Debatable Journalism Tactics by Blumenthal

If you looked at the video, you’d noticed it was filmed on June 3rd and released with minimal editing the very next day, with the clear intent of being timely and topical. That makes your argument about how Blumenthal should’ve interviewed people in Tel Aviv as a way of balancing the video a fairly impractical, silly one.

You are, in a sense, arguing that every video that anyone quickly takes and puts up on the internet, whether it be of Hamas volunteers or of Americans and Israelis making asses of themselves by saying what they really feel… shouldn’t be quick, timely, and spontaneous, but should require days of work, travel, and editing, as well as careful efforts to insert balance into the video, even if to do so would be a fairly out-of-context way of representing what was originally seen.

I honestly doubt you feel this way. Do you insist that your blog posts be similarly balanced, researched, and restricted?   

Likewise, you seem to be a bit off on your representation of the video. While most of those interviewed were clearly American, not all of those interviewed were. One was very clear that “I live here. I’m a Yid. I’m a Jew. I’m Israel”, while another one appeared to be an Israeli as well, and said “He doesn’t understand. This country is ours.”

Indeed, that sense of ownership and of being a part of Israel was arguably shared by all of the Americans in the video as well, all of whom are free to pursue Aliyah.

I also take exception to the idea that shooting in Jerusalem instead of Tel Aviv is akin to “filming a video . . . in San Fransico’s Haight-Asbury district, and passing that off as indicative of American sentiments on marijuana usage.”

So, let me get this straight… are you trying to say that Jerusalem is a major nexus of hatred and intolerance, or just a kind of attractive nuisance for hateful, racist, ultranationalist Jewish tourists?

... but that those hateful, racist people shouldn’t be shown and criticized for who they are, without painstaking efforts to provide balance and context.

Is it now the job of every Israeli videographer to provide careful context and balance when some Islamic leader shouts “Death to Israel”? Should it be pointed out that such statements are usually said as a way of playing to a particular kind of audience, and that such statements are nothing new or out-of-the-ordinary in that context, and haven’t been for many decades now… or that the same leader is far more balanced in his rhetoric to the general public?

I think it’s very healthy and noteworthy that you are writing about this issue and criticizing those responsible… but I also think, by suggesting that Max Blumenthal shouldn’t take advantage of the immediacy and web-friendliness of the modern digital world, which you yourself benefit from, well… that’s hypocritical, it’s wrong, and I doubt that upon reflection that it’s really what you believe. It doesn’t reflect your higher self, either.

What was captured on this video was shameful, yes… shameful for those shown, and shameful on how it looks in the larger scheme of things… but don’t rush to blame the videographer for that, when he’s just using essentially the same methods that you use, and that are used by many others.

The nature of the internet is that it allows information to get out there right away, with minimal editing and balance. We, as viewers, are the ones who are supposed to interpret that information appropriately, providing balance and context by making sure that we are knowledgeable and informed about all sides of the issue.  That’s a challenge, but it’s one that leads to growth, to understanding, to acceptance, and to a kind of forgiveness, of both enemy and friend. Hatred, ignorance, fear… they are all universal ailments, but knowledge is the path to wisdom.