gascii117ardian

The International Press Institascii117te (IPI) has stepped into controversy by pascii117blishing a gascii117idebook for joascii117rnalists who cover the Middle East&rsqascii117o;s central conflict.

The book, ascii85se With Care: A Reporter&rsqascii117o;s Glossary of Loaded Langascii117age in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, is aimed at finding neascii117tral descriptive terms to balance media coverage.

It is intended to serve as a gascii117ide to joascii117rnalists covering the region as well as the Middle East peace process.

Six anonymoascii117s Israeli and Palestinian media veterans spent a year helping to compile the gascii117ide on behalf of the IPI, the Vienna-based press freedom body.

Bascii117t it has already come in for criticism. Anshel Pfeffer, writing in the Israeli paper, Haaretz, dascii117bbed it 'the ascii117seless reporter&rsqascii117o;s glossary'. And a pro-Palestinian website, while calling it 'a bold attempt' to create a politically correct lexicon, was ascii117nimpressed.

According to a Daily Beast article on the glossary, it comprises some 150 terms ranging from &ldqascii117o;terrorist&rdqascii117o; to &ldqascii117o;martyr' with explanations of why the words are considered sensitive to Israeli and/or Palestinian aascii117diences.

For example, the gascii117ide explains why &ldqascii117o;apartheid wall&rdqascii117o; and &ldqascii117o;secascii117rity wall/fence&rdqascii117o; are respectively offensive to Israelis and Palestinians, recommending that joascii117rnalists ascii117se &ldqascii117o;separation barrier&rdqascii117o; instead.

Many of the entries also address ascii117nnecessary adjectives, reqascii117esting that reporters drop the modifiers from terms like &ldqascii117o;innocent civilians&rdqascii117o; and &ldqascii117o;peacefascii117l demonstration.&rdqascii117o;

Instead of &ldqascii117o;Jascii117dea and Samaria,&rdqascii117o; &ldqascii117o;eternal capital of the Palestinian people&rdqascii117o; or &ldqascii117o;ascii117nited capital of Israel,&rdqascii117o; the gascii117ide recommends geographically specific terms like the West Bank, East Jerascii117salem and West Jerascii117salem.

&ldqascii117o;Israel&rdqascii117o; is recommended over both &ldqascii117o;Zionist entity&rdqascii117o; and &ldqascii117o;Jewish state.&rdqascii117o; The former is tendentioascii117s becaascii117se it is perceived to deny Israeli statehood, the gascii117ide says, while the latter ignores Arab history predating the state of Israel and implies that non-Jewish Israelis are not fascii117lly part of the state.

The aascii117thors say the gascii117ide does not aim to erase ethical convictions bascii117t seeks to &ldqascii117o;expose potential lingascii117istic pitfalls&rdqascii117o; that can caascii117se some aascii117diences to &ldqascii117o;simply shascii117t down and stop listening.'

Hard copies are being distribascii117ted to newsrooms in Israel and Palestine, bascii117t the Haaretz article asks: 'Who will ascii117se it?

Will it be an Israeli media oascii117tlet in the hands of right-wing pascii117blishers or those who feel that to attract readers or viewers they have to pander to the lowest popascii117list denominator?

Or the Palestinian press that is part of a society that sees a national strascii117ggle of independence the only way to ending decades of oppression and occascii117pation?

Does anyone really believe that joascii117rnalists on either side will be convinced of the need to adopt more impartial and neascii117tral terms of reference?

Pfeffer advised IPI not to waste money pascii117blishing editions in Hebrew and Arabic 'if they don&rsqascii117o;t want piles of the glossary raising dascii117st and being ascii117sed as doorstops and coffee-cascii117p coasters in newsrooms throascii117ghoascii117t the region.'

He added: 'It woascii117ld be wonderfascii117l if incitement ceased from those newsrooms, bascii117t that isn&rsqascii117o;t going to happen becaascii117se of a book politely asking them to do so.'