Episode 1: The Media Is Wrong About 'Occupation'
And why the inaccurate, nonsensical term "THE occupied territories" reflects systemic anti-Israel bias in mainstream news.
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In Episode 1 of They Stand Corrected, I explain why I decided to start off with a series about the media’s systemic bias in reporting on Israel and the Middle East. Coverage of the October 7 terrorist attacks and the war in Gaza since has shown the incredibly dire consequences of media failures. When news organizations mislead people in ways that downplay or justify terrorists’ atrocities, the world is in danger.
FACT: The media has rules requiring anti-Israel bias. Yes, really. If you’re skeptical, I don’t blame you. In the show, I talk you through these rules.
Each episode includes an accompanying newsletter. The show is designed to be listened to (and maybe eventually watched!), not read, so there won’t be transcripts here. But for listeners, here are links to some sources I discuss, as well as additional information beyond what I had time to say on the show.
The links and info are available to all. The place for you to submit comments and questions will show up only for paid subscribers, which is necessary for blocking out haters and spammers! See the previous post for more on that, and how anyone can submit a comment or question via my website.
Thanks for listening!
Links for listeners
-The media, some government agencies, and Palestinian leaders generally refer to the entirety of the area known as the “West Bank” (a name created by Jordan after it annexed the area in 1950) as “occupied.” But in 2023, the Palestinian Authority submitted a document to the U.N. about Jericho, which is in the West Bank. It listed the end of the Israeli Occupation Period as 1994:
It’s inside a massive document at the UNESCO website. I went digging for it after reading about it in this Jerusalem Post piece, which also noted that it is not the first time the P.A. has said this.
-In the episode, I discuss a map of the world that's mostly red, showing disputed territories, including those under “occupations.” There's actually more than one, published at different times over the past decade. See one at Brilliant Maps, and another at Statista, via Metrocosm:
-Wikipedia’s current list of military occupations is long and heavily sourced.
-The CIA World Factbook cites numerous current “occupations.”
-This National Geographic website for educating kids says, “Guam is an example of an occupied territory. The United States government occupies the South Pacific island.” The site says it was last updated in October 2023.
-Here’s more on Israel’s disengagement from Gaza in 2005, and the occupation of Germany after World War II by the U.S., Great Britain, the Soviet Union and France.
-Most Americans aged 44 and younger thought that Israel has been ruling Gaza. That's from a Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll. I pulled the graphic for an Instagram post.
-“Zelenskiy, whose army has been fighting a war Russia launched against it 19 months ago, said that Israel - just like Ukraine - has ‘every right’ to protect itself.” -Reuters
-The Arab-Islamic Empire was built through colonization, force, enslavement, occupation and more. I mentioned this in a Newsweek piece, packed with links. Many, if not all, Islamist terrorist groups support a new Islamic empire that would force fundamentalist Islam everywhere.
-Hezbollah long played a crucial role in supporting Syria’s occupation of Lebanon.
What you can do to help fix this problem in the media
Send a note like this to the top executives and owners of any news agency, from your local paper or TV station to a national or international news powerhouse. Use language like this. Feel free to copy and paste it if you wish.
Why do you refer to Gaza and the West Bank as “the occupied territories” when in reality there are occupied territories all over the world and both Gaza and the West Bank might not even fit that description? Also, when reporting about places that are occupied all over the world, why don’t you call those areas occupied?
Please provide me an answer in writing to this question by (add a date), because I plan to share this with the new podcast They Stand Corrected, which fact checks the media.
Is there a report you want me to look into? Have a question or comment? If you’re a paid subscriber, you’ll see a comment box below. Post there!
(If you’re not, you can use a form at my website that takes you through the process of verifying your email.)
Coming up in the next episode: Why news agencies refuse to use the word “terrorist” when it comes to groups that kill Israelis, but they do use that same term for similar attacks everywhere else. It's crazy, and the reason some news executives give me off the record is even worse than you might expect.
Thanks for listening. Please spread the word!
Big love,
JL