ARE WE GUILTY LIKE CNN AND BBC?
Vayeira
Two weeks ago, media headlines around the world announced that Israel had bombed a hospital in the Gaza strip, killing 500 innocent Palestinians.
The reports sparked condemnation from foreign governments and accusations that Israel had violated International laws by targeting a medical facility that in addition to treating the sick and injured, was used a shelter by hundreds of innocent civilians. With tensions rising across the Middle East, there was a real fear that the war would widen, drawing-in other hostile Arab regimes.
The reports instigated global protests to condemn Israel and unleashed a wave of ugly global antisemitism in the streets and halls of academia around the world. Until that point, most Western countries were supportive of Israel and her right to self-defence after the horrific Simchas Torah massacre. Protests in support of the Palestinians were limited and did not gain much media attention. But as a result of the hospital attack, things started to rapidly shift.
Before the smoke even cleared, politicians, governments and ordinary people were quick to adopt the narrative that Israel was to blame. Afterall, these reports were being aired by reputable, household-brand international media outlets.
No one stopped to question the authenticity and integrity of the reports. No one stopped to ask where the media got their information? And where was it sourced? From the health authorities in Gaza, which is none other than Hamas, the terror organisation that had deliberately targeted and massacred 1400 civilians and were desperate to swing the pendulum of international outcry back in their favour.
Slowly the truth began to emerge, painting a completely different picture to the initial headlines. It wasn’t the hospital itself, but rather the carpark. The figure of 500 dead was grossly inflated. And most importantly, it was not Israel who bombed the hospital, but a misfired missile from one of the Gaza-based terror organisations.
Having to defend its integrity in the international arena, Israel was forced to spend precious time and resources in the midst of a war, to investigate the event and release irrefutable proof of its innocence.
To their credit, some media outlets apologised and retracted. Others, in a bid to save-face and salvage their pride and integrity, revised their reports to state that the facts remain unclear and are subject to dispute.
Either way, it was too late. The damage to Israel’s reputation had been done. The protests and global antisemitism had been unleashed and could not be quelled and those who were just looking for a pretext for their hatred of Israel and Jews, continued to argue that it was still Israel’s fault.
Media is incredibly powerful and not just in shaping people’s opinions. Their headlines can lead to violence, bloodshed and even war. In rushing to condemn Israel, the media was completely dangerous and recklessly irresponsible.
Before destroying the cities of Sodom and Amora. Hashem says ארדה נא ואראה הכצעקתה הבאה אלי עשו כלה, “I will descend and see; if they have acted in accordance with the outcry that has come to Me - then destruction”. These were the cries of oppression and evil that arose from Sodom.
The commentaries are perplexed. Hashem is all-knowing. Before Him, “everything is revealed and known”. Why did He need to descend to see the truth of the outcry that came before Him?
The truth is that Hashem did not need to descend and see. He was teaching us a lesson.
Rashi explains that from this verse, our sages teach that a judge in a capital case may not rule on the case without first seeing. The intent is not that the judges have to literally witness the crime - that it the role of witnesses. It means that the judges cannot just rely on testimony or hearsay, without thoroughly investigating and questioning the witnesses to discover the truth, before issuing their ruling.
It is very easy to criticise the media outlets for failing to adhere to our sages’ sound advice. But how often do we do the exact same thing?
We hear the cries of Lashon Hara, gossip and rumours about others that come before us and are quick to accept the reports as truth. In the importance of public awareness, we have to share the “headline reports” with our families, friends and acquaintances in conversation and across social media.
On a subtler level, we interpret things that we see about others or form judgments from our interactions with them based on our own subjectivity-bias. Instead of being Dan Lekaf Zechus, we rush to presume the worst and are hasty to condemn.
Do we stop to first question the truth of the reports that we here and the authenticity of where they are coming from? Do we seek to be sure of our conclusions before sharing them with others or making our own judgments based on them? Would we stand up to the same scrutiny that we subject the media and standard of integrity that we expect from them?
The message of the Parsha is as relevant to us as they are to the New York Times, CNN, BBC and ABC. We can’t expect much better from the media who are known for sensationalism and are unlikely to change their ways. But we can certainly demand higher standards of honesty, ethics and integrity from ourselves in our personal interactions and in our communities.
If this is how Hashem responded to the cries about the people of Sodom whom the Torah describes as being exceedingly wicked and sinful, certainly we can do the same in our relationships and interactions with others, even if it is simply because it his how we would want others to treat us.
The reports sparked condemnation from foreign governments and accusations that Israel had violated International laws by targeting a medical facility that in addition to treating the sick and injured, was used a shelter by hundreds of innocent civilians. With tensions rising across the Middle East, there was a real fear that the war would widen, drawing-in other hostile Arab regimes.
The reports instigated global protests to condemn Israel and unleashed a wave of ugly global antisemitism in the streets and halls of academia around the world. Until that point, most Western countries were supportive of Israel and her right to self-defence after the horrific Simchas Torah massacre. Protests in support of the Palestinians were limited and did not gain much media attention. But as a result of the hospital attack, things started to rapidly shift.
Before the smoke even cleared, politicians, governments and ordinary people were quick to adopt the narrative that Israel was to blame. Afterall, these reports were being aired by reputable, household-brand international media outlets.
No one stopped to question the authenticity and integrity of the reports. No one stopped to ask where the media got their information? And where was it sourced? From the health authorities in Gaza, which is none other than Hamas, the terror organisation that had deliberately targeted and massacred 1400 civilians and were desperate to swing the pendulum of international outcry back in their favour.
Slowly the truth began to emerge, painting a completely different picture to the initial headlines. It wasn’t the hospital itself, but rather the carpark. The figure of 500 dead was grossly inflated. And most importantly, it was not Israel who bombed the hospital, but a misfired missile from one of the Gaza-based terror organisations.
Having to defend its integrity in the international arena, Israel was forced to spend precious time and resources in the midst of a war, to investigate the event and release irrefutable proof of its innocence.
To their credit, some media outlets apologised and retracted. Others, in a bid to save-face and salvage their pride and integrity, revised their reports to state that the facts remain unclear and are subject to dispute.
Either way, it was too late. The damage to Israel’s reputation had been done. The protests and global antisemitism had been unleashed and could not be quelled and those who were just looking for a pretext for their hatred of Israel and Jews, continued to argue that it was still Israel’s fault.
Media is incredibly powerful and not just in shaping people’s opinions. Their headlines can lead to violence, bloodshed and even war. In rushing to condemn Israel, the media was completely dangerous and recklessly irresponsible.
Before destroying the cities of Sodom and Amora. Hashem says ארדה נא ואראה הכצעקתה הבאה אלי עשו כלה, “I will descend and see; if they have acted in accordance with the outcry that has come to Me - then destruction”. These were the cries of oppression and evil that arose from Sodom.
The commentaries are perplexed. Hashem is all-knowing. Before Him, “everything is revealed and known”. Why did He need to descend to see the truth of the outcry that came before Him?
The truth is that Hashem did not need to descend and see. He was teaching us a lesson.
Rashi explains that from this verse, our sages teach that a judge in a capital case may not rule on the case without first seeing. The intent is not that the judges have to literally witness the crime - that it the role of witnesses. It means that the judges cannot just rely on testimony or hearsay, without thoroughly investigating and questioning the witnesses to discover the truth, before issuing their ruling.
It is very easy to criticise the media outlets for failing to adhere to our sages’ sound advice. But how often do we do the exact same thing?
We hear the cries of Lashon Hara, gossip and rumours about others that come before us and are quick to accept the reports as truth. In the importance of public awareness, we have to share the “headline reports” with our families, friends and acquaintances in conversation and across social media.
On a subtler level, we interpret things that we see about others or form judgments from our interactions with them based on our own subjectivity-bias. Instead of being Dan Lekaf Zechus, we rush to presume the worst and are hasty to condemn.
Do we stop to first question the truth of the reports that we here and the authenticity of where they are coming from? Do we seek to be sure of our conclusions before sharing them with others or making our own judgments based on them? Would we stand up to the same scrutiny that we subject the media and standard of integrity that we expect from them?
The message of the Parsha is as relevant to us as they are to the New York Times, CNN, BBC and ABC. We can’t expect much better from the media who are known for sensationalism and are unlikely to change their ways. But we can certainly demand higher standards of honesty, ethics and integrity from ourselves in our personal interactions and in our communities.
If this is how Hashem responded to the cries about the people of Sodom whom the Torah describes as being exceedingly wicked and sinful, certainly we can do the same in our relationships and interactions with others, even if it is simply because it his how we would want others to treat us.