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AP Misinformation on PLO Riots

October 10, 2000

The Associated Press (AP) news service recently distributed a photo of a bleeding young American Jewish student who had been attacked by Palestinian rioters in Jerusalem. The photo showed the American being defended by an angry Israeli policeman. However, as has been typical of media coverage of the Palestinian riots, the AP distributed the photo with a misleading caption that read, "An Israeli policeman and a Palestinian on the Temple Mount." The clear implication was that the bleeding American (incorrectly identified as a Palestinian) was a victim of the policeman. The photo and incorrect caption were carried in many newspapers, including the New York Times, Boston Globe, Baltimore Sun, Newsweek, Montreal Gazette, and Houston Chronicle

The father of the young man saw the picture in the New York Times, and sent the paper the following letter:

Regarding your picture on page A5 (Sept. 30) of the Israeli soldier and the Palestinian on the Temple Mount -- that Palestinian is actually my son, Tuvia Grossman, a Jewish student from Chicago. He, and two of his friends, were pulled from their taxicab while traveling in Jerusalem, by a mob of Palestinian Arabs and were severely beaten and stabbed.

That picture could not have been taken on the Temple Mount because there are no gas stations on the Temple Mount and certainly none with Hebrew lettering, like the one clearly seen behind the Israeli soldier attempting to protect my son from the mob.

Aaron Grossman, M.D.
Chicago, IL

The Arab rioters had stoned the vehicle and its occupants, dragging Grossman out to beat and stab him. Another of the Americans was also severely attacked and hospitalized. Grossman broke free from his assailants and fled toward the Israeli policeman. At that point a photographer snapped the picture.

Notified of their error, AP first sent out a correction that identified the Grossman as an Israeli medic. They finally sent a correction that read:

Associated Press captions on two photos sent Sept. 29 from Jerusalem misidentified a young man injured during street battles between Israeli forces and Palestinians. The AP first identified the young man, who was photographed sitting bloodied on the ground, as an unnamed Palestinian. Different captions sent Monday, Oct. 2, identified him as an Israeli ambulance medic. On Tuesday, the original photos were retransmitted with captions correctly identifying him as Tuvia Grossman, an American student from Chicago. The original captions also misidentified the site of the incident as the Temple Mount. In fact, it occurred in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Even the second AP correction was still in error. The incident took place outside of the Old City, not in it (there are no gas stations in the Old City). Further, the AP retraction did not mention that Grossman was Jewish or that he was the victim of Arab violence. Under pressure from thousands of readers, AP eventually sent out a story on the beatings of the Americans. However, many newspapers carried only brief and often misleading corrections, and many did not republish the original photograph.

The AP's glaring mistake reflects a larger media bias against Israel -- seeing a bloody man near an Israeli policeman, the AP simply assumed that any victim of violence in Israel would be Arab. Sadly, if the picture had been distributed with the correct caption, most papers would not have carried it.

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