Al Abbas Original Best Chicken

A recent episode of Larry David’s "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (Season 8, Episode 3), which for some reason was placed at an extremely late hour on RTE’s TG4 schedule, features an unusually blunt treatment of the Israeli-Palestinian issue, along with Larry’s unique brand of self-deprecating wit. Larry and his pal Jeff visit a "Palestinian chicken place" called "Al Abbas Original Best Chicken". It is noted for serving excellent chicken. The restaurant is believed to be broadly based on two Lebanese eateries in California. Interestingly David treats anti-Semitism as a given in the Palestinian movement. 

 

 

Classic lines

Larry [admiring a waitress in Al-Abbas]: Looks like they are planning the next intifada at this table but look at this woman, could be the next Mrs. David. What do you think about that?
Jeff: If by some chance she's going to get over her anti-Semitism, odds are not with you!
Larry: Really?
Jeff: Just my gut feeling.
Larry: Know what it is? You’re always attracted to someone who doesn’t want you, right? Well here you have someone who not only doesn't want you, doesn't even acknowledge your right to exist, wants your destruction… That’s a turn-on.
　

Classic lines

Marty: Proud Jews wear Yarmulkes [skullcaps].
Larry: Be proud here in the parking lot, you don’t need to be proud in there [Al Abbas].

Waitress in Al-Abbas: I Like you.
Larry: What’s not to like?
Waitress in Al-Abbas: ahh you’re a Jew.



A similar post is found at The Iconoclast.

Anti-Israeli propaganda at the Irish Examiner

An Extremely biased article by the Irish Examiner appeared on Monday the 7^th of November entitled "Gaza flotilla takeover ‘put lives at risk’". The article was by one Ann Cahill, their "Europe Correspondent". It gave free rein to the statements of dishonest anti-Israeli demagogues Fintan Lane and Paul Murphy, whilst failing to even briefly mention that the Irish consular assistance from the Embassy in Tel Aviv affirmed they were in good health. The Irish Examiner has been notably pro-Palestinian in its coverage for some time, and has crossed an ethical line, such as with active promotion of pro-Palestinian events. The article prompted Dermot Meleady to write a strongly worded email to Ms. Cahill on the day of publication:

--------

From: Dermot Meleady
To: news@examiner.ie
Sent: Monday, 7 November 2011, 20:44:01
Subject: For attention of Ann Cahill
　
Dear Ms. Cahill
　
Your article in Monday's Irish Examiner on the intercepted Gaza flotilla makes me wonder what has happened to journalistic standards.
　　
There are several interesting aspects to this story, aspects in which the facts are contested. First, there is the question of aid. The organisers had said there would be $30,000 worth of aid on board the ships. Yet on the Israeli navy video, we can hear the activists say they have no cargo, and the Israelis say they found no aid (or weapons) on board when the ships docked at Ashdod. What is the truth? It's important to know, since we have Micheal Martin and other calling the flotilla a 'humanitarian aid' convoy, while the Israelis call it simply a provocation.
　
Second, there is the conflict between what the Irish consul said at Ashdod -- that all the activists were in good health -- and the allegations made by Messrs. Lane, Murphy et al that they were maltreated by the Israeli authorities. The suggestion by the activists that a water hose could start a fire on board the Saoirse might have been expected to generate some scepticism, but none was evident in the article.
　　
Third, the incongruity of the activists claiming to have been 'kidnapped', yet resisting being sent home from a country they profess to hate might have incurred comment, but there was none.
　
Fourth, there is the conflict between the measured tone of Eamon Gilmore's statement about the safety of the Irish citizens on board and your presentation of this as 'condemnation'.
　　
Fifth, you seem to accept at face value the claim of the activists that the flotilla's problems in making the journey to Gaza in July were the result of 'sabotage', despite an assertion to the contrary by the Turkish Government. Again, it would have been nice to have heard both sides reported at least. And surely it would have added to the enlightenment of readers to have been told that 7 of the 14 Irish activists are members of Sinn Fein including former members of the IRA -- i.e. hardly 'humanitarians' of unblemished record.
　
I thought it was a journalist's function to be curious, ask questions, try to find the truth. Instead the readers were served with a reprint of a propaganda release by the Palestinian Solidarity movement, with a little added gloss. If you are really a campaigner with a specific political agenda to push, and not a serious journalist willing to let readers make up their own minds based on the facts, perhaps in future you might preface your reports with this information for the benefit of readers?
　
Yours sincerely
　
Dermot Meleady.

The Irish on Israel: Why Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore Lambasted the Jewish State

For a long time Ireland has had a relatively antagonistic relationship with Israel, which can at times be more keenly felt than diplomatic tensions with many other Western nations. It is not unusual to see articles and letters by Israelis expressing bafflement at this hostility. Most visibly perhaps, the Irish element in the international pro-Palestinian movement, for example in the flotillas to Gaza, is surprisingly large for a nation with a small populace. Last year an Israeli ambassador expressed the view that officials in Israel’s Foreign Ministry thought of Ireland as a "lost cause". 

It is thought the strength of pro-Palestinian sentiment developed from a perceived affinity between the Irish republican movement and the Palestinians. Certainly the links between the IRA and Arafat’s PLO have been well documented. This connection is due to historic circumstance, where the British were wrongly perceived as pro-Jewish. Yet this affinity goes beyond disaffected socialists and republicans. It has infused the culture itself and can be seen at the heart of government, whether on the left or right.

There are incidents of outright antisemitism in Ireland but such events appear to be very rare in comparison with countries like Sweden and France where there has been something of a Jewish exodus. However, a study published in May of this year found that of those Irish citizens questioned, over 1/5^th would deny citizenship to Israelis. More worrying are the anti-Semitic views of some, with 11.5% stating they would deny Irish citizenship to all Jews, and less than 60% saying they would accept a Jewish person into their family. When placed in context, it is clear this is a broad trend affecting the more anti-Israeli nations across Europe, which undermines the old cliché that pro-Palestinianism is anti-Zionism disassociated from antisemitic elements.

This all-pervasive pro-Palestinianism manifests in an interesting way. The focus on this issue is intense if not obsessive, considering its distance from Irish politics, where there is no serious threat of Islamist reprisals as a result of military activity. There is a culture of blame focused exclusively on Israel, a tacit apologism for Palestinian wrongdoing when not completely ignored, whilst at the same time loudly proclaiming the need for peace. Israel’s worries are rarely regarded with anything other than contempt.

One such example is the new socialist president, Michael D. Higgins, who is Ireland’s answer to Carter without the complication of being American. His constant anti-US posturing led to a stance of instant 9/11 moral relativism, and the courting of nasty individuals like Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega. He is virulently anti-Israeli, having repeatedly advocated boycott and sanctions, called for the removal of Hamas from the EU proscription list, and sought communication between Hamas and the Irish State. In 2007 he was st anding on the same platform as Ibrahim Mousawi, then head of Hizbullah’s Al Manar TV, which numerous countries have banned due to its intensive anti-Semitic content. Mousawi has referred to Jews as "a lesion on the forehead of history" etc.

Depressingly, this is the pose many Irish politicians strike, regardless of their creed and merit in other respects. The conduct of Ireland’s last foreign minister, Michael Martin, over the 2010 Gaza Flotilla issue left an awful lot to be desired - he rushed to conclusions damning Israel as the details of the story were only emerging. Culturally speaking, it is telling when an adept mainstream politician starts acting in such a fashion.

Recently this bias was illustrated when Eamon Gilmore, Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) and current Minister for Foreign Affairs, spoke about the bid for Palestinian statehood at the United Nations in New York. He is leader of the Labour Party, which is in a coalition government. Until the early 90’s he was a member of the Workers Party which was affiliated to a relatively moderate branch of the IRA.


Gilmore’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Other than glowing comments about the UN, Gilmore’s speech mainly dealt with the Mid-East conflict

In the Middle East Peace Process, the search for freedom and equality has yet to bear fruit. The Arab-Israeli conflict remains depressingly deadlocked. Unless this deadlock is broken, the opportunities for yet another generation of children will be destroyed.
The situation in the Middle East is urgent. After twenty years of failed initiatives, disillusionment about the capacity of the political process to deliver a settlement is deepening. Young Palestinians, in particular, are frustrated and despairing. The position of the moderate Palestinian leadership is under threat…

Indeed the peace process is deadlocked. Gilmore doesn’t ask why directly but goes along with the common assumption that the impasse is Israel’s fault judging by what he states elsewhere in the speech about Jewish settlements. However, just a cursory look at the record of negotiations suggests the problems do not lie with Israel. Didn’t Arafat and Abbas walk out of said processes? Arafat was offered about 91% of his territorial demands at Camp David but walked about over the shared sovereignty of the Temple Mount/Haram whilst Abbas was offered almost 100% of all territorial demands (with some land swaps) by Olmert. Gilmore sides with those unwilling to compromise by strengthening their hand with his support, whilst giving the more amenable party a good talking to. Surely this is a bizarrely counter-productive approach?

It is posited that one side is especially frustrated and despairing. Gilmore believes it is the Palestinians. Then it needs to be asked why their leaders are so unwilling to enter peace talks without preconditions from either side. Polls through the years have repeatedly attested that far from wanting peaceful co-existence, the majority of Palestinians support the opposite. Most recently, a poll from July illustrated this point starkly. By contrast, a recent poll of Israelis indicates that 66% do not ever see peace as being possible with the Palestinians. Perhaps both sides are “frustrated” etc. but for very different reasons.

Ireland has long been an advocate for the establishment of a sovereign, independent Palestinian state within borders based on those of 1967…

In 1980 Ireland became the first European country to associate a Palestinian state with the rights of the Palestinian people. This was the result of the “Bahrain Declaration”, which was the work of another minister for foreign affairs, Brian Lenihan (Senior). This was done at a time when the PLO was repeatedly questioning Israel’s right to exist. Israel’s anger over the move was intense, and it was seen by the Irish opposition as an effort to curry political and economic favour with the Arab Middle-East.

It is also of note that relations were frosty since Israel’s inception. Ireland was the last member of the EEC to recognise Israel, and the sole country in the EU bloc without an Israeli embassy until 1996, almost 48 years after Israel’s creation. It was grudgingly allowed with the advent of the Oslo peace process but only after it was matched by a strong Palestinian delegation to Ireland.

The decision of President Abbas to seek Palestine’s membership of the United Nations is entirely legitimate and understandable. Palestine has the same right to membership of the United Nations as Ireland or any other Member of this Organisation.

Gilmore conflates countries in existence with a notional one. He also appears to assert there is some sort of implicit or automatic right to UN membership. Surely no region has such an automatic right to full membership as a state unless they constitute an actual state? Indeed Paragraph One of Article Two of the UN Charter says: “The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.” Whilst the intent of that paragraph is arguably to reinforce the equality of all members, it still makes some level of sovereignty a condition of membership. Similarly Article Four makes it clear statehood is effectively a requirement for membership: “Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states…” Thus, if a notional state has any right to membership at all, it does not remotely have the same right to membership as an established state like Ireland.

Such a claim to this right of full UN membership is especially dubious if the actors that seek to constitute a given state are in conflict with an established state which is a full member of the UN. In the initial part of Gilmore’s speech he praises the Charter but the text is an inconvenience to his viewpoint. Article Two, Paragraph Four states: “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.” The Palestinian Authority (PLO) continues to incite against Israel and repeatedly fudged the removal of the call to annihilate Israel in the PLO charter, a vital requirement of the Oslo peace process. Hamas repeatedly denies Israel’s right to exist and has called for a mass genocide against the Jews. The PA and Hamas formed a mock government for the UN bid. If their past conduct is anything to go by, a state they constitute would surely make a mockery of Article Four.

The nature of a Palestinian state is again conflated with existent states in an assertion about borders:

Some would seek to argue that Palestine cannot be recognised as a State because its borders remain to be agreed. But if the borders of Palestine are still a matter for negotiation, then so, by definition, are those of Israel which is rightly a full member of the UN.

On the face of it, his point sounds reasonable. Yet when analysed the point represents a non-sequitur that misleads as it strips each case of their differing contexts. Distilled down, he essentially argues that recognition and/or membership of a Palestinian state equates with the same status afforded to Israel: A is justified as B has already been so. He appears to argue that both are conditional on each other being valid, regardless of the matter of disputed boundaries. Since he parallels the two, we can infer that both must have some form of similarity in terms of the conditions of their recognition/membership. This could be a distant similarity where equivalencies are artfully drawn out or a closer similarity in terms of circumstance. Does this bear out? Not really. The UN afforded an extant Israel full membership in May 1949, around the time the Armistice Lines were being finalised with the other nations involved in the 1948-49 war,which the International community now seek to re-use to carve up the State permanently.

Clearly the notion there is any meaningful equivalence comes across as an absurdity simply because Israel existed as a state. It was this fact which that principally led to its UN membership. A doesn’t follow B because it remains that Israel was a fully functioning state when it was given membership, while a Palestinian state is the exact opposite: a notional abstracted idea. The status of Israel’s borders was clearly a secondary concern, if one at all, while any borders are an impossibility for a notional one.

The reality is that Gilmore’s argument strawmans the stance of those disagreeing with the UN move. A prospective Palestinian state doesn’t have any borders, temporary or otherwise, in the first instance because it is not a functioning state, just a purely notional one. It becoming a functioning state depends on negotiations, not merely for borders. Such negotiations are the key to its creation. Pre-empting them with membership just makes said negotiations on a whole gamut of issues harder to compromise over.

Membership of the UN of itself… does not remove the compelling need for negotiations. Nor will it offer a legitimate excuse to avoid negotiations…

Well the need for negotiations depends on Palestinian intent. If the Palestinian leaders seek to continue conflict and eventually destroy Israel then surely it merely strengthens their hand to avoid negotiations by placing greater demands on Israel before negotiations have a chance to take place. The incitement in the Palestinian media, even under the supposedly moderate Abbas, continues to radicalise the populace.

What recognition of Palestinian statehood would do, however, would be to give dignity and support to the Palestinian people who have suffered for too long. It would also be a tangible demonstration of the commitment of the international community and the UN to an agreed settlement between two sovereign states…

The international community has already demonstrated its commitment to the Palestinian people time and time again. The Palestinians receive the highest priority, and the most substantial aid from the international community. They get the most attention, and not to a marginal extent either but to a vast degree, often at the expense of considerably worse conflict zones due to the continual attention given by the UN to the Palestinian cause. One wonders how much more “support” they need bar something along the lines of UN mandated military action against Israel to help them in their cause. It is open to question whether Gilmore believes the contention himself because he contradicts himself shortly after:

The international community has invested far too much effort and resources over the past decades not to do all it can now to assist a return to direct talks by the two sides. In the words of Martin Luther King, we cannot ignore “the fierce urgency of now”.

Whilst Gilmore waxes lyrical about the hardship and the apparent lack of “dignity” afforded to the Palestinian people, he never explicitly mentions of the hardship Israeli’s have faced, which is telling.

Provided that the resolution is drafted in terms that are reasonable and balanced, I expect Ireland to give its full support.

Balanced in Gilmore’s terms is decidedly pro-Palestinian. In reality of course Ireland wouldn’t vote against any UN resolution favouring the Palestinians unless it explicitly called for Israel’s destruction.

There can be no doubting the hugely transformative power for the Middle East region of a final end to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

In reality a solution is unlikely to change the status quo. Whether or not the presence of Israel initially inflamed the region, coming to a solution with the Palestinians will clearly not result in peace, merely another chapter in this sorry conflict. The international community is anxious to push this panacea, whilst often taking liberties with Israel’s security, since the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis. In reality conflict between Sunni and Shiite, Muslim and Christian, is on a far greater scale in the region.

Although Gilmore briefly mentions “violent attacks” that are probably intended to apply to both sides of the conflict, his principle concern is with Jewish settlements:

I again urge the Government of Israel to halt all settlement expansion. And I also call on them to end the unjust blockade of Gaza by opening up land crossings to normal commercial, human and humanitarian traffic.

It is telling that Gilmore ends the part of the speech about the conflict on a note of sharp criticism of Israel, while never once mentioning the pain Israeli’s have endured in the conflict. His failure to present a case with any balance at all is illustrated with the further demand that Israel halt the blockade of Gaza (albeit by land rather than sea), which even the UN Palmer Report asserted was legitimate. Gaza isn’t run by the “moderate” leaders that he claimed are “under threat”. Rather the blockade exists since Gaza is possessed by Hamas, which took it by force from said moderates, and initiated conflict.


Broader contextual issues

Gilmore’s speech repeatedly praised the United Nations in gushing terms, without mention of its faults:

We are living in times of breathtaking change… To respond to these multiple and interrelated challenges, we have one constant anchor: the United Nations… No other organization has the same global impact and legitimacy.

The UN repeatedly failed to face the challenges of the past satisfactorily. It became a political tool for the Communist/Middle East bloc long ago. Its future does not look rosy either. It remains driven by sectional interests, e.g. the Islamic OIC bloc typically gets the support of the anti-Western Non-Aligned Movement representing a majority of UN members.

Gilmore goes on to extol the virtues of the Charter, seemingly as the basis of all that is good in the UN:

The Charter tells us that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. The UN is the embodiment of freedom and equality. It is a bulwark defending these core human values in a changing and uncertain world…

For decades many members that should have abided by the principles of the Charter, such as universal values, freedom, equality etc., failed to do so. It is absurd to suggest the UN is the repository of human ideals. The Charter is a reminder of the monumental failure of the UN rather than a cause for any hope.

Whilst explicit criticism of the UN might be expecting too much, it is unfortunate that Gilmore didn’t allude to the manifest problems at the UN or even temper his praise somewhat:

Ireland is deeply committed to the United Nations. We look to it to uphold and defend the universal values of peace, security, human rights and development which are set out in the UN Charter. […]
A deep attachment to the values of freedom and equality and other core human rights principles underpins our candidature for election to the Human Rights Council at the elections to be held in 2012. […]

Now more than ever, the UN is demonstrating that it is the home for these fundamental values and goals and the arena in which we can best pursue collective solutions.

Sadly, the truth is that the United Nations is far from being the institution it purports to be. It is a body shielding many brutal regimes by giving them legitimacy. One blackly comic example is the UN-HRC containing some of the very worst human rights abusers in the world. The incongruity is so overt, e.g. the spectacle of Saudi Arabia on the Commission on the Status of Women, and the the antisemitic Durban anti-racism conferences, that it is really a wonder anyone can still think it a legitimate agent for good in the world. Yet many people continue to see the UN as a deeply virtuous, if at times ineffectual, institution.

A recent example is UN inaction over Syria, which appears to be as serious as conditions were in Libya. To Gilmore’s credit he mentioned Syria but all too briefly in a single sentence. The main issue of the speech dealt with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and as such represents another example of the UN’s appalling obsession with Israel at the expense of other conflicts, even when one of the latter is in full swing whilst the former is quiet.

Gilmore described the Arab Spring glowing heroic terms, as a move toward freedom when in fact it is a deeply worrying source of instability and extremism in a region already blighted by such problems:

We have watched the people of the Arab Spring who have asserted their rights and stood up to oppression and corruption. Tahrir (freedom) has now passed into all our vocabularies as a byword for all those no longer prepared to see their basic human rights suppressed… The people of the Arab Spring have stood up, and stood together, to assert their basic rights and freedoms. The right to choose their own leaders. The right not to live in fear of the knock on the door. The right to live freely and openly…

While the loss of the dictatorships are not something to bewail, the Arab Spring uses motifs of Islamic supremacy, and an undercurrent of Arab racism particularly in Libya. Hostility toward Israel, and Judaism in general, is a sizeable element in the movement.

A similar aggression toward Christians has been especially damaging because they lack the protection of a state like Israel. The destruction of Mid Eastern Christians has increased in recent months. Isolated events have reached the news occasionally but the phenomenon has otherwise been completely ignored at the UN, by Western leaders and also by many branches of the faith. In Egypt it is estimated that 100,000 Christians have left since the fall of Mubarak and worse is to come.


Aftermath of the speech

Gilmore’s speech attracted quite a lot of interest before and after its delivery. During a motion in the Senate calling on the government to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN meeting, Senator Terry Leyden, of the Friends of Palestine parliamentary group, said that Alan Shatter, the sole Jewish minister in Government, had an undue influence over foreign policy on Palestine. He also accused American Jews as having an undue influence over Obama. His assertions raised the sceptre of antisemitism, which he furiously denied.

Similarly, Éamon Ó Cuív, the deputy head of an opposition party was haranguing the government with accusations of following Obama’s stance at the UN, even though they had already said they would vote in favour of a Palestinian state.

After the speech Gilmore elaborated on his criticism of Israel during one parliamentry session. It was a more frank account of his views. In reply to questions by Mick Wallace, an MP who was involved with the Gaza Flotilla campaign, Gilmore stated:

The illegal Israeli settlements are a key driver of the unresolved Arab-Israeli conflict. The expansion of settlements inherently involves the seizure of Palestinian lands, destruction of homes and eviction of families, and the exclusion of farmers from their fields.

Gilmore forwards the standard rather absurd contention that the settlement issue is the prime reason for the failure of the peace process. Did Arafat walk out of Camp David over the settlements? No. During the Oslo Process, settlements were designated as a final status issue, and in fact Israel hasn’t recognised new Jewish settlements for quite a number of years.

The settlements also constitute, and are intended to constitute, an obstacle to the achievement of a comprehensive peace. If the settlements had not been put in place, the way to a comprehensive peace agreement between Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab world would now be clear and that such an agreement would be readily achievable.

Gilmore makes unjustifiable myopic assumptions about the intent of Israeli policy toward settlements. For a time they were encouraged with tax breaks to provide a security buffer between Israel and the Palestinian territories. However, Israel has repeatedly shown a willingness to dismantle settlements in the West Bank in exchange for a peace agreement, and have already done so in the Sinai and Gaza. It is then nothing less than an absurdity for Gilmore to claim this is the principle issue preventing peace.

Gilmore claimed settler violence is increasing, perhaps as a result of a recent arson attack on a mosque:

Violence by settlers against Palestinians is increasing and is largely ignored by the military authorities. The whole settlement enterprise sends a clear message that there is one law for Israelis and another for Palestinians.

In fact the attack was an unusual incident that drew wide condemnation from the Israeli establishment and Jewish leaders while Hamas used the event to incite violence.

The recent permission for the construction of more homes in Gilo was also a source of consternation:

… we strongly condemn the decision to go ahead with the 1,000 household settlement plan in Gilo in East Jerusalem…. the quartet statement… also sets down very clearly that provocative and pre-emptive actions should not be engaged in, and I agree with that.

It would seem Gilmore thinks “provocative and pre-emptive actions” only appertain to one side of the conflict given his strong support for the UN Palestinian statehood bid loosely based on the 1949 borders!

Perhaps one of the more galling features of international criticism of Israel is their attitude towards Jerusalem. The remarkable thing is that Eastern parts of Jerusalem had a large Jewish majority before Jordan took the territory in 1949. Much of that land, which was in the ownership of Jews, was handed to Palestinians. Now even moderate levels of construction in “Arab East Jerusalem”, which only came to have such an ethnic exclusivity due to Jordanian ethnic cleansing, is regarded as a provocation!

Internationally, Jewish neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem are classed as settlements to the same extent as sites like Hebron, which are embedded in the West Bank quite deeply. It is bizarre to be so opposed to all Jewish construction beyond the Armistice Lines, without any distinction, even though sites like Gilo were intended to remain part of Israel according to the peace plans put forward for the last two decades. Meanwhile Israel also faces a well-publicised housing crisis due to shortages.

Israel must be encouraged to see that its own best interests are not served by the occupation.

Gilmore’s sentiment is a commonly held view that fails to acknowledge very basic facts about the conflict. What of the deep religious/cultural and racial hostility toward Israel and Jews in general? What of the incitement and naked antisemitism that the Third Reich would have preferably concealed? Such consistent myopia allows Gilmore et al to portray the conflict as a simple fracas over territory, if only those naughty Israelis were to come to their senses by disposing of settlements. Palestinian wrongdoing is blithely ignored, and self-defence delegitimised.


Why the Irish authorities should know better

Ireland is a nation where a strong pro-Palestinian paradigm is predominant culturally. In this context it should be noted that focusing on Gilmore can give an impression that he has a deep hatred of Israel but in other respects he appears to be a proficient sensible politician, and is by no means one of the more anti-Israeli politicians in Ireland. Others like Richard Boyd-Barrett and members of Sein Fein/IRA, such as Aengus O’Snodaigh display such extreme hostility toward Israel that it is likely their views are merely a façade disguising a rank antisemitism.

Indeed it would be an oddity to see a senior Irish politician defending Israel but at least Irish society doesn’t sink to the lows found in Norway. Yet like Norway Ireland has a pugnacious desire to make its presence known on the world stage. Altruism is usually on display but doesn’t necessarily follow. Gilmore stated in New York,

Ireland will play its full part in the search for these solutions [security, human rights, etc.]… we will make our contribution. And we will stand up, in this Assembly and elsewhere, for fairness, for justice, for freedom and for equality, in the conduct of international relations.

Such ambitions can lead to a sad outcome. Mary Robinson, perhaps Ireland’s best known ex-president, became UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in 1997. Her manifest bias against Israel and tacit acceptance of extremism, led to a remarkable tolerance being shown for the extraordinary scenes of antisemitic activity at the 2001 Durban racism conference! It is not a coincidence that many NGOs at the Durban hate-fest further established the methods that greatly advanced Israel’s demonisation in the following years of the decade, e.g. re-introducing the apartheid slur to achieve Israel’s isolation akin to South Africa. Durban should have been a cautionary tale about the dark side of pro-Palestinianism but she expressed pride of the event rather than remorse, continues to bash Israel, and is regarded as something of a paradigmatic example of secular sainthood!

It is common to hear comparisons between the Northern Irish conflict and that found in the Israeli-Palestinian territories. This comparison is alluded to by Gilmore:

In Ireland, we know from our own experience that peace does not come easily. It requires political will and difficult compromises. But we also know the benefits of peace. There can be no doubting the hugely transformative power for the Middle East region of a final end to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

There is a tendency to parallel the catholic Irish with the Palestinians, and the Britain with Israel. Yet in reality these comparisons have only a very limited validity. The Irish have a great deal in common with the Jews historically, having been persecuted and pushed out into a diaspora by occupying empires, and Ireland is as much the homeland of the Irish as Israel is a homeland to the Jews. Indeed some Irish revolutionaries are known to have expressed sympathy for Zionism in the early 20^th Century.

There are numerous divergences between these two conflicts as well so lessons from one are not easily transposed to the other. However, some understanding can legitimately be taken from the resolution of conflict in Ireland. The first is genuine compromise. The Irish have accepted that the unification of Ireland is not a precondition for ending conflict. As part of the Good Friday Agreement, a referendum removing the claim to Northern Ireland in Articles 2 and 3 of the Republic of Ireland Constitution was overwhelmingly accepted by voters. There was a mutual acceptance of the fears of the opposing sides, which were then addressed in a meaningful fashion. Within a short time a remarkable transformation took place in Northern Ireland. Even seasoned political commentators were astonished at the results.

The most depressing element of this story is perhaps that Ireland, which is largely trusted in the Arab world, was in a largely unique position to bring these lessons to a proposal for conflict solution. The Palestinians know that the International Community will offer more if they say “no”. In fact it benefits their stance since the more they reject the process, the more Israel is blamed for doing too little. With the exception of the US, the International Community does nothing to pressure the PA to make genuine gestures toward peace, even though they support the PA with a considerable amount of aid. Worse still, the Palestinian populace has been radicalised by decades of incitement towards the Jewish State, where polls indicate they do not favour peaceful co-existence. These issues need to be confronted squarely.

One Jewish resident of Jerusalem stated when faced with the likely division of his city:

I'm ready to compromise my dreams and share Jerusalem with all who love her, to defer my claim to the Temple Mount until the coming of the messiah. But only for peace. Not for a one-way process of Israeli withdrawals while the Palestinian Authority's media and schools preach holy war and deny Israel's right to exist.

Peace will only come when the pro-Palestinian orthodoxy is challenged at the UN and elsewhere. Only an even-handed approach that deals with both sides in genuine fairness can possibly work. Such a fresh approach, other than the bash-Israel method, probably wouldn’t make a dramatic difference in the short term, as the religious element to the conflict is arguably more intractable, and the incitement from Palestinian quarters considerably greater, than in Ireland. Yet pushing a message of a sincere mutual recognition as a method of building confidence and trust over time would surely make a real difference.

If anyone really thinks UN membership or recognition for a conceptual Palestinian state will advance peace rather than be an impediment, they need to revisit the facts of the conflict. The Palestinians have actually shown signs of demanding more before entering talks since the meeting in New York, making a solution even harder. Truly the only “recognition” needed is the recognition between peoples. Genuine peace will come from that juncture.





This article was published at the New English Review.

Anti-Semitism - the true intent of Norway’s support for Palestinianism

Image of the desecration of a Jewish Cemetery in Norway, 2009.

A number of classified US embassy cables dated the 13^th February 2009 (during war in Gaza) obtained by Wikileaks are of interest because they offer a unguarded assessment of Norway’s ingrained anti-Semitism.
　
Some are aware that Norway has a very distinctive antipathy toward Israel. It funds a notably large number of anti-Israel NGO’s that campaign to delegitimise the existence of the State of Israel itself. There are also occasional controversies, such as over anti-Semitic cartoons published in mainstream newspapers, and a number of stridently anti-Israeli Norwegians have become prominent internationally, like Mads Gilbert who justified the 9/11 attacks.
　
Still the material contained within the cables is quite disturbing. The texts make it quite clear the hostility toward Israel is a façade disguising anti-Semitism. When this hatred becomes overwhelmingly obvious it is defended or excused. It is a malign oddity, especially considering the tiny Jewish populace in Norway itself. However, before one casts Norway as some sort of latter-day fascist state, it should be noted that the hallmarks of this phenomenon are very much in evidence in other nations where a strong pro-Palestinian paradigm is predominant culturally.
　
The texts claim that the failure to deal with anti-Semitism goes to the top of Norway’s establishment. Indeed Jonas Gahr Stoere, Norway’s long-time Foreign Minister provided aid to Hamas and urged other countries to lift sanctions on the terrorist organisation, which is famed for advocating the mass genocide of the Jews. This tolerance of terrorism directed at Jews manifested itself in the trial for the 2006 gun attack on the synagogue in Oslo by a local Muslim, one Arfan Qadeer Bhatti. Amazingly, the judge ruled the act constituted vandalism rather than terrorism, even though Bhatti had previously been implicated several times in similar behaviour. A double standard is also displayed toward Muslims. Norway also permits halal slaughter, whilst the Jewish kosher equivalent is banned.

Of course there has been a lot more controversy since early 2009. This year Anders Mathisen, an MP in the ruling Labour Party openly denied the Holocaust. It would appear there is an unofficial university boycott of Jewish pro-Israel academics after the experiences of Alan Dershowitz, whilst the rather undiplomatic Norwegian Ambassador to Israel appeared to justify Palestinian terrorism!

Two extracts of cables attributed to Mr. Kevin Johnson, deputy chief of the US Embassy in Norway, are below. These cables were first published by Aftenposten, a popular Norwegian newspaper. Ironically enough, they are reputed to have come from a source that leaked the "Wikileaks", one Johannes Wahlstrom who is known for a deep antipathy towards Israel that often crosses into outright anti-Semitism

　
Origin: Embassy Oslo; Reference ID: 09OSLO114; Created: 2009-02-13 14:48　

2. (C) Over the last two months, a former prime minister, Kare Willoch, and a preeminent commentator on U.S. policy, Ole Moen, were accused of making comments that were anti-Semitic. On December 30 in a television debate program, when asked about the prospect for progress in the Middle East with Obama leading negotiations, Willoch said, "it doesn’t look good, because he has chosen a Jew as a chief of staff." Mona Levin, a Jewish columnist who also participated in the television debate, later wrote a column in which she accused Willoch of both anti-Semitism and racism for sending a message that Jews can’t be trusted and blacks are easily manipulated. She also commented on a feeling of hatred she perceived from him during the television debate, noting he pointedly said "you people," although her family has lived in Norway since the 19th century. Many voices in the media (including Willoch’s own) have risen to his defense. Willoch has for years been an especially strident voice against Israeli policy.
　
3. (C) Ole Moen… predicted that Americans would never elect either a black man or a woman due to the racism and sexism that he believes permeates American society. On January 9 Moen said Obama "has appointed many Jews and pro-Israel people in his administration. …This makes me have little hope for significant change (in Middle East policy.)" Despite complaints by a prominent commentator that Moen characterized Jews as a group and appears to have assumed Jews don’t have independent opinions as individuals, because they’re Jewish, no apology was offered… Despite the "debate" about the issue, neither has truly been tarred as an anti-Semite in the Norwegian consciousness.
　
4. (C) Anecdotal evidence shows the small Jewish community in Norway, comprising about 1000 members, are experiencing a growing fear of rising anti-Semitism. When attempting to write a January 10 story about how Jewish families were dealing with the fallout from the war in Gaza, a major newspaper found that most of those contacted refused to be interviewed, because they were afraid of being targeted if they appeared in the paper. One orthodox Jewish family in Oslo chose not to take their children to synagogue, as their appearance on the street makes them especially vulnerable… A recent expose on anti-Semitism in a major paper found that "Jew" has become an epithet among both Muslim and Christian teenagers…
　
5. (C) The chief Rabbi of the Oslo Synagogue reportedly receives a pile of hate mail each day. Typical salutations on such mail are, "Murderers," "Maybe Hitler was right," "May hatred toward you Jews grow and strengthen," and so forth. In a question that typifies the general views of the Norwegian media, a reporter asked the Rabbi bluntly, "Don’t you understand that the world is outraged by the gruesome attacks against the civilian population in Gaza?" The Rabbi answered that he understood the terrible tragedy for the civilian population in Gaza, but that hatred was growing and impacting Jewish people who had never even been to Israel. According to an Israeli embassy official, during a dinner in honor of a visiting member of the Knesset, some Jewish Israeli-Norwegian married couples commented that among people like themselves, many were talking of moving to Israel, because they did not want to expose their children to fear and hatred…
　
6. (C) In mid-January, a first secretary at the Norwegian embassy in Saudi Arabia used the MFA’s email system to send out a fundraising email appeal for Gaza with images comparing Israeli soldiers with Nazi soldiers, urging recipients to forward it as a chain letter. The MFA said it would be dealt with as an internal personnel matter and there has been no further public information given on the disposition of the case.
　
7. (C) … While acknowledging the delicacy of his speaking about the Norwegian Jewish community, an Israeli diplomat told emboffs that the problem is that it was only the Jews in the room who heard this message from Stoere, as it was not directly or widely covered by the media. He said he believed the rising tide of anti-Semitism represented a "terrible failure of the Norwegian establishment," with for example Finance Minister Halvorsen initially participating prominently an anti-war parade that ended with a full-scale riot in front of the Israeli embassy. Cries of, "Kill the Jews!" were heard at this demonstration. Police had not seen such violent demonstrations since the 1980s. Interestingly, one pro-Israel demonstration in Bergen was cancelled because police told organizers that they could not protect participants…
　
8. (C) … whether an anti-Semitic (or racist) statement has been made is determined by the speaker, not the offended group. Even unacceptable statements are forgiven so long as the speaker insists upon his or her good intentions. Third, Norway follows a social model based on consensus rather than individualism, so Norwegians are somewhat more prone to have difficulty differentiating between individuals and groups…
　
9. (C) For all of these reasons, latent anti-Semitism is more likely to be expressed publicly, if indirectly, and in turn increase anti-Semitism in society at large. Offended Norwegians feel constrained about protesting anti-Semitism, since they would be questioning the Norwegian self-image. Post believes that the "legitimization of rage" practiced by the Norwegian media, in which outrage over Israeli policy is encouraged, has contributed to an atmosphere in which anti-Semitism is easier for ordinary Norwegians to express; there is no corresponding freedom to attack Hamas, however, sin[c]e the local narrative predominantly blames Israel…
　
Click for the full text of the above Norwegian cable published by Wikileaks.

　
Origin: Embassy Oslo; Reference ID: 09OSLO115; Created: 2009-02-13 14:48　

1. (C) Summary: Norway aspires to be a leader in Middle East peace negotiations and could be a genuine asset in bringing peace to the region…"
　
4. (C) Compounding this aversion to force, Norwegians do not generally see any threats. For example, they do not see a danger from terrorism…. This societal attitude was demonstrated by Norway’s first terrorist case. Despite shooting at Oslo’s synagogue, planning to behead the Israeli ambassador and to attack the Israeli and U.S. embassies, the accused was convicted only of grave vandalism (although his strict sentence showed some understanding of the severity of the charges).
　
5. (C) Finally, Norway has substantial funds to back any mediating role it chooses to play. Rich with energy funds, it has for years been a leading donor to the Palestinian authority, most recently chairing the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee…"
　
6. (C) … It has elevated peace and reconciliation studies in its universities and reorganized its Foreign Ministry to showcase its expertise in this area. It revels in its self-described role as the "moral superpower" and points to the Oslo Peace Accords as a defining national moment.
　
7. (C) … Norway’s Jewish community has always been very small and based in the country’s biggest cities, Oslo and Trondheim. Challenges confronted the community early on. The birth of modern Norway was its 1814 constitution, which included a clause excluding Jews (later removed in 1851). In German-occupied Norway, Norwegian police cooperated with the Germans, rounding up almost all of the Norwegian Jewish population, most of which were sent to concentration camps.
　
9. (C) … As the Oslo Accords crumbled, ties between Norway and Israel weakened. The Lebanon wars had a major impact, with approximately 20,000 Norwegians serving in UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon from 1978 to 1998. These soldiers came home with sympathetic reports about Palestinian refugees and negative impressions of Israelis…
　
10. (C) This shift was so dramatic that a 2006 cartoon in a major newspaper depicted the PM of Israel as a concentration camp guard. During the 2006 war in Lebanon prominent author Jostein Gaarder made a statement saying "I refuse to recognize the state of Israel" and characterized Judaism as "an archaic national and warlike religion."… By 2007, FM Stoere [Jonas Gahr Stoere - Foreign Minister] decided to recognize the Palestinian Unity Government, which included Hamas Ministers. Hamas’ vow to destroy Israel was ignored or characterized as only rhetoric by the Norwegians. Norway became the leading dissenter to international norms (only joined by Switzerland), willing to overlook Hamas’ stated aims in pursuit of dialogue at all costs. At this point, some Israeli officials began to characterize Norway as the most anti-Israel state in Europe. (Note: Although the GON would deny it, there are clear signs that contacts with Hamas go beyond a tactical desire for dialogue to a level of sympathy for Hamas positions. The FM once told DCM for example that one could not expect Hamas to recognize Israel without knowing which borders Israel will have. While the FM expresses some sympathy for Hamas’ positions only in unguarded moments, other prominent Norwegians go further. End Note.)
　
11. (C) Norway’s growing minority population also plays a role in hardening public attitude toward Israel. The primary minority groups in Norway (25% of Oslo’s population) are Muslim and stem from Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Afghanistan. They are interested in Middle East politics and not surprisingly very critical of Israel. (See reftel A.) "Traditional" Norwegians are independently quite critical of Israel as discussed above, but it is likely that this viewpoint will be re-enforced by the growing minority groups in Norway.
　
13. (C) … debate centers on defining when comments by public figures are or are not
anti-Semitic. Press coverage and public opinion of the Gaza war was overwhelmingly, and at times vehemently, anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian (viewing Israeli tactics as brutal and Palestinians as innocent victims).
　
15. (C) The Israel Government has chosen, according to an Embassy official, to take a very low key approach to Norway’s negative views towards Israel. They see no point in openly pressing the government. With GON Ministers and Vice Ministers having a track record of meeting with Hamas, calling for boycotts of Israel, and showing up at violent anti-Israeli riots, the Israel Embassy holds out very little hope that the current GON can ever act moderately towards Israel.
　
17. (C) Norway, and particularly their charismatic Foreign Minister, has a strong interest in playing a peacemaker role. With money to spend and open channels to all parties in the conflict, they bring important assets to this role. However, Norway’s attitudes towards Israel and Hamas also constrain Norwegian diplomatic efforts in the Middle East. Norwegian public and elite opposition to most of Israel’s actions and their view that Israel does not value dialogue is widely reported. A level of Norwegian sympathy for some Hamas’ positions, hidden behind its broad policy of dialogue with all, should be kept in mind as we engage with Norway on U.S. Middle East priorities.
　
Click for the full text of the above Norwegian cable published by Wikileaks　
　
　
Note: A similar article to the above by the same author was originally published at The Propagandist

Something is rotten in Reuters

With the comedy of the UN obsessing over Israel this week, and the Durban III Conference, where the acceptable face of racism will hold sway, it is perhaps appropriate to look at the anti-Israel bias of the biggest international news agency in the world, namely Reuters, which in its own small way helped bring Israel to this unfortunate impasse.

Reuters’ bias has been well documented. It features prolificially on websites such as Honest Reporting and Camera and manifests itself not in isolated circumstances but rather as a continual prejudice, which suggests it is endemic at the institution. As the primary news agency, Reuters coverage of international events is beamed across the world, and their articles feature in a vast number of media outlets. Even when not cited, the line they take influences the coverage of more local news organisations, as is often clear when comparing and contrasting articles.

If Reuters displays a consistent bias on a certain issue it has serious ramifications. Here are examples covering the Egyptian assault on the Israeli Embassy and the Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN.

An article on the 10^th September 2011, features a peculiar effort to justify the violence against the Israeli Embassy in Cairo as anger over the treatment of Palestinians:

“Our dignity has been restored,” said Mohi Alaa (24), a protester who was speaking near the site of overnight clashes with police around the building that houses the Israeli embassy. … “We don’t want the Americans’ money,” he said, reflecting a growing readiness among many Egyptians to express anger at Israel and the United States over Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, after decades of pragmatic official relations.

Continuing this theme, the reasons for several states explicitly turning against Israel are whitewashed:

Israel is finding itself increasingly at odds with formerly sympathetic states in the region. It is already embroiled in a feud with Turkey, once the closest of its few Muslim allies, over its treatment of the Palestinians.

Principle blame is placed at the feet of Israel. By suggesting that certain previously “sympathetic” neighbouring states like Egypt have turned away from Israel over the treatment of the Palestinians, Reuters thinly justifies an extreme diplomatic hostility that could have a gravely destabilising impact.

The truth is that Turkey gradually turned away from Europe, which was frustrating their application to the EU. Turkey gradually moved into an alliance with Iran and Syria during the mid-2000’s after Erdogan came to power. These states have a very hard-line anti-Israel policy. Egypt never had anything other than a cold peace with Israel after Sadat was murdered. Mubarak honoured peace agreements but was hardly a “sympathetic” ally, nor was Jordan. Egypt became more explicitly hostile after Mubarak was toppled because the civilian populace is resolutely against peace with Israel. Thus the connection between Palestinian treatment and these former allies distancing themselves from Israel is weak at best.

Another example is two of the first three paragraphs of a report by the same authors on Friday the 23^rd — the day of Abbas’ application for recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked the United Nations on Friday to recognize a state for his people, even though Israel still occupies its territory and the United States has vowed to veto the move. […]

His appeal to the council reflects a loss of faith after 20 years of failed peace talks sponsored by the United States, Israel’s main ally, and alarm at relentless Israeli settlement expansion eating into the land Palestinians want for a state.

The question of the land being “occupied” is of course quickly put to rest in the piece even though Article Six of the British Mandate, which is still in effect, permits close settlement. Melodramatic language such as “relentless” is used when most settlement since 1993 has been natural growth. Reuters articles can often sound quite unashamedly like the mouthpiece of Abbas, Fatal/PLO and the Palestinian Authority:

…he [Barack Obama] said only Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, not actions at the United Nations, could bring peace. “I am convinced that there is no short cut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades,” he declared.

But the notion that more talks in the familiar format can succeed where so many have failed seems implausible.

So Mr Abbas, a moderate politician opposed to violence, sees no alternative but recourse to the United Nations, although Israeli and US politicians have threatened financial reprisals that could cripple his Palestinian Authority.

The authors implicitly blame Israel for the failure of the peace process, and then engage in what can only be mind reading when they judge that Abbas has experienced “a loss of faith” over said process.

By describing Abbas with wording such as “moderate… opposed to violence”, and variants such as “long opposed to violence”, is peculiar as the PA is still openly involved in inciting hatred and violence such as naming a Ramallah square after a terrorist that led an attack killing 37 Israelis on the same day in March that the Fogel family was buried. It can also be said that Abbas promotes terrorism directly, for example when it was discovered in January that a $2,000 payment was made to the family of a deceased terrorist in his name.

In stark contrast Avigdor Lieberman is described as “far-right”, e.g. “Israel’s far-right foreign minister” which seems a little odd since one would think the label “far-right” (fascist by another name) would be better suited for a Holocaust denier like Abbas!

Our lesson in history, Reuters style!

A history section within the above quoted article demonstrates how prejudicial Reuters coverage can be

Two decades after Israel seized the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war, the Palestine Liberation Organisation effectively reduced its demands to a state on those territories.

Here we have no mention of the fact that three Arab states initiated conflict, which resulted in Israel taking said territory, and neither is there any mention that Israel has returned the vast majority of the land taken in that war such as in the historic peace deal with Egypt. The PLO’s demand for territories is also misrepresented, and given a positive spin. Although Arafat made some positive sounds, ultimately, by repeatedly fudging the issue, they did not amend their charter calling for Israel’s annihilation.

Also notable is the big jump in history from 1967 to 1993! There is no mention of the 1973 war against Israel, which led to the International Oil Crisis, nor the expulsion of the PLO to Lebanon that helped instigate a vicious civil war on a far more deadly scale than any conflict over Israel, the repercussions of which are still being felt today, where Hizbullah effectively rules a state within the State itself.

A 1993 agreement signed by PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin set out a plan for Palestinian self-rule, which was never fully implemented.

Whilst it would of course be impossible to go into a lot of detail in such an article, it fails to mention even briefly why full Palestinian self-rule was never implemented. Palestinian terror attacks actually intensified substantially during the Oslo talks which the PA/PLO had been entrusted to prevent but systematically avoided doing so. Neither did they amend their charter calling for Israel’s annihilation, which was a key requirement in Oslo. Finally Arafat walked away from the 2000 Camp David talks and called the Second Intifada.

Israel has continued to expand settlements in the West Bank, although it dismantled them in the Gaza Strip.

The expansion of settlements only refers to the natural growth of communities. Israel hasn’t recognised a new settlement since the mid 1990’s during the Oslo process. Put in some perspective, settlement territory in the West Bank just constitutes 2% of the land.

Two Palestinian uprisings erupted in 1987 and 2000, but failed to end Israeli occupation or bring statehood closer.

These “uprisings” are justified as attempts to “end Israeli occupation”, presumably in the post June 1967 borders but that view is dubious at best. Moreover these “uprisings” intentionally caused high levels of death amongst Israeli civilians, which surely qualifies as terrorism, whether morally justifiable or not? The use of the word “uprising”, as a substitute for waves of Palestinian terrorism, is a persistent issue at Reuters where even Hamas’ activities are lumped in as part of the effort to gain Palestinian statehood in the West Bank and Gaza, even though Hamas repeatedly call for the full destruction of Israel. To quote Camera:

Contrary to Jukes’ assurances that his news agency’s stories do indicate Hamas’ stated aim of destroying Israel, Reuters articles in fact continue to falsely portray the terrorist group’s campaign of violence as part of an “uprising for statehood.” A recent example:

Israeli security sources said he was chief commander of Hamas militants in the northern West Bank and responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings in a three-year-old Palestinian uprising for statehood. (“Israel Kills Senior Hamas Commander in West Bank” by Nadia Sa’ad, September 5, 2003)

In another example of a highly selective timeline, which seems to be something of a Reuters speciality:

1967 — In what it calls pre-emptive strikes on Arab states, Israeli forces seize rest of British-mandate Palestine, taking West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan and Gaza Strip from Egypt. Israel captures Golan Heights from Syria.

Of course Israel never possessed more than a quarter of the British Mandate, and to make such a claim illustrates either a remarkable dishonesty or a startling ignorance. Furthermore, Israel did not make “pre-emptive strikes on Arab states”. Israel only struck after Egypt committed an effective act of war by pushing UNIFIL peacekeeping troops out of the demilitarised Sinai, mobilising a huge number of troops to Israel’s border, and closing the Straits of Tiran. Note also the implied scepticism by using the words “In what it calls pre-emptive strikes” for what is a clearly a widely acknowledged historical fact!

December 2008 — After years of desultory talking, Abbas quits negotiations when Olmert launches offensive on Hamas-run Gaza.

In actual fact Abbas walked away from the most generous deal yet made by Israel, where Olmert promised effectively 100% of the territory the PA demanded with modest land swaps.

A paragon of balance or slightly less even-handed than Hitler when having a bad hair day?

Reuters goes over and above the noble endeavour of merely reporting the news. Their coverage always adds a substantial component of opinion, which in reality is only fitting in opinion pieces. In an article published last Wednesday, featuring the prejudicial title “Obama tries to derail Palestinian U.N. bid”, and an unrelated picture of an Israeli soldier holding a Palestinian in a headlock, Reuters Mid-East hack Alistair Lyon wrote:

Whatever happens at the United Nations, Palestinians will remain under Israeli occupation and any nominal state would lack recognized borders or real independence and sovereignty.

It is a measure of their desperation that they are pressing on with an initiative that could incur financial retribution from Israel and the United States.

Coverage of the conflict by Reuters can border on an appeal for conflict, as this aimless “will they, won’t they?” piece attests from the 18^th of August, leading to the Palestinian statehood bid:

With faith in the peace process non-existent — Abbas himself says talks have hit a dead end — observers have for some time warned of a vacuum that could be filled by turmoil.

Mahmoud al-Aloul, a veteran in the Fatah party led by Abbas, confidently expects widespread protests in support of the U.N. bid. “It is a declaration of a loss of hope,” Aloul told Reuters. “This will lead to a continuous escalation. […]

On the ground, there are few signs of preparation. Headlines in Palestinian papers focus more on protests against the high cost of living and on the uprising in Syria than on any thoughts about Palestinians’ own possible demonstrations in September. […]

At the local Fatah headquarters, Abbas loyalists forecast a large turnout for protests when Abbas asks the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state. But they could not say what, if anything, was being done to organize that.

Such articles turn the conflict into a spectator sport. Yet again Lieberman is described as “far-right” whilst the article praises the notorious terrorist Marwan Baghouti, who is reputed to have murdered many people, five of which he was convicted in 2004 of killing, including three people murdered at a restaurant in Israel.

Marwan al-Barghouti, a charismatic leader in the last two Intifadas and now jailed for life in Israel, was among the first to call for protests to add popular weight to President Mahmoud Abbas’s bid to secure a U.N. seat for a new state of Palestine.

Reuters also blamed Israel for the Christian migration from the Palestinian territories. Reuters prolific “special correspondent”, Alistair Lyon, opened his article with this show stopping sentence:

Despairing of life under Israeli occupation, many Palestinian Christians are moving abroad, threatening their ancient links to Bethlehem and the land where Jesus was born.

It is well known that Islamic intimidation has resulted in towns like Bethlehem turning from Christian majorities to modest minorities while Israel’s Christian populace is larger than ever.

Reuters, as with other news operations, label all groups that express concern over Islam as “far-right” whether or not they strongly advocate religious freedom, and forcefully reject race-based prejudice. They are strongly linked with Israel and pro-Israeli views, probably as a smear, when put in perspective, the zeitgeist of today involves the genuine far-right aligning itself increasingly with Islam and the left in a spirit of anti-Zionism/Americanism that Reuters never address.

Reuters is not immune to the rushing-to-judgement media phenomenon either. For example, they blamed Israel for a 2010 border ambush by Lebanese troops.

It can be suggested that Reuters attitude toward Judaism is also problematic. For example, Reuters celebrated the work of pro-Palestinian cartoonist Carlos Latuff, who has scraped the barrel in terms of Holocaust themed propaganda. Many of his cartoons celebrate terrorism and often include a good dose of anti-Semitism.

Issues of anti-Semitism that arise with certain favoured individuals are downplayed, for example Hugo Chavez and George Soros oddly is described as a “Holocaust survivor”, when in fact he has acknowledged that he collaborated with the Nazis!

Reuters also give greater emphasis to the Islamic claim over the Temple Mount/Haram than the Jewish equivalent. For example, in an article covering the 2010 Muslim assault on Jews as they prayed at the Western Wall, Reuters described the Temple Mount/Haram as “the third holiest site in Islam in an area that Jews also revere as the site of their biblical Temple.” From that description one would think it was less important to Jews, not significantly more so! Of course Reuters couldn’t resist putting the boot in, even with a savage attack on Jewish worshippers! They glossed over the fact that Palestinians launched an unprovoked religious attack, whilst giving prominence to Abbas’ appeal to prevent Israel from starting a new religious war!

It is especially revealing that in Reuters own opinion pieces the prejudice against Israel reads like it was lifted from an extreme pro-Palestinian website, and in fact Reuters have also been found to promote dedicated anti-Israel websites.

Scandals ahoy!

Reuters has been involved in a number of minor and more notable controversies over anti-Israeli bias.

Last year Reuters cropped photographs of the conflict on the “Mavi Mariner” flotilla ship. In several photographs knives held by the activists were edited out of the pictures published by Reuters whilst the arms held by the Israeli troops were not.

The issue of doctoring photographs also arose during the 2006 Lebanon War, where a photographer called Adnan Hajj crudely photo-shopped images to worsen Israel’s portrayal. The manipulations were only discovered by internet bloggers due to the sheer crudity of the alterations. As a result a top editor was quietly dismissed. Reuters also published an image of a triple duplicated IDF flare which they then termed “missiles”.

In 2006 a Reuters cameraman called Imad Muhammad Intisar Boghnat, was caught participating in the direction of riots in the Arab village of Bil’in where there is violence each Friday after Mosque, that involves so-called pro-Palestinian internationals.

The owner of the Little Green Footballs website was sent a death threat by a Reuters employee who stated “I look forward to the day when you pigs get your throats cut.” The message was probably sent by Inayat Bunglawala, the Media Secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, who has been prone to anti-Semitic outbursts in the past.

In 2009, during the war in Gaza, one of the Reuters own articles addressed the controversy over bias. The article used the old tactic of citing criticism from both sides as an example of how balanced they are, for if they are criticised by both sides they must surely be neutral? However, even in that very report the greatest blame is placed with Israel whilst Hamas is described as largely being on the level in allowing Reuters journalists to report unencumbered. Could this be because Reuters is well known to favour the Palestinian side of the conflict, forming a large element of the critical propaganda war against Israel?

An allergy to the word “terrorist”

Whilst the controversies flare up occasionally, it is the continual day by day bias in Reuters’ reporting which does the most damage to Israel’s reputation.

A highly selective use of terminology is a significant element of the complaints over Reuters’ bias. In particular, the word “terrorist” is always avoided when reporting on the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

After a terrorist attack on Jerusalem in March 2011 an article by Reuters stated:

Police said it was a “terrorist attack” — Israel’s term for a Palestinian strike

Reuters not only refuse to use the word “terrorist”, preferring misleading words like “gunman” and “militant” but it would seem they also pour scorn on the authorities that do, or at least in Israel’s case.

Whilst many seek to obfuscate the words terrorist and terrorism by entering into quasi-philosophical discussions on the meaning of terror, the definition of the word “terrorist” is clear enough. Terrorist activity is the use of or threat of violence in order to coerce for political motives. It is principally aimed at civilian targets and infrastructure. Obviously terror can have other meanings but the political definition is clear and not necessarily prejudicial. When a bomb was placed by a bus stop with the clear intent of targeting civilians, leading to the death of one civilian and also the injury of a large number, it is quite simply perverse in extremis to question its use.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Reuters outrageous policy over terminology was made apparent. To quote a statement:

…in an internal memo reminding our journalists of our policy in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, a statement was made that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” This wording caused deep offense among members of our staff, our readers and the public at large, many of whom felt this meant Reuters was somehow making a value judgment concerning the attacks.

The extremely callous comment in the memo was clearly a value judgement, regardless of what the statement asserts. It points to an underlying anti-Americanism which is often quite mild but nonetheless common in British and European culture. Readers have noticed this apparent anti-Americanism too which leads to the uncomfortable view that the attacks may have been seen as politically legitimate in some respects by a number of senior staff in Reuters shortly after the shocking images were relayed on television screens around the world.

Another revealing view into the Reuters thought process over word use occurred when CanWest, Canada’s largest newspaper chain, started altering some Reuters content published in their newspapers. The mild terminology Reuters used was replaced with words such as “terrorist”. David Schlesinger, Reuters then Editor-in-Chief, told CanWest to remove the writers’ names to conform to their guidelines for articles that make such changes. Reuters has also asked that CanWest add its name to that of Reuters as the source of revised articles, and to display such information at the end of the articles instead of the top. Alternatively, Reuters suggested that its name not be used at all! To quote the New York Times:

Mr. Schlesinger said he was concerned that changes like those made at CanWest could lead to ”confusion” about what Reuters is reporting and possibly endanger its reporters in volatile areas or situations.

”My goal is to protect our reporters and protect our editorial integrity,” he said.

Schlesinger’s statement amounts to an admission that they tow the line when dealing with extremists.

Journalist Jeff Golderb harshly criticised Reuters anti-Israel/US bias and selective use of terminology:

Those Israelis and their crazy terms! I mean, referring to a fatal bombing of civilians as a “terrorist attack”? Who are they kidding? Everyone knows that a fatal bombing of Israeli civilians should be referred to as a “teachable moment.” Or as a “venting of certain frustrations.” Or as “an understandable reaction to Jewish perfidy.” Or perhaps as “a very special episode of ‘Cheers.’” Anything but “a terrorist attack.” I suppose Reuters will mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11 by referring to the attacks as “an exercise in urban renewal.”

The bottom line is that when Reuters refuses to use common words which accurately describe certain activities (e.g. “terrorist”) on one side of a conflict, whilst using highly prejudicial terms about the opposing side, for example calling the IDF the “Israeli occupation forces”, or IOF as many vehement pro-Palestinians use as a substitute for the IDF, not only harms the truth, it aids militancy and terrorism by subtly legitimising it internationally.

Some conclusions

The many examples listed should illustrate that Reuters, the media empire, is indeed rotten, and to extend the metaphor, perhaps to its very core! This has extremely serious consequences which are ignored most of the time. A major news agency that pumps news out all over the world should be the focus of interest if it is shown to display an intensive politically prejudicial bias over a serious conflict.

Whilst Reuters is the focus in this article, anti-Israeli bias has been apparent in the media generally, for a considerable amount of time. It has become something of a cultural zeitgeist, can be shocking in its extremism and occasionally blows into controversy, such as the intentionally faked death of Muhammad al Durrah for French TV that led to an outbreak of anti-Semitic violence. A few months later, senior BBC journalist Fayad Abu Shamala told a Hamas rally in Gaza that journalists and media institutions are “waging the campaign shoulder-to-shoulder together with the Palestinian people.” He had the misfortune of having his name listed on Hamas’ website, yet for all their apparently lofty journalistic values, the BBC declined to dismiss him!

Yet when these institutions are not sufficiently critical or carry a very rare piece which is supportive of Israel’s position, the cries of bias from pro-Palestinians are indeed loud, e.g. the Amnesty debate entitled “Complicity in Oppression: Does the Media Aid Israel”. An example is the BBC Panorama documentary Death in the Med which was critical of the Gaza Flotilla. This led to protests and charges racism, Islamophobia, and even criticism of its scheduling during the month of Ramadan!

Reuters, and much of the rest of the mainstream media, is doing more than reporting the news. They could be forgiven if they were reporting the news poorly. They could even be forgiven if the bias that manifests itself was merely an unknowing part of a common social prejudice. However, Reuters et al have been criticised strongly for this bias over the years. They have never seriously addressed it. In fact this prejudice is more evident than ever. One can only come to the conclusion that it is quite deliberate.

The issue of towing the line with extremists has been raised as one reason for bias at Reuters. However it would seem the core problem is not moral cowardice. Broadly speaking the media, especially with the increase in advocacy journalism, appears to be attempting to shape our understanding of reality itself with a quantifiably left-wing message which seriously hampers the natural societal discourse on politics. More gravely, with serious conflicts where the stakes are extremely high, this prejudice is being unashamedly directed in a fashion resembling obsessive demonisation toward one party in particular. Over several decades this has had a transformative effect.

The basic rules on journalistic balance should not be thrown out the window on a whenever it is incompatible with one’s own ideology or an inconvenience when dealing with extremists. Whether one is pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian, this should not be acceptable to anyone who cares about fairness and justice. If the Palestinian case against Israel is so strong there should be no need to distort and fabricate.

Ireland got a blast of these demonising forces late last year when the international media portrayed the Irish as starving soup-kitchen dependent leprechauns living in the 19^th Century. It wasn’t pleasant but at least it was brief. With the corruption of the most elemental journalistic ethics, which has led to such a damaging precedent with Israel, surely the question should be “who on the media hate list next?”

This article is also available at Crethi Plethi