunday presenter for Israel advocacy day sponsored by the Jewish the Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton, Federation of Greater Metrowest New Jersey. New York. Retired seniors at the Rogers Park Plaza home. High school groups in Illinois: Am Yisrael Representing HR at the Sonoma County Israel and Congregation Beth Judea, Long Grove; Fair, Santa Rosa, California as well as LaLumiere High School in LaPorte, Gary has also appeared regularly on the Indiana. Hebrew Nation Radio talk show. A series of events for the Jewish Student Union of the NCSY. 6 GLOBAL COMMUNITY Gary Kenzer (center), North f American Excecutive Director of HonestReporting, continued his long- standing tradition of speaking to the seventh graders of Congregation Beth Judea in Long Grove, Illinois. He gave a class on media bias and the failure of the media during Operation Protective Edge. PHOTO: HONESTREPORTING 1 Joe Hyams met with Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor at a MaoZ SEAL event at 1 Boston University. Joe has effectively Dear Joe, utiliZed his presence in Boston, which has led to a number of speaking Take a look at this picture [below] of 21 engagements. These include: smiling faces, plus yours, and you will see what a phenomenal class you led! Thanks so Newton, MA; Northeastern University, much for sharing your expertise and passion Boston; Congregation Beth El Atereth with teens in our Israel Teen Advocacy Israel in Newton, MA; Congregation Workshop for Lappin Foundation’s Youth to Ahavath Chesed, Jacksonville, FL; an Israel Adventure (North Shore, MA).