Journalist panel: Setting the record straight

I was misquoted in Yaakov Lappin's tendentious account of the journalists' panel Monday night and would like to correct the record. I encourage readers who care to get a tape of the event from the sponsors, Media Line.

First, I did not lament the lack of proportionality in the war. I said that the charge of disproportionate use of force came from a variety of serious people, and that I was surprised that Israel and Israelis did not take the accusation more seriously. I said I was puzzled why the issue was not more debated in the Israeli press, and said that a least one columnist in Haaretz wondered the same. I did not utter a personal judgment about the proportionality of the war.

Second, I did not express surprise that Israel's view of the war was different from that of its critics. I did express surprise that the views of international critics of the war were not debated seriously and that no serious effort was made by the Israeli government or army to counter them.

Third, and most egregiously, I did not maintain that the only threat faced by my own colleagues in Lebanon was posed by Israeli missiles. The response was about Gaza, not Lebanon at all, and is taken completely out of context.

Fourth, I did turn down an offer by the IDF to watch their desk that was supposed to be coordinating humanitarian aid. The Jerusalem Post had already run that precise story, and I used it as an example of the army's sometimes clumsy efforts at spin.

As for the rest, I urge readers to listen to the tape. I said during the seminar that I had long ago rejected the idea of taking collective responsibility for the work of other journalists. Mr. Lappin's work is a prime example of why.

Steven Erlanger is Jerusalem Bureau Chief of the New York Times

Yaakov Lappin responds:

I second Mr. Erlanger's call for interested readers to obtain a recording of the panel discussion.

I accept Mr. Erlanger's correction regarding his comments on dangers posed by his colleagues – he was in fact referring to his colleagues in Gaza, not Lebanon. Mr. Erlanger said that Israeli missiles were the source of danger for his colleagues in the Gaza, a curious comment in light of the recent kidnapping at gunpoint of two Fox journalists in Gaza.

When Mr. Erlanger discussed what he described as a "big issue here, the issue of proportionality," mentioning "first the death toll, second, the visibility of destruction, the asymmetry of the war," and later adding that Israelis were "not interested in whether 1000 Lebanese civilians needed to die," it became apparent to me that a stance on the war's proportionality was on display. I was surprised by Mr. Erlanger's denial of putting forward a judgment on the war. Ultimately, it is up to readers to decide on the motivation of Mr. Erlanger's questions and comments on the war.