As a (somewhat late) tribute to World Press Freedom Day (May 3rd), I decided to post here an English translation of a story of mine on the state of press freedom in Jordan. Originally published in Hebrew in The Seventh Eye journal on February 2009, it’s highly important to note that lots has happened since then and therefore a number of things mentioned in the article are not up-to-date. Nevertheless, I believe this story touches some of the issues at the heart of the democratic debate in Jordan, providing a glimpse at the general framework of the role of the media in contemporary Jordan – and not least important, despite obvious differences, brings up a number press freedom issues which also exist in other countries today.
* * *
Step by step, though crippling, Jordan is advancing towards healthier press. Meanwhile, the Jordanian media enjoy a relatively broad leeway, that is also constantly growing, but with very well-defined boundaries. Government officials, who prefer pulling the string the other way, don’t spare any measures to narrow down the steps of those armed with pens. The journalists, obviously, aren’t content with the current situation and often tackle the issue in their writing, but are also strict on not infringing the status quo.
Read the rest of this entry »
It’s been a while since I last posted something here, but many things have been going on, and in fact, there are a number of posts already in the making. Meanwhile, here are some snippets from what’s been on my mind recently.
Under construction
While most Israeli media have been obsessed with the timing ‘faux-pas’ of approving 1600 new housing units in East Jerusalem (though not for the first time in this kind of context), I think this poor decision is still the wrong thing to do, but at the best timing possible.
It’s about time the US realizes, that if it wants to see some progress in the Middle Eastern playground (and this pre-assumption is questionable), it cannot keep the same attitude towards the Israeli government.
It would be to the best of everyone – including Netanyahu himself, who’d be happy to have his name registered under some agreement with the Palestinians – if the Obama administration starts speaking in terms of sanctions and ultimatums, rather than clarifications and condemnations.
Instead of addressing the fundamental issue of yet another settlement activity in the very heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, correspondents and commentators have been busy analyzing whether it was the result of a deliberate act or mere negligence.
On an interview to IDF radio, much appreciated Channel 2 analyst Amnon Abramovich stressed the political channeling of resources. These 1600 new housing units in what people mistakenly think to be Israeli Jerusalem, he said, are 1600 new housing units not approved in Israel’s weak, rural towns such as Yeruham or Kiryat Shmona.
While Abramovich is certainly right, in this case, working out a way to end the occupation is actually somewhat more urgent than constructing new buildings in Israel’s development towns. And for a very simple reason. While both issues should indeed be at the highest priority level on the Israeli agenda, supporting these towns in the current government’s crippled approach has obviously nothing to do with resolving the conflict. Peace with the Palestinians, however, will finally allow tackling Israel’s truly pressing socio-economic concerns (along with countless other benefits, starting with reassessing our collective moral values), and consequently allocating the appropriate resources for Yeruham, Kiryat Shmona and many others.
But since there’s no reason to think that this current affair would end with Israel rethinking its settlement policy – but instead only re-orchestrating its masquerade diplomacy – one can only hope that the US would be wise enough to translate Joe Biden’s affront in Israel into decisive action in line with the world’s expectations.
Playing with fire
Checking the map of my city of Giv’atayim I noticed a small, black dot with the caption “The first well”.
It was evening time when I arrived at this local heritage site, so I couldn’t see the interior of the building. However, a large sign on the fence offered an elaborate description of what used to be the Hagana’s first secret weapons stash (Slik): A wall used to hide a grenades workshop, with the noisy water pump on its other side covering up for the assembly of the munitions in what was eventually the first Ta’as arms factory – and an art gallery today.
I couldn’t escape the similarity to today’s Qassam rocket labs in Gaza cynically placed beneath, or behind, civilian facilities. And the past-present linkage, I realized, is not only my twisted imagination. Just opposite the First Well building, a mailbox still carries a blue-pale blue bumper sticker reading “We will win!” that had been circulated by one Israeli bank during last year’s war in Gaza.
But, apparently, it’s again not just a single person’s craze nor a temporary trend. Adjacent to that first arms factory, as stated on at least three different signs, a children’s playground bears the name Ta’as Garden and decorated with a variety of machine guns and mortars.
Having been brought up and raised in Israel I’m not very surprised. Parents and grandparents who were subjected to the very same militaristic indoctrination themselves essentially see it as natural thing, and fail to see how they endow it to the next generations with no-one actually questioning this totally distorted mindset. They’re probably planning a similar playground in Ramat Shlomo.
On the (cyber-) record
I recently got to pick up a truly fascinating Twitter talk. The interlocutors were Nasser Judeh, Jordan’s foreign affairs minister, and Mina Al-Oraibi, a senior reporter at Asharq Alawsat newspaper. The virtual conversation is certainly interesting, but I found it a particularly intriguing example of the use of new media by journalists and politicians alike.
There’s quite a number of policymakers around the globe who make active use of Twitter themselves (and in contrast to those accounts operated by politicians’ aides), such as Judeh’s British counterpart, David Miliband or Australia’s premier Kevin Rudd. But it also made me wonder whether this could be possible, or already happens, in Israel.
