Thread by @GileadIni

1/ A thread on *framing* in NY Times coverage of Israel.

Let's look at yesterday's story on the UAE deal and Arab Israelis, to see how the words "many," "some," etc are funny — capable of rerouting a story into a narrow, preferred frame.

Here's the top of the story:

2/ It's already clear from the hed and dek how the piece is meant to come across.

We have at its heart a story about how Israel's growing relationship with the Arab opens opportunities for Israeli Arabs. But it's clearly framed as, mostly, a story about the "Palestinian cause."

3/ Note that subhead again: "MANY say they are loath to undercut the Palestinian cause."

But when you get to the actual story, "many" quickly becomes "SOME." Here's paragraph 2:

4/ "Some" certainly feels different than "many."

So which should it be?

Well, five Arab Israelis are quoted speaking positively about working with the UAE. Only one speaks of his own misgivings. One analyst is quoted speculating that a "sizeable number" will wait and see.

5/ Let's look at the story chronologically. We started with "many." It quickly turned into "some."

And then we meet Sajy Khashab, who's "unwilling to seize the chance just yet":

6/ Okay. But on the other hand, we're told, "Now SOME people feel an almost uncontrollable urge to see [Dubai] in person."

So "some" might be hesitant, but it seems "some" are downright vibrating at the idea of going.

7/ Mohammed Darawshe seems to say his fellow Arab Israelis are into the idea of visiting Dubai just as Americans love to visit New York City.

8/ An Israeli Arab soccer star, Diaa Sabia, is quoted talking about how he was received like a "king" in Dubai.

9/ Ehad Farah says "everybody" is excited. "A lot" of Arab Israeli entrepreneurs want in on the action.

10/ Nora Nseir Manassa has heard from a bunch of fellow Israeli Arab entrepreneurs who want to leverage the opportunity, and she herself wants to do so:

11/ So far, then, "many" seems to better describe those eager to enjoy the new relationship.

The story shifts to practical matters: Loans. Competition. Jobs. Then we hear of the "some" again—with the lens focusing on the same hesitant man from the top of the story, Khashab.

12/ We're told that unnamed "experts" (another word that can have a funny role in a news story—which experts?) say "a sizeable number" of Arab Israelis might spurn the UAE on ideological ground. "Others" prescribed waiting and seeing. An economist underscores the latter point:

13/ But Darawshe, who earlier said Israeli Arabs want to visit the UAE, says they would seize the opportunity to work with the emirates, though perhaps after a symbolic demurring:

14/ And finally, We hear from Jeries Nakhleh, who says he's "eager" to make deals within the framework of the new relationship.

15/ So…Khashab is tapping the breaks. The economist Miaari thinks others will want to, too.

16/ But Darawshe, Sabia, Farah, Manassa, and Nakhleh are excited. One of the latter says "everybody" and "a lot" of others are excited, too. Another heard from several Whatsapp-groups-worth of people planning to leverage the relationship.

17/ As it's reported, then, this isn't really a story about how "many" are loath to undercut "the Palestinian cause" in the face of new opportunities in the gulf. "Many" seems to better describe those flashing the thumbs up.

18/ Then why did the newspaper, particularly whoever wrote the subhead, frame the story as it did? Because too many journalists there there have a fixed lens. A fixed narrative. If you say "Israel," they hear "Palestinian cause."

19/ To be fair, if they really wanted to, @halbfinger and @adamrasgon could have curated their story differently, by quoting only those who hold their nose at the Israel-UAE relationship. It wouldn't be the first time the deck was stacked against Israel:

https://twitter.com/GileadIni/status/1040343241483333633

20/ They didn't, though. Which is what makes the subhead's framing, and its use of "many," so striking.

Anyhow, if you want more, and more shocking, read this classic by former @nytimes journalist Ari Goldman about "framing": jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/telling-it-lik…