One of the great difficulties in reporting "news" from the Middle East is that of what I label " Arab double-speak".
The problem manifests itself in two ways. First there is the tendency of the Arab leaders to say one thing in English and something different in Arabic. The second is more problematic. It is the tendency of the Arab world to believe their own lies. The spoken word is supreme in the Arabic language.
Raphael Patai in his classic book "The Arab Mind" (see note below) describes this latter in great detail. He gives many examples of how the tendency, in the Arabic language to exaggeration and wishful thinking, spills over into Arab political statements and discussion.
Patai quotes New York Times correspondent Dana Adam Smith, covering the Yemen Civil War in 1964. Smith writes that "although the military efforts of the Egyptians were in fact constantly frustrated, the Egyptians persistently ignored all reverses and claimed victories with so much conviction that they convinced themselves and probably some of the Yemenis" (p54).
Many more examples of this type of self-deception can be found in the records of the declarations and news reports from the Arabs in the past 60 years.
Six-Day War
For instance the reports from Egypt about their "successes" in the first days of the Six-Day War would be amusing if not so serious. Patai quotes an account given by King Hussein of Jordan which says, that according to the Egyptians "75% of the enemy's (Israel) aircraft have been destroyed" (p108). In fact it was the opposite.
"The numbers of Arab aircraft claimed destroyed by Israel were at first regarded as "greatly exaggerated" by the western press. However, the fact that the Egyptian, Jordanian, and other Arab air forces made practically no appearance for the remaining days of the conflict proved that the numbers were most likely authentic." according to wikepedia
The point is, that what is so often reported in the world media to this day is simply not factual.
al-Dura Affair
One of the most infamous examples in recent years was the alleged shooting of Muhammhed al-Dura a 12-year-old Palestinian boy allegedly shot by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza in 2004. Images flashed around the world. The Israeli Army convened a Special Commission. Everyone was outraged at the image of a father cradling his dead son.
This entire episode was exposed as a hoax.
It is worth while reading an interview with Phillipe Karsenty who exposed the hoax to understand the dimensions of the problem (or the shorter summary news report.)
But despite these and many other proven examples of "double-speak" and out-right fabrications, Arabs and their sympathizers around the world believe these to be "facts", Certainly the hoax was not given anywhere near the same publicity as the alleged "atrocity"
Ongoing problem
The world media continues to give equal weight to "news" from "Palestinian sources" as it does to the official press releases from the Israeli government.
The official Israeli information will often put a "spin" on information. However there is one huge difference. Unlike in the Arab world, Israel is a free country where reporters can roam freely among the population
On any given day there are more than 400 accredited foreign news people in Israel who can find willing critics among Israelis ready to challenge the official spin.
It is very difficult to hide the truth here.
Just this past week we heard the world news media reporting that Hamas, in English, declared that it welcomes the election of President-Elect Obama and its willingness to meet with him. Nothing was heard in the major news outlets about the sermons made in the mosques in Gaza, in Arabic,denouncing Obama.
Understanding the phenomena of Arab "Double-Speak" has an importance well beyond our local Palestinian-Arab problem. It is vitally important that American leaders try to understand some of the many cultural issues that are in play as the USA increases its involvement in Middle East affairs.
"The Arab Mind" by Raphael Patai. Here is a link to this book with reviews both critical and praising. My own sense is that it is an excellent overview for understanding the background but does not deal with current issues.
The difficulty comes when you do not know what garbage looks like.
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