Conditioned integration during security crises: the role of Israeli sports media from 1996 to 2014

Abstract

This study examines peace journalism as manifested toward the Israeli Arab minority in a time of seven security crises from 1996 to 2014 in the Israeli Hebrew sports media. Studies of peace journalism in periods of crises focus mainly on political news and find that the media largely conform to alienation practices. This study argues that sports media encourage a ‘conditional integration’ of all actors that participate in the sport. The sports media have three strategies: acknowledging a notion of ‘normalcy’ in which Arabs encourage the maintenance of the sports season at the national and international levels, curtailing alienation practices such as condemning racism and objection to boycott of Arab teams, and encouraging integration that allows the Israeli-Arabs to have a unique voice, as long as they do not openly adopt anti-Israel political stances such as making pro-Hamas or Hezbollah statements. Therefore, sports sections in the news can deepen our understanding of the diverse role of media in times of security crises.