Thread by @RBrulin

I wish Ronen Bergman would finally decide to talk or write about these revelations (from his own book!) & I truly wonder what would happen if he did: Would he get "canceled"? Or would other journalists suddenly feel they had cover & could "safely" write about Israeli terrorism?

https://twitter.com/RBrulin/status/1331610105515798528

For ex: Would Tom Friedman, who covered several car bombings in the 1980s (when he got his Pulitzer!) that Bergman revealed in 2018 were covertly conducted by Israel suddenly find these revelations newsworthy/ suddenly find the courage to write about this?

https://twitter.com/RBrulin/status/1092431185056288769?s=20

I did a Thread about whether censorship & self-censorship may explain absolute silence of US media about these revelations. I am starting to think that no US media outlet will dare touch this topic UNTIL Bergman himself decides to write / talk about it ...

https://twitter.com/RBrulin/status/1448272497393164296?s=20

Note: I am still unclear as to whether Israeli journalists are allowed to write about these revelations, or if military censor ban is still in place. I assume that Bergman would be allowed to talk about this in public? Genuine Qs to those who know ISR censor system better than me

In 2019 Israel's military censor "barred full publication of over 200 articles & partially redacted another 2,000 stories." 972mag.com/idf-censor-isr… In 2020: 116 and 1,403. Were some of these stories about Bergman's FLLF revelations? IMPOSSIBLE to know: 972mag.com/idf-censor-new…

But there is no censorship in the US: the US media has decided on its own NOT to cover these revelations, to treat them as not newsworthy. EVEN THOUGH publication in the US would enable Israeli citizens to gain access to that information & bypass the censor

(Note: There may be have been Israeli media outlets that DID cover Bergman's revelations & that I missed / am unaware of. If that is the case, let me know, send me links, I would of course be very interested in reading those!)

Importantly, @rudoren acknowledged that US newspapers indeed have ways to circumvent the Israeli military censor in this piece from 2014. At the time, Rudoren was the NYT's Bureau Chief in Jerusalem: nytimes.com/times-insider/…

In this piece @rudoren also writes about how journalists deal with "gag orders." On "gag orders," this piece by @Ha_Matar for @972 in 2016 is quite informative as well: 972mag.com/gag-orders-in-…

I sent article to @jdforward about Bergman's revelations in late 2019. @bungarsargon was editor & rejected it. I had exchange w/ @rudoren (who is the editor now) about US media's silence about Bergman's revelations here:

https://twitter.com/RBrulin/status/1446839443105648647?s=20

& here:

https://twitter.com/RBrulin/status/1447266140644839433?s=20

If @ronenbergman finally decided to speak publicly or to write about his revelations regarding FLLF, would this give cover to other US journalists to talk about Israeli terrorism? I don't know, & I don't think we can know until it happens. But I'll repeat what I think we do know:

It is very difficult (maybe impossible) for Israeli journalists to write about this story. The military censorship is opaque, so we do not know for sure, but it is at least possible that stories by Israeli journalists about these revelations have been censored since 2018

I continue to find the censorship system confusing, and am in fact not even 100% sure that, even though his book was cleared by the censor, Bergman himself is allowed to publicly speak about the FLLF operation. What I know is that he has decided NOT to do so since 2018.

But US journalists (those not based in ISR) are not subject to the military censor. THEY can decide to write about this campaign of Israeli terrorism. If they did, THIS in turn would give cover to Israeli journalists to write about it, & Israelis would learn about it

2 years ago I wrote about how military censor killed story by Yediot journos that would have revealed whole thing back in 1981! This story has been censored & covered up for 40 years. US journalists can help bring light to these crimes. OR continue to participate in the cover up

Surely, there are countless Israeli citizens who DO want to know the truth about what their leaders (Dagan, Eitan, Ben-Gal, Sharon) did in the 1980s. Until they do, they CANNOT hope to hold these officials (& others?) accountable. US journalists: you can help make this happen!

Not only is the US media remaining silent about an extraordinarily deadly #terrorist campaign conducted by senior Israeli officials
It is also remaining silent about fact that the truth about this terrorist campaign was covered up through an act of censorship
But that's not all:

If FLLF related stories remain censored in ISR (I do not know if that is the case: there is no way of knowing. what is clear is that Bergman's revelations have NOT been mentioned in the Israeli media since 2018), then US media silence is REINFORCING this ongoing act of censorship

Again I ask: US journalists: Do you want to continue to participate in covering up the truth about this #terrorist car bombing campaign OR do you want to be part of a movement that would enable Israeli citizens to learn about their government's crimes & call for accountability?

And of course, of course: US journalists could thus enable a movement that could bring justice to the VICTIMS of these #terrorist attacks, the hundreds of Palestinian & Lebanese civilians (& their families) killed & maimed by the FLLF's (ie Israel's) car bombs