Israelis, especially Israeli Jews, are always hungry for news. We listen to it on the radio, every hour on the hour. We read it daily in numerous daily and weekly printed newspapers, on mainstream and alternative Internet sites, in our Facebook and Twitter feeds. But have we ever really thought about the different agendas and views that these media outlets are trying to put forward? Have we ever looked at the ‘other’s’ media? Have we ever thought about the way the media we follow affects the way we view our reality?
0202 in 3D
The closing event of A Different Day in Jerusalem – Jerusalem Day in 3D – Summary of the Day’s News from Three Viewpoints – showed just that. Presented by 0202 – A View from East Jerusalem at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, the evening examined the ways in which Jerusalem Day is represented in media outlets from West Jerusalem, East Jerusalem and Haredi Jerusalem.
The event began with a demonstration of news items by media people, followed by an open discussion with the audience.
Speakers included: Nisreen Alyan – Jerusalemite, lawyer at the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI); Batel Kolman – Jerusalemite, poet, editor, and journalist at the NRG web site; Pnina Pfeufer – Jerusalemite, political activist, member of “Ultra-Orthodox for Peace,” and a writer in the Jerusalem Post and in various Ultra-Orthodox papers; Roi Yanovsky – Jerusalemite, journalist for the YNET web site.
Interestingly, all four panelists, each from their own viewpoint, agreed that the media doesn’t really portray the entire picture, that reality is too complex to fit onto paper (or a website or a Facebook page).
So keep this in mind when you follow the media, all media – yours, the ‘others’ and everyone else’s. What you’re reading is only part of the entire story, the rest is really quite multi-dimensional. Just like Jerusalem and now Jerusalem Day – A Different Day in Jerusalem.
