Dual U.S.-Israeli Citizenship Compromises Our Foreign Policy

It is obvious to any thinking citizen that bias in a news reporter almost certainly affects the reporter’s judgment  in determining what “news” is worthy to report, what “facts” deserve the stamp of credibility, and how that “news” is viewed in the light of other events. The credibility that we give to a news story is dependent on the source of the story.  Some news organizations have a reputation for news integrity (generally the New York Times or the Washington Post) and some others do not merit that same credibility (Fox News) because of their known political or ideological bias.  When we read the news we like to believe that we are getting something close to an accurate account of what happened without having to contend with the writer’s unconscious bias or undisclosed ideological or political commitments.  

 As a writer I try to be aware of my bias and where it is relevant, such as when I am writing on topics related to religion, I disclose that I am a non-theistic humanist who has selected the teachings of Jesus as an ethical model.  The reader can then judge the extent to which he/she wishes to discount what I say on a particular topic.  Disclosure has been the expected practice of reporters and writers so long as I have been writing.

 ith that preface, I need to express my surprise and disappointment at the New York Times in its reporting about the assassination of a Hamas leader in Dubai after it was discovered and reported (but not disclosed by the Times until it subsequently confirmed) that Ethan Bronner, the Times Israel-Palestine bureau chief, has a son serving in the Israeli military. Why should that matter? It matters because we have a right to know about his bias towards Israel; his job is to report fairly and accurately what is going on in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and given his bias as a partisan we have to assume he is unable to do.  That may explain why some critics of the Times have found that its reporting has a pro-Israeli bias. 

Regrettably as an expose in Counterpunch reveals, American journalism has several prominent reporters with an undisclosed pro-Israeli bias that affects how they see and report events in the region. This pro-Israel bias is alarming because it means that the news that is reported about a region of vital importance to U.S. military and strategic policy is being filtered in a way that may be detrimental and harmful to U.S. national interests. 

A previous Times bureau chief, Joel Greenberg, before he was bureau chief but after he was already publishing in the Times from Israel, actually served in the Israeli army.

Media pundit and Atlantic staffer Jeffrey Goldberg also served in the Israeli military; it’s unclear when, how, or even if his military service ended.

Richard Chesnoff, who has been covering Mideast events for more than 40 years, had a son serving in the Israeli military while Chesnoff covered Israel as US News & World Report’s senior foreign correspondent.

NPR’s Linda Gradstein’s husband was an Israeli sniper and may still be in the Israeli reserves. NPR refuses to disclose whether Gradstein herself is also an Israeli citizen, as are her children and husband.

 Mitch Weinstock, national editor for the San Diego Union-Tribune, served in the Israeli military.

The New York Times’ other correspondent from the region, Isabel Kershner, is an Israeli citizen. Israel has universal compulsory military service, which suggests that Kershner herself and/or family members may have military connections. The Times refuses to answer questions about whether she and/or family members have served or are currently serving in the Israeli military.

Many Associated Press writers and editors are Israeli citizens or have Israeli families. AP will not reveal how many of the journalists in its control bureau for the region currently serve in the Israeli military, how many have served in the past, and how many have family members with this connection.

Similarly, many TV correspondents such as Martin Fletcher have been Israeli citizens and/or have Israeli families. Do they have family connections to the Israeli military?

Time Magazine’s bureau chief several years ago became an Israeli citizen after he had assumed his post. Does he have relatives in the military?

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, while not an Israeli citizen, was based in Israel for many years, wrote a book whitewashing Israeli spying on the US, and used to work for the Israel lobby in the US. None of this is divulged to CNN viewers.

Now consider another disturbing fact.  A large number of key government officials and policymakers in the Defense Department and in the State Department during the Bush administration were not only pro-Israeli, they were dual US-Israeli citizens. Some of these officials are no longer in government, but many remain in a position to influence our government’s policies toward Israel.  Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s chief of staff, is a dual Israeli-US citizen.  That creates not only distortion and bias in the way that events are seen at the White House, it creates divided loyalty in how the US responds to events in that part of the world. We have strategic interests in the Middle East that require us to have a balanced foreign policy. Peace in the Middle East is an urgent concern and it is in our national interest to be honest brokers. We face a powder keg of potentially explosive issues, from our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to oil and military bases in Arab and Muslim countries, to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, to a potential Israeli first strike against Iran over its nuclear reactors.

It is important that American interests come first for American policy makers.  Yet with national reporters filtering information through a pro-Israel bias and in a favorable position to influence public opinion, and with pro-Israeli dual-citizens in position to impact our government’s policies in the Middle East, our ability as a nation to put pressure on Israel to abide by UN Resolutions, to end the settlements policy in Palestinian territory, and to enter into serious discussions with the Palestinians has been fatally compromised. We cannot have persons with divided loyalties in a position to get us into a war to defend Israel’s intransigence.

Arthur G Broadhurst

http://www.christianhumanist.net