Huwaida Arraf, of the International Solidarity Movement, lately sent the following letter to the Washington Post following a report from Israel:
Howard Schneider’s presentation of Israeli public opinion through the introduction of a poll conducted by Ephraim Yaar profoundly misleads readers. Professor Yaar’s poll clearly states that it was a survey of Israeli Jews. It ignores the 20+% of Israelis who are Palestinian (Christian and Muslim). While this kind of survey perhaps makes sense for an Israeli pollster accustomed to disregarding the presence, rights, and views of Palestinian citizens, it should not be presented by the Washington Post as representing the viewpoint of all Israelis. Would the Post present a poll of white Americans as representing the outlook of all Americans?
As a Palestinian holder of Israeli citizenship, and a recent resident of Washington, DC, I expect more of the Washington Post than for it to whitewash away the opinions of my people.
Arraf’s letter did not run, she tells Mondoweiss. And she adds: "I followed up with another letter a few days later, again requesting a correction, and didn’t get it. And then there was this passage in a book review in yesterday’s Washington Post (of the book Israel Is Real, by Rich Cohen). From Stephen Reiss’s review:
And despite the main title, nor is it a book about the "real" Israel. It’s too preoccupied with fanatics, politicians and generals — especially Ariel Sharon, whose life Cohen sees as a metaphor for the nation. We hear almost nothing from ordinary people. In addition, this is an Israel seen through a distinctly American lens. There’s no sign of the Sephardim, the Jews whose origins lie in the Arab world and who have been skeptical of peace deals. There’s no mention of Russian Jews and their battle to emigrate from the Soviet Union.
"Again the Washington Post completely ignores Palestinian citizens of Israel."
