“World Needs New Perspective on Israel,” Says Leading Journalist

On a recent Zoom call with Jewish National Fund-USA (JNF-USA) in Chicago, The New York Times contributor, Matti Friedman, lamented the immense gap in perceptions between how the world and Israelis see Israel.

“The uninformed perceive Israel as a conflict zone or a place that’s unsafe to visit,” said Friedman. “This is because whenever there’s any instance of violence, it automatically receives saturated press coverage. When I was a correspondent for AP, the size of the bureau covering Israel was 40 people. This was significantly more than their office in China at the time.”

Friedman highlighted the media’s disproportionate focus on Israel and noting that according to his calculations, seven people in Jerusalem died in violent circumstances in 2019, while in cities of similar size such as Indianapolis, 179 homicides took place garnering little coverage.

“Looking at fatalities is a crass way of doing things,” admitted Friedman, “however, it’s telling. We can sometimes forget that Israel’s conflict is small in terms of global conflict.”

Friedman also discussed the often-overlooked differences between the left- and right-wing movements of the U.S. and Israel. “Political terminology in the US is different,” said Friedman. “Being on the ‘left’ in Israel is different from being on the ‘left’ in the U.S. – and the same is true for the ‘right’. Israel’s ‘left’ and ‘right’ are defined by their respective stances and approaches to dealing with the conflict. The majority of Israelis, throughout the left and right, are in favor of gun control, abortion, public healthcare, and government education. On all these issues, Netanyahu would be considered a Democrat."

Ultimately, Friedman believes the way to bridge the perception gap cannot be done through arguing about press coverage. “We shouldn’t get upset. Rather, we need to establish a real connection with the actual country [Israel]. It means getting involved with Jewish National Fund-USA – an organization that is perhaps more involved in the everyday life of Israel than most. The other way to get around it is to get on a plane and spend time here in Israel (when international travel resumes). What’s accurate and inaccurate will be resolved by visiting here.”

Matti Friedman spoke at JNF-USA’s Chicago (virtual) Breakfast for Israel on May 7. For more information on JNF-USA, contact Chicago’s Executive Director, Marlene Dodinval at mdodinval@jnf.org or 847.656.8880 x766. To make a gift to JNF-USA, visit jnf.org/donate.