Uri Orbach
Photo: Tomer Barzide
Time to end the show
Al-Jazeera is a propaganda machine masquerading as legitimate TV network
The fact that employees of Arab television network al-Jazeera hold a journalist ID card does not turn them into journalists. If in the free world journalism symbolizes liberal values, then in al-Jazeera they choose to play on two courts at the same time.
On the one hand, they demand the freedom that every journalist in a democratic country is entitled to by law. Yet on the other hand, they flood their viewers with broadcasts of incitement as if they were Hamas’ and Hizbullah’s spokesmen. Indeed, they conduct themselves like Hizbullah’s al-Manar television station, but demand to be treated like CNN.
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Even important Arab countries have started to grasp this ploy. Their secular regimes are being threatened, in the name of freedom of speech of course, by the shadow of the Qatari station.
This popular station does not promote the notions of freedom and progress in the Arab world. In fact, it exploits these values so that at the end of the day we will have Islamic fundamentalist movements taking over the Arab world.
Democracy meant for its followers
What we have here, vis-à-vis the relatively secular regimes that control most Arab countries at this time, is a powerful and wealthy media outlet that in the West is associated with freedom of speech, yet in fact promotes the exact opposite values and ideas.
So what should be done in the face of this problem? Well, we should stop being afraid and adopt the rule whereby democracy is meant, first and foremost, for its followers and supporters. Indeed, al-Jazeera’s Chief Correspondent Walid al-Omri has turned into a sort of celebrity in Israel, but this game must come to an end.
A station whose reports look like propaganda broadcasts, sound like propaganda broadcasts, and are aired in the frequency of propaganda broadcasts is in fact a propaganda channel, and not a free news channel.
There is no reason for Israeli politicians to take part in this act of pretending. Just like Israeli ID cards should not be granted to terrorists, journalist ID cards should not be granted to Hamas propagandists.
