Journal for the Study of Antisemitism

166 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF ANTISEMITISM [ VOL. 1:139
in [a] mass grave.” 106 The Evening Standard asserted, “We are talking here
of massacre, and a cover-up, of genocide.” 107 The Guardian called Israel’s
actions in Jenin “every bit as repellent” as Osama Bin Laden’s attack on
New York on September 11th. 108
Many of the reports of the supposed Israeli atrocities in Jenin came
from various Palestinian sources, but all were parroted by National Public
Radio, CNN, and others in the Western media. Typical was the description
of events by Nasser al-Kidwa, Palestinian representative to the United
Nations, on CNN:
There’s almost a massacre now taking place in Jenin. Helicopter gunships
are throwing missiles at one square kilometer packed with almost 15,000
people in a refugee camp. . . . Just look at the TV and watch, watch what
the—what the Israel forces are doing. . . . This is a war crime, clear war
crime, witnessed by the whole world, preventing ambulances, preventing
people from being buried. I mean this is an all-out assault against the
whole population. 109
In fact, there had been a pitched battle near but not in Jenin. It took
place in the refugee camp, over several days, during which there was houseto-house
fighting between Israeli troops and members of Palestinian militia.
Twenty-three Israeli soldiers were killed, as well as fifty-five Palestinans–of
whom fifty-two were armed gunmen. (These figures were later
confirmed by both the United Nations and, more recently, the Palestinian
Authority itself.) 110
When the facts finally did emerge a few days later, virtually no correction
or apology was made by the media that had reported a “massacre”;
there was no acknowledgment of the documented truth. Thus for many, the
image of a slaughter at the hands of the Israelis remains indelible.
The British press were the primary story-tellers. One of the few excep-
106. See BBC Monitoring International Reports, Israeli Media Group Gives Dishonest
Reporting Award to UK Media, January 1, 2003, http://w3.lexis.com/lawschoolreg/researchlogin08.asp?t’y&fac’yes.
107. A. N. Wilson, “A Demo We Can’t Afford To Ignore,” The Independent
(London), April 15, 2002, p. 13.
108. “The Battle for the Truth: What Really Happened in Jenin?,” The Guardian
(London), April 17, 2002, p. 17.
109. Paula Zahn, “In Mideast, Talk of Peace Does Nothing to Quiet Israel Military
Offensive,” CNN News, transcript #040814CN.V74, April 8, 2002.
110. The military casualties would have been much fewer and the civilian death
toll much higher had the IDF chosen to subject Jenin to aerial bombardment. See
Charles Krauthammer, “Decrying A Massacre That Wasn’t,” Cleveland Plain
Dealer, May 5, 2002, p. H3.