ABSTRACT
Few media events in history, and certainly few foreign media events, have been as heavily scrutinized and criticized as was the press's coverage of the intifada. Television in particular was singled out by pro-Israeli media watchers for what became a torrent of public wrath. Many Israelis, especially those on the political right, who preferred to ignore the basic social, political, and economic reasons for the uprising, even went so far as to claim that television was directly responsible for much of the rioting that swept the occupied territories. The television news divisions did become active participants in shaping public perceptions of the conflict and even of some of the events that ensued. The most disturbing questions raised by television's participation in the uprising have implications that go far beyond the narrow confines of the rebellion itself. Television draws its power to shape perceptions from its ability to manipulate images.
