In last Sunday's edition, the well-known protester, Amir Hakesh, was brought to news studios 12. Alongside a few criticisms, the studio backdrop and the booming story promised an interview from which a hero will emerge, and he did come out a hero. In another major channel, the title of a heart-wrenching phrase "stopped in front of his three grandchildren."

Political culture scholars share a consensus that social protest, justified as it may be, is never an explicit expression of the situation. Not the necessity of reality. The protesters, however right, never express pure truth. The flagship banners, signs, leaflets, and even the geographic site where the rally takes place - all express a set of preferences or cultural bias. That is, the flag, black or blue, sits deeply on the group biography, or history, of whoever wields it.

Good and honest and right and loved. Given this understanding, the million dollar question is: Is the Israeli media surveying protesters from all corners of the political spectrum fairly? Does it link the cry of the protesters to the social environment from which they came? Are journalistic standards evenly applied? To answer this, we will use the "test of empathy," which means we will examine how much the press coverage provokes identification with the right and left protesters. 

Here are typical techniques for much of the mainstream journalist towards the issues on the back of the "right" views. First technique: revealing the humanity of the mind. After a blast of flashes from the field, the journalist arrives at the hero's home. The camera wanders and surveys the pictures on the wall: portraits of household members transmitting heat and humanity. The kettle is boiling. The aroma of coffee invites the viewer to a conversation. The tension is decreasing and the critical viewer's cultural defense mechanism is likely to dissolve. Diction, vocabulary, and photography angle validate the protester's views on the left. The message: "Listen carefully to those who have been fighting battles / those who have studied history." In the flow of speech the editor creates a pause: three seconds of silence. silence. A technique that allows the viewer to digest the injustice well and identify with the protester and his messages.

There is no good if there is no bad. The complementary technique is to critique and draw the portrait of the object of the protest. The ultimate critic is Netanyahu presented as a hedonist, a later version of the Roman ruler of his time - Ceausescu. The Balfour residence is the emperor's palace. Gentlemen, history is back, and since it is coming back, the protest is pretty much requested. Unlike their nod, the journalist painstakingly identifies the protesters-protesters: on Balfour Street, they "sit on a hot floor." Agonizing. Determined to make a personal sacrifice for the public. For our sake. This is the glorification technique of the brains.

These techniques frame the brains on the left as expressing authentic distress. True rage. Tastings that do not demand criticism, but stage and empowerment. The protesters of the left are never citizens who grasp the root of the problem with their senses and are not prepared to accept the injustice. They are the gospel bearers. The last barrier against the vagaries of government. Distilled expression of rare courage. 

In contrast, the protests of the right-wing protesters are structured so as not to undermine the media consumer's cultural defense mechanisms. The outcry of the right-wing protester will provoke less identification. Here's the explanation: Since we drank coffee at the protester's home and got to know his family members, it is clear that the protesters on the left have a name and identity, have history and family. In contrast, those on the right are "babysitters", meaning their brains are blunt, unaware. herd. Their group biography is neither interesting nor relevant.

According to the "Empathy Test," mainstream journalists tend to have protesters on the left, and the question is: why? One possible reason is that journalists and protesters on the left are mammals of a similar cultural field, of the same tradition and of the same group biography. It's natural and comfortable. This may not be fair, but "they are ours."

Dr. Yitzhak Dahan is a lecturer and researcher of Israeli society and political culture