The Arab TV network is controversial for showing Osama bin Laden's videos, but it provides a real opportunity to help people understand each other
Ofir Gendelman
Citizen Special
Saturday, April 21, 2007
CREDIT: Caren Firouz, Reuters
The entrance to the Al-Jazeera studios is seen through a cactus garden in Doha, Qatar. The channel has become an unexpected means to build respect between Israelis and Arabs.
It is common to denounce Al-Jazeera, the wildly popular Qatari TV station, as a venue for anti-Israel and anti-American propaganda, and as the favourite channel of Osama bin Laden. As an Israeli, however, I prefer to think of Al-Jazeera (along with other emerging Arabic language TV channels) as a potential friend.
Until Al-Jazeera appeared in 1996, TV stations throughout the Arab world served mainly as the mouthpieces of their respective regimes. The newscasts dutifully reported on the daily activities of the ruling king or dictator -- whom he met, where he visited, how many people came from far and wide to greet him. It was deadly dull.
Then along came Al-Jazeera, which for the first time ever allowed criticism of these same Arab regimes (except, of course, the Qatari ruling family, one of whose members is the founder of the channel). Arab viewers were immediately captivated and ratings soared. So did profits, prompting other Arabic media to copy the new genre. The Arab media scene was changed forever.
Al-Jazeera was the first Arab channel to host Israelis, officials and pundits alike, a daring novelty that would normally be viewed as treason to the Arab Cause against the Jewish state. Again, ratings went through the roof, and the lesson was clear: Book an Israeli guest and Arab audiences will tune in. Other Arabic stations did just that, and suddenly the masses were being introduced to flesh-and-blood Israelis in their own living rooms.
The Israeli government seized the opportunity. Since 2001, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has used a special team to serve as Israel's face on the Arab TV screens. These individuals, all of them experts in Arabic culture and language, Islamic history and Middle Eastern politics, were prepped by the top TV trainers in Israel and the United States, in order to help them better pitch the Israeli message to their designated audience.
Think about it: For generations, Arabs have been told by their leaders what to think about Jews and Israelis, but now Israeli spokespeople are able to speak directly to the Arab street, in its own language and over the heads of its illiberal governments. Arabs for the first time could see that Israelis don't have horns and tails, that we are willing to talk about peace and co-existence, that we respect and understand Arab history and culture. Even those channels that were reluctant at first to host Israelis, for fear of "fraternizing with the enemy," could see that interviewing Israelis in Arabic brought ratings, attention and influence.
As the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs' first spokesperson to the Arab media outlets, I witnessed how the attitude toward Israel changed over time. At first, every time I was interviewed on the evening news of Al-Jazeera and its competitors, the anchors treated me rudely.
Although Arab culture is famous for its hospitality and manners, no one said "Good evening" or a simple "Hello, thanks for being with us." At the end of these interviews the anchors would cut me off and finish with a statement such as: "Surely, the Palestinian struggle will go on."
Slowly but surely, they got used to me and the discourse became warm. A friend of mine was killed in a terrorist bombing at the Hebrew University campus in Jerusalem, and 15 minutes after hearing the news I received a call from an Arab producer. I went on the show to give the official Israeli response to the attack but, grief-stricken, I also told the anchor that my best friend had died in the attack. Through my earpiece I heard my interviewer say, "May Allah's mercy be upon him. I'm sorry for your loss."
To me, that was a breakthrough. We were talking to each other as people to people.
To supplement this direct engagement with ordinary Arab citizens, the Israeli foreign ministry created an Arabic website, altawasul.net (altawasul means "making a connection"), featuring information not just about Israel's government and policies, but also a window into the "Israel behind the news."
When Arabs think of Israelis, they often think of soldiers, but we are a nation of poets, peaceniks, scientists, philosophers, even beach bums. The website is so popular now that writers from Arab countries which do not have diplomatic relations with Israel use it as a platform to publish their articles and to speak directly to the Israeli and Arab publics alike, calling for peace.
This idea of talking to the Arab world in its own language, using its own terminology, should be adopted by other democratic countries, especially those who feel the war on terror is at least in part a war over ideas.
It's astonishing to me the U.S. State Department has just one Arabic speaking diplomat, representing the entire Bush administration on highly important matters such as the war in Iraq and the situation in the Middle East.
The application to bring Al-Jazeera to Canadian television was controversial, but Canada, Britain and other G-8 members could learn a lot from the Israeli experience. After all, they enjoy a huge advantage of having diplomatic relations with all the Arab countries, something Israel sadly does not have.
Everyone likes to talk about winning the "hearts and minds" of Arabs, but that's impossible to do if you don't know their culture and background, and if you don't start talking to them in their own language.
Ofir Gendelman is a diplomat at the Embassy of Israel in Ottawa. He returns to Israel this summer to take up duties as deputy director of the Israeli foreign ministry's Arab media division.
1 comment:
When it comes to an even handed treatment of the hot topic of the day, AJE viewers feel well-served by the balanced approach of the programmes like Inside Story. Another strength noted early on is the effort to cover "every angle-every side."
One of the high points was having Shimon Peres and Jimmy Carter on Riz Khan talk show. Thus we see Israeli Deputy Prime Minister's appearance on the channel’s launch proved the first drop of rain which follows daily feeds from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to cover Israeli opinion and views.
Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres' February 2007 visit to the headquarters of Aljazeera News Channel in Doha may have shocked only those oblivious to the region's media scene. Peres endorsed the need to communicate with a sizeable audience by appearing in an interview programme on this news channel established recently. The attention and engagement accorded to AJ sends a message on how seriously the newly established channel is taken by important regional players.
An Italian scholar of the Arab media, Donatella della Ratta rightly suggests that the West should seriously consider before blaming or blocking channels like Aljazeera that are in fact educating tools to inform rather than a medium providing an embedded version from a warring side. Her analysis is a wake-up call for those who believe that pouring $62 million on Al-Hurra can make the US image right in the Middle-East. Instead of making wrong choices and pursuing wrong approaches that are just goose-chasing and witch-hunting exercises US needs to befriend with the ones that capture and portray the facts professionally and far effectively.
The fact that Peres made it a point to appear on the channel reflects the significance of reaching out to an audience genuinely interested for peace in the region. This leaves cynics on the wrong foot when it comes to the realities of the Middle East. It is an hour of reckoning for critics to come out from his age of denial, dismissal and disapproval of those he dislikes and differs with.
Another factor that merits due consideration is what the viewers in Israel prefer to see. Nearly 100 million households worldwide receive Al-Jazeera’s English service, almost half as many as CNN, station executives say. Since January, it has been broadcasting news to 550,000 Israeli homes on Yes TV, the country’s largest cable provider.
Interestingly, however, Al-Jazeera English has found an audience in Israel for its mix of extensive African, Asian and Middle Eastern coverage. Viewers in Israel also have access to Al-Jazeera’s original Arabic news channel.
“This is thought of as one of the best news channels in the world,” said Yes TV spokeswoman Libi Zipser, speaking of Al-Jazeera English. “There are those who think that certain channels are less supportive of Israel, but we just let our customers see what they want to see.”
Although BBC World will still be available in Israel via cable, it will lose around 50% of its audience in the country as a result of being dropped by Yes. Al-Jazeera English signed the carriage deal with Yes in November 2006, but the damaging consequences for BBC World have only just emerged, remarked media commentator Tara Conlan.
The true proof of responsible activism is in promoting and not preventing pluralistic viewpoints. Alternative and accountable media is what the global audiences deserve and watch groups should put their energies to ensure the availability of such options.
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