Lions and Lambs Lying Down Together...

There is a wonderful editorial in the right-leaning Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth opposed to the Israeli government's decision to boycott al-Jazeera, due to their allegedly biased coverage of the violence in Gaza. My favorite graf:

"In fact, it is too bad that we don't see many more boycotts in Israel by official bodies unpleased with media outlets and journalists -- because a boycott on a journalist is in fact a citation. It means that the journalist is fulfilling its journalistic mission as the public's representative, rather than serving as the representative of the government ministry or corporation is reports on.

...

The problem, therefore, is not al-Jazeera. The problem lies with the media outlets and journalists that are not boycotted on occasion. Perhaps this means they are not critical or biting enough. Therefore, here is yet another rule of thumb for the benefit of news consumers: Be careful of journalists who are loved by the government."

Journalists, I think, should always approach their sources with suspicion -- and if that suspicion slips into contempt, so be it. This is a lesson that could be better learned in both Israel, and the Arab world.