Tom and Leila – Thank you so much for the kind and thoughtful feedback. It means a lot to me.
C. Siegel -
Wow. You don’t even know me and you are concerned about my safety! That is very touching, indeed.
But you really should not worry: On any given day, there are at least half a dozen Israeli journalists covering stories from inside the West Bank. Everyone knows who they are, and they have never experienced any physical danger. There are also, of course, dozens of foreign reporters covering stories in the West Bank every day. As I have tried to illustrate in my piece – perhaps unsuccessfully, since you seem to have missed the point – the concerns about reporters’ physical safety in the West Bank do not jibe with the reality.
Before you shout “Alan Johnston”, I’d like to point out that Gaza is different – in terms of society, economy and cultural attitudes. Before the Erez Checkpoint was closed to Israelis, I did visit Gaza several times – together with Israeli journalists who know the territory. Again, we did not hide our identity. But we did make sure we had a “well connected” driver – i.e., a driver who belonged to a powerful clan. The BBC’s Alan Johnston is held by the Dargmoush Clan, which has much more in common with the Sopranos than al Qaeda. The Dargmoushes switch loyalty between Fatah and Hamas, depending on political and financial expediency. Unlike the kidnappers in Iraq, they are motivated by money rather than ideology. Unfortunately the BBC, since it is funded by licence fees, is not in a position to make a $5 million “donation” to obtain its journalist’s release, as Fox did for Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig. That is why Johnston has been held for so long – because the Dargmoushes want a ransom in exchange for his release.
Journalists do not get kidnapped in the West Bank, because criminal gangs do not have the same power as they do in Gaza.
However, if something does happen to my “silly butt” you will no doubt be relieved to know that private insurers will cover the cost of its recovery. That is not the case, for example, for the Israeli settlers who choose to live in isolated, often illegal, West Bank settlements. I wonder if you are concerned about your tax shekels being channelled toward the cost of protecting them?
I also wonder if you would use a patronizing adjective like “silly” to describe a male reporter.
