U.S. Media Bias: Occupation or a Fight Against Terrorism in the Palestinian Territories?

There is no doubt that the U.S. is not an objective broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict--I've known that before watching this video, but I've never really known why. This video from the Media Education Foundation shows how and why the U.S. media is biased towards Israel with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Furthermore, the report argues that U.S. political policy in the last 30 years or so has been an impediment to peace in the region because of its' economic (oil) goals.

There are two questions left if my mind after watching this video: why do American journalists pander so easily to their corporate masters when reporting on the issue when they're taught in journalism school to be objective?; I agree that it is in America's best interest to support Israel, but is it America's interest to support Israel's occupation of Palestinian land? The former question is in part answered by the movie: fear of being called an anti-Semite if you don't support Israel's policies (there is more criticism of Israel's policies in the Israeli press than in the U.S. as seen in the video). As for the latter, I think the answer is definitely no, and many Israelis also think the same with respect to their government's policies. The humiliation and occupation of another people is unequivocally wrong. The issue comes down to land, and Israel wants more of it... and American support of it is creating more hatred and anti-Americanism.

Israel has nuclear weapons and along with its conventional weapons can wipe out any nation in the Middle East, including Iran, without any problem whatsoever. It's not as if today it's a helpless nation (it was when it was founded in the late 1940s) that's being attacked by Jew-hating Palestinians and Arabs (although I'm sure there are many, and there will be even more because of Israeli aggression!), as is portrayed in the U.S. media. The reason for the violence is Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.

In summary, I agree with the interviewees in the video--Israelis, Palestinians, Jewish-Americans, Arab-Americans and others--who are against the Israeli occupation and humiliation of Palestinians and the U.S.' support of it. It's not in the best interest of the U.S. (and many Israelis would argue it's not in the best interest of their nation as seen in this investigative story), and it is morally wrong. But can public opinion change given the consistent bias in our media?