The Media Disconnect with Reality in Israel

Welcome to a special edition of The Addition from Tel Aviv, Israel. 

As you might imagine, I had an… eventful… night last night. I came to Israel to report on Tel Aviv Pride – one of the biggest in the world, now cancelled. After attending a media reception, I headed back to my hotel and went to bed. The city was ready to party. Indeed, plenty of people were already at parties. 

Then, at 3 a.m. local time, I a security alarm woke me up. A bit dozy, I put on some pyjama trousers and headed out of my room, following others to the stairwells, which are designated as safe areas. There, we learned that Israel was in the process of taking out Iranian military and nuclear capabilities. Suspecting a long night, I walked back up the 16 flights of stairs to my room to grab some key supplies. After that, I bounced between the bottom of the stairwell and the lobby for a couple of hours. Then, at 5.30am it seemed everything was calm and I headed back to bed. 

Israel News is Different to Reality

This morning, I dipped into the news to see how the events were being covered and learn what the latest developments were. At the risk of diminishing the geopolitical consequences of last night, much of the coverage I saw was hysterical rubbish. Breathless debates on CNN, raging website headlines. Again, the geopolitical consequences are likely huge, but on the ground in Tel Aviv, everything feels pretty quiet. That was simply not reflected in much of the coverage I have taken in. 

Until around midday, Israelis were instructed to stay close to their shelters, as Iran responded by sending over 100 drones towards the country (all of which were knocked out of the air). That explains some of the quiet. But there is also a determination to carry on even in the face of potentially significant risk that is typical of Israel.  Again, I saw nothing of this in media coverage. I’m writing this looking at people swimming in the sea and relaxing by the hotel pool as they normally would. Some house remixes of pop songs are playing in the hotel bar. 

The media have responsibilities both to emphasise how important a story is and also to explain the reality of what is going on. Yes, Israel is a country braced for a response, but it is also a country that is calm. Long may it stay that way.