Palestine Media Watch

PO Box 628 Southeastern, PA 19399

CNN’s Double Standards

A report on CNN's refusal to air a series of special reports and an on-line memorial on Palestinian victims of the Mid-East conflict comparable to the June 24-28, 2002 series and online memorial focusing on Israeli victims

July 10, 2002

Prepared by:

Palestine Media Watch – CNN Division

http://www.cnnwatch.net

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Executive summary. 2

II. Background and context 4

III. CNN’s coverage of innocent victims. 6

IV. Conclusions. 13

Appendix A: Endorsing Organizations. 14

Appendix B: About Palestine Media Watch. 16

Appendix C: References. 17

Appendix D: Radio-Television News Directors Association Code Of Ethics. 18

Appendix E: “A Gaza Diary” by Chris Hedges. 21

I. Executive summary

From June 24 to June 28, 2002, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Reports featured a highly publicized week-long five-part special series entitled “Victims of Terror,” whose stated purpose was to fulfill CNN’s “commitment to sharing the stories of the victims of terror.” The series focused on Israeli victims of Palestinian suicide bombings and the toll that such bombings have had on victims’ families and Israeli society at large. In addition to the series, CNN.com established on June 24, 2002 an online “memorial to the hundreds of [Israeli] victims of terror attacks this year.” The memorial currently lists every Israeli suicide-bombing victim killed since January 2002, along with his/her photograph, a short biography, and a description of the circumstances surrounding his/her death.

When Palestine Media Watch and other pro-Palestinian rights organizations in the United States approached CNN with the idea of airing a similar television series on innocent Palestinian victims of Israeli violence, along with a web memorial to those innocent victims, CNN responded that its current coverage is adequate and fair and therefore does not need to be supplemented with similar “in-depth” and “special” coverage for the Palestinians.

In fact, in a July 3 appearance on PBS’s NewsHour, CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan made the following statements in an exchange with anchorman Terence Smith (full transcript is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec02/media_7-3.html):

TERENCE SMITH: Eason Jordan, let me ask you what changes you've made in response to some of the complaints. We mentioned a couple in the setup, the series that you did on some of the Israeli victims. Are you going to do a comparable series, for example, on Palestinian victims?

EASON JORDAN: Well, I think we've done many, many stories on Palestinian victims, and we will continue to do so. Just in the week I was in Israel over the past couple of weeks, we actually did a series of reports out of Jenin. There was a really tragic incident where an Israeli tank fired on a marketplace. Some civilians were killed. Israel said it was an accident. We reported it with that attribution, as Israel said it, but it was a tragedy and innocent civilians were killed. We did, of course, did a week- long series of reports on Israeli victims, but there's a big difference, I would state, between what's happening in Israel and what's happening in the Palestinian territories, because while it's disputable whether Israel is targeting civilians, there's certainly no irrefutable evidence of that in the territories. There's no doubt that suicide bombers are going into Israel and intentionally killing civilians at random.

In other words, Mr. Jordan argued that (1) CNN's current coverage of Palestinian suffering is as adequate and thorough as the five-part television series and online memorial to the Israelis has been, and there is no need for CNN to provide Palestinian victims any comparable special attention; and (2) Suicide bombings intentionally target civilians, while Palestinian civilians are not intentionally targeted by Israeli military campaigns.

Our aim in preparing this report is to raise CNN’s awareness of its own coverage of the Middle East crisis. Our aim is not to characterize or label CNN, but to encourage it to critically and honestly examine the quality of the product if offers to a national and international audience. Accordingly, this report will argue the following:

CNN does not possess the moral authority to draw distinctions between Israeli and

Palestinian victims, such as whether or not they are intentionally targeted for murder, or

whether Palestinians have suffered just as much as Israelis.  Furthermore, CNN’s

assertion that “it's disputable whether Israel is targeting civilians” cannot professionally

be used to justify disparities in coverage, and has in fact been strongly refuted by

evidence compiled by a multitude of credible eyewitness reports from journalists on the

frontline to human rights organizations on the ground. For a balanced and moral

consistency towards its viewers, CNN is urged to provide:

1. A full and complete online profile of every Palestinian child, woman,

and elderly man killed by the Israeli military and Israeli armed colonists,

at least since January 2002.

2. A five-part special series on the Palestinian victims of Israeli military

violence, terror, and occupation.

II. Background and context

Notwithstanding CNN’s official stand and explanation as to why it decided to air a five-part Wolf Blitzer Reports series and establish a web memorial for Israeli and not Palestinian victims of violence, the widespread sentiment among not only Arab and pro-Palestinian viewers, but also Jewish and pro-Israeli viewers, is that CNN’s decision was motivated by a desire to placate CNN’s pro-Israeli audience both in the United States and Israel.

Indeed, it is important to note is that the new “Victims of Terror” series followed immediately in the heels of a controversy sparked by Ted Turner, founder of CNN and vice chairman of AOL Time Warner, for comments that he made in a June 18, 2002 interview to The Guardian (UK):

“The Palestinians are fighting with human suicide bombers, that's all they have. The Israelis ... they've got one of the most powerful military machines in the world. The Palestinians have nothing. So who are the terrorists? I would make a case that both sides are involved in terrorism.”

In response to the firestorm of criticism unleashed by pro-Israeli groups (who accused Mr. Turner of everything from anti-Semitism to equating Israeli actions against Palestinians with terrorism), CNN issued the following statement on June 19:

“Ted Turner has no operational or editorial oversight of CNN. Mr. Turner's comments are his own and definitely do not reflect the views of CNN in any way.”

Mr. Turner himself offered the following clarification of his statement:

“I regret any implication that I believe the actions taken by Israel to protect its people are equal to terrorism. ... I believe the Israeli government has used excessive force to defend itself, but that is not the same as intentionally targeting and killing civilians with suicide bombers.”

However, it is clear that neither CNN's repudiation of Mr. Turner's comments nor Mr. Turner's penitent retraction were deemed sufficient by the pro-Israeli pressure groups. Indeed, a June 23 Ha’aretz article reported as much:

“After the founder of the 24-hour news network, Ted Turner, last week described IDF actions in the West Bank as “terrorism,” and reports emerged Sunday that the YES [Israeli] satellite company was considering taking CNN off the air as a result, the Atlanta-based company hastily dispatched a high-level official to Jerusalem. Over the weekend, it also suddenly began airing a promo for a five-part series on the Israeli victims of Palestinian suicide bombings. ‘A special CNN series will take you inside everyday life in Israel and introduce you to the people whose lives are turned around by the fear and the violence,’ the promo announces. ‘In part one - living the nightmare of losing a loved one.’ ”

III. CNN’s coverage of innocent victims

CNN’s answer to the point-blank question, “will you air a five-part series on innocent Palestinian victims,” has consisted in pointing out, using Mr. Jordan’s words, that “there's a big difference…. between what's happening in Israel and what's happening in the Palestinian territories, because while it's disputable whether Israel is targeting civilians, there's certainly no irrefutable evidence of that in the territories. There's no doubt that suicide bombers are going into Israel and intentionally killing civilians at random.”

To date, CNN has yet to explain how this alleged “big difference” between the way innocent Israelis and innocent Palestinians are killed could lead to different policies in how these innocent civilians should be covered by an independent media organization. Why should a Palestinian woman and 2-year-old daughter who are gunned down on their way home from a wedding be covered differently from an Israeli woman and 2-year-old granddaughter who are exploded in a bus bombing? Why do the Israeli woman and child deserve to have their photographs and biographies on CNN's website, but the Palestinian woman and child do not? What is in this alleged “big difference” that would justify airing a prominent – and, as CNN has admitted, “special” – series on Israeli victims, but not airing a comparable series on Palestinian victims?

A. Palestinian civilians have suffered just as much, if not more, than Israeli civilians

In its attempt to convey the magnitude of the impact of the violence on Israeli society, CNN.com has posted the following:

“One of every 26,392 Israelis has been killed in a terrorist attack in the past six months. The same ratio applied to the population of the United States would equate to 10,888 American citizens. That's more than three times the number of people killed in the September 11 attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and aboard United Airlines Flight 93.”

A similar statement applied to Palestinian victims would be:

“one of every 3,648 Palestinians [713 total since January 2002] has been killed in an Israeli military attack or Israeli terrorist attack in the past 6 months. The same ratio applied to the population of the United States would equate to 78,773 American citizens. That's more than 26 times the number of people killed in the September 11 attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and aboard United Airlines Flight 93.” (Source: Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2000 Census).

Moreover, CNN is to be reminded that the first Israeli to be killed by a suicide bomber in the current Intifada was on March 1, 2001 – more than five months into the second Intifada and after more than 400 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli soldiers, police, and armed colonists. According to the Associated Press, there have been a total of 242 Israeli deaths since January 2002 due to suicide bombers. In the month of March 2002 alone, Israelis killed 248 Palestinians.

CNN should also note that according to a Palestine Red Crescent Society report released

June 24, 2002, there have been a total of 1,626 Palestinian deaths and 19,549 injuries

since September 2000.  The report finds that of those killed directly by Israeli attacks,

more than 234 have been children under the age of 18.

Clearly, CNN’s decision not to air a special five-part series and establish an online

memorial could not be based on the proposition that innocent Palestinians and Palestinian

society in general have suffered less in the current Intifada than Israeli civilians and

society.

B. The Israeli Defense Forces do target civilians

The dramatic rise in violence committed by the Israel Defense Force and armed Israeli colonists in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem reveals an unprecedented proportion of violence has been directed at unarmed civilians. These attacks, as documented by various human rights organizations and frontline journalists, have clearly targeted women, children, and the elderly – people who could not possibly pose any military threat to the Israeli army, the fourth most powerful in the world, when it invades Palestinian cities.

Here are a few illustrations:

· Physicians for Human Rights USA investigated the high number of Palestinian civilian deaths and injuries in the first months of the Intifada and concluded that: "the pattern of injuries seen in many victims did not reflect IDF [Israel Defense Forces] use of firearms in life-threatening situations but rather indicated targeting solely for the purpose of wounding or killing."

http://www.phrusa.org/research/forensics/israel/update_commentary.html

· From the BBC, July 5, 2002:

“The BBC has obtained video footage which appears to show an incident in the West Bank city of Jenin two weeks ago in which two Palestinian children were killed by Israeli tank fire.... the footage shows a tank firing the first of two shells, at close range, at a group of civilians [including two children who were killed] who are running away.” Jenin deaths video implicates army. A July 7, 2002 Ha’aretz article (“Buried with chocolate in his hands”) by Gideon Levy contains similar findings.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_2102000/2102081.stm

· In an interview with Ha'aretz reporter Amira Hass on November 30, 2000, an Israeli sniper described the commands he typically receives from his superiors:

“Twelve and up, you're allowed to shoot. That's what they tell us,” he said. “So,” responded the reporter “according to the IDF, [the appropriate minimum age group at which to shoot] is 12?” the soldier replied, “According to what the IDF says to its soldiers. I don't know if this is what the IDF says to the media.”

· Yediot Aharonot (Hebrew Edition, November 17, 2000) quoted Tal Etlinger, a “border guard” trained to quell demonstrations as stating that riots at Um Al Fahm (where scores of unarmed Palestinian citizens of Israel were shot and many killed by snipers) were much less violent than Jewish riots (such as in Tiberias) which were “much worse…. but we handle Jewish riots differently…[t]o a demonstration like this we know in advance to come without weapons.. These are the orders from above, and we use only gas.”

· Human Rights Watch issued a report May 3, 2002 on Israeli atrocities committed in Jenin during the April 2002 invasion which stated in part:

“[Palestinian] civilians [in Jenin] were killed willfully or unlawfully [by the Israeli military]. . .. [which] used Palestinian civilians as ‘human shields’ and used indiscriminate and excessive force.. . . The abuses we documented in Jenin are extremely serious, and in some cases appear to be war crimes.”

http://hrw.org/press/2002/05/jenin0503.htm

· Israel has officially acknowledged its policy of using human shields during military operations. Human Rights Watch (2002) reported on the coerced use of Palestinian civilians during military operations, and most recently documented the use of Palestinian civilians as “human shields.” HRW documented one case in which eight Palestinian men, including a 14-year-old boy, were taken from their homes and placed on a balcony overlooking Palestinian fighter positions while IDF soldiers fired from behind the men. In another case, IDF soldiers placed a 65-year-old Palestinian woman on the exposed roof of her home during a gun battle.

· In a report entitled "A Gaza Diary" (see Appendix), published in the October 2001 issue of Harper's Magazine, and discussed in an October 30, 2001 Fresh Air interview with NPR, New York Times journalist Chris Hedges shared some of his own observations of IDF actions witnessed during a recent trip to Gaza:

“And I walked out towards the dunes and they were--the--over the loudspeaker from an Israeli army Jeep on the other side of the electric fence they were taunting these kids. And these kids started to throw rocks. And most of these kids were 10, 11, 12 years old. And, first of all, the rocks were the size of a fist. They were being hurled towards a Jeep that was armor-plated. I doubt they could even hit the Jeep. And then I watched the soldiers open fire. And it was--I mean, I've seen kids shot in Sarajevo. I mean, snipers would shoot kids in Sarajevo. I've seen death squads kill families in Algeria or El Salvador. But I'd never seen soldiers bait or taunt kids like this and then shoot them for sport. It was--I just--even now, I find it almost inconceivable. And I went back every day, and every day it was the same.”

· In a joint statement issued by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Commission of Jurists on April 7, 2002, in the wake of the Jenin invasion by the IDF, it was declared that “Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists want to send a clear, unambiguous message to all parties to this conflict, and to the international community. Stop the deliberate targeting of civilians and other persons protected by international humanitarian law.” It went on to say:

“In entire cities and towns, ambulances and emergency medical services have ground to a halt. Medical workers and ambulances have been fired upon. The wounded have been denied access to medical treatment; Palestinians have been killed attempting to reach hospitals for routine medical care. Such abuses raise not simply humanitarian issues: they are serious violations of international humanitarian law.”

http://hrw.org/press/2002/04/isrstmnt040702.htm

· Amnesty International issued a report on October 23, 2001 declaring its “grave concern at recent reports of random shelling and shootings by the Israeli Defense Force in Palestinian residential areas, among them Jenin, Ramallah, Tulkarm, Bethlehem and Beit Jala, which has left at least 25 Palestinians killed, among them several children, and scores of others injured, in retaliation for the killing of the Israeli Minister of Tourism, Rehavam Zeevi on 17 October.”

· In a front-page November 30, 2000 article in The Washington Post, Keith Richburg reported on Palestinian children who had been shot by Israeli soldiers:

“Iyad was shot because he ran too fast. Nshat was shot because he missed his ride. Ronny was shot for throwing a stone. And Abdel Kareem was shot where his two friends died. Iyad, Nshat, Ronny and Abdel Kareem had never met before. But these four young Palestinians now see one another daily, as patients at the Abu Raya Rehabilitation Center.”

· B'Tselem, a prominent Israeli human rights organization, reported in October 2001 how “the IDF continues to employ a policy of ‘an easy trigger-finger’ and demonstrates a disregard for human life.” In a March 12, 2002 press release, B'Tselem further stated:

“In every city and refugee camp that they have entered, IDF soldiers have repeated the same pattern: indiscriminate firing and the killing of innocent civilians, intentional harm to water, electricity and telephone infrastructure, taking over civilian houses, extensive damage to civilian property, shooting at ambulances and prevention of medical care to the injured.”

http://www.btselem.org/

· In an open letter addressed to leaders of U.S., E.U., Israel, P.A., and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (July 6, 2001), Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called for the dispatch of international human rights monitors (even while Israel objected) because of the continuing killing of civilians:

“The clashes between Israelis and Palestinians since October 2000 have been marked by systematic violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Civilians have been the main victims of the violence, and an immediate priority must be to bring such violations to an end. At least 470 Palestinians have been killed, most of them unlawfully by Israeli security forces when their lives and the lives of others were not in danger. More than 120 Israelis have been killed, most of them civilians deliberately targeted by armed groups and individuals. The death toll includes more than 130 children.”

http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/07/isr-0706-ltr.htm

In a report dated March 14, 2002 from B’Tselem made the following observations:

“Over the past two weeks (28 February - 13 March), the intentional attacks on medical teams and the prevention of medical teams from treating the sick and wounded have been almost unprecedented. IDF soldiers have fired at ambulances, killing five Palestinian medical personnel who were on duty, wounded several members of ambulance medical teams, and damaging the ambulances. In addition, the IDF prevented medical treatment to the sick and wounded, even leaving people to bleed to death. Hospitals have been unable to function because of the damage to the electricity, water, and telephone infrastructure, and the blocking of access to some of them. As a result, the hospitals are unable to receive the wounded and sick, or obtain food and medicine.

“These violations are an integral part of Israeli policy and are accompanied by other grave practices. The matters described in this report are another indication of the IDF's total loss of restraint.”

B’Tselem, in a report dated March 14, 2002 entitled “Shooting at Ambulances & IDF Impediments to Medical Treatment,” said:

“Over the past two weeks (28 February - 13 March), the intentional attacks on medical teams and the prevention of medical teams from treating the sick and wounded have been almost unprecedented. IDF soldiers have fired at ambulances, killing five Palestinian medical personnel who were on duty, wounded several members of ambulance medical teams, and damaging the ambulances. In addition, the IDF prevented medical treatment to the sick and wounded, even leaving people to bleed to death. Hospitals have been unable to function because of the damage to the electricity, water, and telephone infrastructure, and the blocking of access to some of them. As a result, the hospitals are unable to receive the wounded and sick, or obtain food and medicine… These violations are an integral part of Israeli policy and are accompanied by other grave practices. The matters described in this report are another indication of the IDF's total loss of restraint.”

http://www.btselem.org/Download/Ambulances_Eng.doc

Physicians for Human Rights-USA, in a report dated November 3, 2000, refutes the notion that Israel’s killing of Palestinian civilians is solely a matter of self-defense:

“Physicians for Human Rights USA (PHR) finds that the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has used live ammunition and rubber bullets excessively and inappropriately to control demonstrators, and that based on the high number of documented injuries to the head and thighs, Israeli soldiers appear to be shooting to inflict harm, rather than solely in self-defense...PHR's analysis of fatal gun shot wounds in Gaza reveals that approximately 50% were to the head. This high proportion of fatal head wounds suggests that given broad rules of engagement, soldiers are specifically aiming at peoples' heads.”

http://www.phrusa.org/research/forensics/israel/Israel_force.html

Corroborating the report of PHR-USA above, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, in a report written by Israeli journalist Gideon Levy (“The Message from High Command,” February 10, 2002) stated:

“An 11-year-old boy was shot in the head from short range while fleeing after he threw stones at Israeli soldiers who were posted at the roadblock next to the refugee camp where he lives. That is the version given by eyewitnesses. It took the boy a week to die, … A 15-year-old boy threw stones at a tank that was besieging the headquarters of a national leader. A soldier shot him in the head from short range, killing him… A soldier in an undercover unit gave hot pursuit to a boy of about nine who had been throwing stones, shot him from behind and killed him.”

Further evidence of Israel’s intent to target Palestinian civilians is evident from the following interview with a soldier who operated a bulldozer in the Jenin refugee camp, and published in the Israeli paper Yediot Aharanot on May 31, 2002:

“No one refused an order to take down a house. When they told me to destroy a house I exploited that in order to destroy a few more homes. On the loudspeaker [the Palestinian residents] were warned to get out before I came in. But I didn't give a chance to anyone. I didn't wait. I'm sure that people died inside of those houses. From my perspective we left them a football field, they should play there. The 100x100 was our present to the camp. Jenin will not return to be what it was.” [Note: After publication - and in spite of it - the unit to which the man belongs received from the army command an official citation for outstanding service.]

http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/kurdi_eng.html

IV. Conclusions

Palestine Media Watch, along with the rapidly growing coalition of endorsing

organizations listed in Appendix A, remain puzzled and troubled by CNN’s refusal to air

a special five-part series on Palestinian victims of Israeli violence and to profile innocent

Palestinian victims on its website.

CNN’s airing of the special series detailing the human toll on Israeli victims served its

viewers well in that it communicated to them, in great and touching detail, the extent of

the damage that suicide bombers have wrought on Israeli society.

If CNN’s ultimate commitment is to its viewers, as it claims, then it should air a

comparable special that will enable its viewers to come to a more complete understanding

 of the damage that the Israeli military occupation has wrought on Palestinian society

together with comparable online content.

For a balanced and moral consistency towards its viewers, CNN is urged to provide:

1.         A full and complete online profile of every Palestinian child, woman,

and elderly man killed by the Israeli military and Israeli armed colonists, at

least since January 2002.

2.         A five-part special series on the Palestinian victims of Israeli military

violence, terror, and occupation.

Appendix A: Endorsing Organizations

The following organizations have joined the chorus of voices that are calling on CNN to

put an immediate end to the double standards by providing equal attention to victims on

both sides of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, beginning by covering Palestinian victims of

Israeli violence since September 2000 in the same manner as it has covered Israeli

victims.

In order to maintain any semblance of neutrality, objectivity, and professionalism, CNN

is strongly urged to consider the following recommendations:

1.         Provide a full and complete online profile of every Palestinian child,

woman, and elderly man killed by the Israeli military and Israeli armed

colonists, at least since January 2002.

2.         Air a five-part special series on the Palestinian victims of Israeli

military violence, terror, and occupation.

As of July 9, 2002, at least 46 organizations have signed onto this call. As of the date of

this report’s preparation, the following organizations (primarily in the United States) have

been confirmed as endorsers.

·         Al-Awda-Palestine Right to Return Coalition

·        Al-Bushra ( http://www.al-bushra.org )

·        American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee - Georgia Chapter

·        Arab-American Catholic Community of San Francisco

·        Arab-American Christians for Peace (AACP) San Francisco

·        Association for Socially Minded Americans (A.S.M.A.)

·        Atlanta Palestine Solidarity

·        Bethlehem Families

·        Bir-Zeit Society

·        Bristol Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, UK

·        Citizens for Fair Legislation

·        Council for the National Interest

·        Delaware Valley Justice

·        Forum of India Leftists

·        Green Party of Chatham County, Georgia

·        International Action Center

·        Islamic Association of Palestine

·        Islamic Society of Atlanta

·        JAA, Jordanian American Association

·        Jerusalem.org

·        Jews Against The Occupation -- http://www.jewsagainsttheoccupation.org

·        Jifnah Club

·         Nazareth.net

·        Palestine Action Network

·        Palestine Human Rights Campaign

·        Palestine Media Watch

·        Palestine Solidarity Committee (Seattle)

·        People for Justice and Peace

· Playgrounds for Palestine

· The Progressive Student Alliance of New Jersey

·        Ramallah Club

·        Refuse & Resist-Atlanta

·        Sahel Club

·        St. George Orthodox Church, SF

·        St. George Orthodox Church, Sta. Rosa

·        St. James Orthodox Church, San Jose

·        St. John of God, Justice and Peace Committee

·        St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, SF

·        St. Thomas More Arab American Catholic Community

·        Students Organizing for Justice at Georgia Tech

·        Taybeh Association

·        Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East

·        United for Peace and Justice, DFW, TX

·        Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP)

·        Voice of Reason – VoxRx

·        Voices Of Palestine (http://www.voicesofpalestine.org)

Appendix B: About Palestine Media Watch

Palestine Media Watch (http://www.pmwatch.org) is a grassroots media watch group that monitors the American media's coverage of the Middle East. To fulfill its mission of closely monitoring news and editorial coverage by major US media outlets and pushing for a more balanced and informed portrayal of the Middle East conflict, Palestine Media Watch has officers across the United States, in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, and boasts an active and growing membership of over four hundred people.

Palestine Media Watch’s Advisory Board consists of:

§ Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and Secretary General of Miftah (Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy) in Jerusalem. Former Spokeswoman for the Palestinian Delegation to the Madrid Peace Conference.

§ Prof. Noam Chomsky, Professor of linguistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

§ Prof. Norman G. Finkelstein, Political Science Professor, Hunter College, City University of New York

§ Prof. Edward S. Herman, Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania

§ Prof. Tanya Reinhart, Professor, Tel Aviv University

§ Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, Palestinian refugee expert and author. Former member of the Palestine National Council.

· Dr. Mustapha Barghouti, President of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees.

Appendix C: References

Human Rights Watch, (2002), “The Use of Civilians during IDF Arrest Operations”, vol. 14, No. 2 (E).

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), (2001) Results of the First Palestinian Census, September 17, 2000, (21 May 2001).

Appendix D: Radio-Television News Directors Association Code Of Ethics

http://www.rtnda.org/ethics/coe.shtml