Misinformation or mistake?

Herb Keinon’s article in the Jerusalem Post, briefly describes the case of Khulood Badawi, an information and media coordinator for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, in a letter to Valerie Amos, the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, has called for Badawi’s dismissal.  Badawi had posted a link to a picture purporting to show a dead Palestinian child killed by an IDF strike during a recent four-day flare up of hostilities between terrorists in Gaza and Israeli forces. Ms. Badawi had also tweeted of the picture: “Palestine is bleeding. Another child killed by #Israel…Another father carrying his child to a Grave in #Gaza.”

Part of graphic photo sent by Badawi        

The disturbing photo was later discovered to have been actually published in 2006 by Reuters, and the child’s death had been due to an accident and was completely unrelated to recent events. Prosor stated that not only was Badawi guilty of spreading misinformation, but that her actions “violated conduct expected of a UN official”. In addition that she had “actively engaged in the demonization of Israel, a member state of the United Nations”.

Khulood Badawi

The article went on to say that the Israeli Foreign ministry had had previous issues with the OCHA, which they felt was “badly one-sided”. There was no comment from OCHA except a spokeswoman’s statement that she was not authorized to comment on the situation, and that she was unaware of Prosor’s call for Badawi’s firing.

The author of this piece, Herb Keinon, is the diplomatic correspondent at the Jerusalem Post and has held that post for twelve years, while writing for the Jerusalem Post for twenty-seven years. While originally from Denver and a graduate of American Universities, Keinon has lived in Israel for the past thirty years and it is reasonable to assume that his writing would have a pro-Israeli outlook. The fact that the link to the photo and the tweet regarding it can easily be verified thorough other sources lends credibility to the article which mainly quotes known and verifiable sources and refrains from statements of opinion from its author.

While the picture and the tweet were sent from Badawi’s personal twitter account and a blog on her Facebook page , this fact is not addressed in the article. It is possible to misconstrue that Ms. Badawi sent the information out in some sort of official UN capacity, which was not the case.   In a later article from Arutz Sheva, it was reported that in a reply to Posor issued by Undersecretary Amos, she stated “It is regrettable that an OCHA staff member has posted information on her personal Twitter profile, which is both false and which reflects on issues that are related to her work.  The opinions expressed in her tweets in no way reflect the views of OCHA, nor has it been sanctioned by OCHA.”  As of that date, the article also stated that Badawi had “neither retracted nor apologized for her inaccurate tweet”.

Social Media Plays Pivotal Role

The original Jerusalem Post article, aside from publicizing an instance of “fauxtagraphy” and misinformation, also indirectly raises the question of the place of social media in today’s society and the political ramifications that can arise from the expression of one’s personal opinion.  While Ms. Badawi’s Tweet and blog are separate from her position at the UN, where she is to behave as an impartial representative, the real story may be is it really possible to separate the two parts of a person’s life?  In an Associated Press article regarding this story, it is stated that Badawi sent the photo to her 2,250 Twitter followers. It was then reposted 450 times. While it is known that Khulood Badawi is sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, and it can be assumed that her Twitter followers are as well,  the fact that the photo was reposted 450 times giving a false image to events must be addressed.  As Prosor says in his letter such actions “contribute to incitement, conflict and, ultimately, violence.”  The fact that Badawi’s position at the UN is that of an information and media coordinator makes her use of a six year old photo in the completely wrong context even more troublesome and her motives questionable.

Khader Adan

            

Administrative detention is a procedure under which detainees are held without charge or trial for periods of up to six months, which can be renewed repeatedly. Under administrative detention, detainees' rights to a fair trial as guaranteed by Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) are consistently violated.

Khader Adan is a 33-year-old Palestinian baker who has been held by Israeli authorities since a raid on his home on December 17^th of last year due to his alleged affiliation with the Islamic Jihad movement.  Adan’s situation is of particular note because he has been on a hunger strike for more than 10 weeks which was begun to protest the treatment he had received at the hands of the ISA (Israel Security Agency), the conditions of his detention and on a larger scale Israel’s policy of administrative detention.

            According to an article attributed to Amnesty International on the Palestinian News Network, Adan has been scheduled for release on April 17^th.  However, due to
 the deteriorating condition of Adan’s health after his 66 days of deprivation, Amnesty International is calling for his immediate release so that the man can receive urgently needed medical treatment that they claim is needed to save his life. Shackled to his bed at Ziv Hospital in northern Israel under armed guard, it is said by Israeli authorities that Adan constitutes a security threat.

            It has been reported that Adan has agreed to end his hunger strike but Amnesty International was unable to verify this independently according to the article.  Adan’s appeal was to go before the Israeli Supreme Court but this was cancelled because Adan’s attorney had reportedly reached an agreement with Israeli authorities for his release on April 17^th. Despite this agreement, Amnesty International wishes for Adan to be immediately released along with all other Palestinians who are being held in administrative  detention and have not been “charged with recognizable criminal offences”, and who can be “tried in accordance with international fair trial standards” said Phillip Luther, Amnesty International’s Interim Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

           
     While this article appears in a Palestinian news source, it mirrors the piece on Amnesty International’s own website regarding this situation so the positions and statements in it clearly come from Amnesty and do not seem to have been manipulated or altered to show any pro-Palestinian bias.  There is no author listed for the piece, merely that it is from Amnesty International originally.   According to their website, Amnesty International is "a global movement of members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights". It is an organization that is "independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion".  It is apparent from the article that this is the case as it address the issue of Khader Adan primarily from a humanitarian viewpoint, without calling into question his alleged association with Islamic Jihad, a known terrorist organization.  While the organization does call for an end to the practice of administrative detention, this does not indicate that they are Pro-Palestinian in their views as they have protested similar tactics by other governments.

            The article also mentions the group Physicians for Human Rights-Israel which is a non-government organization that has been monitoring Adan’s condition.  On this groups website the page “The Case of Khader Adan” confirms the basic facts of the Amnesty story and goes on to say that that he was tortured and subjected to cruel and degrading treatment during his arrest and interrogation.  This group is also critical of the practice of administrative detention practiced in Israel and the world over.  The branch of the group mentioned- Physicians for Human Rights-Israel is comprised of both Jewish and Palestinian doctors  which may lead one to believe that the group is not biased towards one group in particular but it is stated on the website that the group opposes the occupation which may cast them in a Pro-Palestinian light.

                                                           Khader Adan

      The focus of this article is the treatment of Khader Adan and the issue of administrative detention. The article does not address the question of why Adan was detained in the first place. According to articles in Haaretz, Adan is not just associated with Islamic Jihad but a leader and a spokesman for the group.  Another article makes mention of a You Tube video purportedly showing Adan with a megaphone recruiting suicide bombers.  The Palestinian News piece does not address any of this but instead deals only with the health and treatment of Khader Adan and the policy of administrative detention. Israeli authorities are not quoted in the piece and the Israeli version of events, such as circumstances of Adan's capture and his past history are not a part of the story.

             Because of this, this piece only gives a partial picture of the situation and seems to play more on emotions than complete facts. It would seem that while this article gives a fairly reliable account of certain aspects of Khader Adan's situation, there is a great deal more to this story than what is addressed in the Amnesty International article presented by the Palestinian News Network.