Israeli Arabs being kept out of Israeli media, shows study

23 October, 2007:

Israeli Arabs, who constitute 19% of the Israeli population, are practically absent in the fields of television and radio. What is more, media houses rarely employ Arabs.

According to a recent report published by Agenda, the Israeli Center for Strategic Communication, while Israeli Arabs make up 19% of the population of Israel, the representation of Israeli Arabs in the media stands at only 1%.

Moreover, the study found that large broadcasting channels, internet sites, and major production companies employ a very small number of Arabs among their staff.

The study, conducted by Professor Gadi Wolfsfeld, of the Hebrew University, Israel, looked at the representation of Israeli Arabs in the Hebrew-speaking media in Israel between June 2006 and May 2007.

According to the study, Channel 2 ranked top in excluding Arabs from the TV screen, and only 0.55% of the items broadcast by Channel 2 featured Arabs. And, of these items, 68% presented Arabs as a threat.

In the matter of excluding Arabs, the numbers for channels 1 and 10, the study showed, were strikingly similar.

The representation of Arabs in radio stations has also failed to exceed 1%, though IDF Radio was slightly more inclined to broadcasting items on Arabs than Israel Radio (0.91% and 0.45%, respectively).

In both IDF Radio and Israel Radio, about 50% of the items presented Arabs in a negative, menacing context.

In a separate research by Agenda, it was found that media outlets in Israel scarcely employed Arab workers.

For instance, Channel 2 franchises Keshet and Reshet, Israel Radio’s three sub-stations, Channel 8, and the Kids’ Channel do not have even one Arab employee.

News Company, owned by Channel 2, employs eight Arab workers, Channel 1 has three Arab reporters, IDF Radio has two workers, and Channel 10 has four.

Vered Livneh, director-general of Agenda, said that the major media outlets rarely interview Arabs on civil, general topics that are not related to hummus. Livneh explained: “The chances for an Arab doctor to advise us on how to protect our children from a flu virus, or for an Arab lawyer to give us tips on labor laws are very slim. In networks such as the CNN, all sectors of society are represented, not only because employing and representing minorities in the media is more moral, it also makes for more profitable journalism.”