;.cJP Yudelman
;.l1,3,63,66,1,0,10,75,192,2,15,20,25,127,10,0,
;.l2,15,75,192,2,20,25,127,15,0,
MEDIA BIAS
TO:    David bar-Ilan, Eye on Media, Jlem Post
FROM:  Steve Amdur, Kibbutz Haon, Jordan Valley, 15170 Israel.
       Telephone:  972-6-757572; FAX:  972-6-757554
DATE:  4/19/96
REF:   JP 4/18 (Yudelman)
ALL UNDERLINING IS MY EMPHASIS ADDED; NOT TEXT
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SUMMARY:  Looks like 95% political bullfeathers.  Maybe the guywas drunk, stopped to take a piss, lost his car keys, and made upthe story to save face.
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1) Headline:  Labor leaders:  Armed settlers attacking partyactivitist.
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COMMENT:  (1) A large number of people who live in theterritories are permitted to carry a weapon; to speak of anarmed X attacking Y usually implies that X used his armamentto attack Y.
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2) {Par. 1} "Armed groups of settlers are patrollling the the TelAviv-Jerusalem nighway at night, tearing down Labor posters andphysically attacking party activists, party leaders said today."
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COMMENT:  
(1) The inverted pyramid strikes again.

(2) Not until {Par. 6} is that armed physical attackdetailed; the description is:  "and pushing three Labouractivists."  Doga reportedly claimed that the Labouractivists "carried electric shockers, with which theyh hadassaulted the Labour activists before he arrived".  But nopolice complaint of such an attack is reported, nor is itclear from the article how Doga, admittedly not havingwitnessed it, came to learn of it. 
	Curiously, no corroboration nor statements are reportedfrom those 3 activists; from the context, they apparently didnot remain on the scene, Doga after his car keys were taken,was "stranded until morning" 
	So either the 3 ran off when he came to their rescue, orthey had left before he came to their rescue, or they werenever there.  
	Nor is it clear how it was, if Doga had enough influenceto immediately cause the security forces to strengthen Fuad'sbody-guard, that he and his car were left stranded untilmorning.
	Nor is it clear from the article how his car keys weretaken; the indication is that he had left them in theignition:  "While Doga was engaged by Ro'i [who allegedlygrabbed him by the neck] , others from the group stole thekeys to his car."                        

(3) Substantiation of the lead sentence turns out to be acomposite of two apparently independent statements:  the oneby Doga reported in the front of the article, plus astatement, with no indication that it was made in referenceto this incident, by Avraham Berg:  "We know about thesettler gangs romaing the main roads, tearing down ourposters, and beating our activists."  Berg is not reportingas offering any details in support of that charge ofparamilitary activity, nor of his assumption that those gangsconsist of residents of settlements in the territories.
