Turmoil at NY Times as Israel bureau chief's son enlists in IDF

Your comparison is an over the top political statement. Al Qaeda is a self declared hostile entity now at war with US (with broad popular Arab support). A US citizen serving in the IDF may be compared to serving in, say, the UK army.

There are still morons who believe that being pro-international law equals being anti-Israel.

should lose their Dutch nationality.

Bronner is a very good journalist, but he can't go on writing on a conflict when his son is serving in the army of one of the parties. This is highly unethical. What would people here say if his son was serving in the Palestinian forces?

The code of conduct doesn't address this exact scenario, but it does say that familial obligations can constitute a conflict of interest; the example described is if a relative worked at a bank that was covered during the financial crisis. The electronic intifada's article on the subject discusses the code of conduct's implications.

Tuvia Grossman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaTuvia Grossman is a Jewish American who became an icon of claimed anti-Israel media bias during the Second Intifada in 2000 when the ... smashed the windows, and dragged Grossman out, whereupon they beat him. ... He was Tuvia Grossman of Chicago, an American student in Israel, not an unidentified Palestinian. ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuvia_Grossman - Cached - Similar PS I'am not your goffer,do your own research.

Please furnish more details about the story about the student who was beaten up. While on the one hand nobody denies mobs beat people up, the Israeli police are also noted for such conduct.

I see no problem in the integrity of the NY Times Israel bureau chief, and I don't believe that he should be liable for his son's action. Nevertheless, I see a twisted logic in many of the replies on this forum where they compare the situation to an American Journalist covering Afghanistan and his son serving with the marines in Afghanistan. The comparison should be when the American son decides to enlist with Al-Qaeda. The IDF is not the US Marines Corps.

The NYT is in favor of Big Money (preferably oil money) and against Israel, democracy and all patriotic Americans including workers. The NYT is no more "pro-labor" than it is "pro-peace". A better description of the NYT is pro-propaganda.

Except at faux news organizations, editors are supposed to remove opinion, which is one reason the NYT is considered an objective news source like the Washington Post. They differentiate between news and opinion pretty well, despite their episode of climbing into bed with the Bushies. Removing the opinion from a news story is supposed to be a prime editorial function. News is supposed to be 'who,' 'what,' 'where,' 'when,' and 'why.' Occasionally 'how' is added.

I'm surprised that an American citizen can serve in a foreign army!

mainstream media organizations using Arab and Palestinian stringers, including in the West Bank and Gaza. Indeed, many of these journalists are on the front lines offering up their "objective" opinions, along with their reporting. You ready to declare a level playing field and demand that all the stringers / reporters should be fired as well?

left bleeding by multiple Arab thugs.An Israeli policeman guarding him and NYT caption saying it is an Arab just beaten by Israeli policeman? Why not stick with NPR,Pal.propoganda at US public expense.?

News media regularly print and air articles by Palestinian journalists who are also in the pay of the PA or Hamas without verification (remember the "Death" of Mohammed al-Dura and the "Jenin Massacre"? There's no fear the Times will suddenly become pro-Israel, it's been pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel for years and won't change any time soon.

US citizens, whether jews,christians or muslims, should not enlist in a foreign country's army. Now Israel is not the USA, and enlisting someone son in a foreign army will make this person bias. wake up guys, you only see yourselves, your vision is so limited.

I find it hard to understand how the same people here who would applaud Amira Hass or Gideon Levy, reporters with well stated bias, to continue as reporters at Haaretz could have objections to another journalist to continue one as journalist to another paper. Isn't it sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Or is it only possible pro-Israel bias which is objectionable?

behavior? Did someone here notice Bronner's lack of objectivity since December when his son joined the IDF or maybe you are just questioning objectivity of Goldstone's witnesses from Gaza?

The New York Times has been run by anti-Zionists (even Jewish ones) for decades. It has been very careful to not appear pro-Israel, as though being pro- a democratic regime amidst a sea of dictatorships is a sign of poor journalism. Thus, this kind of issue will arise and take on a much greater significance than it otherwise would merit. If the Paris Bureau editor's son joined the French Army, would they reassign him to the Philippines? If the Pentagon Bureau Editor's son joined the Marines, would he be reassigned to cover golfing events in Hawaii? The New York Times is an ultra liberal rag that largely represents all that is wrong with the United States in the past 30 years: excessive political correctness, a willingness to abandon our foreign friends and allies at the drop of a hat, lemming-like pro labor, pro-Democratic, anti-"red state" values.

All those who are campaigning against the NYT correspondent are hypocrites. What about foreign journalists married to Palestinians and living in Ramallah and Bethlehem? What about foreign media organizations that hire Palestinian terrorists and political activists? I mean, why are you picking on this man now? (Thanks Olivia)

that doesn't already exist.

That editor would lack objectivity and should be reassigned. He or she could be assigned to cover japan or the Koreas.

First, there is no GWOT anymore. The US is at war with al Qaida, not the tactic of terrorism. That old GWOT is a forever war that cannot be won because there is no defined enemy or objective. Second, having his kid in the IDF hardly helps him be objective, something that ALL American reporters should be. The NY Times is not opinion journalism. It is supposed to be factual. Having his kid in the IDF subjects him to IDF manipulation at their whim. That would be like asking me to cover the US Navy closely for a major news outlet. The conflict of interest potential is too great. The potential for my own dual loyalty would come into question because I have a daughter serving. That is American objective reality.

Naturally bronner's son serves in The IDF, Or maybe BRonner is not allowed to have children? NYT should inform the world, that it does not exclusively deals with propaganda, just as the Pals do, but that its editorials are based on facts. A palestinian would certainly be a bad choice for bureau chief.

Objectivity is only of import when there is fear of a pro-Israel bias..while being pro-Pal. is not bias but objectivity.

so, i am wondering, if ethan bronner's son went to enlist in the US army and was dispatched to Iraq, Afganistan, Cuba or anywhere else, would this disqualify him the senior Bronner from reporting on any of these things or in any of these places? what if his son were to become a chef? Would Bronner also not be able to write restaurant reviews? Those who think Bronner should be reassigned are guilty of a double standard.

Would Hoyt say a journalist couldn't cover Iraq if his son was in the US army? Does the NYT vet their Arab journalists for their relatives political affiliations/activities?

So if a NYT editor has a son in the US Army, that editor cannot be trusted to report on the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.

ANY JEWISH MAN SHOULD BE ALLOWED THE HONOR TO SERVE THE IDF

Just look at the NY Times Code of Conduct, and see what it says when the conflict of interest derives from a family member, rather than that from the interests of the journalist himself. After all, the idea behind Codes of Conduct is to remove that "well, I like him so I can't believe he'd be influenced" nonsense, replacing it with an objective set of guidelines. The Code of Conduct must say something about this, so what does it say?

I am, as some of you know, a native New Yorker and not at all sympathetic to zionism. Having said that, I can see no reason why this should come up at all. A person should be judged on his own deeds and statements, and not those of his family. I am in no way saying the two are in any way comparable, but if a man's son were guilty of some crime, would this action be thinkable? How much less then when his son joins another country's army?

So, would Mr. Hoyt say that any NY times reporter with a son or daughter serving in Iraq or Afghanistan not be permitted to report on those countries?

This story hilights a fundamental problem with the American mentality. Would Mr. Hoyt dare questions a journalist's qualifications to cover the American war on terror if that journalist's child joined the US Army? I do not think so. But a Jewish son of a Jewish reporter decides to defend his Jewish homeland...the hypocrites like Hoyt make me sick.

this is pure anti semitism to not trust a good person doing a good job because his son joined an army for c's sake half of the us leaders have sons daughters or family in the military that is no reason to change a post BUT when it is a Jew then this is what you get for me the ny times no longer exists