Israel refutes media representation of Jerusalem light railway comments Both The Guardian and The Independent today published stories by their Jerusalem correspondents about comments by the CEO of CityPass on possible ethnic and gender discrimination on the Jerusalem light railway. However, Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Yigal Palmor tells Just Journalism that the company has no authority on these issues. To read more, click here.
Just Journalism Newsletter 
24 August 2010 Guardian and Independent seize on 'segregation' story 
CEO Yair Naveh this week went on record saying that he was not against the idea of running some gender segregated carriages on the as yet unfinished railway:
'I think it is required to create alternatives for everyone, and that option exists because of the train's division into cars. It is not a problem to declare every third or fourth car a 'mehadrin' (kosher) car.'
CityPass was also revealed by Haaretz as having polled Jerusalem residents on whether or not they would mind the route including stops in the majority Arab neighbourhood of Shuafat.
Harriet Sherwood's piece for The Guardian ran with the headline: 'Jerusalem rail firm planning to segregate carriages along gender lines' and led:
'The company building a light railway across Jerusalem is considering segregating some carriages along gender lines to serve the city's ultra-orthodox Jewish population.
'The railway, which is due to be operational next spring, could have separate compartments for men and women, Yair Naveh, the chief executive of CityPass, said today.'
The article included a response from a Jerusalem city councillor who said:
'Naveh was appointed to run a project - that doesn't mean that he can tell people where to sit and where not to sit, nor does it mean that he knows anything about values and democracy.'
However, it was not made clear that the CEO of CityPass has no authority to implement policies of discrimination regardless of his opinions.
'Rail firm suggests use of 'kosher' cars' by The Independent's Donald Macintyre was marginally clearer on this issue, quoting the Jerusalem municipality director General Yair Maayan stating that such issues were 'none of [City Pass's] business whatsoever'. The article also cited a city councillor referring to a High Court ruling against such measures.
Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Yigal Palmor told Just Journalism:
'The views of CityPass on ethnicity and gender have no bearing whatsoever on how public transport in Jerusalem, or any other Israeli city, will run. These issues fall strictly within the jurisdiction of the state, which has categorically ruled out such discriminatory policies. One fails to understand the alchemical process by which the statements by CP's CEO have been transformed and presented as a soon-to-be-implemented official policy.'Settlements portrayed as biggest obstacle to peace 
The announcement received widespread coverage, including speculation as to the likelihood of the pending talks' success. Both The Daily Telegraph and The Independent focused on the issue of settlements as the single biggest obstacle to successful negotiations. In particular, they:
For example, Mark Weiss' article in The Daily Telegraph, 'Netanyahu sets obstacles to Middle East peace', described in its standfirst how the Israeli PM had thrown 'hopes for a smooth resumption of Middle East peace talks into turmoil yesterday'. The majority of the article was then dedicated to discussing the issue of settlements, and how coalition politics made it difficult for Netanyahu to continue the freeze.
Donald Macintyre's 'Washington to host Middle East peace talk next month' was similarly focused. After quoting Clinton's statement that acknowledged 'the manifold obstacles facing the negotiations', the Independent correspondent then discussed the 'widespread Palestinian pessimism over whether talks with Mr Netanyahu's right-wing Israeli government could bear fruit', with particular reference to settlements and the issue of borders. No mention was made of possible causes for Israeli pessimism, or challenges Israel is envisioning.
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Tuesday 24 August 2010
After months of diplomatic pressure on the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, American foreign secretary Hillary Clinton announced on Friday the resumption of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The stated goal is the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, with the deadline of one year intended to create a sense of momentum for both sides.
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