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Why Are CNN, ABC, and NBC Reporters Embedding With the Israeli Military? [1]

['Edith Olmsted', 'Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling', 'Tori Otten', 'Matt Ford', 'John B. Judis', 'Ned Resnikoff']

Date: 2023-11-15

Benedict explained the pitfalls of embedding with the military. Journalists, being unarmed and usually lacking in formal military training, depend entirely on their handlers for security—so it stands to reason that they’d hesitate to report anything negative about the people on whom their lives quite literally depend. “It’s very hard to have an objective, clear-eyed view of people who are protecting your life,” she said. “Your attempt at objectivity will be eroded even if you’re not aware of it.”



It also makes embedded journalists susceptible to legitimizing the military’s view of the conflict. In ABC’s brief dispatch from Gaza, chief foreign correspondent Ian Pannell turned to the wreckage of a building behind him and said, “This is one building I can show you, obviously something that was a civilian building. What the Israelis say is that Hamas have used these kind of buildings, using civilians as essentially shields to launch their attacks.” In an attempt to give context to the destruction around him, he also parrots the IDF’s justification for its wholesale bombing of Gaza, which has killed as many as 12,000 Palestinians.



Not anyone can embed with the IDF, of course. Israeli authorities have tapped a select few journalists to do so—and may well have chosen journalists whom they consider unlikely to report unflattering details about the invasion. Conversely, the government certainly has not been shy of criticizing those whom it deems overly critical of the invasion. Israel’s communication minister, Shloma Khari, is attempting to shut down Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem bureau. “This is a station that incites; this is a station that films troops in assembly areas … that incites against the citizens of Israel—a propaganda mouthpiece,” Karhi told Israel’s Army Radio. As of November 1, the move was awaiting approval from the Israeli defense minister.



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[1] Url: https://newrepublic.com/article/176919/cnn-abc-nbc-reporters-embedding-israeli-military-gaza

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