Victim or perpetrator? The transformation of Israel's media portrayal in the weekly magazine “Polityka” during the Middle East conflict (2023–2024)

Abstract

The Israeli-Palestinian war, particularly the latest escalation of violence in October 2023, has been the subject of numerous interpretations and disputes, thus becoming a conflict that has resonated particularly notably in the media. The main objective of this article is to present changes in the way Israel is portrayed in the context of the war with Hamas in 2023–2024 by the authors of the Polish opinion weekly magazine “Polityka”. The press study was conducted using the method of press content analysis. The publication also used the methods of historical fact-finding, analysis and criticism of literature, and case study. The analysis revealed that the image of the Jewish state underwent a clear evolution: from a country plagued by internal divisions, through being a victim of terrorist attacks, to increasingly frequent descriptions suggesting that it was an aggressor against the Palestinians. The thesis that the weekly's editorial staff created its content in accordance with its ideological profile, while meeting the standards of journalistic objectivity, was also confirmed.