以色列记者采访世界杯有多难？

In this year’s World Cup, when Qatar granted access to Israeli soccer fans and media despite an absence of diplomatic ties, some saw it as a sign of warming ties with the Arab world. But Israeli reporters sent to cover the tournament said they were experiencing a less than welcoming atmosphere.

Israeli correspondent Moav Vardi said that he was expecting some hostility from Palestinian and Arab fans – but not the level he has experienced in Qatar. Most Arab fans he tried to interview would just turn away when they discovered he was Israeli even if they had been having a friendly conversation beforehand. But a small and vocal minority is engaging in “violent verbal assaults.”

“You are not welcome here, go away, there is only Palestine, there is no such thing as Israel, Israel does not exist,” Vardi said he’s told almost every day by football fans in Qatar.

Various videos have gone viral in Israel and the Arab world showing football fans yelling at Israeli reporters, refusing to speak to them because of where they are from. Other videos show people hoisting Palestinian flags in the background of Israeli reporters’ live shots, taunting the reporters.

For Farah Hamam, a Palestinian-Jordanian football fan, some Arab fans’ refusal to engage with Israeli journalists reflects the Arab world’s frustration with “the continued atrocities taking place” against the Palestinian people. That was the “real sentiment” toward Israel “despite normalization efforts of Arab governments”.

“For perhaps the first time in history, Arabs around the world are unapologetically showing their lack of patience with Israel,” she said.

Hemo, an Arabic speaker who has covered Palestinian affairs for nearly two decades, said he had been depressed by the experience even though he understood the reaction.

Israeli reporters who experienced the backlash said many of the hostile comments appeared to come from members of the Palestinian diaspora - many of whom are descended from those who fled or were expelled from their homes during the wars surrounding the creation of Israel.

Having long supported a peace deal with the Palestinians, Israeli journalist Shechnik said his experiences in Qatar had led him to conclude that Palestinians wanted to destroy Israel rather than make peace with it.

He said."We are not human beings for them. They want to wipe us out from the map.”

Some Palestinians said such Israeli reactions felt ignorant of the daily challenges facing Palestinians under occupation and blockade.

Some accused Israelis of hypocrisy. “Jewish journalists complain about the hostile treatment they receive in Qatar,” Mohammad Magadli, an Arab Israeli broadcaster, wrote on Twitter, “I suggest that you accompany an Arab journalist here in Israel, not abroad, for just one day.”

Despite wide public support shown in the World Cup, recent accords between Israel and some Arab countries demostrate that opportunies created by greater economic and secrity ties had become a more pressing priority for certain Arab leaders than an immediate resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But those living in the area still suffer a lot. The UN called 2022 the deadliest year for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in 16 years. Too many people, overwhelmingly Palestinian, killed and injured in daily violence, and with mounting hopelessness, anger and tension once again erupting into a deadly cycle of violence that is increasingly difficult to contain.

And those reporting facts are no better off. The Palestinian Centre for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) reported 247 violations against journalists by Israeli and Palestinian authorities in the first half of 2022, including harassment, confiscation of equipment, detention, attacks and killings. There is little evidence these crimes are investigated and prosecuted, contributing to a climate of fear amongst journalists who know they may face severe repercussions for telling the truth.

On May 11, 2022, while covering an a military raid on the Jenin refugee camp，veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead. Her death led to an international outcry and sent shockwaves throughout the world. And Al Jazeera asserted Israel responsible for her killing, while Israel admitted in September that there was a “high possibility” that one of its soldiers had killed Abu Akleh.

Abu Akleh once said,” I chose journalism to be close to the people. It might not be easy to change the reality, but at least I could bring their voice to the world.” But now the power is fading away.