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Palestinian Media Watch (PMW; ) is an Israel-based nongovernmental organization and media watchdog group. Founded in 1996 by Itamar Marcus, Palestinian Media Watch documents cases of incitement in Palestinian media.


History

Itamar Marcus established Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) in 1996. In 2011, Marcus and PNW researcher Jacques Zilberdik released a book entitled ''Deception: Betraying the Peace Process'', a collection of media samples from 2010 to 2011 of messages broadcast to a domestic audience by the
Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...
that the authors say show a pattern of non-recognition of Israel's right to exist, demonization of Israel and promotion of violence. PMW states that the PA glorifies terrorists, libels Israel, and promotes a culture of violence.


Reports to Western political bodies

A report Palestinian Media Watch presented to the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs in 2008 indicated that the
Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...
was engaging with enemies of the United States on a shared platform of hatred toward the U.S. The report argued that under such circumstances, the creation of an independent Palestinian state would contribute to the undermining U.S. efforts toward
world peace World peace is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would come about. Various relig ...
. In 2011 Palestinian Media Watch presented U.S. congressmen with a report indicating that more than of U.S. funding for the Palestinian Authority was being used to pay salaries to Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel on terrorism-related charges. The report also cited instances of the Palestinian Authority glorifying the perpetrators of terrorist attacks against Israelis.


Reports to Israeli security bodies

In 2012, ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'' reported that as a consequence of Israeli intelligence agencies having reduced their own real-time monitoring of mainstream Arab-language media, Palestinian Media Watch and the Washington, D.C.–based Middle East Media Research Institute provide the Israeli government with coverage of anti-Israel incitement in the Palestinian media. The Prime Minister's Bureau has stated that prior to the government citing information furnished by the two organizations, the source of the material and its credibility are verified.


Media monitoring


2007–2012

In 2007 widespread criticism was generated around a children's television program, '' Tomorrow's Pioneers'', aired from Hamas-run studios in the Gaza Strip. The program employed a
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
–inspired figure in order to instill anti-American and anti-Israeli sentiment and promote a message of Islamic dominion among children. Palestinian Media Watch, together with the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), were the first to raise concerns in relation to the show. A Palestinian Media Watch report from 2012 stated that a puppet show performed in front of Palestinian children and sponsored by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
-funded organization Burj al Luq Luq Community Centre and Society called on children to take up arms in lieu of cigarettes. A separate report from the same year stated that two television hosts from the Palestinian Youth Association for Leadership and Rights Activation (PYALARA), an organization that receives funding from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office, Save the Children U.K. and
Cordaid Cordaid is an internationally operating value-based emergency relief and development organization, mostly working in conflict-affected countries. It is one of the biggest international development organizations in the Netherlands, with a netwo ...
, described suicide bombers as "the greatest role models for us" during a weekly TV program. The Burj al Luq Luq website was subsequently taken offline, and Save the Children U.K. launched an investigation into PYALARA.


2013

In early 2013 a report by Palestinian Media Watch indicating that the Palestinian Authority glorified acts of terrorism against the State of Israel sparked debate in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
over the latter's contribution to the PA of some annually. '' NRK'', the Norwegian
public broadcasting Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...
network, used the PMW report in its coverage and stated that according to the Norwegian Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities a Palestinian television channel, partly controlled by the Palestinian Authority, occasionally conveys hatred and demonization towards Israel. ''NRK'' reported that programs broadcast on Palestinian television praise prisoners involved in killing Israeli civilians. ''NRK'' also conducted a survey of its own in Jerusalem and the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, finding among other things that several Palestinians believed the ''
Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated text purporting to detail a Jewish plot for global domination. Largely plagiarized from several earlier sources, it was first published in Imperial Russia in 1903, translated into multip ...
'' forgery is authentic and that it reflects "Jewish plans" for world domination. The Norwegian Holocaust Center, which also contributed money to the Palestinian Authority, said PA TV demonized Israel and spread antisemitism. Emad Alsafar, the program director of the Palestinian television channel, denied the charges of demonization and antisemitism, stating that Palestinians took issues with the occupation, not with Jews. He said that in live broadcasts undesirable views are occasionally expressed, but there is an effort to correct these in retrospect. Norwegian State Secretary Torgeir Larsen admitted that Palestinian Media Watch had presented examples of antisemitism but stated that these were examples and that PMW had their own agenda in presenting the material. In relation to an additional ''NRK'' report on claims made by PMW that the Palestinian Authority pays monthly salaries to Palestinians convicted of terrorist activities including murder, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry felt it important to state that PMW is on the right wing of Israeli politics and that its founder, Itamar Marcus, resides in an illegal settlement in the West Bank. Norwegian MP Peter Gitmark subsequently called on his parliament's scrutiny committee to investigate the matter of what he called Norway's "indirect" contribution to Palestinian terrorism. In 2013, an Israeli family sued Palestinian officials for responsibility for "incitement against Israel which led to “terrorist” attacks against Israel and Israelis" in a
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
district court. Itamar Marcus was called as "expert witness", but Judge Dalia Gannot found Marcus “incompetent” as such. The Media Watch further argued that “the PA follows an explicit policy of incitement against Israel and the Jews,” but Judge Gannot found that to be unproven. The case against the Palestinian officials was dismissed.


YouTube channel

In December 2010,
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
removed Palestinian Media Watch's channel from its servers. The channel, which featured videos of Palestinian incitement against Jews and Israelis, was shut down for airing
hate speech Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...
. Itamar Marcus stated that the move was triggered by a video showing a Hamas terrorist urging Palestinians to "drink the blood of Jews." The channel was reactivated later in the month after supporters expressed outrage over its removal.


Reception

According to a 2012 article in ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'', Palestinian Media Watch and its founder are associated with Israel's right wing, and the majority of information furnished by PMW relating to Palestinian incitement is of a professional nature. In an opinion piece for '' The Hill'', Hanan Ashrawi of the
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...
accused Palestinian Media Watch of having close links with the Central Fund of Israel, which she said was involved in funding "some of the most extreme elements in Israel's settler movement." Ashrawi stated also that the PMW definition of incitement included "any action or statement critical of Israeli policy" such as nonviolent actions against Israeli occupation or in support of Palestinian rights. Australia's former ambassador to Israel Ian Wilcock, in an opinion piece for ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...
'', said of Palestinian Media Watch that it "does an outstanding job of bringing attention to what the
Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...
and related organisations are saying in Arabic, as opposed to the usually more temperate comments made in English for the world outside the Middle East." As examples, Wilcock stated that ''
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated text purporting to detail a Jewish plot for global domination. Largely plagiarized from several earlier sources, it was first published in Imperial Russia in 1903, translated into multip ...
'' was prominent in the ideology of the Palestinian Authority, that a Palestinian Authority youth magazine had featured a young woman dreaming of explaining to Adolf Hitler why she killed Jews, and that a Palestinian Authority newspaper had referred to
Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...
as "the holiday of the apes."


Award

In February 2015, PMW director was awarded the Abramowitz Israeli Prize for Media Criticism. The ''Abramowitz Israeli Prize for Media Criticism'' was funded by Mrs. Nira and Mr. Kenneth Abramowitz. Mr. Kenneth Abramowitz is a New York businessman, and a donor to Israel's Media Watch.New 'alternative Zionist fund' supporting right-wing settler groups
Uri Blau, 06.01.12,
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...


See also

* Middle East Media Research Institute * Al-Aqsa TV * '' Deception: Betraying the Peace Process'' * Pallywood


References


External links


PMW YouTube Channel
{{Authority control Political organizations based in Israel Non-profit organizations based in Israel Media analysis organizations and websites Organizations established in 1996 Mass media in Palestine Israel based opposition to antisemitism Counterterrorism in Israel Mass media in the Middle East 1996 establishments in Israel