
Ook aardig voor bijvoorbeeld journalisten zijn de Ground Rules Relevant to the Middle East van Mona Baker die ik hieronder citeer:
Rule # 1: In the Middle East, it is always the Arabs that attack first,
and it’s always Israel who defends itself. This is called
"retaliation".
Rule # 2: The Arabs, whether Palestinians or Lebanese, are not allowed to kill Israelis. This is called "terrorism".
Rule # 3: Israel has the right to kill Arab civilians; this is called "self-defense", or these days "collateral damage".
Rule # 4: When Israel kills too many civilians, the Western world calls
for restraint. This is called the "reaction of the international
community".
Rule # 5: Palestinians and Lebanese do not have the right to capture
Israeli military, not even a limited number, not even 1 or 2.
Rule # 6: Israel has the right to capture as many Palestinians as they
want (Palestinians: around 10000 to date, 300 of which are children,
Lebanese: 1000s to date, being held without trial). There is no limit;
there is no need for proof of guilt or trial. All that is needed is the
magic word: "terrorism".
Rule # 7: When you say "Hezbollah", always be sure to add "supported by Syria and Iran".
Rule # 8: When you say "Israel", never say "supported by the USA, the
UK and other European countries", for people (God forbid) might believe
this is not an equal conflict.
Rule # 9: When it comes to Israel, don’t mention the words "occupied
territories", "UN resolutions", "Geneva conventions". This could
distress the audience of Fox.
Rule # 10: Israelis speak better English than Arabs. This is why we let
them speak out as much as possible, so that they can explain rules 1
through 9. This is called "neutral journalism".
Rule # 11: If you don’t agree with these rules or if you favor the Arab
side over the Israeli side, you must be a very dangerous anti-Semite.
You may even have to make a public apology if you express your honest
opinion (isn’t democracy wonderful?).