Written by Tamar Katz
No speaker's thoughts and ideas have resonated with me the way Matti Friedman's did. Originally from Canada, Friedman made aliyah in 2005 and was a reporter for the Associated Press between 2006 and 2011. Following Operation Protective Edge this past summer, he published an essay that discussed the media's bias against Israel.
Friedman's presentation was so powerful because his argument was from a journalistic rather than political point of view. He discussed how the media puts a disproportionate amount of emphasis on the conflict to make it seem like "the biggest deal in the world," when in the grand scheme of things the conflict is minute. Furthermore, Matti emphasized the importance of thinking about Israel in the context of the Middle East as a whole. Not that we should be comparing Israel's human right's record with that of Syria and Lebanon, but rather thinking of Israel as a country of minorities. In exploring the history of minorities in the Middle East, we can learn a great deal more about the conflict.
The genius of Matti Friedman is his ability to be both liberal in his beliefs, and pragmatic in their application. His ability to articulate those beliefs was truly inspirational, and I know hearing him speak was of benefit to all the Nachshon Fellows.
