Jerusalem: Media Flashpoints and Erased Narratives

Al Jazeera’s The Listening Post problematizes the fixation with the specter of Palestinian violence in the coverage of Trump’s Jerusalem announcement. USCPR Executive Director Yousef Munayyer is among the commentators.

YOUSEF MUNAYYER: What was focused on was this notion that this could be a bad idea because it was going to instigate all kinds of violence and potentially result in acts of violence against American interests in the region. The framing around the question of violent reactions play very much into stereotypes about Arabs and Muslims that are prevalent here in the United States…

So if the president of the United States makes a decision that impacts the US-Israel relationship, it is overwhelmingly Israelis that are giving permission to narrate the events, along with their American counterparts who are, as we know, overwhelmingly supportive of Israel…

This image is a very accurate representation of the imbalance of power on the ground. The image has kind of become the iconic representation of this moment among Palestinians: a 16-year-old Palestinian boy surrounded by heavily armed Israeli soldiers. And yet the images that come across in American media are often images of Palestinians acting out in violence against Israelis. But the reality is that the overwhelming amount of violence that takes place is directed at Palestinians, and the absence of the coverage of that reality contributes to the skewed perceptions and opinions held by many Americans today.

Watch the video here.