EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

CNN Must Come Clean

unfamiliar one, nor was it developed
in a vacuum. While most Jews may
ast week, CNN* tried to put
object
to it — and forever consider
to rest a controversy it
Jerusalem to be Israel's "eternal, undi-
stirred up in February, when
vided capital" — many others agree
it removed Jerusalem from
with CNN's stance.
the Israel heading on its
Look no further than
online weather page.
Washington for a prime
CNN's solution was to
example. The U.S. govern-
return Jerusalem to its Israel
ment has steadfastly refused
heading, while placing an
to place its Israel embassy in
asterisk next to "Jerusalem,
western Jerusalem, not want-
Israel," with a footnote that
ing to upset the Palestinians
reads, "The status of
and show any bias before
Jerusalem, the seat of Israeli
final status of the city was
government, is the most con-
negotiated. Indeed, only
tentious issue in the Israeli-
JA COB
two countries — Costa Rica
Palestinian peace talks. Pales-
SCH REIBER
and El Salvador — out of
tinian and Arab leaders con-
the 82 that have embassies
Con tr ibuting
sider part of Jerusalem the
in Israel, house them in
Ed itor
capital of the prospective
Israel's
capital.
Palestinian state."
The Vatican, too, does not
After making the change, CNN
recognize Israel's annexation of east
Interactive's editor and spokesperson
Jerusalem, continuing its traditional call
both declared that the network is a
for the "internationalization" of the Old
"non-partisan" news gathering organiza-
City and of Jerusalem's holy sites.
tion, which "does not take sides." They
And, as CNN correctly points out,
insisted that CNN's decision to treat
the United Nations does not recognize
Jerusalem as a "disputed territory" is
c
Israel's claim to ownership of an undi-
"not political," but consistent with the
vided
Jerusalem, rejecting the Jewish
United Nations policy on Jerusalem.
state's annexation of the eastern part
CNN's policy — its asterisk and its
of the city in 1967.
footnote — would be defensible, if its
explanation weren't so disingenuous.
Taking Sides
That's because its position is not an
Like it or not, these are the facts.
Political facts. And CNN would do
Jacob Schreiber is editor of the
itself well to just come clean and say
Atlanta Jewish Times, sister paper to the
that it ascribes to the above political
Jewish News. He can contacted via e-
points of view. It should not hide
behind its "non-partisan/no political
mail at
jschreiber@adjewishtimes.com
stance" line. CNN should know bet-

Atlanta

L

ter. We certainly do.
If CNN was not taking sides, it
would not have changed its position
two years ago and mandated that its
reporters refrain from coupling
Jerusalem with Israel.
If such a policy was okay three
years ago, what changed the minds of
CNN's brass? Could there have been
political pressure from the Arab coun-
tries in which CNN operates? Was
this just part of Ted Turner's "univer-

* CNN, the Cable News Network,
claims to be a non-partisan news
gathering organization with no
political agenda. Two years ago, it
mandated a change in editorial pol-
icy, singling out Jerusalem as being
a "disputed territory" Consequently,
CNN's credibility as an unbiased
news agency is now also in dispute.

salist" philosophy? Are some editorial
powers, sympathetic to Arab claims on
Jerusalem, using their outlet to influ-
ence images, ideas and ultimately, a
final agreement?
By not coming clean and admitting
that CNN is adopting a political
stance that is counter to those of Israel
and most of world Jewry, it is begging
us to ask these questions.
Giving CNN's spokespeople the
benefit of the doubt would be worse
for the news agency, whose ratings
continue to lag behind those of its
competitors. Because if CNN truly
doesn't recognize the political signifi-

cance of its stance on Jerusalem, then
their viewers had better tune in else-
where for political coverage and analy-
sis. Who wants to get their political
coverage from a news organization
that doesn't comprehend that all issues
surrounding Jerusalem are incredibly
political — and often explosive?
I don't believe that CNN is so ama-
teur. CNN is a brilliant news opera-
tion that has revolutionized the indus-
try. Unfortunately, it may have gotten
so big down at One CNN Plaza that
it has begun operating like a country
instead of just reporting on them.
Namely, CNN feels the need to send
out its diplomats (headquarters calls
them "spokespeople") to spin the truth
— a tactic that CNN reporters would
routinely call "misleading" to the pub-
lic.
Spinning the truth is the kind of
behavior CNN is supposed to expose,
not execute. Trying to snow a sophisti-
cated Jewish community into believ-
ing that adopting the UN's position
on Jerusalem is "non-partisan," is
merely insulting our intelligence. And
creating a policy that exclusively wid-
ows Jerusalem — while keeping cities
like Tibet, Nicosia and Taipei wedded
to a homeland — smacks of partisan
politics, of taking sides.
CNN should just come out and tell
it like it is. It always did and it always
should. A news agency is only worth its
credibility. And credibility is maintained
only when there is integrity in the field
and honesty at home. Cl

Related story: page 24

LETTERS from page 37

ment given to the teens who wrote of
their experiences in weekly Jewish
News articles.
Our Detroit teen mission is unique
for a number of reasons:
1. It is the largest teen mission
sponsored by any federation in North
America.
2. The mission model utilizes rab-
binic leadership, which creates a won-
derful bond between leaders and par-
ticipants (and their synagogues and
temples) in an informal yet structured
environment.
3. Our teens share a mifgash
(encounter) experience with Israeli
teens, both pre-mission in Detroit as
well as throughout the summer on
each trip bus.
4. This year, the Federation Web

8/11
2000

38

site posted daily pictures of the mis-
sion (thisisfederation.org) to enable
the excitement of the trip to be shared
with family and friends back home.
The Jewish Federation and our syna-
gogues and temples have again
demonstrated the dynamic results
available in partnership with one
another. Plans for the 2002 Teen Mis-
sion have already begun.
Allan Nachman
Teen Mission 2000 chairman,
Bloomfield Township

ORT Locations
Are Widespread

Thank you for the story about Michi-
gan Region Women's American ORT

("Reshaping Itself," July 7, page 40).
Our members were delighted, but
questions were raised about a couple
of facts that were apparently misun-
derstood.
While Women's American ORT
currently does have regions in Michi-
gan, Chicago, New Jersey and Atlanta,
these are only a list of regions that
employ regional directors. WAORT
has regions run by lay professionals in
30 other locations and, in addition,
maintains chapters-at-large all around
the United States.
We are about much more than
gift-wrapping. We are about major
events like Visions 2000, which
achieved, through gifts of our con-
tributors, fund-raising results of
$200,000 this spring with plans

already in the works for the event in
2001. We are about building a high-
tech Michigan ORT Resource Cen-
ter in the soon-to-be-renovated
lobby of the Jewish Community
Center in West Bloomfield with our
partners, the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit and American
ORT.
We are about moving forward
toward challenges of the new century
while maintaining the "heart" and
commitment to an ever-evolving pro-
gram of education for students around
the world.
Terri Rossman
Michigan Region director,
Women's American ORT
Bloomfield Township

