OCTOBER 7TH, 2023 – HAMAS’ ATTACK, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS AND THEIR COVERAGE IN SELECTED BRITISH, GERMAN, BULGARIAN AND TURKISH MEDIA (A CROSS-LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS)
OCTOBER 7TH, 2023 – HAMAS’ ATTACK, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS AND THEIR COVERAGE IN SELECTED BRITISH, GERMAN, BULGARIAN AND TURKISH MEDIA (A CROSS-LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS)

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to analyze and compare the articles published by the Guardian from the UK, Der Spiegel from Germany, Dnevnik from Bulgaria and Cumhuriyet from Türkiye on Hamas’ attack of Oct. 7th, 2023. The cross-linguistic critical analysis is limited to the different namings of Hamas and the political reactions to its attack, and attempts to reveal whether the reports in the four media outlets are similar considering the fact that they are all seen as left-liberal or in the case of differences whether and to what extent these are determined by national historical and/or political realities. All four media outlets report on the events of Oct. 7th as they develop; however, the Bulgarian and the Turkish newspapers lack the resources to do this as extensively as the Guardian and Der Spiegel. There are differences in the way Hamas and its attack are referred to. While the Guardian talks about ‘militants’, Der Spiegel prefers ‘terrorists’ and Cumhuriyet mostly uses ‘the Al- Qassam brigades’. The lexical items ‘terror’ and ‘terrorist’ also figure extensively in the reactions of European and US political leaders who stress Israel’s right to defend itself whereas the reactions from Türkiye and the Arab world focus on calls for de-escalation, restraint and diplomatic efforts. Differences among the four media outlets are found in the choice and presentation of political statements which can be explained with certain historical, political and sociocultural realities in the respective societies.

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