Stephen Chapman wants to blame Europe’s higher level of sympathy to the plight of Palestinians to “fundamentally opposing worldviews” (“Europe vs. America on the Middle East,” Commentary, April 25).
Having traveled to Great Britain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Germany in the past year, I can identify a simpler reason: European media offer a considerably more balanced viewpoint of the conflict and show, in particular, much more of the devastating effects of Israel’s policies on the Palestinian population.
Each time I watch European television, I am reminded of how barren the information is that we receive.
Here in the United States, most newspapers and television stations follow the narrative and “terms of debate” put out by the Sharon government. Many articles, in fact, seem to have been lifted directly from the Israel Defense Forces press statements. In Europe, one is much more likely to see journalists greet the IDF spin with skepticism.
I personally believe that if more Americans, and more American Jews, were able to see and hear what the Israeli military does to ordinary Palestinians, we would be less likely to support these actions and more likely to call on President Bush to compel Ariel Sharon to end his attacks on an entire people. And if that would happen, terror attacks against Israelis would stop. Then with neither Israelis nor Palestinians living in terror, they could pursue a lasting peace.
