A survey conducted by Shiluv Millward Brown for "Globes" on Israeli Arabs' viewing habits during Operation Cast Lead in January has raised findings that some people might consider worrying.
Both Israeli Jews and Arabs watched more television during the war, but Shiluv Millward Brown found that the most watched channel for news among 80% of Israeli Arabs was Qatar-based "Al Jazeera", followed by 34% who watched Saudi-based "Al-Arabiyeh", and 27% who watched Hizbullah's Al Manar. The top three are foreign, non-Zionist channels.
26% of Israeli Arabs watched Israeli news broadcasts on Channel 2, 25% watched Channel 10, and 12% watched Israel Broadcasting Authority's Channel 1. 9% watched Lebanon's MBC, 4% watched Abu Dhabi Television, 2% watched Jordan Television, and 7% did not watch news broadcasts.
The findings indicate the sharp difference in sources of information between Israeli Jews and Arabs, which probably contributed to different stands on the fighting. The differences between the two groups rose to the fore during the fighting against Hamas in Gaza. The demonstrations by Israeli Arabs appeared to not only support Palestinians in Gaza, but were also seen as implying a lack of identification or belonging with Israel, and hatred of the Zionist state. The different sources of information may explain some of the feelings.
Additionally, more than half the Israeli Arab respondents said that Al Jazeera was the most credible news station, compared with 5% who cited Channel 10, 4% Al Manar, 3% Channel 2 and Al Arabiyeh, and 2% Channel 1.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 24, 2009
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