RSF: Israel Less Press Freedom than Arab Countries

October 22nd, 2008 By: Michael van der Galien | Tags:

The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a report presented Wednesday that despite Western concerns about the lack of press freedom in Arab countries, there is less press freedom in supposedly free countries such as Israel and the United States.

“Destabilized and on the defensive, the leading democracies are gradually eroding the space for freedoms,” the report said.

When it came to press freedom beyond its frontiers, the U.S. ranked 119, Israel 149. Kuwait, on the other hand, was ranked at 61, Lebanon at 66 and the United Arab Emirates at 69.

Countries like Iraq (158), Pakistan (152), Afghanistan (156) and Somalia 153) performed badly, as expected, in the index.

At the same time, criticism of some Arab countries is certainly valid coming from the West, RSF said. Syria, for instance, was ranked at 159, and described by RSF as “the Middle-East champion in cyber-repression.”

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  1. c3
    October 22nd, 2008 at 19:04
    Reply | Quote | #1

    I have note read the report but can I ask what press freedoms are lacking in the US?

  2. John Rohan
    October 22nd, 2008 at 19:36
    Reply | Quote | #2

    And what do they mean by press freedom “beyond it’s frontiers”?
    Are they specifically talking about press freedom outside the US?

    This article would be a lot more credible with some more specifics or a link.

  3. Claudia, Assistant Editor
    October 22nd, 2008 at 20:03
    Reply | Quote | #3

    John, they are talking about the safety and freedom given to American reporters outside the domestic territory (the US ranks 36th if you only count domestic reporting).

    This post is small, but I will be doing a larger one discussing the results later in the day, with it’s corresponding links, as press freedom is a very important subject

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