SHABBAT READING
Doing and Hearing: Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Covenant & Conversation, Mishpatim— One of the most famous phrases in the Torah makes its appearance in this parsha. It has often been used to characterise Jewish faith as a whole. It consists of two words: na’aseh venishma, literally, “we will do and we will hear” (Ex. 24:7). What does this mean and why does it matter?
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KAN UNDER THE GUN
‘Scary Time for Israeli Democracy’: Experts Alarmed at Threatened Closure of Public Broadcaster: Sara Miller, The Media Line, Jan. 31, 2023 — Members of Israel’s media and experts in the field are expressing opposition to a threat by the new government to shutter state-funded public broadcaster Kan, saying it could severely harm the country’s democratic foundations.
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JUDGED BY ONE’S PEERS AND FOUND LACKING
The Press Versus the President, Part One: Jeff Gerth, Columbia Journalism Review, Jan. 30, 2023 –-The end of the long inquiry into whether Donald Trump was colluding with Russia came in July 2019, when Robert Mueller III, the special counsel, took seven, sometimes painful, hours to essentially say no. Links to Parts Two, Three and Four are available.
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Columbia Journalism Review Russiagate Post-Mortem Is a Good Start: Mark Hemmingway, Real Clear Investigations, Feb. 6, 2023
Revealing the New York Times’ Deceitful Russiagate Coverage: J. Peder Zane, Real Clear Politics, Feb. 3, 2023
Any ‘Journalist’ Relying on a Russia Hoaxer to Attack Barr and Durham Should Be Tuned Out: Margot Cleveland, The Federalist, Feb. 1, 2023
New York Times & Washington Post Obscure Reality in Reports on Jerusalem Car-Ramming Attack: Chaim Lax, Honest Reporting, Feb. 12, 2023
It’s True What They Say About the NYT: Patrick Maines, Real Clear Politics, Feb. 15, 2023 — In 1972, National Review magazine published a content analysis titled “Is it true what they say about the New York Times?”
It’s Far Too Late for a ‘Reckoning’ of the Trump Years. the Corrupted News Media are Irredeemable: Eddie Scarry, The Federalist, Feb. 1, 2023 — If you have nothing going on and 10 hours to spare, you should still find something to do other than read the tragically long article in the Columbia Journalism Review that bills itself as a reckoning for the appalling misconduct of the news media during the Trump years. It’s too little and about six years too late for that trash.
Exclusive: New York Times Waited More than 500 Days Before Reporting It Authenticated Hunter Biden Laptop Emails: Breitbart News, Feb. 3, 2023 — The Times allowed the false narrative that the Hunter Biden laptop was somehow “Russian disinformation” to permeate the public debate for over a year when it had obtained evidence to the contrary, according to emails obtained exclusively by Breitbart News.
Government Said Set to Freeze Its Efforts To Close Kan Public Broadcaster: TOI staff, Times of Israel, Feb. 2, 2023 — The government has decided to freeze nearly all items on its reform agenda, including the shuttering of the Kan public broadcaster, as it looks to focus on pushing through its contentious overhaul of the judiciary in the face of widespread public opposition, according to a Thursday report.