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By Steve Feldman
(SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 / JNS) Anti-Israel “news” reports, analyses and op-eds have been routine at The Philadelphia Inquirer for more than a generation.
An Aug. 23 staff-written news article about an anti-Jewish extremist who lost a job at a local school a year ago was especially egregious in its efforts to solicit sympathy for an avowed Jew-hater, and itself incited resentment and hatred of Jews. In addition, it violated multiple journalism ethics standards, including failure to offer even a shred of objectivity or balance.
Moreover, reporter Massarah Mikati had signed an online manifesto laced with demonstrably false accusations against Israel that called on journalists to slant the news in favor of the Palestinian Arabs. Inquirer editors never should have allowed her to report on that subject.
I addressed these issues in an op-ed. The Inquirer’s executive editor told me during a phone conversation that he would consider publishing it. But the Inquirer ultimately refused, citing a discretionary in-house rule that relegates responses to articles to the letters section.
A letter lacks the impact and prominence of an op-ed. A letter is dramatically shorter, and thus cannot address most of the malfeasances in the above news article. Especially important was that the Inquirer does not publish letters on its website. As a result, the news article will live in perpetuity on the Inquirer’s website, but those online readers would not see my rebuttal.
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