Daniel Seaman: Difference between revisions
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'''Daniel "Danny" Seaman''' (born 1961) is the Bureau Chief of "Voice of Israel", |
'''Daniel "Danny" Seaman''' (born 1961) is the Bureau Chief of "Voice of Israel", the English language News and Talk Radio program of the government-run [[Kol Israel]] international broadcasting station in [[Jerusalem]]. A veteran of the Israeli civil service, he retired in January 2014 after 31 years of duty. His last position was Deputy Director General for Information at the Israeli Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs. In August 2013, Seaman was suspended from his government position as Director of Interactive Media because of offensive comments he made about Japanese commemorating the bombing of [[Hiroshima and Nagasaki ]]<nowiki/> and Palestinians commemorating the [[Nakba]]. He formerly served as the Director of the Israel Government Press Office (GPO), part of the Office of the Prime Minister in [[Jerusalem]] responsible for the foreign media contingent in Israel. |
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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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Seaman was born to an [[American Jews|American Jewish]] family on a [[United States Air Force|US Air Force]] base in [[Germany]]. His family emigrated from the United States to Israel in 1971 and settled in the port city of [[Ashkelon]]. |
Seaman was born to an [[American Jews|American Jewish]] family on a [[United States Air Force|US Air Force]] base in [[Germany]]. His family emigrated from the United States to Israel in 1971 and settled in the port city of [[Ashkelon]]. |
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Seaman lectures on Israeli and Middle-Eastern affairs and appeared on dozens of international news media outlets. |
Seaman lectures on Israeli and Middle-Eastern affairs and appeared on dozens of international news media outlets. |
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==Controversy== |
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In August 2013, Seaman came under scrutiny from the leading Israeli daily ''[[Haaretz]]''. The newspaper accused him of having "gained a reputation for his confrontations with foreign correspondents and for the complaints they lodged against him" and calling him "an abusive racist". The article included selected quotes from Seaman’s personal [[Facebook]] page. Seaman was admonished by the government, which distanced itself from his views and then suspended him from his position as Director of Interactive Media because of offensive, racist comments.<ref name="racist">{{cite news |author=Barak Ravid |title=Is an abusive racist the best Israeli PR can produce? |newspaper=Haaretz |date=13 August 2013 |url=http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/diplomania/.premium-1.541269 |accessdate=21 January 2015 }}</ref> |
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:'''Comments against Japanese nuclear victim commemorations''' |
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- "I am sick of the Japanese, 'Human Rights' and 'Peace' groups the world over holding their annual self-righteous commemorations for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the consequence of Japanese aggression. You reap what you sow. Instead, they should be commemorating the estimated 50 million Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Malay, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indonesian, Burmese and other victims of Japanese imperial aggression and genocide." This Facebook statement lead to a rebuke from the Japanese government and an official Israeli apology.<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/22/israel-apologise-japan-offensive-facebook-comments]</ref> |
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:'''Anti-Palestinian online postings''' |
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- The Palestinians' 65-second siren commemorating the [[Nakba]] is "not nearly enough time to stop and pause to think about how stupid they are."<ref name="racist"/> |
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- "Is there a diplomatic way of saying ‘Go f*** yourself’?" - Facebook posting, 26 May 2013, in response to conditions for the renewal of peace talks set by [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] negotiator [[Saeb Erekat]].<ref name="racist"/> |
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- Similarly, he wondered whether Muslims "stop eating each other" during Ramadan.<ref name="racist"/> |
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==Media coverage== |
==Media coverage== |
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Seaman is mentioned extensively in Stephanie Gutmann's book - "The Other War - Israelis, Palestinians and the Struggle for Media Supremacy". Chapter 10 - "His Own Private Jihad" is specifically about his efforts to curb Palestinian influence on the media coverage.<ref>[http://www.encounterbooks.com/books/otwa/otwa.html]</ref> |
Seaman is mentioned extensively in Stephanie Gutmann's book - "The Other War - Israelis, Palestinians and the Struggle for Media Supremacy". Chapter 10 - "His Own Private Jihad" is specifically about his efforts to curb Palestinian influence on the media coverage.<ref>[http://www.encounterbooks.com/books/otwa/otwa.html]</ref> |
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* [http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=170208 "Opposing the Digital Pogrom"] - Jerusalem Post, March 4, 2010. |
* [http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=170208 "Opposing the Digital Pogrom"] - Jerusalem Post, March 4, 2010. |
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* Op-ed on media manipulation in the Middle East [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3549532,00.html Israeli news site Y-Net]. |
* Op-ed on media manipulation in the Middle East [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3549532,00.html Israeli news site Y-Net]. |
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Upon conclusion of his term as GPO Director he gave an extensive interview to the editor of the Jerusalem Post: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Editorials/Article.aspx?id=194079 |
* Upon conclusion of his term as GPO Director he gave an extensive interview to the editor of the Jerusalem Post: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Editorials/Article.aspx?id=194079 |
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* The Jerusalem Post, August 16, 2013 on Seaman's suspension, blogging faux-pas and future plans [http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Netanyahus-social-media-director-suspended-323275]. |
* The Jerusalem Post, August 16, 2013 on Seaman's suspension, blogging faux-pas and future plans [http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Netanyahus-social-media-director-suspended-323275]. |
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Revision as of 04:09, 21 January 2015
Daniel "Danny" Seaman (born 1961) is the Bureau Chief of "Voice of Israel", the English language News and Talk Radio program of the government-run Kol Israel international broadcasting station in Jerusalem. A veteran of the Israeli civil service, he retired in January 2014 after 31 years of duty. His last position was Deputy Director General for Information at the Israeli Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs. In August 2013, Seaman was suspended from his government position as Director of Interactive Media because of offensive comments he made about Japanese commemorating the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Palestinians commemorating the Nakba. He formerly served as the Director of the Israel Government Press Office (GPO), part of the Office of the Prime Minister in Jerusalem responsible for the foreign media contingent in Israel.
Biography
Seaman was born to an American Jewish family on a US Air Force base in Germany. His family emigrated from the United States to Israel in 1971 and settled in the port city of Ashkelon.
He enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces serving in an elite paratroop unit in 1979 and is a veteran of the 1982 Lebanon War.
Seaman later joined the Israeli foreign service. Between 1983 and 1989, he served at the Israeli consulate in New York. While posted in New York, he completed a BA in Political Science, with honors, at the City University of New York's Hunter College.
Seaman served as an adviser and spokesperson to the Governments of six Prime Ministers: Yitzhak Shamir, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Ehud Barak.
Seaman was directly responsible for coordinating the press coverage of several heads of states visits to Israel including US President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister (PM) Tony Blair, Canadian PM Jean Chrétien, Australian PM John Howard, Jordan's King Hussein and Chinese Chairman Jiang Zemin. He was a member of the Israeli press delegation to the Aqaba Peace Talks.
Seaman received the Israel Outstanding Civil Service Award in 2000 for coordinating the international press coverage of Pope John Paul II's visit to the Holy Land in March 2000. Seaman was appointed as head of the GPO in December 2000 and worked with thousands of foreign media who covered news events in Israel until 2010. He had worked for the GPO for several years and was the first civil servant promoted to Directorship of the GPO after a period of 30 years. During his tenure as GPO Director he implemented several measures which improved working conditions for foreign journalists in Israel.
He took a leave of absence from his post in November 2008 and announced his candidacy in the Likud party primaries for the 18th Knesset, but withdrew his candidacy.[1]
Seaman lectures on Israeli and Middle-Eastern affairs and appeared on dozens of international news media outlets.
Controversy
In August 2013, Seaman came under scrutiny from the leading Israeli daily Haaretz. The newspaper accused him of having "gained a reputation for his confrontations with foreign correspondents and for the complaints they lodged against him" and calling him "an abusive racist". The article included selected quotes from Seaman’s personal Facebook page. Seaman was admonished by the government, which distanced itself from his views and then suspended him from his position as Director of Interactive Media because of offensive, racist comments.[2]
- Comments against Japanese nuclear victim commemorations
- "I am sick of the Japanese, 'Human Rights' and 'Peace' groups the world over holding their annual self-righteous commemorations for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the consequence of Japanese aggression. You reap what you sow. Instead, they should be commemorating the estimated 50 million Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Malay, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indonesian, Burmese and other victims of Japanese imperial aggression and genocide." This Facebook statement lead to a rebuke from the Japanese government and an official Israeli apology.[3]
- Anti-Palestinian online postings
- The Palestinians' 65-second siren commemorating the Nakba is "not nearly enough time to stop and pause to think about how stupid they are."[2]
- "Is there a diplomatic way of saying ‘Go f*** yourself’?" - Facebook posting, 26 May 2013, in response to conditions for the renewal of peace talks set by Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.[2]
- Similarly, he wondered whether Muslims "stop eating each other" during Ramadan.[2]
Media coverage
Seaman is mentioned extensively in Stephanie Gutmann's book - "The Other War - Israelis, Palestinians and the Struggle for Media Supremacy". Chapter 10 - "His Own Private Jihad" is specifically about his efforts to curb Palestinian influence on the media coverage.[4]
- "Opposing the Digital Pogrom" - Jerusalem Post, March 4, 2010.
- Op-ed on media manipulation in the Middle East Israeli news site Y-Net.
- Upon conclusion of his term as GPO Director he gave an extensive interview to the editor of the Jerusalem Post: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Editorials/Article.aspx?id=194079
- The Jerusalem Post, August 16, 2013 on Seaman's suspension, blogging faux-pas and future plans [4].