Israel Mocks Foreign Reporters With YouTube Cartoon

By Rachel X. Landes June 16, 2015

Israel’s Foreign Ministry took to YouTube to mock foreign journalists’ coverage of the Gaza conflict last summer — but not everyone sees the humor.

The Foreign Ministry released a 50 second animated clip that depicted an cartoon journalist with an American accent reporting from Gaza during last summer’s war.

“We’re here in the center of Gaza, and as you can see, the people here are trying to live quiet lives,” the character says. “There are no terrorists here, just ordinary people.”

A rocket launches behind him, seemingly contradicting the claim. The clip concludes with the message, “Open your eyes. Terror rules Gaza.”

In an official statement, the Foreign Press Association said it was “surprised and alarmed” by the segment, and called the videos “misleading and poorly conceived.” They reminded readers that 2,100 Palestinians and 72 Israelis had been killed in the bloody conflict.

Emmanuel Nahshon, the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry told the New York Times that it was only, “an attempt to poke gentle fun at some journalists who choose not to see reality.”

Nahshon asserted the video was based on allegations that unnamed foreign correspondents ignored Hamas militants that launched rockets at Israel, and “released the footage only after the operation was over.”

A New York Times staff photographer, Tyler Hicks, explained in a blog post from last summer that there was a reason reporters did not cover Hamas fighters in their pictures and news coverage: “Hamas fighters are not able to expose themselves,” he wrote

So far, the video has had 23,200 views.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO