I’ve now been back in London for a few days and am starting to take in a little of what took place when I was in Israel (and Jordan and Turkey…). Aside from helping to process it all personally, I hope writing about it more provides some insight into what is really going on, or was at least going on while I was there last week.
This is something media outlets have not entirely got to grips with. The coverage when started hysterically and had little place to go once the situation escalated, to the detriment of readers, viewers and listeners.
There is also much being missed. Having walked through a city in which many of the businesses had to be shuttered, outlets should be wondering more about the economic toll this latest war will have on Israeli society. Maybe the price of a dented Iran and (hopefully) increased security is worth it, but I see little of that conversation.
Someone Else Telling the Israel Story
Being at the centre of a global media story in Israel, watching it unfold in real-time and then leaving, is a disorienting experience. You feel both totally separated and totally connected to the ongoing situation.
Seeing shots of Tel Aviv on the news channels, having been in a bomb shelter there just a few days ago, is surreal. On TV news reports or in the papers, I’ve seen images of destroyed buildings that not all that long ago I walked by. Of course, in such circumstances you can’t help but shudder at the thought that it could have been the building you’re in that bore the brunt of the attack. It’s better though to follow the stoicism of the Israelis and not to let such thoughts linger.
Ultimately, I’ve felt a frustration watching third parties tell the story that feels like, at least in part, my own. It’s a humbling emotion for a journalist as the role is almost always to tell someone else’s story.
Furthermore, I’m acutely aware that being able to write in this way is something of a luxury. For those who live in Israel, the shelters, shattered buildings, and stolen lives are their reality. They don’t get to head to a border and get on a flight away from it all, however painful an experience that is. (Eight hours at the Jordanian border was in many ways more traumatising than the hours sheltering from ballistic missiles.) They have to start cleaning up the rubble – and they are, staggeringly promptly.
It makes sense for the British media to focus on Brits stuck in Israel – I contributed to such pieces in The Times, here and here, The reporter provided valuable insight into the difficulties many people found themselves in. However, the more stories need to focus on the people who cannot leave if Iran once again returns to aiming missiles at civilians.
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