From Beirut to Jerusalem

Content Warning: This section cites accounts of war violence, as well as criticisms of Arab culture that some readers may find offensive.

Tom Friedman’s work in Lebanon and Israel proved difficult for both professional and personal reasons. As a journalist in Lebanon, Friedman was a potential target, as various militia groups were quick to punish journalists who spread unfavorable stories or kidnap them to make themselves the center of the next news cycle. As a Jew, Friedman worried that his religion would make him suspect to Arabs, relying on the relative ignorance of Western names to achieve some anonymity. Upon moving to Israel, he traded one problem for another, as his Jewishness stuck him with the charge of disloyalty in the event of any critique of Israel. He tells the amusing story of his father-in-law receiving a phone call that “your son-in-law Tom Friedman […] is the most hated man in New York City” (478) for his reporting on the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.

Going to Lebanon relatively early in his career, and then bearing witness to a series of transformative events, provided him with critical lessons on proper journalism. Where possible, Friedman tries to extract general truths from specific instances, such as viewing the massacre at Hama as an example of ancient tribalism and authoritarianism merged with the modern capabilities of the nation-state (98).