U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman came to Israel's defense yet again on Monday, calling out the global media for its biased reporting on the recent violent events along the Gaza border.
Friedman was speaking at The Media Line's Press and Policy Conference at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem – attended by American, Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian and Druze reporters along with leading politicians – on the burning issues for journalists covering the Middle East.
According to Friedman, the media coverage surrounding the violent Hamas-led demonstrations on the border with Israel in recent weeks was mostly unjust and lacking.
"The conflict in Gaza has dominated the headlines in the last three to four weeks," Friedman told the conference. "There has been lots of criticism of Israel; some of it even legitimate. I think even the State of Israel itself hasn't completed its own internal inquiries as to what happened. Maybe there are some things they could have done better. I'm sure there are always things you can do better."
"With all the criticism Israel has gotten, nobody has identified the less lethal means by which Israel could have defended itself over the last four weeks. If what happened isn't right, what is right?" he asked.
"It seems to me that in this journalistic environment, nine out of 10 articles that are written about the Gaza conflict are critical of Israel," he concluded.
