UK Media Watch prompts revision to Indy op-ed by Rachel Shabi

We previously posted about an op-ed by Rachel Shabi published in The Independent which included an extremely misleading claim concerning the position of Israel’s defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, on the issue of the two-state solution.

Here’s the relevant passage:

“The man now in charge of the Israeli army and the military occupation of Palestinians in the West Bank…has vowed there will never be a Palestinian state

We demonstrated that Shabi’s claim that Lieberman vowed “there will never be a Palestinian state” ignored positions he’s taken consistently since  2009 – covered widely in the media, including at the Independent – that he in fact supports the creation of a Palestinian state.  

Indy editors responded to our complaint, and agreed to add additional text to clarify Lieberman’s position.  

The passage in question now reads:

The man now in charge of the Israeli army and the military occupation of Palestinians in the West Bank is a Jewish settler, wants more settlements expansion, has previously vowed there will never be a Palestinian state (although has more recently made claims – which have been received with scepticism in many quarters – he supports a two-state solution)…

Of course, whether or not Shabi believes Lieberman is being sincere is beside the point. Her original language (‘he vowed there will never be a Palestinian state’) misled readers into believing that this was his current position on the issue. 

We thank Indy editors for revising the passage to more accurately reflect Lieberman’s views.

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