The Hindu Business Line : Make peace the story

Don't be biased in your reporting because you are this, or that is your source of information. Be honest and there is nothing to fear because honesty is more respected than anything else by every side.

DANNY RUBINSTEIN: Giving voice to both perspectives

Having subscribed to his paper for years, reading his columns ever so often, studying his analysis, marvelling at the skill and expertise with which he reported from the "enemy's den", when I met Danny Rubinstein, columnist and member of the editorial board of Israel's most liberal daily Haaretz, literally a few miles from my doorstep, it was just karma.

The first question was on how it felt to be a part of Haaretz. After all, the daily has writers who live in and write from the Palestinian territories eyewitness accounts that hardly any US daily would dare to. With a twinkle in his eyes Rubinstein begins, "We have often been called more Palestinian than the Palestinians, but we also have what are popularly called right-wing columnists writing for us. Moreover we are the only paper that has been monitoring the resettlement of the Israeli settlers who were evicted from Gaza. Even though they are 7,000 in number, which is not very many, still these people have been uprooted and they should be adequately compensated and we are monitoring the process of their rehabilitation."

But Rubinstein was also one of the first to speak out against the Gaza withdrawal plan. "Yes, because it was a unilateral step and unilateralism is not a correct step. I believe in negotiations and dialogue. They (the Ariel Sharon government) did unilateralism because they had no alternative and it was very clever of Sharon and a successful step too. For in this case unilateralism — the withdrawal from Gaza — attracted both the liberal and the right-wingers in Israel. For the right-wingers unilateralism meant that we don't take into account the Palestinians, we were doing everything just keeping in mind Israel's interest.

For the Left and liberals it meant we were moving out of Gaza and they approved of that. Even the Palestinians were happy with unilateralism, because it meant Israel was vacating Gaza and that was enough; they did not care if there were negotiations with them or not. So in a way all of them supported the unilateral withdrawal. And it was after this that the Centrist party Kadima was formed."

And then came Hezbollah and the war with Lebanon...

"This was the catastrophe and this destroyed the political agenda of Kadima. The party will vanish and it will be a problem for the next election. And that is why Ehud Olmert will do everything to delay the elections."

Semantics power

What about convergence from the West Bank? "I don't know what they are planning now. I cover Palestinian affairs, but from the Foreign Ministry there has been an initiative. The Foreign Minister was talking a lot about meeting Condoleeza Rice and others. She met Chairman Abu Mazen," he says, adding with a twinkle in his eyes: "If you say President Abu Mazen, then you are pro-Palestinian."

Yes, one has heard that before. Such is the significance of semantics. And probably few know it better than Rubinstein. He recalls how during the Oslo accords the English draft was the one that was formally adopted. "There was much debate on what would be the word used for the Head of the Palestinian Authority. It was thought that President would be too much... it would imply sovereignty, state." So Israel suggested Chairman, because Chairman could be the one of a board of governors, trustees etc. Ultimately, a compromise was reached and the Arabic word "Rais" was adopted. In Arabic Rais means both President and Chairman. So in the English version the word "Rais" was retained.

On a more serious note he reflects on the implication of the vocabulary one chose to use. After all, Rubinstein teaches linguistics in the University and on his visit to India pays close attention to names like Mumbai or Kolkata. "I knew Kolkata as Calcutta, and even though the change may be minor in terms of spelling and pronunciation, there is a huge difference in the idea, in what that minor change implies. When I started working as a journalist for the Davar (Labour Party newspaper), I was told not to use the word `Palestinian'. Israel was enough, the Palestinians were referred to as the `Arabs of the land of Israel'."

And how is it now? "Well, the word `disengagement' was used exactly for this reason, rather than words like `retreat', `pulling back' which implied a sense of loss. `Disengagement' on the other hand implied something between us and the Palestinians. The same applies to the West Bank. The word being used for withdrawal from it is `convergence' as it implies something that Israel is doing for itself, concentrating only on itself."

Honest language

So, how difficult has it been for Rubinstein to put forward his position? After all he has earned the trust and appreciation of many Israelis and Palestinians, as he is known to have put forward both perspectives unflinchingly. And again we return to the issue of semantics. "For when you choose a term, it already shows your position. If, for example, you use the word `terrorist' or the word `freedom fighter' your attitude and position to this group, these people are already given away."

The first problem that Rubinstein faced when he began reporting was language. "I never used, for instance, the word convergence or disengagement. I used the term `Israeli withdrawal' from Gaza, `dismantling of settlement'. That for me is the honest language. You have to use honest language, and not launder words. For language is a symbol of much larger problems."

Rubinstein sees himself first and foremost as a journalist and for him honesty in reporting does not contradict his entity as an honest and loyal Israeli citizen. So it must have been extremely challenging for him to cover Palestinian affairs? "Well, that's why it is all the more necessary for one to be honest. You have to be very careful as a journalist. Being honest is to be safe, honest reports and honest analysis give you credibility. In fact I wrote about Ismail Haniyeh, when he became Prime Minister, that he is more liberal and flexible than Khaled Mashal who is based in Damascus. And I did not know then that there was a tension between the two of them."

That honesty got him an interview! Rubinstein found Haniyeh smart and witty and flexible and liberal but stuck in the Hamas mindset — of not recognising Israel. "I understood that he (Haniyeh) considers two levels in life — the ideological level in which there is no compromise and the practical level where certain amount of cooperation can be achieved. Hence, long-term peace with Israel — No, but long-term ceasefire — Yes. Recognition of Israel — No. Daily cooperation — Yes."

So Rubinstein approached many Israelis too, asking them to make a distinction between the ideological and the practical and found "many subscribed to this view. So that's how I try to make my analysis."

Thus, when he teaches communications and journalism the first thing he tells his students is to be honest. "Don't be biased in your reporting because you are this, or that is your source of information. Be honest and there is nothing to fear because honesty is more respected than anything else by every side." For him that is the key to successful journalism. Indeed, if success can be measured by establishing credibility with those from the opposite ends of the ideological spectrum then Rubinstein can be said to be extremely successful. "I talk to Benyamin Netanyahu and I interviewed Ahmed Yassin. I am not a politician, neither am I a spokesman or lobbyist for Israel. I have my own ideas, I am a voluntary member of some human rights organisations, and I write books."

Enduring hope

This journalist is one of the first to have advocated that Israel recognise a national unity government in the Palestinian territories, even though Hamas has not changed its position of not recognising Israel. "Well, it's not Hamas anymore," he explains. "It's a unity Government in which there are members of the Cabinet like Salam Fayad and Ziad Abu Amr (Minister of Foreign Affairs) who are honest and flexible and liberal and I am sure the Americans will be able to talk to them."

And so Rubinstein has hope, the one word required to survive the brutal conflict. "Without hope we are doomed to die." And then with another twinkle in his eyes he says, "We journalists are said to be worse than arms dealers — we make a living out of reporting these terrible things. But I would be happy to lose my job, only if there would be an end to this conflict."

Immediately becoming serious, he adds, "If there is one thing I have learnt and would like to tell you — that is to be honest and to try to reach cooperation from other fields. Unfortunately, the media plays a negative role. We look for blood, for sensation, for scandal. And war sells, whereas peace does not. There is hardly any writing on peace. Whether on TV or on the front page, a big terrorist attack would make a good story. But peace negotiations will be relegated to the secondary place. My conclusion is that to give peace a chance, make peace the story."

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