A clash-of-civilizations prism in German media? Documenting a shift from political to religious framing of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Abstract

The impact of political events on media’s conflict coverage prism is widely established. To assess the role of mounting tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe in 2013–2014 on German media’s coverage prism of Muslim-related conflicts, this article compares coverage of the 2008 and 2014 Israeli military operations in Gaza by three major German newspapers. The empirical analysis indicates a dramatic rise in the use of religious terms in 2014, most notably in conservative newspaper Die Welt, and offers evidence of a shift from politics-centered framing of the 2008 Gaza operation to a more religious-centered framing of the 2014 Gaza War. We discuss wider implications of the findings, including their support for the relevance of the clash-of-civilizations theory to contemporary media’s conflict coverage modus operandi.

Unmasking Media Bias and Religious Zionism’s Impeding Political Influence on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

“…Silencing nuanced debate on resolution through accusations of antisemitism closes political space for Israelis open to compromise, a trend also noted in literature on discourse strategies that shield state narratives. It contradicts conflict resolution approaches emphasizing recognition of multiple national narratives towards a just two-state vision (Lopatin et al, 2017;Rouhana & Shalhoub-Kevorkian, 2021). Furthermore, strategic omissions obscure how heavyhanded policies fuel radicalism on both sides and perpetuate Israel's self-defeating security dilemma.…”

Perceptions of Minority Discrimination: Perspectives of Jews Living in Germany on News Media Coverage

“…Numerous studies have shown that journalism on religious minorities tends to use negative stereotypes (e.g., Ahmed & Matthes, 2017; Cottle, 2000; Dixon & Linz, 2000; Woodbury, 2003). A review of studies on media content in Western countries, including Germany and Norway, found that the media typically discussed Jews and Judaism in specific thematic contexts (Bleich et al, 2018; Døving, 2016): the history of the Holocaust, contemporary antisemitism, Israel and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Jewish identities, and ritual practices, such as kosher slaughter and the circumcision of male children (Jäger & Jäger, 2003; Lopatin et al, 2017; Wistrich, 2004; Woodbury, 2003). More interpretative analyses of news reports have also identified subtler forms of antisemitism in and by the media (e.g., Ionescu, 2018; Woodbury, 2003).…”