Last month, with the renewal of humanitarian aid flow to the Gaza Strip, Israeli media published over 500 items and updates on the subject. In none of these did media outlets find room to include a spokesperson from the Arab community in Israel. In addition, only about one-fifth of the items presented the move as humanitarian, according to a special review conducted as part of The Representation Index.
The Representation Index is an ongoing project founded in 2016, in partnership with Sikkuy-Aufoq and together with Yifat Media Research company, which regularly examines the percentage of representation of the Arab population in the news and current affairs programs on Israel's main channels.
At the end of May, after about two months when no aid truck was allowed to enter the Strip, aid distribution resumed at several centres operated by the GHF organization. The Re-launch sparked lively debate in Israeli and international media.
Among other themes, criticism was heard in Israel about the very introduction of humanitarian aid to Gaza. On the other hand, veteran humanitarian organizations from around the world criticized the aid distribution model, which they claimed does not allow fair and safe distribution. Indeed, violent incidents soon accumulated at the aid centres, including violent confrontations in the struggle to obtain aid and even deadly shooting incidents.
Yifat Media Research examined all items dealing with the restart of humanitarian aid published between May 25-27. The media outlets reviewd were television channels Kan 11, Keshet 12, Reshet 13 and i24News, radio stations Kan Bet, Galei Tzahal and 103FM, and news websites Ynet, Walla, N12, Haaretz, Maariv, Israel Hayom and the websites of Reshet 13 and 103FM (Channel 14 and the channel's website were also measured but were not included in the general calculation since it is not a news channel but a political propaganda outlet).
The examination reveals that during that time period, 508 items and updates were published about the renewal of humanitarian aid, almost all by Jewish speakers or writers. In only 18 items did non-Jewish speakers also participate, but none of the interviewees were Israeli Arabs.
11 speakers were Palestinians from Gaza; another speaker was from the UAE. The remaining six speakers appeared as editorial staff (presenters and commentators) and not as interviewees. Kan Broadcasting Corporation reporter Suleiman Maswadeh appeared in three items, Channel 12 news commentator Mohammad Magadli appeared twice, and a sixth item appeared on Reshet 13's program "Daily Conversation" hosted by Lucy Aharish.
In addition, Yifat Media Research conducted a sample survey of 190 items and the context they were published in. An overwhelming majority of the examined items, about 82%, presented the subject from a non-humanitarian angle and dealt with other aspects such as violence, fear of looting, opposition in Israel to the very introduction of aid, and so forth.
Only 18% of the items about the renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza addressed the difficult humanitarian situation in Gaza and the vital need to bring in external aid. According to Yifat Media Research, most of these items included reports on international criticism of the situation in Gaza and on the resignation of the aid fund CEO, Jake Wood, who left on the day aid was renewed and warned that "it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence."
An in-depth look at the sample data reveals that on Kan 11, Galei Tzahal and Keshet 12, five items appeared in humanitarian context, on Ynet, Haaretz and mako websites three items appeared in humanitarian context, and on all others even less.
Hadeel Azzam Jalajel, co-manager of the Public Activity Department at Sikkuy-Aufoq, addressed the findings and said: "The complete absence of speakers from Arab society in the mainstream Hebrew media in the coverage of the renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza is not accidental.
"This is a result of the continued exclusion of (Israeli) Arab citizens from mainstream media outlets, which has been deepening since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. This maintains public discourse under a one-sided narrative, where there is no room for humanization of Gaza residents and also no room for the voice of Palestinian citizens of Israel, their fellow people. The fact that a tiny minority of items presented aid distribution in Gaza from a humanitarian angle also adds to this.
"Not only does the media cooperate with the state in silencing the voices of about 20% of the country’s citizens -- but it also prevents most of the Jewish public from understanding the severe humanitarian situation in Gaza and developing a basic human response to it. Diverse and fair representation in media is not a technical matter or luxury -- it is a vital pre-condition for a democratic, moral, equal and shared society."
The Representation Index is a project by The Seventh Eye in partnership with Sikkuy-Aufoq and conducted through Yifat Media Research company