From: "Allen L. Jasson" <Allen.Jasson@bigpond.com> To: <letters@jpost.co.il>, <letters@haaretz.co.il>, <editors@jpost.co.il>, <editor@haaretz.co.il>, <editor@maariv.co.il>, <chief-editor@maariv.co.il> Subject: Media Responsibilities Date sent: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 01:27:19 +1000 A letter to Israeli Media regarding Media Responsibilities . All: I recently received from Gush Shalom an update regarding the currentWar Crime Scandal attached below. In it were a number of references to the handling of this matter by the media, in particular, the following quoted lines: "Allthe TV and radio stations and the two major newspapers ignored the conference" "Haaretzhad published on its front-page a.hair-raising sensation: Gush Shalom has threatened officers: We.collect material against you for The Hague. "commentatorsstarted a lynch.campaign. Expressions like 'traitors',.'informers', 'Capo' (the Jewish camp police, which served the Nazis in the concentration camps),.'Judenrat' (the Jewish committees appointed by the Nazis in the.ghettos) were freely bandied about. More recently I received an annotated copy of an article that appeared.in Ben Kaspit's column of political commentary in the weekend supplement of Ma'ariv. This material reflects not only a serious failure of Israeli media to live up to it's responsibilities to impartially and accurately inform a democratic society but also an engagement in irresponsible, propagandist distortion of the situation. The matter of war crimes committed by Israeli soldiers is a very serious one that will have repercussions for many years to come. Gush Shalom has performed an important moral duty first in taking action to warn soldiers of their legal responsibilities and second in openly undertaking to monitor and report such crimes. These are crimes against humanity and the world is watching. . Already, the behaviour of the state of Israel under the Prime Ministership of Ariel Sharon has earned the disgust and moral disdain of the non-American aligned world (ie other than Israel and Tony Blair). Israel is the occupier of Palestinian lands; the imperialist and the oppressor. Terrorism is the harvest of immoral seeds you have sown. As one individual who would like to see Israeli and Palestinian states recognised and living in peace and harmony, who would like to see war criminals pursued relentlessly and brought to justice, I say to you that it is time to remember your responsibilities to inform and promote discussion of these actions taken by Gush Shalom in a mature and objective manner. . Yours Sincerely, Allen L. Jasson (Melbourne, Australia)