Source Note #9: Israeli parties bicker over election winner
Summary: Kadima and Likud parties in Israel both claim victory in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Topic: Should the Obama administration continue to fund Israel’s defense?
Category: Journalistic – mainstream
What is it? Webpage with the text of an article from Al Jazeera English.
Title: Rival Israeli parties claim victory
Publication Information: Al Jazeera English; Feb. 11, 2009.
Author: None listed
Location: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/02/20092110226591860.html
Accessed: Feb. 10, 2009
Support:
Tzipi Livni, Israeli foreign minister
Yuval Steinitz, a Likud Knesset member
Alex Sehmer, Al Jazeera reporter
Benyamin Netanyahu, former Israeli prime minister
Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official
Ehud Barak, Labor party leader
Shlomo Ben-Ami, a former Israeli foreign minister
These political figures represent rivals in the political arena, various political figureheads who hold sway over public opinion, and a reporter in Israel at the time of the elections.
Audience and Agenda:
Al Jazeera English claims it is “the world’s first global English language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East” and aims to be the point of reference for English speakers seeking to learn more about events in the Middle East. Headquartered in Doha, Qatar, Al Jazeera English aims to be “accurate, impartial and objective .” The 24-hour news channel is available to over 130 million homes in over 100 countries, but is only available in the United States in Burlington, VT; Toledo, OH; and Washington, DC.
Usefulness:
Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, commented on the election and its effect on Palestine by stating that both sides of the political spectrum are working aginst Hamas; however, Livni was doing it in a way “that could be defended by the United States.” The article focuses primarily on the conflict between the Kadima and Likud parties and the fact that, as of Wednesday morning, both parties had allegedly claimed victory although no official results had been declared. It does not outline any major conflicts between parties other than describing them as right-wing and centrist. The elections come shortly after the most recent conflict with Gaza, putting security and peace at the forefront of the issues at hand.
Works cited:
Rival Israeli parties claim victory
Al Jazeera English: About Us
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