From: Ali Abunimah
To: morning@npr.org, nprnews@npr.org cc: ombudsman@npr.org
Subject: Reports downplay, ignore Palestinian deaths

May 1, 2001

Dear NPR News,

Linda Gradstein's news spot at 7 AM Eastern time was bizarre at best, and at worst reflected all the biases and sloppiness so inherent in NPR's coverage. Here is the report in full:

NEWSCASTER: Palestinian gunmen killed a Jewish settler in the West Bank today after three Palestinians died in a Monday night bomb blast that leveled a building across from Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat's West Bank headquarters.

GRADSTEIN: The 31 year old Jewish settler was killed in a drive-by shooting near the settlement of Ofra, the site of frequent attacks. His father was killed in a Palestinian shooting attack in a different place in January. Hours earlier an explosion leveled a two story building in Ramallah across from Yasir Arafat's headquarters, killing two young children and a 40 year old man who was a member of yasir Arafat's fatah faction. Palestinian sources said the man was wanted by israel for involvement in the death of an Israeli teenager earlier this year. Israel says the teenager was lured to the West Bank by a Palestinian woman he met over the internet. Palestinian sources disagreed over whether Israel or Palestinians caused the explosion in Ramallah. Linda Gradstein, NPR News, Jerusalem. (END)

What is notcieable about this report is that it gives far more details about the death of the single Israeli than it does about the three Palestinians, including the two dead young children who are mentioned only in passing. What were their ages? Were they boys or girls? Not content with giving the Palestinians such short shrift, Gradstein goes on to give details about the killing several months ago of an Israeli teenager, which was amply reported at that time. Why the need to repeat it in such detail now? It is relevant that the dead Palestinian man was wanted by Israel, but the detail is not necessary if it comes at the cost of more immediate details.

The two Palestinian children killed were, according to AP, 4-year-old Malak Barakat and her 7-year-old brother Shahid. Their mother and young sister were injured in the blast. Clearly Gradstein would not have omitted this information had they been Israelis.

Both the New York Times and The Independent managed to report this morning that eight Palestinians were killed yesterday, which means that five dead Palestinians are missing from Gradstein's report. According to various reports at least two Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers who were apparently hunting them down, and several others died in explosions.

So once again, one dead Israeli leads the news, three dead Palestinians get a passing mention, and another five are left out completely. Nice going, NPR.

Sincerely,

Ali Abunimah
http://www.abunimah.org