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January 18, 2011 The Wire Just Journalism Exclusive: Avner Cohen on Stuxnet Tues. 18 Jan. 2011 @ 13.39 - On Monday, Middle East news coverage was given over to the story reported in the New York Times - and subsequently picked up by The Times of London, The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian - that Israel and the United States had coordinated in developing the Stuxnet computer worm, now said to have possibly delayed Iran's nuclear weapons programme for another four years. The implication in all the articles was that an Israeli military strike on Iran was no longer an imminent event. (Just Journalism analysed the UK media coverage of the New York Times story here.) Cited as an authority in the original article was Dr. Avner Cohen, a senior fellow at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California and the author of The Worst-Kept Secret: Israel's Bargain with the Bomb, a new history of Israel's undeclared but widely acknowledged nuclear weapons programme. Cohen told the press that from what he could tell, and from what his sources had told him, Israel had indeed had a role in constructing and testing Stuxnet. Just Journalism spoke with Dr. Cohen over email to further elaborate on the Israel-Stuxnet connection. Read more >> Media Analysis Editorial lines on Tunisia Following the fleeing from Tunisia on Friday of the then president Zine al-Abidine ben Ali, rare media attention has been paid to the issue of chronic corruption, repression and economic failure across the Arab world. The Times, Financial Times, The Guardian, The Observer and The Independent all published editorials in response to what has been coined, 'the Jasmine revolution' in Tunisia. The unrest began on 17 December when a man self-immolated in an economic protest, and culminated at the end of last week in mass protests and, ultimately, the ousting of the country's leader. Two key themes from the coverage are the extent to which the bad governance in Tunisia is symptomatic of a wider trend across the Arab world; and the level of responsibility for the situation attributable to the West. Tunisia as a microcosm of the Arab world Most editorials placed events in Tunisia in a wider Arab governance context, drawing parallels between the Tunisian regime's intolerance of political dissent, corruption and economic failure and that which is discernible throughout the Arab world. Read more>> The Wire Removal of scaffolding in Old City triggers slanted record of religious tensions Mon. 17 Jan. 2011 @ 17.09 - Refurbishment of holy site prompts one-sided account of Israeli 'provocations' in Jerusalem's Old City. Writing in The Independent on Friday, Catrina Stewart described the decision by municipal officials in Jerusalem to widen access a courtyard attached to the Western Wall as 'a move that threatens to inflame tensions at one of the world's most contested religious sites.' Scaffolding in the courtyard, which is situated beneath Muslim residences, was removed to allow more worshippers access. Stewart noted that Teddy Kollek, the former mayor of Jerusalem, was alleged to have rejected calls during his mayorship for the scaffolding to be cleared 'because of the sensitivity of the site even though he acknowledged it was not needed to support the houses': 'His fears were not unfounded. In 1996, the Old City erupted in deadly clashes when Israel opened a tunnel leading to the complex of the Al Aqsa mosque. And it was then opposition leader Ariel Sharon's visit to the site in 2000 to assert Israeli sovereignty there that triggered the Second Intifada, the mass Palestinian uprising.' Read more>> The Wire Christians in the Middle East: Times continues to report Iranian arrests Tues. 18 Jan. 2011 @ 13.45 - Reporting by broadsheet represents sole coverage of alleged mass persecution. Writing in today's Times, Hugh Tomlinson reports on allegations that Iran has 'stepped up its campaign against Christians in the Islamic Republic': 'With more than 100 arrested in the past month, Iranian Christians claim that they are now being subjected to a concerted policy of religious cleansing.' Tomlinson's article, 'Christians flee Iran after interrogators threaten to rape daughters' includes testimony from a pastor who states that he was arrested alongside his small congregation, and describes the situation as 'religious cleansing' and an attempt to 'drive all Christians out of Iran by fear.' His alleged arrest is part of a wider crack-down on Christian communities, with claims of widespread abuse: 'Several reported that their families were threatened during interrogation. Prisoners were told that their wives and daughters would be raped unless they confessed. Many remain in jail, where it is claimed they have been beaten and threatened with the death penalty on charges of apostasy.' Read more>> Donate Just Journalism is an independent research organisation focused on how Israel and Middle East issues are reported in the UK media. We produce analysis of print, broadcast and online media and regularly publish research on trends in the media's coverage. We are a not-for-profit company that relies solely on the donations of its supporters. You can donate easily online via PayPal by clicking the button below. For alternate methods of donating such as cheque or wire transfer, please email donate@justjournalism.com. Subscribe and Follow To join Just Journalism's mailing list, click here.