Those who dismiss claims about the influence of pro-Israel lobbyists often demand ‘evidence’ akin to a smoking gun; proof of a chain of causation between ‘lobbying’ and ‘self-censorship’. There are plenty of smoking guns, but to focus on those alone would ignore the far more insidious way pro-Israel lobbying efforts work on media organisations: the culture of self-censorship lobbying campaigns slowly and cumulatively entrench; the unspoken rules which become dogma, such as the necessity of ‘balancing’ Palestinian voices; the ‘common-sense’ frames that slowly start to reproduce: two-state solution, Hamas, ‘right to exist’ etc.

John Lyons’ latest book, Dateline Jerusalem: Journalism’s Toughest Assignment, lays out the blatant interference by pro-Israel lobby groups in the media’s coverage of Israel and Palestine. The testimonies presented corroborate my own experiences with Australian establishment media.