RANIA AWAD's remarks

We've together learned a lot about the US media.  Our lingering suspicions that media was heavily biased against the Palestinian cause was confirmed week after week as we read op-eds and news stories about the conflict.  We saw how op-ed pages of papers such as the NYTimes and the Washington Post devoted more than 80% of their column space to pro-occupation voices, and how otherwise competent journalists filed away the most basic journalistic principles of fairness when covering the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

However, together we have made a difference -- and more importantly, we have PROVEN that people CAN make a difference.  We've written thousands of letters to the media, we've met with all the big papers (NYT, WP, BG, PI), and have left our impression on them -- some more than others.  We asked smaller papers to watch what they say and write, we've helped people place pieces.  But most importantly, we've stood witness -- and that is our obligation -- to the US  media's complete failure to its readership and audience.

MISSION

To press the media to cover the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with fairness and objectivity.

This mission implies 2 goals:

ß Most elementary level, alert the media that there IS another point of view about the conflict: as obvious as it may sound to us, many papers just rarely hear the Palestinian perspective (or perspective that doesn't uncritically support Israel, occup and all) or are even aware that there is a point of view that radically differs from the entrenched narrative;

ß Educate the media about the other perspective: the media is astonishingly ignorant of the Palestinian point of view; part of our our task is to provide basic information about the conflict.

The facts - information - is important in order to undo the damage done to the Palestinians through a long history of distortion, prejudice, and stereotyping.

PHILOSOPHY - why do we think this is important?

Quoting Hanan Ashrawi: "We want to reach the world not just by confronting Israeli soldiers with our stones of defiance, but by confronting the world with our reality."

Our philosophy is based the following two beliefs:

ß Conflict will be won or lost on the arena of international public opinion;  American public opinion is crucial; an important determinant of that opinion is the media's  portrayal of the conflict.

ß Influencing US media coverage of the conflict to inject Palestinian grievances and perspectives can be achieved only if constant pressure is applied on the media, by its  audience, on a regular basis.

So, despite a clear-cut case of massive human rights violations and the weight of international opinion on their side, Palestinians are losing the war for international opinion.

STRATEGY

ß Build focused groups of a few people: usually, three or four dedicated people who fully grasp the PMWatch mission are enough to create enough noise for a newspaper to take note and watch what it is doing;

ß Have those groups establish friendly, long-term relationships with the media, with the aim of:

o reminding them on a regular basis that there is another perspective, o providing them with facts, perspectives, contacts, etc., and

o providing critiques of their coverage -- both their news coverage and their op-ed/editorial coverage

ß 32 groups watch all the major newspapers

ß 4 cities:  DC, Philly, Boston, Miami

ß 2 specialized groups: CNN Watch and Lobby Watch

SOME CONCRETE RESULTS

Philadelphia Inquirer's's column space used to be 80-10-10 before last December; now, it is evenly distributed.

Both the WP and the NYT are including more anti-occupation voices.

An example of influencing the news is our success in getting the [Philadelphia Inquirer ] to drop maps in which the Golan Heights were shown as part of Israel proper.

LESSONS LEARNED

ß By and large, editors and journalists are simply inadequately informed about the conflict; in general, they act in good faith, but they do not take the time to challenge the established worldview or to reach out and understand the other perspective.

ß Significant sympathy for the Palestinian cause does exist among journalists and editors; often, when we meet with such members of the media, they complain to us that we are not putting enough pressure and that if we want them to act, we will need to protest more and give them more leverage in shaping editorial positions and news coverage;

ß The majority of editorials simply do not factor in Palestinian suffering in their thinking and arguments. News doesn't tell us how people feel.  How people feel is important in understanding why they revolt, why they throw rocks at soldiers with weapons.  What does it FEEL like to live under occupation, to have nearly every aspect of your life regulated?  This is what has been missing from most media accounts of the conflict.

ß Details about WHY Palestinians were not happy with the Barak offers were not provided for exactly one year after Camp David: the consensus was that the offers were "generous."  We have yet to see one map depicting the proposed Palestinian state.

ß The great majority of editorials simply ignore international law and the United Nations; they also almost never refer to findings by human rights organizations.

ß The media do respond to pressure when enough of it is applied; a striking example is how we pressured a cartoonist from the Edmonton Journal to apologize for an offensive cartoon.

CONCLUSIONS

Today, we find ourselves in a difficult period.  The last couple of months since Sept. 11 have been the most challenging, to say the least, for our cause and our mission.

ß First, the so-called war against terrorism has eclipsed the struggle against the occupation, making complaints against media bias -- especially in an atmosphere where censorship is becoming the order of the day (and the media is meekly submitting) - seem irrelevant.

ß And second, of course, because Sharon and his supporters are doing their best to lump the Palestinian resistance with Bin Laden and his network, and to draw a parallel between Israel's situation and the situation of the US.

Now, as things stand today, it is clear that public opinion here in the US is by and large not in a sympathetic mood for the Palestinians.  Those who were for the cause have generally stayed the course, those who were against it have hardened, but the most important segment -- the uninvolved and interested middle -- is following the tide and echoing the mainstream message: that is, the notion that Israel and the US are suffering in the same way, from this affliction called terrorism.  It is a notion that is being peddled hard on the PR market, and sadly, more often than not, being accepted unchallenged without a second thought.  The media are, as usual, not doing their job of looking at things critically and asking the tough questions.  As bad as things were before the 11th in terms of herd mentality, it's 10 times worse now.

The irony, however, is that the very herd mentality that afflicts the media may very well play to our advantage.  By this I mean simply that the US, unless it wants chaos and decades of war ahead -- in the Middle East and beyond, just has to find a solution to the conflict, and it has to do it soon.  And so, as the State Dept issues harsh words against Sharon, the complying media follow suit and criticize Sharon.  The important thing for us at this point is to make the most out of this, to take advantage of the space for debate that is opening up, and to inject in it a bit of rationality.

 Meantime, what is our task?  Remember, we are not here to solve the Middle East conflict.  Our mission is  narrow and well-defined, although its importance has never been small:

ß We must insist that the media cover the conflict fairly, professionally, in compliance with  the highest journalistic standards, rather than act as a mouth piece for the Prime Minister's office, and

ß We must insist that the media give anti-occupation voices equal access to opinion forums.

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MAZIN QUMSIYEH remarks

Al-Awda media committee has met with editorial boards of newspapers (Boston Globe, New York Times, Hartford Courant, Philadelphia Enquirer, New Haven Register, the Day etc). Many of those meetings where in collaboration between Al-Awda/PRRC and PMW.  We have also met with congressmen as individuals from different organizations and groups. In one year, Al-Awda media committee and supporters receiving our alerts published over 500 letters to the editor, and over 70 op-ed pieces.  We got interviewed hundreds of times.  Our committee includes journalists, editors and media critics who strategize, exchange information, and plan campaigns.  Al-Awda as a whole also plays a very significant role in creating news both locally and nationally (e.g. national rallies, demonstrations).  I will come back to this issue later.

You have heard great talks earlier in this conference about basic violations of human rights by the Israeli government as well documented by human rights organizations.  Basically a relentless program over the past 53 years is intended and continues to displace native Palestinians and completely transform the character of the country including adding a set of basic laws that are racist. Israel is the only country in the world which distinguishes nationals from citizens; the "land of Israel belongs" to all the nationals (the Jewish nation including non-citizens) and not the people who live there or are displaced.  The net result was obvious: an Israeli brand of Apartheid (explained by the previous speaker) condemned by over 140 countries and 5 0f the 8 million Palestinians are refugees or displaced people. The third or fourth strongest army in the world to enforse this. Over the 53 years of this apartheid and concerted policies, tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians were killed, and so on and so forth. All facilitated by a strong PR campaign particularly effective in the US (though not Europe and the rest of the world).

Lies require maintenanace by power and government.

Power concedes nothing without struggle and activism.

Truth requires only pens and words (which are mightier than the sword).  So what can individuals do to advance justice and to advance human rights in the face of massive money and power to support the opposite?

First, we must understand where and who to direct our action to and the wall that we face.  After all, understanding the dimension of the wall, figuring its weak points and its strengths is key to how to address it.  The topic of this session is congress and the media, the building blocks of the wall on this side of the Atlantic.

I will not talk about politics and the fact that think tanks in DC draft our foreign policy for the benefit of oil industries, arm industries and other special interests (who pay their salaries) and so forth.Instead, I will share with you practical things that can be done to expose the weaknesses in the wall of silence oppression and war and about how to begin to chip away and use cracks in the system to amplify our strength etc.

We have to do our homework, get educated before we even approach disseminating information. Homework about the message and also homework about the audience (who you are talking to). You can do the first part of the homework by being on a good list that disseminates careful information (e.g. Al-Awda-news). The internet and search engines provide resources for the second part. Seek help and advise from people who have been doing well in this.  Tailor your message to your audience.

Second, in order for your audience to listen carefully, they have to respect who you are.  It is important to get together a group of people representing a constituency.  Get a coalition together.  Each of us are or should be members of several orgaizations (from Al-Awda, PMW, Amnesty, Green Party etc).

The right to tell our narrative (Edward Said who is a good diagnostician stated that Palestinians are fated to struggle to tell their narratives): While the US has been a champion of special interests, oppression, imperialism across the world, in here we are told we are fair, just, and democratic.  Combined with the overwhelming propaganda for obfuscating oppression and ethnic cleansing, this is an opening for us to tell our story by demanding balance in presentations.  In Al-Awda media, we have had incredible success by insisting that media give equal space to different versions, narratives of events.  That of-course requires you to provide the narrative carefully meticulously.

Remember our key strength: THE TRUTH.  Tell it, practice it and respect it regardless of where it leads to. This develops respect.

We can also point out the internal contradictions of the Zionist vision:  Zionists wanted to have their cake and ate it too (hence the truth gets trampled). Thus pointing out these contradictions between Israeli basic laws/Zionism resulting in ethnic cleansing and real democracy, between claiming to be condemn violence and terrorism and the countless reports by human rights organizations (Amnesty Human Rights Watch etc) that condemn Israeli violations and terrorism of the civilian population, between latching on to legitimacy through teh UN (partition plan) while denying all UN resolutions calling for return of refugees, inadmissibility of holding territory gained by war, settlements etc. Zionists do not condemn Israeli terrorism, we condemn all terrorism etc.

When meeting with these folks (editors, journalists, congressmen, aides etc):

- use facts and figures from other sources.  Instead of saying: Israel did so and so, document that Amnesty International reported that Israeli government did so and so

- be a resource to them not a nag

- be consistent and principled

NEWS MAKING

Israel considers US public opinion important so they send very visible people to speak in the US.  They spend millions of dollars and hire big PR campaigners (none of is isavailable to those who oppose the Israeli policies of Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and occupation).  But, we can use their events as excellent opportunities to get media exposure.  We in CT demonstrated visits of Israeli soldiers, generals, and others.  We had 200 people demonstrate the U of H giving an honorary degree the President of Israel (Katsav)- did research ahead of time to find the racist statements he made.

You can also try to make sure the coverage of events is fair when centered around humanitarian issues.  In Connecticut, we hosted three Palestinian children for treatment.  Hiam is a 7.5 year old girl who lost her eye to an Israeli bullet while walking with her mother on a quiet street.  Marwa is a 10 year old who had a bullet lodged in her head and came to CT to have it removed.  Having the human stories told is effective although editors sometimes try to twist the facts to suit their world view (that is why meating with them is crucial).

Build a database of media contacts and send them information regularly (not too much, not too little).  My email list to media is different than my email list to activists since the level of knowledge, patience, and interests are different.

There is an Arabic statement, that Itha Asha3bu yawman Arad Al-Alhayat, fala budda an yastijeeb Al-Qadar. Roughly translated: if the people strive/work for life as a (civil) society, fate will ultimately respond. Palestinians and their supporters have been in this struggle for a while but only recently we see a light at the end of the tunnel.  I would argue that you do not have to wait for the end game: we work for justice because this gives quality and meaning to life.

SUMMAY

Question assumptions.

Know your audience.

Be flexible/Adaptable but principles (speak the truth only).

Know your friends.

Know your enemies

Know your strengths

Know your weaknesses (use the facts available to you and admit when you are not knowledgeable in an area)

And most of all do your homework.