Israeli journalists recall the last days of August 1993 with both embarrassment and excitement. The media had been following the ongoing peace talks in Washington, which seemed to be going nowhere. Suddenly, Israeli and Palestinian leaders announced that they had achieved a breakthrough in secret talks taking place “somewhere in Scandinavia.” The agreement called for Israel to pull back from Gaza and from the city of Jericho in the West Bank and for the PLO to take administrative control of these areas. Within a few days the media learned that the agreement was even bigger. Israel intended to formally recognize the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and the PLO would formally recognize the Jewish state. In addition, the Declaration of Principles (DOP) would set out a series of steps for moving the peace process forward.

The initial weeks after the breakthrough were euphoric, and the Israeli media were enthusiastic partners in the celebration. This period came to be known as the “peace festival” and the newspapers, television, and radio were full of rosy predictions about the new dawn (Wolfsfeld, 1997b). The Peace frame dominated media discourse during this initial wave of enthusiasm. There were stories about Israel becoming the “Switzerland of the Middle East” and that peace with Syria was just around the corner.

The problem was that peace had not arrived; it was not even close. The Declaration of Principles signed by Israel and the Palestinians merely established a framework for negotiations.