March 3, 2002
Dear NPR News,
As if working for a script, Linda Gradstein (a reporter who has for years been accepting thousands of dollars in unethical payments from Zionist groups) included in her report for Weekend Edition Saturday about the suicide bombing in Jerusalem all elements which I accurately predicted the day before the bombing occurred--the report began with a wailing siren, then sounds from the street, a graphic description of the scene and an interview with a traumatized eyewitness. Exactly the kind of immediate, visceral reporting that Gradstein almost never does for Palestinians and cannot possibly do since she rarely ventures into the occupied territories.
But luckily there is Peter Kenyon, who seems to be picking up where Jennifer Ludden left off. His report from Balata refugee camp on Weekend Edition Sunday was really excellent work--thank you.
It is nevertheless unfortunate that while NPR has the capability to report from the scene of an event in West Jerusalem immediately, it apparently takes days to get to the scene of an Israeli attack on Palestinians in the occupied territories.
Kenyon's report, while excellent, came days after the Israeli attack began. Similarly, it took Kenyon a full week to file a report from Rafah refugee in Gaza when Israel demolished dozens of houses there in early January.
What Kenyon's reports show is that NPR can do excellent reports on the experience of Palestinians under occupation when the commitment to do so is there. Too often, however, it has not been.
Yours,
Ali Abunimah
http://www.abunimah.org