Netherlands and Denmark fund terror glorification, hate language of Palestinian news agency

A Palestinian news agency that receives financial support from the governments of The Netherlands and Denmark glorifies terrorists, releases news stories using hate language and is a highly politicized, hate-promoting news organization. Paradoxically, Ma'an News claims to be "objective, accurate, balanced" and to "increase Palestinian media credibility," according to its web site.

Ma'an has glorified the recent Palestinian murderer of eight Israeli yeshiva students, the Dimona suicide terrorist, the killers of the two Israeli hikers and the terrorists who attacked a boys' high school with the very highest Islamic status attainable, elevating them to the status of "Shahids" or "Martyrs for Allah." According to the accepted Palestinian interpretation of Islam, there is no higher status that a Muslim can achieve today than that of Shahid. In defining terrorist murderers as "Shahids," Ma'an is by definition sending its readers a straightforward message of honor for the killers, and approval for the many murders. Negative or dishonorable actions could not elevate an individual to Shahid status. (See below for full sources.)

In its English versions of these reports, Ma'an did not honor the terrorists as "Shahids" or use the similar English term "Martyrs."Note, for example, the difference in Ma'an reporting on the murder of the two hikers:

The explanation for this and all other discrepancies between Ma'an's English and Arabic reporting is that this politically-charged Arabic terminology, together with the examples of Ma'an's use of hate-language (below), would readily expose Ma'an's lack of professionalism and messages of approval of terror if repeated in English. In addition, it must be assumed that the governments of The Netherlands and Denmark would be outraged to know they are funding terror glorification and hate journalism.

With regard to suicide terrorists Ma'an goes even further. According to Islam, someone who intentionally seeks Shahada - death for Allah - is greater than someone who achieves Shahada while not actively hoping to die. The Arabic term Istishhadi - Shahada- Seeker- is used by terror organizations to define and add a higher status of honor specifically to suicide terrorists .

Ma'an has followed this lead in its Arabic reporting of the Dimona suicide bombing that killed one Israeli woman and critically injured her husband. Note the apolitical report by Ma'an in English, where the suicide bomber is reported to be just that, "a bomber," followed by the Arabic Ma'an reports that use the term of highest honor, "Shahada-Seekers."

Speaking to Ma'an on Tuesday, Abu Al-Walid reiterated that the bombers were Luay Al-Ghawani and Mousa Arafat ... Israeli security officials had expressed doubt about the validity of the image of the second bomber."

"Ma'an - Senior military figure [Abu Al-Walid] of the Al-Aqsa Brigades in Gaza, rejected the suspicion that Israel aroused regarding the identity of the two Shahada-Seekers, who carried out the Dimona action... Pictures of the two Shahada-Seekers etc ..." [February 5, 2008]

Note also that under similar pictures of the mothers of the bombers, Ma'an uses the objective caption in English: "Mother of suspected bomber," and the honor caption in Arabic: "Mothers of the Shahada-Seekers".

Ma'an uses very politicized hate language to routinely reject Israel's right to exist, and even to deny Israel's existence. For example, when reporting on Israeli Arab doctors who visited Gaza, Ma'an defined them in Arabic as "Palestinian doctors from inside 'Occupied Palestine'," Ma'an's term for Israel. In this case, Ma'an's English language report on this story followed similar hate language:

"Palestinian doctors from 1948 territories [another Ma'an euphemism for Israel] visit Gaza... A delegation of doctors from Palestinian territories occupied since 1948, from outside of the Green Line, visited the Gaza Strip." [February 29, 2008]

In this article to deny Israel's legitimacy on its land, Ma'an went out of its way to use a particularly awkward hate expression. Instead of using the simple, accurate and apolitical wording, "doctors from Israel," Ma'an used 13 cumbersome, politically-charged hate words to describe the doctors' origins:

"doctors from Palestinian territories occupied since 1948, from outside of the Green Line"

It is also important to note that later in the same article, Ma'an used the term "Israel" as follows: "...crippling siege led by Israel." The difference is striking. When referring to the land or location - Ma'an called Israel "Occupied Palestine." In referring to the government of Israel or criticizing Israeli policy Ma'an used "Israel." (See other examples below.)

Finally, since Israel's very existence is presented by Ma'an as an "Occupation," the Israeli army in Arabic is referred to with hate language identical to that used by the terrorist organizations: "the occupation forces." Here, as in some of the cases above, Ma'an avoids the hate language in English. One example is a Ma'an report after Israel arrested three suspected terrorists.

See below a list of examples where Ma'an glorifies terrorists and uses hate language.

PMW comment: Last year PMW documented that Ma'an used this politicized hate language after the suicide terror attack in the Israeli city of Eilat.

In Arabic, Ma'an had reported that Eilat was "in the south of occupied Palestine," the mother of the terrorist was said to be from the "occupied city of Jaffa", though Jaffa is part of Tel Aviv, and Ma'an had honored the suicide bomber as a Shahid.

We find it surprising and unfortunate that the governments of The Netherlands and Denmark continue to fund this hate journalism without demanding a change. Hate incitement, including denial of Israel's existence and glorifying terror, is universally accepted as a paramount cause of continued Palestinian terror. These governments, together with governments who have blindly funded Palestinian schoolbooks, bear direct moral responsibility for the continued hatred that is being ingrained into future Palestinian generations, and bear a moral responsibility for the terror and its victims.

The following are additional examples of Ma'an using hate language and honoring terrorists.

Ma'an grants Shahid status to all terrorists in recent terror attacks. The following are in addition to examples above.

"8 dead and two Shahids in the Jerusalem Operation. The operatives were from [village of] Jabal Mukbar..." [Ma'an, Arabic news, March 6, 2008]

"Ma'an discloses the identity of the two Shahids from the Ezion operation." [Ma'an, Arabic news, January 24 , 2008]

"Two of the operatives died as Shahids, two more were injured and two Israeli soldiers were killed." [Ma'an, Arabic news, December 28, 2007]

"Speaking to Ma'an on Tuesday, Abu Al-Walid reiterated that the bombers were Luay Al-Ghawani and Mousa Arafat" [ English news, February 5, 2008]

Ma'an news releases promote the hate message that Israel has no right to exist, calling Israel "Occupied Palestine" or "territories occupied after 1948," Israel's government the "Occupation Authority" and its soldiers the "Occupation forces." Note also when Israel is mentioned it is often put within quotation marks- a common linguistic method to express non-recognition.

1."The Occupation authorities [editor: replaces 'Israeli authorities'] have been enforcing severe restrictions since the morning hours on the entrance of residents to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and even on the entrance into the city of Jerusalem within the borders of the occupation municipality [editor: replaces 'Jerusalem']. They have prevented hundreds of the residents of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories occupied since 1948, [editor: replaces 'Israel'] who hold blue "Israeli" identity cards from..."

2."He said that 72 prisoners have died as Shahids during the al-Aqsa intifada, 58 of them from the West Bank, one from the territories occupied since 1948 [editor: replaces 'Israel'] and 13 from the Gaza Strip..." [Ma'an, Arabic news, February 29, 2008]

3."In a research paper he published on the issue of the number of prisoners of Palestine which has been occupied since 1948 (The "inside" prisoners) [editor: replaces 'Israeli prisoners'], he emphasized that this number is an important number in the equation of the historical and cultural struggle against the Israeli occupier..." [Ma'an, Arabic news, March 15, 2008]

Note in this previous example that instead of just writing the single word "Israel," Ma"an used a very long term: Palestine which has been occupied since 1948. However, Ma"an itself felt the need to further explain its own cumbersome usage by adding in parentheses, ("inside" prisoners) meaning 'Israeli Arab prisoners.' It shows again that Ma"an is willing to burden its readers with linguistic contortions, rather than use simple and accurate language which would indicate recognition of Israel. In this case the language it avoided writing was "Arab prisoners from Israel."

4. "Dr. al-Asta did not compare the outlook... to one who lives in the racist Ghetto in Occupied Palestine..." [Ma'an, Arabic news, February 24, 2008]

5. "A delegation of doctors from Palestinian territories occupied since 1948... visited the Gaza Strip." [Ma'an, Arabic news, March 17, 2008]

"The occupation forces" detained 3 residents in Bethlehem and al-Duha". [Ma'an, Arabic news, March 25, 2008]

"The Israeli occupation army seized the town of Kafin afternoon today, Wednesday..." [Ma'an, Arabic news, March 26, 2008]

"Israeli forces stormed the town of Kafin in the West Bank Wednesday..." [Ma'an, English news, March 26, 2008]

PMW bulletin reported on page one of Jerusalem Post

Watchdog slams Holland, Denmark for funding news agency that glorifies terror

by Gil Hoffman

The Netherlands and Denmark provide funding to a Palestinian news agency that glorifies terrorists, uses biased language and promotes hatred for Israel, Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook of Palestinian Media Watch allege in a report obtained exclusively by The Jerusalem Post ahead of its official release on Friday.

Marcus and Crook monitored the Ma'an news agency's Arabic and English news coverage of the last few terrorist attacks in Israel and found that it repeatedly honored murderers as "martyrs" and referred to areas of pre-1967 Israel as "occupied Palestine."

They also found that stronger anti-Israel terminology was used in Ma'an's Arabic Web site than in its English one.

"We find it surprising and unfortunate that the governments of the Netherlands and Denmark continue to fund this hate journalism without demanding a change," Marcus and Crook wrote. "Hate incitement, including denial of Israel's existence and glorifying terror, is universally accepted as a paramount cause of continued Palestinian terror. These governments, together with governments who have blindly funded Palestinian schoolbooks, bear direct moral responsibility for the continued hatred that is being ingrained into future Palestinian generations, and bear a moral responsibility for the terror and its victims."

Frans Makken, the head of mission at the Dutch representative office in Ramallah, said such problems were rare at Ma'an and that his office would take steps to ensure that they did not reoccur.

"When this has come up before, we took it up with Ma'an," Makken said. "It was just a mistake of words. It happens rarely, if ever. Our office is involved in connecting people. If there has been a slip-up, we will bring it up with them. They are young journalists and their translations are being improved all the time."

Makken said this was only the second complaint his office had received in his three years in his post, the first being when the suicide bomber in a January 2007 terrorist attack was referred to as a "martyr."

"[The usage of such words] was not on purpose," Makken said. "It is something we are trying to avoid. The charter of the project [funding Ma'an] is to promote mutual understanding, which is the opposite of incitement. It is very far-fetched to say that Denmak and Holland are inciting terrorism."

The Danish Embassy and Foreign Ministry did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Marcus said that by funding Ma'an, Denmark and the Netherlands bore direct moral responsibility for Ma'an's terror promotion.

"I am outraged by the myriad excuses from funding countries that refuse to accept responsibility for the hatred and terror promotion they fund," Marcus said. "Why is the Dutch representative trying to create a smoke screen for terror promotion by writing about 'translations' and 'slip-ups?'

"If Denmark and Holland are serious about not being branded themselves as terror promoters, they will stop making excuses for Ma'an and publicly give them an ultimatum: One more example of terror glorification or hate journalism and the funding is canceled. Until this is done, Denmark and Holland can be included among the countries that are part of the terror problem and not part of the solution."

In the report, Marcus and Crook found that Ma'an's Arabic reports glorified the Palestinian who recently murdered eight students at Jerusalem's Mercaz Harav Yeshiva, February's Dimona suicide terrorist, the killers of the two Israeli hikers and the terrorists who attacked a boys' high school with the very highest Islamic status attainable, elevating them to the status of shahids - "martyrs for Allah."

"In defining terrorist murderers as 'shahids,' Ma'an is by definition sending its readers a straightforward message of honor for the killers, and approval for the many murders," Marcus and Crook wrote.

In its English versions of these reports, according to Palestinian Media Watch, Ma'an neither honored the terrorists as "shahids" nor used the English term "martyrs."

In response, Ma'an noted that "The term shahid, as translated in the Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (page 572), may refer to one killed in action or a martyr." It said that "in the Palestinian cultural/religious tradition, the martyrdom aspect is significantly different from the Judeo-Christian understanding. Those who die as martyrs may be defending their wives or their property, not necessarily engaging in the Western notion of a holy crusade. The PMW interpretation, while undoubtedly held by some religious individuals, is not necessarily the general interpretation of these terms."

It defended its "use of the occupation concept" as stemming "from international law and internationally-recognized boundaries. In simple terms, Israeli forces operating in Tel Aviv may be considered Israeli security forces, while those in Bethlehem are occupying forces. Tel Aviv falls on the Israeli side of the Green Line. Bethlehem does not. That distinction is the crux of our decision-making.

"The example cited from February 29, 2008, uses the terms 'occupation authorities,' 'occupation municipality,' 'residents of... the territories occupied since 1948' and '"Israeli"' identity cards.' Taken out of context," it said, "these certainly sound like biased and offensive terms. When looked at more closely, however, they are terms that reflect both the uneasy ethnic distinctions of Israeli society and Israel's status, under international law, as an occupation force. The article refers to crackdowns on access to the Al-Aksa compound, an area in the Old City of east Jerusalem. Annexed following the 1967 war, east Jerusalem fell on the Palestinian side of the 1949 armistice line, the Green Line. Since 1967 the international community has considered it occupied territory, as do Palestinians.

"Ma'an's Arabic terminology reflects the internationally-recognized reality that the current Jerusalem municipal boundaries include Palestinian territory," it went on.

"In the two hours that The Jerusalem Post gave us to issue a formal response, we were not able to track down each cited article from our archives...

"Finally, our funding is issued through the Dutch and the Danish representative offices in Ramallah, who employ local, native Arabic speakers to assist in coordinating projects. We are fairly certain that they monitor our Arabic site in addition to our English one. Culturally-appropriate differences in terminology are, therefore, merely that and not an attempt to hoodwink our generous donors."

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