‘Ludicrously dumbed down’ report

COMMUNAL leaders have lambasted a 60 Minutes report which attempted to shed light on the conflict between Palestinians and Israeli settlers, labelling it “biased” and “dumbed-down”.

“Holy Real Estate” was presented by reporter Tom Steinfort on the Channel 9 public affairs program on Sunday evening.

The report began with the misleading claim that, “Just this week, Israeli troops killed scores of Palestinian Muslims protesting the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem”. The fact that the protests have actually been going on for months and the deadly threat posed by the protesters trying to breach the border at the urging of their leaders were ignored.

The Israeli perspective, meanwhile, was mostly represented by Australian oleh, Daniel Luria, executive director of the organisation Ateret Cohanim, committed to purchasing Arab properties in the Muslim Quarter and Arab East Jerusalem, populating them with Jewish Israelis.

“It was the usual 60 Minutes fare in which the producers interview the most extreme religious Zionist they can find and misrepresent that person’s comments as a typical example of the views of Israelis and the State of Israel,” commented Executive Council of Australian Jewry president, Anton Block.

Luria, who has set up a stand in the Muslim Quarter at the site where an Israeli was recently murdered by a Palestinian, was contrasted with Sydney lawyer, Gerard Horton, who has lived in Israel for the past 10 years, and is dedicated to defending the rights of Palestinians.

“My personal assessment is that it is much more serious, much more dangerous than apartheid,” Horton asserted.

The report also charged Israel with “consistently” ignoring “international condemnation, encouraging its citizens to colonise this territory.”

“The program presents a ludicrously dumbed-down ‘analysis’ of the situation, suggesting falsely that it is essentially a conflict between religious zealots on both sides. No informed observer could take the 60 Minutes portrayal seriously. But it will play to the prejudices and lack of knowledge of many members of its audience,” said Block.

Concurring with Block’s view, Danny Lamm, president of the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA), called the report a “hatchet job on Israel”.

Accusing Steinfort of ignoring “the complexities of the issues”, Lamm added that the ZFA has engaged with the 60 Minutes team on a number of occasions over the years – “but it seems that nothing will deter them from their biased and ignorant reportage”.

The AJN approached 60 Minutes for comment but did not receive a response by press time.

REBECCA DAVIS