DEARBORN — As a self-described “independent journalist,” Alison Weir doesn’t have to worry about whether or not a higher-up at a newspaper or TV station will approve of her story ideas.

Alison Weir, founder of www.IfAmericansKnew.org.

And it is for this reason that Weir believes she is able to cover the Israeli/Palestinian conflict more in-depth and more fairly than anywhere else.
Weir, the founder of the Website IfAmericansKnew.org, made a stop in Dearborn on Tuesday, Oct. 13 for a spirited discussion on the campus of the University of Michigan-Dearborn about the conflict and her experiences in Gaza and the West Bank.

Weir’s site features articles and a quantitative analysis on the conflict, including media coverage statistics designed to illustrate what Weir feels is a strong pro-Israeli bias in the stories of mainstream media outlets.

One prominent example Weir discussed in her presentation was the number of deaths on each side compared with the amount of media stories covering each death.

In regards to child deaths, which tend to evoke the biggest emotional response from the audience, for example, Weir noted a big disparity.

A study conducted for the period of September 2000 to September 2001 on major TV outlets ABC, CBS, and NBC showed that they covered the deaths of Israeli children to Palestinian children at ratios ranging from 6-1 to 13-1 despite the fact that 131 Palestinian children died during that period compared with 28 Israeli deaths based on Israeli statistics.

The overall death reporting rate in that period for the three major networks was in the range of 3-1 or 4-1 in favor of Israelis despite the number of deaths overall listed at 549 for Palestinians to 165 for Israelis.

All of this information can be found on the Website, which showcases media report cards that were sent out to the TV networks and major newspapers which Weir found similar biases in.

Even networks thought to be fairer such as National Public Radio were also found to have major disparities along the same lines according to Weir.

“What we’re seeing here is that the population is drawing conclusions based on incomplete data,” Weir said, adding that 127 Palestinians were killed before the first Israeli on Israeli soil during the September 2000 uprising in the region.

“The media consistently says that Israel is defending itself, but the stats lead you to believe it is the opposite.”

Other issues the media doesn’t address according to Weir are the movement of dissent in Israel, the deaths of non-Palestinian protestors, and the non-violent protests that go on in Palestine that never seem to be shown. She added that the media has virtually ignored the alleged Israeli attack on the U.S.S. Liberty ship in 1967.

Weir saw the damage being inflicted on Gaza personally as she “wandered around” Palestine, and also said that an Israeli soldier fired shots in her area, which she believed was to send a message that she wasn’t welcome there.

While Weir acknowledged that the problem of changing American perceptions on the conflict is a difficult challenge, she remains hopeful that the situation will take a turn for the better as more and more people in the U.S. and abroad study the facts.

She cited the falling of the Berlin Wall in Germany and the end of apartheid in South Africa as examples of what can happen if people spread the word, protest, and put pressure on their representatives.

Weir said that the missed chance for the Goldstone Report detailing possible Israeli war crimes to be released was a setback, but added that it’s important for people to remain hopeful about the situation and to put more pressure on as manymedia outlets as possible through letters and phone calls.

“The pro-Israeli side puts more pressure on the newspapers, TV stations, and representatives,” she said.

“What we really need right now for Palestine is a true grassroots movement.”