‘Play and shut up’: the silencing of Palestinian athletes in Israeli media

Abstract

In this paper we contrast two opposing theoretical views in the sociology of sport. The first sees sport as a field that brings together different groups and bridges social divides. In this view, minority sport stars serve both as role models and as a mouthpiece voicing the feelings and needs of their ethnic groups. The opposing view holds that the sport field reflects the tendencies of the larger society, helping to maintain the social dominance of hegemonic groups. In this view sport stars serve mostly as tokens and have no real influence on the social order. Our systematic analysis of Israeli media between the years 2002 and 2007 lends support to the latter view. We show that the expressions and behaviours of Israeli Palestinian soccer players are consistently policed and silenced by the Jewish-dominated media discourse, effectively blocking one of the few channels of expression for the Arab public in Israel.

Is There a Political Bias? A Computational Analysis of Female Subjects' Coverage in Liberal and Conservative Newspapers

“…Hence, this article tells only part of the story because even when female subjects are mentioned, it is often done in ways that sexualize them, focus on their physical attractiveness or motherly qualities, and play down or trivialize their talents, abilities, and ideas (Boutilier and SanGiovanni, ; Carroll, ; Higgs, Weiller, and Martin, ; Kahn, ; Kahn and Goldenberg, ; Kane, ). In this respect, the coverage of women often resembles that of ethnic minorities and immigrants (Shor, , ; Shor and Yonay, , ). Future research should target these issues and examine whether conservative and liberal media differ on them, using clear and systematic criteria and large sample sizes.…”

Political Leaning and Coverage Sentiment: Are Conservative Newspapers More Negative Toward Women?*

“…In past research I have demonstrated the advantages of a qualitative analysis of newspaper data in assessing more nuanced coverage patterns of women and other minority groups (e.g., Shier and Shor, ; Shor, , , ; Shor and Yonay, , ; Yonay and Shor, ).…”

Conditioned integration during security crises: the role of Israeli sports media from 1996 to 2014

“…Lidor and Blumenstein (2011) and Smooha (2013) perceive football as an instrument for integration or the 'Israelization' of Arabs in society, by their adopting modernization in their lifestyles, education, and general aspirations. Other Israeli scholars, such as Ben- Porat (2003), Shor and Yonay (2010), Sorek (2007), arrive at a different conclusion. In their opinion, football merely disguises rights and democracy, and is used by Israeli elites to continue their pro-Jewish policies.…”