Steven Salaita's Academic Activism Against Israel Leaves No Stone Unturned

"Moreover, all journalism is a form of activism. Every journalistic choice necessarily embraces highly subjective assumptions — cultural, political or nationalistic — and serves the interests of one faction or another."
Glenn Greenwald, quoted in "Is Glenn Greenwald the Future of News?"

If the future of journalism really is that it will be reduced to emotional assumptions instead of fact-based assertions, we can also ask if that is the future of other formerly respected endeavors as well.

Take for instance Steven Salaita, described by Wikipedia as an American scholar, author and public speaker currently holding the Edward W. Said Chair of American Studies at the American University of Beirut.

Photos: More Sloppiness in Jodi Rudoren's New York Times Article in Defense of Arabs Throwing Rocks At Jews

The New York Times had an article this week on Palestinian Arabs attacking and killing Israelis with rocks in the euphemistically entitled  In a West Bank Culture of Conflict, Boys Wield the Weapon at Hand by Jodi Rudoren.

Rudoren makes a point of making the attackers into sympathetic people and quoting one of the attackers that this is his "hobby". She refers to them by name, while not identifying their victims by name -- making no reference of the name of the sole fatality she manages to mention, and saying the victim was killed when in fact the attacker was tried and convicted of murder.

If Rudoren's imbalance disturbs you, check out the gallery of photos that accompany the article.

The Media Still Ignores The Consequences of Palestinian Rock-Throwing

Anav Silverman writes A Rock is a Bullet: The Consequences of Palestinian Rock-Throwing, telling the story of a seven-month old infant hit in the head by a rock thrown by a Palestinian Arab -- and the consequences 23 years later:

Ahikam Simantov holds the rock that
hit his head as an infant, causing
permanent brain damage. Photo
Tzuriel Cohen-Araz

For over 25 years, Palestinian rock-throwing has become a part of routine life for Jewish residents living in Judea and Samaria. On the roads to the settlement communities, many of the 300,000 residents living in the scenic region have experienced some kind of rock attack on their vehicle. While there has been much debate about the political significance of a Palestinian rock thrower by outside media observers and political commentators, for residents impacted by such rock attacks, the rock is simply seen as lethal.

Mideast Media Sampler 4/05/13: Palestinians Throwing Stones Is All Fun And Games To The Media Until Someone Loses A Life

by David Gerstman, contributing blogger at Legal Insurrection

1) Casting the first stone - and all the subsequent ones too 

What's the difference between assault with a deadly weapon - a shooting - and assault with rocks that hit cars at potentially lethal speeds? Why should teenagers think of rock-throwing as something fun to do - and not as a crime?
Excerpt from Beltway Rocks: Police Responses The Washington Post [Washington, D.C] 05 June 1990: A24.

Earlier this week, the Washington Post and New York Times reported on allegations that Israel allowed a Palestinian prisoner die. Never mind that the prisoner in question had a terminal disease or that the Palestinian Authority politicians making the charges had no basis for their claims, both papers treated the charges uncritically.

But if trumped up charges are news, apparently real attacks are not.