From time to time, the Palestine Center distributes articles it believes will enhance understanding of the Palestinian political reality. The following article by Edo Konrad was published by +972 on June 24, 2017.
“I believe it has to do with the fact that the Israeli media totally missed the nonviolent aspect of the protests. One can assume that Israeli journalists suffer from the same prejudice as the rest of the public: they are so sure that Palestinian resistance automatically means violence, that they are unable to identify other expressions of it.
Let’s not forget that the media played a role in this crisis. Yes, the Israeli government is the one that made the wrong decision to put up the metal detectors, and thus is responsible for refusing to remove them. But when politicians act irresponsibly, the public has the right to demand that they change their decisions. Had the Israeli public been told about the nonviolent aspects of the protest, some segments of the population would have understood that civil disobedience is a legitimate way to make political demands. In a situation of nonviolent protest, negotiations with the representatives of the protesters is a desired outcome.”
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The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Jerusalem Fund.
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