Hillel Nossek School of Media Studies, College of Management Academic Studies, Israel

1. Giving Meaning to a Meaningless Injury and Death: Victims of Terrorism Seeking for Meaningful Sacrifice Hillel Nossek School of Media Studies, College of Management Academic Studies, Israel hnossek@colman.ac.il Paper Presented to the “Victims of Terrorism Multi-disciplinary Approaches” Conference, CSTPVS, St. Andrews, 16 November 2012

2. The Presentation Outline: • Introduction: What are my main arguments • Definitions: Political Violence and Terrorism • Media and Political Violence: Victims as Actors • Literature review • Methods • Main Findings • Conclusions

3. What are the main arguments Victims of political violence were passive actors used by the terrorists, governments and the media to convey messages The media fulfilled a social function of giving meaning to the dead victims In the 21st century the victims became active actors and established a new frame: Meaningfull sacrifice for a national cause/war instead of incidental victims

4. Definitions: Political Violence and Terrorism as Communication Political violence - a wide spectrum of behaviors and events, ranging from terrorism and war to political protest. All involves some form of conflict, and some kind of political goal. Political violence also carries a message, which is why media coverage is important for those behind it, both as an end in itself, and as a means to other ends. This is very clear in the case of protest, but also pertinent with regard to terrorism (Picard, 1993). Terrorism - according to quote Wilkinson: ‘It (terrorism) is used to create and exploit a climate of fear among a wider target group than the immediate victims of the violence, and to publicize a cause…’ (Wilkinson, 2000: 12).

5. Victims as Actors Direct Victims Indirect, Secondary Victims (e.g. Families, Rescue forces, Journalists) The Public as Victims

6. Literature Review • Pfefferbaum (2003) divides victims into the following categories: • Direct victims—these are people who were at the attack site or close to the attack site. • Secondary victims—includes relatives and people close to the victim, or people who gave the victim medical or other assistance at the attack site. In this sense journalists are considered also as secondary victims. • Indirect / non-direct victims—people affected by secondary effects of the tragedy. These secondary victims are the main target of the attack. Exposed and accessible to the terror attack through the media, they are the target for reporting, and when they watch the events, they have trouble differentiating themselves from the direct victims—“circumstances decreed it was them and not me”.

7. Literature Review (Cont.) Main arguments: The media exploit the victims for their interests (Crelinsten,1992) The media perform some therapeutic functions for the individual Pfefferbaum, 2003) The media perform a social function (Lule, 1991; Nossek, 1994, 2008)

8. Literature Review (Cont.) Indications of some changes in the coverage: Less time devoted to the coverage (at least in Israel) according to Liebes and Kampf (2007) Problematic developments in the identity of the actors for the coverage: who is the terrorist and who are the victims( Cromer, 2005; Handley, 2008) According to Tota (2005) political (and local) rage against terrorism and terrorists is expressed via culture and the media when the state really cannot defend its citizens

9. Research Questions Is there a change in the quantity and salience of the victims presence in the coverage of PV in the media? Is there a change in the framing and role of the victims in media stories? If there is a change what are the causes and what can be learned from the change on the attitudes of the society towards the victims?

10. Israel as a Case Study Long experience with terrorism Relevant political, economic, social, cultural and media devolvement that might explain potential changes in the relations between media and victims: The Oslo Accords – 1993 The Al-Aqsa Intifada – 2000 September 11 Privatization in all sectors including media Prominence of Individualistic values instead of collectivistic values Liberal trends and less trust in government and its organizations and more criticism of government activities Change in the media landscape

11. Methods • Choice of Media • In this paper we will focus on the case study of the victims of insurgent terrorism against Israel and the coverage in the Israeli press during two decades: the the 90s, and the first decade of the 21st century. • In each decade we have chosen three salient terrorist attacks all suicide bombing, and analyzed the coverage in two national newspapers—one elite (Ha'aretz) and one popular (YediothAhronoth)

12. Details of the Suicide Attacks • Attack on the No. 5 Bus • The Attack on the No. 5 bus is the name given to the suicide bombing perpetrated on October 19, 1994 on the No. 5 bus of the Dan Bus Company in Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv. In this attack 22 people were killed and 47 injured. A further 21 people were killed by blast and another woman died of her injuries four days later. • Bet Lydd Attack • The Bet Lydd Junctionattack is the name given to the two suicide bombings at the hitchhiking station at Bet Lydd junction on January 22, 1995 in which 22 people were killed (21 soldiers and one civilian) and 66 wounded. This was one of the worst attacks in Israeli history and the first attack involving two suicide bombers. • First Mahane Yehuda Market suicide bombing • On July 30, 1997 two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the Mahane Yehuda market in downtown Jerusalem. The explosions killed 16 people and injured dozens more.

13. Details of the Suicide Attacks • Hebrew University suicide bombing • The Hebrew Universitybombing wasa terrorist attack which happened on July 31, 2002 at the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The attack occurred in the Frank Sinatra cafeteria at lunch time, when dozens of students, faculty, and guests were eating their lunch. Nine people were killed in the attack, most of them American students, and about 100 were injured. • The Park Hotel Attack • The suicide bombing at the Park Hotel, also known as the Passover massacre, took place at the Park Hotel in Netanya on the eve of Passover on March 27, 2002. In the attack, 30 Israelis were killed and 160 wounded (women and men of all ages who were participating in the Passover seder held at the hotel.) The attack is regarded as the main reason for Operation Defensive Shield. • Mike's Place suicide bombing • On April 30,2003 a suicide bomber exploded at "Mike's Place" on 86 Herbert Samuel Promenade in Tel Aviv. Three people were killed in the bombing and about 50 were wounded.

14. Table 1: Number of Items and Photos

15. Findings

16. Findings

17. Findings (first insights) Content analysis of the coverage of terrorism events in Israel over the past two decades indeed shows a clear change in the way victims are covered and their place in the coverage. According to the analysis, they are now more central and their voice is clearly heard. The most striking changes are the immediacy with which their voice appears, the victims’ willingness to expose themselves, and the shared need of the family and media to give meaning to a meaningless death.

18. Discussion Is there a change in the quantity and salience of the victims presence in the coverage of PV in the media? Is there a change in the framing and role of the victims in media stories? If there is a change what are the causes and what can be learned from the change on the attitudes of the society towards the victims

19. What might explain the changes Value change in Israeli society Change in the behavior of the victims Victims activism Changes in the government/public opinion Changes in the media landscape and mode of performance

20. Thank You For Your Attention!