Opinion

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Crossing The Objectivity Line

T

he story hardly created a ripple
when it should have sounded
alarms to anyone who values a
free and unbiased press.
The silence was particularly deafening
— to use a cliche — among the media
themselves who, allegedly, stand guard
against any infringement or violation of so-
called objectivity, the standard members of
the press swear to uphold at all costs.
The story I am referring to is the adop-
tion of a resolution calling for the boycott
of Israeli goods by Britain's National
Union of Journalists (NUJ), the union rep-
resenting 40,000 British journalists.
I was dismayed not only because of the
anti-Israeli, if not anti-Semitic, implica-
tions of the action, but also because of my
50 years as a journalist.
I have supported the concept of jour-
nalists not taking political positions, at
least publicly, or joining any organization
that may be subject to news coverage for
almost a half century.
Now, the NUJ not only violates an ethi-
cal code of conduct considered sacrosanct
by journalists, but actively commits itself
to political activism.
From now on, the news of the Middle
East in Britain must be considered sus-

pect because, obviously, NUJ
members will do all that
is possible to achieve the
union's objective; and, logi-
cally, that will include slant-
ing their reports to fit their
publicly-announced boycott.
Even those journalists who
argue that they can maintain
their objectivity — support
the resolution while being
objective in their report-
ing — will raise suspicions
in stories critical of Israel
because of the boycott resolution. No one
will trust that the story does not have a
secondary objective of working toward
achieving a boycott of Israeli goods.
Moreover, the anti-Israel boycott resolu-
tion will not only impact news digested
by the British but by others throughout
the world because not only are stories
developed in England distributed by the
wire services but the Internet has made
geographic boundaries for news totally
meaningless.
Thus, the world can now be assured of
"tainted" news coverage by some 40,000
journalists who have violated a basic prin-
ciple of a free press.

Those who believe this judg-
ment on NUJ's action is too
severe might consider these
questions:
•Would they trust the objec-
tivity of a journalist covering
the presidential campaign
who belonged to a union that
endorsed a candidate?
• How would they feel about
stories on illegal immigration by
a media organization that pub-
licly supported a particular bill
in Congress?
•Would they consider as suspect news
stories on the Iraq war written by the
journalist whose union passed a resolu-
tion encouraging President Bush to com-
mit more troops to the war?
Also, consider the conundrum for
a member of the NUJ who is Jewish.
Indeed, Nathan Jeffay is such a person and
described the clash of interests in a recent
column in the Forward. He wrote:
"British journalists, like me, now find
ourselves in a rather awkward position. If
we remain in the union, we will be called
traitors by our communities. If we quit
the union, we will be labeled scabs by our
union colleagues, as well as leave ourselves

without workplace protections:'
As to the concept of objectivity, he
added:
"Whatever choices we make, our ability
— and that of other fair-minded reporters
— to push for fair coverage of the Middle
East is irreparably damaged."
And that is the major point — irrepa-
rable damage even if the NUJ were to
rescind its resolution. It is forever on
record for its anti-Israel bias. It cannot be
undone.
Frankly, it is sad day for journalism
— and the public. One hopes the NUJ has
not set a precedent — a dangerous one
— leading to other media unions adopt-
ing political resolutions.
Let us hope that even if they won't con-
demn the NUJ, media unions will not be
tempted to follow a similar course.
Further, we can hope that the rest of
the media boycott the use of stories on
the Middle East that has the NUJ seal of
approval.

A former political reporter, Berl Falbaum, an

author and Farmington Hills public relations

executive, teaches journalism part time at

Wayne State University in Detroit.

Synagogues Must Experiment

New York

H

ayyim Hirschensohn, an
Orthodox rabbi living in New
Jersey at the turn of the 20th
century, espoused a doctrine that Jews,
if their intent was clear and honorable,
could experiment with their religious
observances.
"For the truth:' he wrote in 1921,
"emerges only after inquiry and investi-
gation, and in the initial stages of study,
everyone possesses false beliefs and errs
until acquiring a clear comprehension of
the matter."
Rabbi Hirschenson was respond-
ing to those who promoted a dogmatic
and fixed interpretation of Judaism and
Jewish life.
Most pulpit rabbis of large congrega-
tions would probably have a difficult
time acting on such a statement, and
understandably so. The idea of experi-
mentation and trial by error can seem
oxymoronic when placed next to the very
sober words "religion" and "synagogue."
Yet without experimentation, the
synagogue will continue to diminish as

34

May

24

Judaism's central institution.
congregant who wants to be
An ethos of experimentation
involved? Perhaps that same
is precisely what is needed in
rabbi would refrain from
order to attract more people to
giving a sermon to allow
Judaism and create a renais-
time to thoroughly discuss
sance in Jewish life.
the Torah reading.
With Shavuot this week, a
Most important, all
holiday that celebrates the Jews
synagogues would do well
receiving of the Torah at Mount
to experiment with shorten-
Sinai and focuses on Jewish
ing the length of the service.
Edgar M.
learning, let me suggest a few
Two
to two-and-a-half hours,
Bronfman
experimental approaches that
and
sometimes
three, on a
Special
might result in increased syna-
Saturday
morning,
or even
Commentary
gogue attendance and engage-
on a Friday night is a daunt-
ment.
ing commitment for anyone,
In the world of Orthodoxy, why
let alone someone who just wants to
wouldn't a rabbi experiment with some
explore Judaism for the first time.
forms of gender equality? Even within
the limitations of Orthodox Jewish law,
The Backdrop
why wouldn't a rabbi try to propose that
When I speak with young people, they
instead of a minyan of 10 men, there
tell me that services should be shortened.
should be one of 10 men and 10 women?
But even then, an hour can be too much
Why wouldn't a rabbi in a Reform con- to handle if what transpires is boring,
gregation experiment with dispensing
irrelevant and bereft of meaning. With
of the Torah reading as it is done now,
beautiful music, choirs chanting, mean-
ask the congregants to read the parshah
ingful short services and prayers that
[Torah portion] before the service begins, speak to the human condition, perhaps
and then have a discussion involving any we can attract a younger segment of the

population, especially if we ask them to
participate in their services.
Skeptics have charged that people
are no longer interested in prayer or
synagogue life. A 2006 poll conducted
by Gallup ranked Jews second to last in
terms of weekly worship attendance with
less than one in six attending services,
beating out only those who report no
religious affiliation.
The evangelical churches burgeon-
ing across the country prove that, if
done properly, congregational life can
be meaningful and relevant to the lives
of people and a source for communal
identification. Aside from taking con-
temporary visual and audio aesthetics
seriously — something sorely lacking in
synagogues — the success of these evan-
gelical groups has come from realizing
that massive, anonymous Sunday church
experiences alone fail to provide wor-
shipers with the kind of rich communal
experience they are seeking.
Therefore, alongside the large-scale
gatherings we see on TV, evangelicals
empower laity to partake in smaller
study groups and salons hosted in their