You can tell a lot about a media outlet by how it covers Israel. A recent case in point is the New York Times.
The Times recently posted a short video entitled, “Free Style In Tel Aviv“, which showcases Israeli hipsters in Jaffa, a Tel Aviv neighborhood with an “eclectic style inspired by the area’s famous flea market.” Of course there’s no mention of Jaffa’s indigenous Palestinian inhabitants who were ethnically cleansed by Zionist militias in 1948 to make room for the Israeli Jews featured in the piece. Nor is there any acknowledgment that ethnic cleansing of Palestinian citizens of Israel continues at a gradual pace to this day, in an atmosphere of violent anti-Arab and anti-African racism that plagues the heart of Israeli culture. But who cares about dispossession when there are funky Israeli hipsters to celebrate, am I right?
Here’s an excerpt from the video (transcribed by Phil Weiss at Mondoweiss):
Omri Aviv. Hipster. “I really love the Jaffa area because it’s funky with a true Israeli look. … funky and authentic.”
Ofir Siman-Tov, on wearing women’s clothes in Jaffa: “This neighborhood is relaxed, chilling, and there’s freedom in the street.”
Tmima Svitelman: “There’s certainly an eclectic style here that I like very much, and I hope they preserve it.”
In stark contrast, The Nation recently posted “Israel’s New Racism: The Persecution of African Migrants in the Holy Land,” a short video produced by journalists David Sheen and Max Blumenthal. The mini-documentary reveals Israel’s brutal racism towards African migrants in disturbing scenes of nationalist rallies led by mainstream Israeli politicians proudly declaring their hatred of Africans and leading n-word laden chants demanding “the infiltrators” return to the countries they fled, all in the name of preserving Israel’s Jewish character. This is the Israel that most major US news outlets are loathe to acknowledge.