Gideon Levy: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Jaakobou (talk | contribs)
15,880 edits
undo IP - let's discuss this on the talk page of this article: Talk:Gideon Levy
→‎Criticism: Badly spelt and irrelevant
Line 25: Line 25:
== Criticism ==
== Criticism ==


Levy is on record as quipping that somewhere in ''Haaretz's'' newsroom there exists a thick file of notifications by regular readers canceling their subscriptions after reading his articles.<ref name="The Nation" />
Gideon Levy's views have been criticized for what commentators and criticts described as "far left",<ref name="Rosner">[http://www.tnr.com/article/bibis-blunders Bibi's Blunders] The New Republic, 24 December 2008</ref> "anti-Israeli" and "pro-Palestinian";<ref name=Omedia>[http://www.omedia.co.il/Show_Article.asp?DynamicContentID=25789&MenuID=681&ThreadID=1014003]</ref><ref name=Weiman>[http://lib.cet.ac.il/pages/item.asp?item=7206 עשר דילמות של עיתונות בימי טרור] by פרופ' גבי וימן<br>Translation:<br>''"Criticism of Gideon Levy and Amira Hass is based on that they come out of an anti-Israeli base of perspective that shows preference to the Palestinian side over the side of their own people." ([[Amnon Dankner]], "Maariv", 1.5.02)''<br>Original:<br>''{{rtl-para|he|"הביקורת על גדעון לוי ועמירה הס מתבססת על כך שהם יוצאים מבסיס השקפה אנטי-ישראלי שיש בו העדפה לצד הפלשתיני על פני הצד של בני עמם." (אמנון דנקנר, "מעריב", 1.5.02)}}''</ref> His approach to Palestinian issues was noted in ''[[Der Spiegel]]'', which cited him as the main reason given by ''Haaretz'' readers for subscription cancellations; and he was dubbed by the magazine as ''"[Israel's] most radical commentator"''.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,599005,00.html Problems at Israel's Haaretz: A Newspaper Without a Country]</ref> and Levy himself is on record as quipping that somewhere in ''Haaretz's'' newsroom there exists a thick file of notifications by regular readers canceling their subscriptions after reading his articles.<ref name="The Nation" />


Levy's main publisher, ''Haaretz'', saw a wave of angry letters and subscription cancellations following the mainstream publication of a letter to ''Haaretz'' by Israeli novelist [[Irit Linur]],<ref>http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=209509&contrassID=2&subContrassID=4&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y</ref> in which she announced the cancellation of her own subscription and argued that the newspaper had become compromised by a radical anti-Zionist,<ref name="IritLetter"/><sup>-[a]</sup> pro-Palestinian agenda, and she cited Levy's work and ideology as an example.<ref name="IritLetter"/><sup>-[b]</sup> Another public figure canceling his subscription to the paper was the military and security correspondent for Israeli [[Channel 2 (Israel)|Channel 2]], Roni Daniel, who cited Levy's use of a [[television review]] section to criticize his correspondence.<ref name="7nights">{{cite news|title=עד מתי אוקטובר 65'|last=שכניק|first=רז|date=2009-01-16|publisher=מוסף "7 לילות" של "ידיעות אחרונות"|language=Hebrew|accessdate=2009-04-09}}</ref> ''Haaretz's'' publisher, Amos Schocken, expressed puzzlement at Linur's public letter, describing his newspaper as "exceedingly Zionist" and suggesting Levy's reports should be "read mainly as a description to the effect of the Israeli occupation in the territories".<ref name="IritLetter">[http://www.nfc.co.il/archive/0019-D-1068-00.html?tag=14-23-47#PTEXT1597 Irit Linur's letter (quotation)] News First Class {{he icon}}<br><sup>[a]</sup>Translation: ''it is a person's right to be a radical leftist, and publish a newspaper in accordance to his world view... However ''Haaretz'' reached a stage where its anti-Zionism turns too frequently to silly and mean journalism.'' Original:<br>''{{rtl-para|he|זכותו של אדם להיות שמאלני-רדיקלי, ולהוציא עיתון בהתאם להשקפת עולמו... אבל "הארץ" הגיע לשלב בו האנטי-ציונות שלו הופכת לעתים קרובות מדי לעיתונות מטופשת ומרושעת.}}''<sup>[b]</sup>Translation: ''When Gideon Levy accuses Israel of turning [[Marwan Barghouti]] from a peace seeker to an [[impresario]] of suicide bombings, it is as logical an interpretation, just as the claim that the wave of [[September 11, 2001 attacks|attacks on the September 11]] were a plot by the [[Mossad]]. In a private conversation with him, he told me one time that he would not travel a hundred meters to save the life of a [[settler]], and it seems to me that his loves and hates have been long tainting his heart-rending reports from the occupied Palestinian territories.'' Original:<br>''{{rtl-para|he|כשגדעון לוי מאשים את ישראל בהפיכתו של מרואן ברגותי משוחר שלום לאמרגן פיגועי התאבדות, זו פרשנות הגיונית, ממש כמו הטענה שגל הפיגועים ב-11 בספטמבר הוא מזימה של המוסד. בשיחה פרטית איתו, אמר לי פעם שהוא לא היה נוסע מאה מטר כדי להציל את חייו של מתנחל, ונראה לי שאהבותיו ושנאותיו מכתימות כבר מזמן את דיווחיו הנוגעים ללב מהשטחים הפלשתינים הכבושים.}}''</ref>
Levy's main publisher, ''Haaretz'', saw a wave of angry letters and subscription cancellations following the mainstream publication of a letter to ''Haaretz'' by Israeli novelist [[Irit Linur]],<ref>http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=209509&contrassID=2&subContrassID=4&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y</ref> in which she announced the cancellation of her own subscription and argued that the newspaper had become compromised by a radical anti-Zionist,<ref name="IritLetter"/><sup>-[a]</sup> pro-Palestinian agenda, and she cited Levy's work and ideology as an example.<ref name="IritLetter"/><sup>-[b]</sup> Another public figure canceling his subscription to the paper was the military and security correspondent for Israeli [[Channel 2 (Israel)|Channel 2]], Roni Daniel, who cited Levy's use of a [[television review]] section to criticize his correspondence.<ref name="7nights">{{cite news|title=עד מתי אוקטובר 65'|last=שכניק|first=רז|date=2009-01-16|publisher=מוסף "7 לילות" של "ידיעות אחרונות"|language=Hebrew|accessdate=2009-04-09}}</ref> ''Haaretz's'' publisher, Amos Schocken, expressed puzzlement at Linur's public letter, describing his newspaper as "exceedingly Zionist" and suggesting Levy's reports should be "read mainly as a description to the effect of the Israeli occupation in the territories".<ref name="IritLetter">[http://www.nfc.co.il/archive/0019-D-1068-00.html?tag=14-23-47#PTEXT1597 Irit Linur's letter (quotation)] News First Class {{he icon}}<br><sup>[a]</sup>Translation: ''it is a person's right to be a radical leftist, and publish a newspaper in accordance to his world view... However ''Haaretz'' reached a stage where its anti-Zionism turns too frequently to silly and mean journalism.'' Original:<br>''{{rtl-para|he|זכותו של אדם להיות שמאלני-רדיקלי, ולהוציא עיתון בהתאם להשקפת עולמו... אבל "הארץ" הגיע לשלב בו האנטי-ציונות שלו הופכת לעתים קרובות מדי לעיתונות מטופשת ומרושעת.}}''<sup>[b]</sup>Translation: ''When Gideon Levy accuses Israel of turning [[Marwan Barghouti]] from a peace seeker to an [[impresario]] of suicide bombings, it is as logical an interpretation, just as the claim that the wave of [[September 11, 2001 attacks|attacks on the September 11]] were a plot by the [[Mossad]]. In a private conversation with him, he told me one time that he would not travel a hundred meters to save the life of a [[settler]], and it seems to me that his loves and hates have been long tainting his heart-rending reports from the occupied Palestinian territories.'' Original:<br>''{{rtl-para|he|כשגדעון לוי מאשים את ישראל בהפיכתו של מרואן ברגותי משוחר שלום לאמרגן פיגועי התאבדות, זו פרשנות הגיונית, ממש כמו הטענה שגל הפיגועים ב-11 בספטמבר הוא מזימה של המוסד. בשיחה פרטית איתו, אמר לי פעם שהוא לא היה נוסע מאה מטר כדי להציל את חייו של מתנחל, ונראה לי שאהבותיו ושנאותיו מכתימות כבר מזמן את דיווחיו הנוגעים ללב מהשטחים הפלשתינים הכבושים.}}''</ref>

Revision as of 22:56, 18 September 2009

Gideon Levy (Hebrew: גדעון לוי; born 1953) is an Israeli journalist for the Haaretz newspaper, where he is also an editorial board member. He is a prominent left-wing commentator,[1] and publishes on the weekly column "Twilight Zone" of Haaretz, where he covers since 1988 what he describes as Palestinian hardships and suffering in the West Bank, which he attributes to the actions of Israel and to Jewish Settlers. Many in Israel view his coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as focusing too much on the Palestinian point of view. He is a regular participant and a representative of the left-wing in a television panel on the TV show, "Moetzet Ha'Hahamim" (Trans. 'The Intelligent Committee').

Levy was awarded the 1996 Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award and the 2007 Anna Lindh Foundation Euro-Med Journalist Prize for Cultural Dialogue. Levy also served as spokesman for Shimon Peres from 1978 until 1982.[2]

Biography

Levy was born in 1953 in Tel Aviv, the eldest of two sons to immigrants from Germany. The family settled in Shtand street in Tel-Aviv and Levy went to the nearby "Public School Alef" (Hebrew: עירוני א'). In an article, Levy recounted that a shell that hit Tel-Aviv during the Six-Day war hit a porch in the adjacent street, Reich.[3]

Levy describes his adolescence as one in which he was "a full member of the nationalistic religious orgy." Citing a collective feeling of an "existentialistic danger," levy explains that everyone "felt that another holocaust is around the corner."[1]

From 1978 to 1982 he served, together with Yossi Beilin, as an aide to Shimon Peres. Since 1982 he has worked for the Israeli daily Haaretz and from 1986 has written extensively in its pages on 'the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank and Palestinian life under that occupation'.[4] In 1996 he was awarded the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. In 2007, he was awarded the Euro-Med Journalist Prize for Cultural Dialogue of the Anna Lindh Foundation for his "exceptional writings on the challenges of the region".[5]. The French newspaper Le Monde has described him as a 'thorn in Israel's flank'.[4]

Political views

Levy himself has spoken of his 'modest mission to prevent a situation in which many Israelis will be able to say, "We didn't know".'[1] A recurrent theme in his articles is what he describes as Israeli society's 'moral blindness' to the effects of its acts of war and occupation in Gaza and the West Bank. He has criticized Israel's government for refusing to stop the construction of settlements on private Palestinian land, describing the policy as 'the most criminal enterprise in [Israel's] history'.[6]

During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, he shared the minority view among Israeli commentators which dismissed the idea that it was a 'just war', of the kind in which civilian casualties were both inevitable and acceptable.

While working in Gaza in early 2007 with a French film crew that was making a documentary about him, Levy declared on camera that the Gazans' plight made him ashamed to be an Israeli.[7]

Levy supports unilateral cession of occupied Palestinian territories without asking for concessions, saying that "Israel is not being asked 'to give' anything to the Palestinians; it is only being asked to return - to return their stolen land and restore their trampled self-respect, along with their fundamental human rights and humanity." He further says that "There are not, and cannot be, any preconditions for restoring justice."[8]

Levy wrote that the Gaza War was a complete failure for Israeli, writing that none of the objectives of the war were achieved. Levy wrote that "The conclusion is that Israel is a violent and dangerous country, devoid of all restraints and blatantly ignoring the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, while not giving a hoot about international law."[9]

Levy is against an Israeli attack on Iran, writing that such an attack would end in disaster. Levy wrote that it is important "for Israel to finally wean itself of the ideology that force is a solution to everything, and that it is the policeman (aka thug) of the Middle East."[10]

Criticism

Levy is on record as quipping that somewhere in Haaretz's newsroom there exists a thick file of notifications by regular readers canceling their subscriptions after reading his articles.[7]

Levy's main publisher, Haaretz, saw a wave of angry letters and subscription cancellations following the mainstream publication of a letter to Haaretz by Israeli novelist Irit Linur,[11] in which she announced the cancellation of her own subscription and argued that the newspaper had become compromised by a radical anti-Zionist,[12]-[a] pro-Palestinian agenda, and she cited Levy's work and ideology as an example.[12]-[b] Another public figure canceling his subscription to the paper was the military and security correspondent for Israeli Channel 2, Roni Daniel, who cited Levy's use of a television review section to criticize his correspondence.[13] Haaretz's publisher, Amos Schocken, expressed puzzlement at Linur's public letter, describing his newspaper as "exceedingly Zionist" and suggesting Levy's reports should be "read mainly as a description to the effect of the Israeli occupation in the territories".[12]

Several journalists,[14][15] including Ben Dror Yemini, and PMW's media analyst, Itamar Marcus, have accused Levy of promoting Palestinian violence and of being, along with fellow Haaretz correspondents Amira Hass and Danny Rubinstein, glorified by the Palestinian media and having his views used as "proof of the justness of their way against Israel".[16][17] Dalit HaLevy wrote that Hamas cited his Haaretz published article from 24 July, 2008 as support for their usage of bulldozer attacks in Jerusalem, adding that Levy refuses to dub these as terrorist attacks.[14] A senior lecturer at the Hebrew University, Dr. Alexander Jacobson, charged that Levy makes no attempt at keeping a universal perspective on morality in the Arab-Israeli conflict but rather portrays a distinct and "particular attitude towards the State of Israel".[18]

Following the Palestinian elections of 2006, Levy was charged by associate Professor at the University of Haifa, Steven Plaut — a critic of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations process, of 'celebrating the victory of Hamas'; and Gideon Ezra, the former deputy Minister of Internal Security in Israel, suggested that the General Security Services should monitor Levy and supervise his reports as he is treading on the borderline of someone having anti-Israeli interests.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c Six Day War prompts reflection in Middle East ABC, 11 June 2007
  2. ^ Gideon Levy The Israel Speakers Center
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ a b Gideon Lévy : une épine dans le flanc d'Israël Le Monde, 4 September 2006 Template:Fr icon
  5. ^ Award citation
  6. ^ What do you mean when you say 'no'? Haaretz, 18 November 2007
  7. ^ a b Ha'aretz, Israel's Liberal Beacon The Nation, 6 September 2007
  8. ^ Gideon Levy, ‘Demands of a thief,’ Haaretz 25/11/2007
  9. ^ Gaza war ended in utter failure for Israel, Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 22/01/2009.
  10. ^ Israel should forget about bombing Iran Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 15/02/2009.
  11. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=209509&contrassID=2&subContrassID=4&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
  12. ^ a b c Irit Linur's letter (quotation) News First Class Template:He icon
    [a]Translation: it is a person's right to be a radical leftist, and publish a newspaper in accordance to his world view... However Haaretz reached a stage where its anti-Zionism turns too frequently to silly and mean journalism. Original:
    זכותו של אדם להיות שמאלני-רדיקלי, ולהוציא עיתון בהתאם להשקפת עולמו... אבל "הארץ" הגיע לשלב בו האנטי-ציונות שלו הופכת לעתים קרובות מדי לעיתונות מטופשת ומרושעת.
    [b]Translation: When Gideon Levy accuses Israel of turning Marwan Barghouti from a peace seeker to an impresario of suicide bombings, it is as logical an interpretation, just as the claim that the wave of attacks on the September 11 were a plot by the Mossad. In a private conversation with him, he told me one time that he would not travel a hundred meters to save the life of a settler, and it seems to me that his loves and hates have been long tainting his heart-rending reports from the occupied Palestinian territories. Original:
    כשגדעון לוי מאשים את ישראל בהפיכתו של מרואן ברגותי משוחר שלום לאמרגן פיגועי התאבדות, זו פרשנות הגיונית, ממש כמו הטענה שגל הפיגועים ב-11 בספטמבר הוא מזימה של המוסד. בשיחה פרטית איתו, אמר לי פעם שהוא לא היה נוסע מאה מטר כדי להציל את חייו של מתנחל, ונראה לי שאהבותיו ושנאותיו מכתימות כבר מזמן את דיווחיו הנוגעים ללב מהשטחים הפלשתינים הכבושים.
  13. ^ שכניק, רז (2009-01-16). "עד מתי אוקטובר 65'" (in Hebrew). מוסף "7 לילות" של "ידיעות אחרונות". {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  14. ^ a b השראה לתעמולת חמאס: גדעון לוי
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Omedia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Yemini, Ben Dror (2009-01-17). "Conscience pimps - סרסורי מצפון" (in Hebrew). Ma'ariv. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  17. ^ מרכוס, איתמר (6/5/2009). "גיבורי הפלסטינים: גדעון לוי, עמירה הס, ודני רובינשטיין" (in Hebrew). Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 2009-04-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ יעקובסון, אלכסנדר. "דילמת הידיים הנקיות" (in Hebrew). Haaretz. Retrieved 2009-04-09. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ אירועי תקשורת Israel Democracy Institute Template:He icon

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gideon_Levy&oldid=314811904"