Alliance program highlights effort to combat antisemitism in the media

PROVIDENCE – More than 100 people crowded into the social hall at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center Monday night to hear Gil Hoffman discuss anti-Israel bias in the media. Hoffman heads the Jerusalem-based nonprofit watchdog HonestReporting, which exposes bias and misinformation in mainstream and social media.

Hoffman, who lives in Israel and grew up in Chicago, pointed out the importance of winning the current Israel–Hamas war not only via the military but also on college campuses and on the media front. He stressed the importance of protecting the image of Israel.

Hoffman told a number of stories about how his organization uncovered bias in the backgrounds of reporters covering Israel. Some of this bias was outright; some was far in the background.

His small team digs deep into social media, where they sometimes find antisemitic tweets by supposedly unbiased freelancers and staffers. He used the example of an Associated Press reporter covering Gaza who wrote on his social media that Israel should be destroyed. That reporter has been suspended.

He said that HonestReporting will often have private conversations to try to get the news organizations or social media influencers to change their reporting. “Accurate reporting saves lives,” he said.

But if that doesn’t work, he said, “We call out the bias where we see it.”

HonestReporting was formed in 2000. Hoffman has been executive director since 2022.

Hoffman has deep experience with Israeli media. He was the chief political correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, where he worked for 24 years. He said he jumped at the chance to lead HonestReporting because he knows the importance of accuracy in the media.

There certainly have been examples of bias during the current war. As Hoffman pointed out, it’s as simple as referring to Hamas as “militants” rather than “terrorists.”

He encouraged the audience to speak up against bias.

He ended the program on a positive note by pointing out how united Israelis and the whole Jewish community really are. He referenced how the different sides of the judicial-reform fight in Israel have come together during the war.

“Whoever thought the American Jewish community wouldn’t rally behind Israel because they were so divided was completely wrong. Look at this crowd. You all have different views on Israel in the United States.”

The program was the first of this year’s monthly Israeli Culture Series, presented by the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. To learn more about HonestReporting, go to honestreporting.com.

FRAN OSTENDORF (fostendorf@jewishallianceri.org) is the editor of Jewish Rhode Island.