Comments on: A camera is not a weapon – redux

By: STANLEY ANANDAPPALLY,ADOOR, KERALA

STANLEY ANANDAPPALLY,ADOOR, KERALA — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 06:02:05 +0000

By the help of camera the common man can understand what is going on far off places. Sometimes it is a weapon also. Photograph can not lie. I am praying for sincere photographers. Photrography is a dangerous work.

By: Nu'man El-Bakri

Nu'man El-Bakri — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:52:57 +0000

Mr. Schlesinger is right. The accusations are baseless and, frankly, obscene. Not only do they attempt to blame the victims, but they also foster the atmosphere of impunity in which Israeli troops operate. Both Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have condemned the investigation into Fadel Shana’s death, and point to its lack of impartiality. Haaretz columnist Uzi Benziman best sums up IDF policy as one which:

“…avoids accepting responsibility for an unfortunate event, to produce a version that describes the chain of developments in such a way as to place the source of the tragedy on the enemy, and to create a demonic image of the adversary as someone who is capable of purposely causing bloodshed among his own people so as to achieve diplomatic gain, or as someone who does not hesitate to stage a horrifying arena of death so as to besmirch Israel’s name, repeats itself every time tragedies of this nature occur”

In memory of other who were killed while telling the truth:

JAMES MILLER (England) - Killed by the IDF in while on assignment in Gaza for Channel 4. Was carrying a white flag at the time. Died May 2, 2003

NAZIH DARWAZEHN (AP)- Killed in Nablus despite repeated shouts to the IDF in English and Hebrew that he was with the media. Died April 19, 2003

MOHAMED ABU HALIMAM (Palestine) Shot in stomach while covering clashes in a refugee camp outside Nablus. Died March 22, 2004

TOM HURNDALL (England) - Shot in the head by an Israel soldier while acting as a human shield for Palestinian children. Died January 13, 2004

IMAD ABU ZAHRA (Palestine) - Bled to death after being shot in the leg by the IDF. Died July 12, 2002

RAFFAELE CIRIELLO (Italy) - Shot 6 times by IDF troops in Ramallah. Died March 13, 2002

By: David Schlesinger

David Schlesinger — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:35:54 +0000

Serge, we’ve looked into the various accusations that some have thrown around about Fadel and others and have been able to dismiss them as calumnies. Though he lived in Gaza and was Palestinian there is no evidence that he was ever anything other than professional - just as Americans report about the US and Japanese report on Japan, professionals are able to set aside their origins and report in an objective, fair way.

There is also no dispute with the Israel Defense Force about whether Fadel was killed by an Israeli shell or about whether all he was pointing at the tank was a camera. The only disputes are whether the tank used undue force, whether the crew took appropriate care under the circumstances in trying to identify the object of their concern and whether it was reasonable for the crew to assess that they were under threat, when in fact all that was pointed at them was a camera on a tripod.

By: Serge

Serge — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:44:38 +0000

Yes, it’s not good that journalist Fadel Shana is killed in a War Zone. Yes, it’s possible that Israel’s technology within their Tanks could probably have adequately determined it was a camera instead of a rocket launcher… But is it possible that the Fadel Shana’s journalistic integrity may be compromised when he willingly participates in Hezbollah propaganda?

See the link and review the pictures pertaining to the injury Fadel Shana sustained in the Israel-Hezbollah War of 2006. An unstained white shirt underneath a bloodied overshirt??

http://www.tallrite.com/weblog/archives/ september06.htm#Two_Wars:_Propaganda_and _Military

Here is a link to a website questioning the damage to the vehicle given that it was “Hit with a missile”. If it were hit, there certainly would have been more damage than indicated. It would have been obliterated…much like the photos that show the vehicle marked “TV” that Shana was in when killed…

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/184471.p hp

By: marco ling

marco ling — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:07:04 +0000

i am also a still picture photo-jouranlist, i have been to war-zone to do my job. but if the tank crew honestly beliveved the camera and tripod were some kind of weapon, such as anti-tank missile or mortar …… how can we blame the tank crew? on the otherhand, phot-journalists must do thier job on site, the question is that how high the rise can we take? i totally agree, if we only walk away,” the stakes of not reporting a war to the world are too high as well.” so it is the last question how the news organizations take care to their photo-journalists? especially the war photo-journalists?

By: Reuters und die “Anspannungen in der Kampfzone” « Medien BackSpin

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:21:06 +0000

[...] Shana (Abbildung rechts) getötet hatten, als sie eine Granate abfeuerten. Chefradakteur Redakteur David Schlesinger schreibt [...]

By: Johnny

Johnny — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:44:28 +0000

There is an old Indian saying, “don’t judge a person until you live in their shoes.” You think it is so easy to tell the difference between a large video camera and a portable rocket from a mile away? Here is a site with pictures of both. You be the judge.

http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/2008/08 /idf-troops-cleared-in-death-of-reuters .html

By: Nu'man El-Bakri

Nu'man El-Bakri — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:27:56 +0000

“For a little more investigation, a little more military intelligence, would have shown clearly that he was just a professional doing his job.”

Sadly, ‘investigation’ and ‘intellegence’ are alien words to the IDF. They have killed unarmed civilians before, and they will do it again. How can you conduct a thorough investigation when the entire chain of command suffers from a God-Complex? Even Israeli refusniks have accused their country of losing its moral compass long ago.

R.I.P. Fadel Shana…