I do think we should discuss bias and potential sources of bias in the wikipedia. That's an important issue that we will always struggle with. I just caution everyone to remember that discussing it in the context of Israel and the Middle East is difficult and that we should be wary of straying into _content_ discussions about what is actually right or wrong in that context.
Some of that is unavoidable, but we should be careful not to let this discussion (about possible sources of bias in the wikipedia) to turn into a flamewar about what is undoubtably a very emotional and very VERY complex situation.
Stevertigo wrote:
"Indeed, you have to come to America to realise just how brave this small but vocal Jewish community is. Bernstein is the first to acknowledge that a combination of Israeli lobbyists and conservative Christian fundamentalists have in effect censored all free discussion of Israel and the Middle East out of the public domain in the US. "
I think that this notion -- that "free discussion" is "censored" in the US is absolutely farcical.
The US is a very noisy place. You can find, without much looking, just about anyone saying just about anything. Extremists on all sides frequently complain that their voice isn't being heard. And specific allegations of bias against particular news outlets are undeniably true. But taken as a whole, there's a very rich and complex debate about all these things.
I'm wondering if, and have long surmised that, this is an issue on Wikipedia, and am curious about whether it merits a centralized, and open discussion.
Certainly potential bias does deserve a centralized and open discussion.
--Jimbo