Approximately 20 per cent of the country's population, the Palestinian citizens of Israel (also known as Israeli Arabs) argue that they are discriminated against in many aspects of life. The media coverage of a recent road accident prompted a Palestinian blogger in Israel to comment.
Blogger The Other Door writes about the coverage, in a post called “Very Ordinary Racism”:
حادث طرق عادي جداً, سيارة عادية جداً انحرفت عن مسارها بشكل عادي جداً, واصطدمت بشكل عادي جداً بسيارة تاكسي , عادية جداً.
سائق السيارة الخصوصية يهودي عادي جداً وصديقه العربي, العادي جداً, قتلا في الحادث بشكل عادي جداً, 5 من راكبي التاكسي اصيبوا بجراح متوسطة بشكل عادي جدا وأخرى اصيبت اصابات بالغة بصورة عادية جداً, ركاب التاكسي ممثلي مسرح يهود, عاديون جداً.
بعد تنظيف الشارع من الدم بشكل عادي جدا, أنتشر الخبر في جميع وسائل الاعلام بشكل عادي جداً.
فعلى سبيل المثال في نشرة اخبارقناة 10 الاسرائيلية, تم بث تقرير عن الحادث مدته 7:34 د, منها 1:08 د عن السائق اليهودي وعائلته,
والباقي عن الممثلة الاسرائيلية واصدقائها , اما القتيل العربي فأكتفوا بذكر اسمه وانه محامي يسكن في كريات شمونة , ولقطة قصيرة جداً لصورة بورتريت, وليس صدفة انني نسيت اسمه فور انتهاء التقرير…
The driver of the private car, a very ordinary Jewish man, and his friend, a very ordinary Arab, were killed in the accident in a very ordinary way. Five of the taxi passengers were moderately injured in a very ordinary way, and others were seriously injured in a very ordinary way. The taxi passengers were Jewish theatre actors, very ordinary.
After the street was cleaned of blood in a very ordinary way, the news spread throughout the media in a very ordinary way.
For example, on the Israeli Channel 10 news, a report of 7:34 minutes was broadcast about the accident, 1:08 minutes about the Jewish driver and his family, and the rest about the Israeli actress and her friends. As for the Arab who was killed they were content just to mention his name and that he was a lawyer who lived in Kiryat Shmona, very briefly showing a picture of him. It is no coincidence that I forgot his name immediately after the report had ended…
4 comments
Given that the seven passengers were actors, I think reports would concentrate on them almost anywhere in the world.
Not in Israel, Jason. Not if the 7 were Palestinian Israeli actors.
I’m afraid a it’s a little of both. Actors or not, the Palestinian would be the odd man out, so to speak. For me, it only seems fair to focus more attention to those who lost their lives (out of respect), and not the minor injuries of Israeli actors who actually get to go home to their families.