Dion Nissenbaum is the McClatchy news bureau chief in Jerusalem. He has a blog, called “Checkpoint Jerusalem“. Most newsmen try to be more or less objective, but it’s not too hard to see where his sympathies lie.
For example, he presents the release of kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnston as a humanitarian act by Hamas, rather than a cynical attempt to exploit the situation. And he doesn’t mention the ransom.
He doesn’t attempt to hide his dislike of the Israelis. Almost every article describes some horrific situation, and hints that it’s Israel’s fault:
The footage doesn’t show what was going on around Imad [Ghanem of Hamas TV] when he was first shot, but it clearly shows the cameraman being shot twice while laying injured on the ground and appearing to pose no danger.
It’s not clear who fired the shots, though Imad later said that the bullets came from an Israeli tank.
“The Israeli military’s repeated attacks on media and journalists during military operations are unacceptable and constitute violations of international humanitarian law,” said Reporters Without Borders.
But the best is either a Freudian typo or a deliberate bit of editorializing. Here’s Nissenbaum on Fourth of July celebrations held by American representatives in Israel:
There are essentially two events: One that caters to the Israeli side, held near Tel Aviv, and one that caters to the Palestinian side, held in Jerusalem.
The Independence Day celebration in Israel was held on July 3rd and hosted by U.S. Ambassador Richard Jones…
The Independence Day celebration in Jerusalem was hosted by Consul General Jacob Walles and was a much more low-key affair.
So we have one in Israel and one in Jerusalem. And Jerusalem is where?
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