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| Israel reporting by editors, Alex Traiman of JNS, and Joel Pollak of Breitbart at RJC |
- 00:00:00 In this section, Alex Traiman discusses the immediate action taken by JNS after the attacks on October 7th, which saw the bombing of a hospital in Gaza. JNS launched an immediate campaign for mainstream media, with Traiman personally conducting about 70 interviews on various media outlets. The information war, alongside the soldiers on the front lines, was one of the key battlefields in the conflict. On October 17th, 10 days after fighting, rumors began to circulate that the IDF may not have been behind the Hamas-alleged strike on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, which they claimed resulted in the death of 500 people. Traiman was on the phone with the IDF spokesperson and the prime minister's advisor, who confirmed that it was actually a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) rocket that had hit the hospital, not the IDF. JNS was the first news organization to report this, and Traiman discusses the importance of reliable and accurate reporting in the midst of a rapidly changing conflict.
- 00:05:00 Traiman and Pollak address the attacks in Israel and the psychological warfare being waged by Hamas through their control of the narrative, taking of hostages, and misrepresentation of events. They argue that the media plays a major role in spreading false news and undermining public support for Israeli military action. Traiman recounts his own experiences in Israel, where he was taken to witness the devastation caused by the attacks and interviewed volunteers in the affected communities. He emphasizes the impact that these experiences had on him, stating that his colleague's discovery of food in a refrigerator left for the holiday weekend only added to the sense of tragedy and despair he felt about the situation. Pollak also shares his own observations from Israel, including seeing evidence of the attacks and speaking to Israeli government officials. He highlights the importance of journalists being able to access firsthand information in order to accurately report on events, and the impact that false reporting can have on public opinion and decision making. Overall, the two speakers reiterate the need for journalists to be skeptical of narratives and claim to know the truth, and to actively seek out firsthand information in order to understand complex events like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
- 00:10:00 Mr. Pollak recounts their experience of witnessing the aftermath of the 2014 Israel/Hamas conflict, specifically on the last day of the Sukkot holiday. The witness reports seeing devastated families with their Sukkot decorations destroyed, and observes a tight connection to the events in Gaza at that time. The next day, Pollak was taken to a military base where he witnessed the process of identifying the dead and the lack of recognition afforded to some bodies. The speaker also recalls seeing raw footage of the Hamas attacks, including a particularly distressing scene of a father and two sons trying to escape from their home before being killed by a terrorist. The witness reports feeling very disturbed and sad about the experience, and notes that it has had a lasting impact on his memory.
- 00:15:00 Mr. Pollak begins with a discussion of the bravery, resilience, and humanity of ordinary people in Israel during the Palestinian rocketing of Israel proper. He indicates the determination of Israel's population and leaders to obtain the release of the hostages - as well as to eliminate Hamas' ability to wage hostilities against the Israeli citizenry.
Audience poses questions at Republican Jewish Coalition forum with
Alex Traiman and Joel Pollak
