Israel Matzav

Time Magazine Jerusalem bureau chief says he didn't write 'Why Israel doesn't care about peace' title

Here's an interview with Karl Vick, the Jerusalem bureau chief for Time Magazine and the author of the infamous Time article that was featured on the cover pictured at left, in which Vick says that he did not write the inflammatory headline that has been heard around the world.

In an exclusive interview from Jerusalem, Karl Vick, author of the TIME story entitled "Why Israel Doesn't Care About Peace" [September 13, 2010] explains to Mark S. Golub, president of Shalom TV, that he had nothing to do with the words appearing on the magazine cover.

Time Magazine Cover "It's not my title," he tells Golub. "[The] people who put together these covers are trying to be as provocative as they can."

Vick's article actually includes Israelis declaring that "nobody can ignore the peace talks...nobody can ignore the conflict." In contrast to the magazine headline, the TIME bureau chief stresses that "peace is always the most important issue here." He also says that coverage of yet another try at peace talks was not big news in Israel because Israelis are "not in the mood...after all of these false starts and unfulfilled hopes since Oslo."

Vick describes his recent move to Israel and how, upon arrival, he said "Wow! This is really quite a lovely country they've got here! It's the Mediterranean lifestyle...it's a great climate...people are doing well, generally speaking. The rich are doing really well. You can enjoy life...and people seem to be enjoying life."

Vick acknowledges to Golub that there is an attempt to delegitimize Israel, particularly in Europe, and that it is a fair and reasonable concern on the part of American Jews and Israelis to not want American journalism to get sucked into that process.

Commenting on his conversation with Karl Vick, Golub notes, "There was a clear disconnect between the well-written, fair account in the article and the insulting, inflammatory title TIME wedged onto the magazine's cover. In my discussion with Karl, it became clear that while TIME has a professional journalist running their Jerusalem Bureau, whoever is writing the headlines in New York might be more appropriately working for a supermarket tabloid."

You can hear the interview here or let's go to the videotape.



Hmmm.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:01 PM