It was ‘poking gentle fun’ at journalists who covered the Gaza conflict, says foreign ministry in defence of South Park-style satire

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The Israeli government has withdrawn an animated video that mocked the way in which foreign journalists covered last summer’s Gaza incursion, reports Ynet.News.

The South Park-style video, which suggested that international correspondents who covered the conflict were guilty of naive reporting, outraged members of the Foreign Press Association (FPA).

Posted ahead of a United Nations report on Israel’s conduct in Gaza (which was released today), it was condemned by a New York Times writer as “a ludicrous spoof of western journalists”.

It satirises international coverage of the military incursion into Gaza by showing a foreign journalist figure being interviewed on his perspective while the reality of the situation unfolds behind him.

The journalist says: “There are no terrorists here, just ordinary people”. But behind him a figure is seen holding a rocket.

In another shot, the journalist is seen reporting from a tunnel used by Hamas to attack Israel by describing it as “a fascinating attempt by Hamas to build a subway system”.

At the end, a narrator gives the correspondent a pair of glasses and says: “Maybe now you’ll see the reality of life under Hamas rule”.

A spokesman for Israel’s foreign ministry, Emmanuel Nahshon, said the video was “poking gentle fun at the phenomenon” of Hamas allegedly using “human shields” during fighting and only “partial reporting” of this by international media.

But the FPA issued a statement deploring the video, saying it was “surprised and alarmed” by the video cartoon. It continued:

“At a time when Israel has serious issues to deal with in Iran and Syria, it is disconcerting that the ministry would spend its time producing a 50-second video that attempts to ridicule journalists reporting on a conflict in which 2,100 Palestinians and 72 Israelis were killed. “Israel’s diplomatic corps wants to be taken seriously in the world. Posting misleading and poorly conceived videos on YouTube is inappropriate, unhelpful and undermines the ministry, which says it respects the foreign press and its freedom to work in Gaza”.

The foreign ministry maintains that there had been no intention of offending anyone. It said:

“During Operation Protective Edge rockets were fired from populated areas and near public structures. All this was well-known and documented. But incriminating photos were published only later, with a notable delay. The claim was fear of Hamas. The video looks at this phenomenon in an amusing way”.

The preemptive public relations strike came ahead of a UN report that, as anticpated, accused both Israeli and Palestinian factions of violations of international law including suspected war crimes.

Sources: Ynet.News here and here/Haaretz/New YorkTimes. Hat tip: The Independent