Israeli journalists ousted from international union

Based in Belgium, the International Federation represents 600,000 journalists in 123 countries. See how the National Federation of Israeli Journalists (NFIJ) tries to 'control' what we hear and see.
All the International Federation wanted was to see what was happening in Lebanon and the recent Gaza bloodshed. Since the International union said something against Israeli government for not allowing journalists to see for themselves, instead of believing what Israel alone said and reported, the International union was snubbed by the Israeli union. So, here it is again. Say anything against Israel and you are branded biased and antisemitic. But we know the truth and we can care less what the Israelis say about freedom of press and truth. Their attacks on us are unfounded and worn out to say the least.

Here are some excerpts from the Israeli article:

--Haim Shibi, an active member of a journalists' union in Jerusalem who is involved with both the international and national journalists' unions, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday the tensions between the Israeli union and the international organization began to grow during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

--In January, the International Federation began issuing a series of letters condemning Israel for refusing to allow journalists to enter Gaza to cover Operation Cast Lead. The International Federation also published a report criticizing Israel's actions in Gaza and urging International Federation members and affiliated organizations to speak out against Israel's treatment of foreign journalists during the war.

According to Shibi, the International Federation report about Gaza was compiled without any Israeli input.
"No one called us to hear what we had to say," he said. Israeli journalists had things to say about the balance of rights of journalists to cover the war and the pressures coming from the army and the state, but the report was compiled without consulting a single Israeli source, he said.

--"The action against the NFIJ, which brings together autonomous groups in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, was taken after numerous actions over the past three years to try to resolve disputes with some NFIJ leaders who have criticized the IFJ [International Federation] for its condemnation of actions by Israeli military and government over attacks on media in Lebanon and Gaza," White explained, in the letter announcing that the National Federation of Israeli Journalists would no longer be a part of the international union.

--Though the NFIJ has been given the opportunity to appeal at the international organization's general assembly in Spain in May 2010, Shibi said he does not think the national Israeli union is in a rush to do so.
"We don't feel guilty,' he said. "We find them biased and one sided."
Shibi feels that the International Federation's recent actions represent "a popular mood of pushing Israel into the corner."

---"We see this step as biased - unfair - and one sided. The opposite of what we expect from an organization dedicated to ethics in journalism... It became clear that the IFJ did not wish to lead the two sides, Arabs and Israelis, into a carefully planned and jointly made regional media club but rather opted to slowly push the Israeli members out. Yes this was not only about money. It was about full and equal membership which we were denied. And no - there was no lack of respect to the IFJ on our part," they wrote.

******---------the whole story at the link...did you get the suspicion that the Israeli press wants to control what the International press says and reports about Israel? Did you notice that the International press union did not get a fair part and say in this story? My answers below