From: Ali Abunimah
To: morning@npr.org
Subject: Another one-sided report from Gradstein omits mention of Israeli murder, violence

December 17, 2001

Dear NPR News,

Linda Gradstein's report on Morning Edition today about Yasir Arafat's speech was shockingly one-sided and omitted important facts and developments.

Gradstein presented the speech as Arafat's most "unambiguous call" for an end to attacks on Israel, but she did not mention that Arafat also called on Israel to halt its murder and siege of Palestinians.

She declared that following the speech a mortar was fired at an Israeli colony in the occupied Gaza Strip, and that the Israelis claim that shots were fired at their occupation forces elsewhere, but overall Gradstein asserted "Despite these incidents yesterday was one of the quietist days."

Shockingly Gradstein made no mention of the fact that hours after Arafat's speech, an Israeli death squad raided the Hebron home of 28-year Yakub Adkediq whom the Israelis say was a member of Hamas, and executed him on the spot.

Perhaps the Israeli government was alarmed at the sudden drop in violent incidents after Arafat's speech and wanted to make sure that the calm did not take hold.

Nor did she mention weekend attacks in which many more Palestinian families were rendered homeless by Israeli tanks and bulldozers.

Having failed completely to report on this further Israeli violence, Gradstein as usual presented a parade of Israeli officials and commentators--including a lengthy soundbites from Shimon Peres--to spin and interpret the latest developments for us. Palestinian voices once again do not count for Gradstein who cannot trouble herself to leave her perch in west Jerusalem.

She started her report with news that Israel had detained and then released Sari Nusseibeh, the PLO official in Jerusalem on the grounds that he held a Eid al-Fitr reception that Israel had banned. She made no mention at all that east Jerusalem is occupied territory and that the Fourth Geneva Convention, which the Security Council says Israel must adhere to, affords to people under occupation the right to observe their religious festivals without interference from the occupying power. Gradstein managed to make Nusseibeh sound like a criminal for breaking 'Israeli laws.' It is Israel that is violating the Geneva Conventions, a document that Gradstein pretends does not exist. While Gradstein did not allude at all to the embarassing subject of the occupation of Jerusalem (something she has openly expressed her support for in many previous reports), Bob Edwards' studio introduction referred to the city using the sickening and cowardly euphemism 'disputed,' a word designed to save NPR from having to report the truth, and therefore from angering some of its more 'sensitive' listeners.

Gradstein is wholly unable to report objectively and completely on this conflict and to leave aside her biases and personal interests. It is a disaster for NPR that Jennifer Ludden is no longer reporting from the region, something NPR should fix as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Ali Abunimah
http://www.abunimah.org