Most people living in the Gaza Strip are fighting to get out of the isolated, Hamas-controlled Mediterranean region.
Journalists in Israel find themselves in the surreal position of fighting to get in.
Israel has barred reporters from entering Gaza for more than three weeks, prompting international criticism and a case before the Israeli Supreme Court.
Some journalists have called the ban a "mortal blow" to freedom of the press in Israel.
As Jo Floto of the BBC noted today, the only place its correspondents are banned are North Korea, Burma and Zimbabwe.
"We don't want Israel to join that very select and regrettable club," Floto said today at a news confererence held to discuss the ongoing Israeli ban.
Steve Gutkin, the AP bureau chief in Jerusalem and head of the Foreign Press Association (of which McClatchy Newspapers is a part) questioned Israel's commitment to freedom of the press.
"We believe the current denial of access amounts to a serious violation of freedom of the press, and runs counter to Israel's own claims that it is a democracy that respects media liberties," Gutkin said today at the news conference.
So far, Israel has failed to present a coherent reason for barring reporters from Gaza.
Israeli officials have cited security, but, as the Israeli military says, Erez - the only crossing used by reporters to enter Gaza - has not been hit by a Palestinian rocket in more than six months.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has yet to respond to a letter from the heads ofmajor media groups (including McClatchy) calling for the ban to be lifted.
"Israel cherishes the freedom of the press," Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said today. "All journalists who work in Israel know that freedom for a fact."
Hmm. Considering that Israel has banned Israeli reporters from going to Gaza for more than two years, and considering the ongoing ban on letting international journalists enter Gaza, Mark might find that some reporters are asking just how much Israel cherishes a free press these days.
Clarification: Olmert spokesman Mark Regev notes that all Israelis, not just journalists, are barred from going to Gaza. Not that your average dude from Tel Aviv was spending his holidays in Gaza, but there you go...
The 'good news' is that Amira Hass is back in Gaza, reporting for Haaretz. She got into Gaza on a ship, one of those 'Free whatever' cruises.
Posted by: Amir | November 30, 2008 at 08:13 AM
At least the SS let the press into Auschwitz, albeit to view staged events. Evidently the Palestinians in Gaza are a bit more unruly than the Jews in Auschwitiz.
Posted by: Ariel | November 30, 2008 at 09:33 AM
"At least the SS let the press into Auschwitz." How proud you must be, Ariel, to join the proud tradition of comparing the Israelis to the greatest Jew-haters of all time. What a deft use of irony! But that "albeit" comes back to bite you on the ass, doesn't it? I guess the actual circs make it a bit tough to portray the Nazis as having one up on the Israelis. And yes, the Jews in Auschwitz were a bit too busy being slaughtered to be "unruly." But that doesn't make your analogy - Gaza/Auschwitz - any less despicable. Shame!
Posted by: The Baron | November 30, 2008 at 12:47 PM
'As Jo Floto of the BBC noted today, the only place its correspondents are banned are North Korea, Burma and Zimbabwe.
"We don't want Israel to join that very select and regrettable club," Floto said today at a news confererence held to discuss the ongoing Israeli ban.'
Does Jo Floto think that Gaza is part of Israel? It is not.
Would you be surprised that the German authorities kept you out of the Warsaw Ghetto? Are you surprised that the present US regime keep you out of Guantanamo?
The final solution is never broadcast on TV.
Remember what Ike said when he entered the Concentration Camps after WWII? "Take all the pictures you can, because someday some SOB is going to deny that this ever happened."
Perhaps you might remind the Israelis of that. They seem to have forgotten.
Posted by: John Francis Lee | December 01, 2008 at 04:55 AM
JF Lee: again, the specious and loathsome analogy of a bigoted hater. Gaza is not a concentration camp. It's a zone from which Jews were evacuated so the Palestinians could have at least the beginnings of a state. But rather than cultivate their own garden, they (i.e. Hamas) would prefer to continue their program of trying to exterminate the Jews. Naturally as a sovereign state Israel has to defend itself, something people like you usually forget. You're an idiot and have confused the arsonist and the firefighter. Your bais against Israel is despicable.
Posted by: The Baron | December 01, 2008 at 10:23 AM
...they (i.e. Hamas) would prefer to continue their program of trying to exterminate the Jews.
Wow! Please drop back down to earth for a reality check, Baron! The idea of Hamas or any Palestinian group exterminating the Israelis, let alone "the Jews" is absurd!
The similarities between Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and so many other groups treatment of Jews throughout Western history is apparent to everyone, and especially to Jews.
You, like the boy who cried wolf, are destroying the real meaning of the word with your shrill cries of "bigoted hater" toward critics of Israel. Israel needs real friends at this point, like Cecilie Surasky at http://www.muzzlewatch.com and the folks at Jewish Voice for Peace, http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/
You've been driven around the bend, I'm afraid, probably by your own horror at seeing Israel in the throes of the same disease that has afflicted so many other cultures over the course of time.
Posted by: John Francis Lee | December 02, 2008 at 07:18 AM
JF Lee you're absolutely right. Cecilie Surasky is a courageous woman working towards a just and true, long-lasting peace for everyone, Israelis and Palestinians.
So are the young, Israeli 12th graders of Schministim - conscientious objectors who are being repeatedly jailed for refusing to serve in the Occupied Territories.
You can see the latest action being done by JVP on behalf of these kids at www.december18th.org.
It's too easy to succomb to emotional, extreme positions in this conflict and lose sight of reality like 'The Baron' has done.
As more people travel to the Occupied Territories, are exposed to the reality on the ground thru the internet and become more aware of human rights and international law they are less likely to believe people like 'The Baron' with his extreme statements. Old propoganda doesn't work as well anymore.
Posted by: Edie | December 03, 2008 at 08:54 AM
So Israel needs real friends at this point, eh, JF Lee? As a Jew, I'm touched by your concern for our survival. Like you, for example? Please explain.
Posted by: The Baron | January 04, 2009 at 11:49 PM
The Baron's Hasbara got totally dismantled. "Truth to Power" has happened at McClatchy, once again!
Posted by: Dan | January 07, 2009 at 12:07 AM