'Jerusalem Post' writer comes to U. for talks on media bias, Jerusalem

Elli Wohlgelernter also participated in a panel discussion Friday night on a range of issues faced by modern Israel. At a time when the peace process in the Middle East generates a seemingly unending supply of news and information, veteran Israeli journalist Elli Wohlgelernter is exhorting students at Penn to "question what they read." Wohlgelernter, a reporter and former editor for Israel's Jerusalem Post, visited the University this weekend during a series of events sponsored by Lubavitch House at Penn, Connaissance and the Hillel Israel Committee. Friday at the Lubavitch House, Wohlgelernter led a panel of about 30 students in a discussion about issues ranging from religious tolerance in Israel to the third anniversary of the Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians. Saturday, he spoke to about 20 students and led a question-and-answer session at Hillel entitled "The Distorted Lens of the Media." The American-born Wohlgelernter worked in New York City radio, television and print journalism before coming to what he calls "the fascinating, mystical and unique town" of Jerusalem in 1991. "I am telling the story of Jerusalem.? I have added to 3,000 years of Jewish history," Wohlgelernter said. Citing alleged biases in the New York Times and on CNN, Wohlgelernter told students, "If you don't get the whole truth, you get a falsehood, a slice of the story." According to Wohlgelernter, America gets a "distorted" view of events in Israel because many newspapers and television networks superficially cover political violence without seeking its causes. "Often you're shown a picture of a small child holding a rock and an Israeli soldier pointing a gun at him," Wohlgelernter said. "You don't see the band of 20-year-old children behind him holding even bigger rocks." Rabbi Ephraim Levin of Lubavitch House explained, "I think it's important to hear personal explanations of what he sees in Jerusalem.? It gives some hope that there is something to work toward." College senior Jaime Blank said the event helped her understand "the differences between the way the local media and the foreign media portray certain events." Wohlgelernter also gave advice to Jewish-American students about preserving their heritage while living in the U.S. "The problem with American Jewry is internal and deals with what they are doing to combat assimilation," he said. "A concerted effort should be made to give each Jewish child in this country a Jewish education."