by Peggy Shapiro
What do these headlines
about the conflict with the Palestinians have in common?
a)
“Israel launches
waves of strikes across Gaza after soldier killed.”
b)
“Israel carries out
Gaza strikes as soldier dies from gunshot.”
c)
“Israel carries out
deadly air strikes in Gaza after one of its soldiers is killed.”
d)
“Israeli warplanes
pound Gaza in response to burned fields.”
e)
“Israeli
kindergarten yard hit by flaming balloon.”
The answer is simple
for anyone who has taken basic English or Intro to Journalism: All actions by
Israelis are in the active voice while all actions by Hamas are in the passive
voice. The difference is not merely a minor rhetorical point. When we use the
active voice, for example “Israel attacked,” we know who committed the action.
In the passive voice, “Israeli killed” or “fields are burned,” the agent lurks
unidentified.
When a journalist
presents all violence committed by Hamas in the passive voice – “Israel hit by rockets” – it leaves the impression
that there was no perpetrator. When the same journalist uses the active voice –
“Israel carries out strikes” – to describe Israel’s response, it attributes
blame to Israel and portrays Israel as the aggressor. Headlining “Soldier dies
from gunshot” omits the shooter and implies that no one pulled the trigger. Too
many headlines and articles lack explicit reference to an actor unless the
actor is Jewish/Israeli.
Sometimes the
passive voice is useful when you don’t know who the agent is. The mayor was
arrested. We don’t know the officer who arrested him, nor do we need to.
However, it is clear to every journalist exactly who fired the weapons that
targeted Israelis and who launched the burning kites that destroyed Israeli
land and crops. They are just not saying who.
Culprits who use
this technique frequently employ the passive voice to blunt criticism. A new
company executive who has just fired a significant number of employees may hope
to direct blame away from himself with, “The workforce has been downsized.” In
Washington, a hundred million dollar misallocation of funds might be explained
as “A mistake was made.” Using the passive voice seeks to evade accusation of
responsibility.
To test the
aggressive use of passive language in reporting about Israel, flip the voices.
Instead of “Israel carries out deadly air strikes in Gaza after one of its
soldiers is killed,” let the headline read, “Following Hamas deadly attack on
Israel, Gaza is hit by air strikes.” Change “Israeli kindergarten yard hit by
deadly flaming balloon” to “Hamas targets kindergarten with deadly flaming
balloon.”
Journalists know that one of the most egregious uses of the passive voice is to hide blame or obscure responsibility, yet some do exactly that when it comes to attacks against Israel.
1 comment:
Except for the last, they also place the response to the terrorist act before the precipitating attack, giving more prominence to the reaction than to the action.
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