tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45282461766146625872024-03-14T10:36:45.731+00:00eiraelAn Irish blog defending and affirming the merit of Western values (of various persuasions) with an emphasis on defending the right to legitimately criticise faiths on ideological grounds as a right of free speech, and to defend Israel against the intensive campaign to demonise and destroy the State. No religion or nation should be above criticism but neither should any state or people be subjected to sustained abusive condemnation with a destructive intent that clearly exceeds what is evidentialRob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-77567443437754348302017-08-17T15:02:00.000+01:002017-08-20T12:58:52.803+01:00Kevin Myers, the Nature of Anti-Semitism and the Media’s schadenfreude<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgboyCeWy95lWalFUaa1CgA5ypDP5FQwR3ptnxORmI9xWc4uVul_1Y7aHGYQ5xtKDsKR5Z0XU-hzvk29YvhYaHOYcIOBZ8GagBPyM-qD0ZPEYoat5PygapQeZaCFRsfeEtCDb-XJrrYtzzr/s1600/kevin-myers-controversy-2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="691" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgboyCeWy95lWalFUaa1CgA5ypDP5FQwR3ptnxORmI9xWc4uVul_1Y7aHGYQ5xtKDsKR5Z0XU-hzvk29YvhYaHOYcIOBZ8GagBPyM-qD0ZPEYoat5PygapQeZaCFRsfeEtCDb-XJrrYtzzr/s320/kevin-myers-controversy-2017.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin Myers’ <em style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Sans Unicode", sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sunday Times</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida sans unicode" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> profile picture (Source: <i>Youtube</i> image grab)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
On the 30<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of July 2017, the Irish edition of the Sunday Times published a column by veteran journalist Kevin Myers, entitled “Sorry ladies — equal pay has to be earned”. The ensuing reaction has been a spectacle of extraordinary proportions, constituting one of the bigger media stories of 2017.<br />
<br />
Myers was fired from his post as chief columnist with the Irish Sunday Times, within a few hours, after an outraged online response in Britain, and attacks in the media. Some British news outlets, such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jul/30/sunday-times-accused-of-antisemitism-over-column-on-bbc-presenters">the Guardian</a> went as far as to label him a ‘Holocaust denier’, while Danny Cohen, a prior executive at the BBC, demanded that the Sunday Times prevent Myers from working for any ‘News UK’ publication again. Lionel Barber, the Financial Times’ editor, claimed that the article represented an expression of “undiluted anti-Semitism and misogyny”. The Irish media was no less hostile, and a rolling series of attacks would ensue over the next two weeks, while a number of <a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/taoiseach-labels-controversial-kevin-myers-article-misogynistic-and-antisemitic-35985636.html">senior politicians</a> also lambasted his article.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Anti-Semitic Stereotyping</b></div>
<br />
Ireland’s main Jewish community group, the <a href="http://www.jewishireland.org/">Jewish Representative Council of Ireland</a>, issued the most notable <a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/myers-is-not-antisemitic-jewish-group-35987760.html">public statement</a> in support of Kevin Myers, claiming that to call him “either an anti-Semite or a Holocaust denier is an absolute distortion of the facts”, adding that Myers has done “more than any other Irish journalist” to write “about details of the Holocaust over the last three decades.”<br />
<br />
The Irish Times would however <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/jewish-stereotype-in-kevin-myers-s-apology-adds-insult-to-injury-1.3174684">publish an op-ed</a> by Caryna Camerino, a Canadian Jewish woman who has lived in Dublin for approximately a decade. The publication of the article appears to have been motivated as a harsh retort directed at both Myers, and the Jewish Representative Council’s defence of the journalist, which elements of the media treated in a seemingly incredulous manner. Camerino’s attack focused on biological sex: her “lady brain” could not understand the assertions of these “men” at the Council, and that they do not represent her. She did not address the strength of her own connections to Ireland’s Jewish community, other than to acknowledge that she is not religiously practicing, nor if she was aware of any substantive dissent.<br />
<br />
Camerino latterly claims in her op-ed that she is a “real Jew” with real feelings, etc. Although the remark is not closely connected to her attack on the Jewish Council, the article ultimately presents an inference that the Council are somehow not truly entitled to express their opinions, in view of her trenchant attack which amounts to little more than an ad hominem, while, in a stark dichotomy, she, as an individual and authentically Jewish person, possesses that right. She comes close to making that point outright when criticising the Council for not giving “any recognition of Jewish diversity, humanity and individuality — the very things that get erased by anti-Semitic generalisations”.<br />
<br />
Camerino is of course justified in claiming that she is firmly and unconditionally entitled to express her opinion, as that is very much the right of each individual under any truly free democratic state, but she cannot justly insist that others have no such right to speak on behalf of their community when they have been afforded the authority to advocate on such a collective’s behalf for quite some time. The head Council representative, Maurice Cohen, stated that they had consulted quite widely on the matter, and appear to have received little negative reaction from the people they represent.<br />
<br />
The question as to whether or not Myers endorsed an anti-Semitic stereotype in his final Sunday Times article is perhaps not as clear-cut as it may at first seem. Myers stated in his typically combative manner:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I note that two of the best-paid women presenters in the BBC — Claudia Winkleman and Vanessa Feltz, with whose, no doubt, sterling work I am tragically unacquainted — are Jewish. Good for them.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Jews are not generally noted for their insistence on selling their talent for the lowest possible price, which is the most useful measure there is of inveterate, lost-with-all-hands stupidity. I wonder, who are their agents? If they’re the same ones that negotiated the pay for the women on the lower scales, then maybe the latter have found their true value in the marketplace.”</blockquote>
Seth Barrett-Tillman, a lecturer in law at Maynooth University, asserted that Myers made a factual statement that was praiseworthy, and which could be tested for its veracity, in an <a href="https://player.fm/series/rt-today-with-sean-orourke/seth-barrett-tillman-on-the-kevin-myers-controversy">RTE interview</a> with Sean O’Rourke. By contrast, <a href="http://m.independent.ie/irish-news/what-kind-of-education-needs-to-be-given-senior-female-rabbi-criticises-racist-kevin-myers-column-35985186.html">Julia Neuberger</a>, Britiain’s first female Rabbi, described the assertion in Myers’ column as “absolutely gratuitous, not cleverly done, it’s blatant racism”, adding that “you have to give people a chance to rethink their own attitudes.” Maurice Cohen disagreed, <a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/irish-jewish-leader-defends-kevin-myers-sunday-times-journalist-sacked-for-antisemitic-trope-1.442258">arguing</a> that Myers had “inadvertently stumbled into an antisemitic trope”.<br />
<br />
Myers is a particularly intelligent and educated individual, who appears to be knowledgeable on the topic of anti-Semitism. He clearly tapped into a stereotype that is often used as a means of detraction, but the context in which it is presented is genuinely peculiar. The stereotype appears to have been applied as a means of praise toward Jewish people, rather than as an expression of hostility. He argued that individuals should take proper recompense for their labours and talents.<br />
<br />
While Camerino suggested that Myers traded in negative characterisations of Jewishness, and in anti-Semitic conspiracism, Myers did not appear to make out that Jewish people are greedy and controlling in the two relevant paragraphs, which were otherwise quite sarcastic, if not genuinely unpleasant, although it might be argued that this contrast is merely a façade, and that the journalist traded on an undercurrent of the sentiment of Jewish greed to generate a reaction from the reader.<br />
<br />
Stereotypes can sometimes feature some <a href="http://spsp.org/blog/stereotype-accuracy-response">level of truth</a> since cultures frequently diverge, and talents quite often get directed into different professions and other varying spheres of activity. Stereotypes nonetheless generalise and can act to typecast minorities. They can be damaging and potentially dangerous, even when presented in a positive manner. However, Camerino denied Myers’ subsequent claim that Jewish people achieve a great deal in certain areas of endeavour, which he said that he admired — a sentiment which seems genuine because he has occasionally expressed similar views for some time. Myers <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/kevin-myers-i-have-no-career-left-my-reputation-is-in-tatters-1.3174510">elaborated in a BBC interview</a>, after the controversy erupted, stating that Jewish financial institutions historically did better because they were more trustworthy. Camerino’s claim would seem to be <a href="http://www.aish.com/jw/s/The-Debate-over-Jewish-Achievement.html?mobile=yes">questionable</a> since it is hardly a secret that Jewish people do achieve a level of notable prestige in academia, health and finance, and she unnecessarily cast Myers’ <a href="http://www.cambridge.org/ie/academic/subjects/religion/judaism/philosemitism-history?format=HB&isbn=9780521873772#IfxAIJHQUAVaXwop.97">philosemitism</a> as anti-Semitism in its own right.<br />
<br />
Some critics have argued that motivation matters little when such an author trades in damaging stereotypes. Rabbi Neuberger sought the opportunity to explain to Myers why such sentiments are so offensive. However, few would not accept that motivation denotes levels of blameworthiness, where accidental wrongdoing is usually treated very differently to acts of malice. Legal systems also make a distinction between such acts. If Myers is guilty of negligence, where he should have known of the harm of the stereotype, as Neuberger seems to have suggested, then that assertion contrasts to no small extent with claims that he is an outright bigot/anti-Semite.<br />
<br />
If Myers did intend to trade on negative stereotyping then he was crossing an ethical boundary but the paragraphs are ultimately too vague to make a firm judgement on the matter. Occasionally, anti-Semites proffer a backhanded compliment as a prelude to an attack, but in Myers’ case it did not occur. In cases were such descriptions lead to anti-Semitic expression, conspiracies are invoked to suggest that Jewish people control a given area of industry, that they run a “cabal” for their own mutual benefit, which not only excludes non-Jewish people from betterment in the same field, but is used for nefarious means and excessive gain.<br />
<br />
Myers’ remark ultimately constitutes an anti-Semitic stereotype, and was problematic without any clarification because it could be seen as an endorsement. It leaves Myers justly open to criticism, but the surrounding contextual indeterminacy should have mitigated against such an intensive reaction, because it was not expressed by a person with a notable prior record of hostility toward the Jewish people — quite the opposite in fact. Given Myers’ prior record of support for certain Jewish issues, he should be afforded the benefit of the doubt when claiming that the comment was not motivated by hostility. However, the controversy began in Britain where few would be familiar with Myers’ record of philosemitism.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The equal pay debate</b></div>
<br />
Kevin Myers’ by now infamous Sunday Times 30<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> July article focused on the row over the diverging sums paid to male and female performers and presenters at the BBC. He argued that men tend receive better remuneration than women because they frequently work harder, and take fewer days off work due to medical issues. He asked:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Is it because men are more charismatic performers? Because they work harder? Because they are more driven? Possibly a bit of each… men usually do work harder, get sick less frequently and seldom get pregnant.”</blockquote>
The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) harshly <a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/sunday-times-apology-for-myers-column-is-completely-unacceptable-womens-council-36005276.html">attacked</a> the Sunday Times’ subsequent apology for running the offending Myers article, arguing that:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The article clearly displayed discriminatory views on both gender and religious grounds, yet the apology today made no reference to the misogynistic and sexist views expressed in the article. The apology presented the Sunday Times with the opportunity to redress the views expressed, and the offence caused to women. This opportunity was clearly not taken. By its omission, in our view the apology gives licence to further similar sexist views to be expressed in its newspaper in the future.”</blockquote>
Numerous <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3662333/Men-work-LONGER-hours-women-Male-employees-spend-40-minutes-time-office-female-colleagues.html">studies</a> over the years have found that British men contribute a higher number of work-hours <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/personal-finance/british-men-work-longest-hours-1542680">than women</a> although it should be noted that women also take on a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1571719/Career-women-work-longer-hours-than-men.html">greater share</a> of household chores, which nullifies or reverses this discrepancy. The male-female divergence in work hours is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/karinagness/2016/06/30/new-report-men-work-longer-hours-than-women/#3e9bb78418b4">echoed</a> in the US and <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/women-work-more-hours-than-men-depends-on-the-definition-of-work/article/2605743">across</a> the world. British studies have also found that women <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/10660612/Women-are-almost-42-per-cent-more-likely-to-take-sick-days-than-men.htm">take more</a> sick days from the workplace than men. Such a divergence in work practices will probably have a significant impact on the long-term development of careers.<br />
<br />
Whether or not Myers holds misogynist views, his largely factual assertions appear to have caused most offense, but they can be backed up by well-known evidential findings. As such, what the NWCI purports to be “misogynistic and sexist views” are in fact evidence based, even if they can be unpalatable, particularly when advanced with a biting sarcasm.<br />
<br />
Kathy Sheridan, an Irish Times columnist, put a <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/kathy-sheridan-kevin-myers-s-fall-is-a-long-time-coming-1.3173648">hostile spin</a> on the Myers controversy. Sheridan took Myers to task for his attitude to women and feminism. Although Myers has made acidic comments about feminism, he does not appear to have argued for any curtailment of freedoms and opportunities for women. He railed against what he claimed was a misandrist bias in the Irish courts system. He had also objected to the rigid insistence on absolute equality.<br />
<br />
When addressing the present controversy, Myers <a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/kevin-myers-five-or-six-other-people-saw-controversial-sunday-times-column-before-it-went-to-print-35988595.html">claimed</a> in interviews that equality is not a natural feature of relations, and that people who diverge in terms of biologically sexual orientation have different strengths and weaknesses. Accordingly, there should not be so much emphasis on divergent rates of success and uptake within the various professions. He also denied that he believed women to be inferior to men.<br />
<br />
Myers’ claims are offensive to some but they are not without some objective validity <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anu_Realo/publication/24001221_Why_Can%27t_a_Man_Be_More_Like_a_Woman_Sex_Differences_in_Big_Five_Personality_Traits_Across_55_Cultures_vol_94_pg_168_2008/links/02e7e52de5eadc10c4000000/Why-Cant-a-Man-Be-More-Like-a-Woman-Sex-Differences-in-Big-Five-Personality-Traits-Across-55-Cultures-vol-94-pg-168-2008.pdf">in view of the findings</a> of a number of scientific studies. In terms of psychological behaviourism, women <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijop.12265/pdf">diverge more dramatically</a> from men in nations with a high human development index, where policies to ensure equal freedoms and opportunity are in place. Related studies indicate that women <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00320.x/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&">focus</a> on spheres of interest that are more socialised than that of men, and hence favour person-orientated occupations, while men focus interest on objects, and display a <a href="http://emilkirkegaard.dk/en/wp-content/uploads/Men-and-things-women-and-people-A-meta-analysis-of-sex-differences-in-interests.pdf">preference for subjects</a> like science and mathematics. This divergence was again found to be most prevalent in nations that possess a high rating on the developmental index, suggesting that conditions which allow for greater freedom of opportunity bring about an intensified polarisation when it comes to occupations.<br />
<br />
These findings have some compatibility with somewhat traditional views on the sexes, although they do not affirm in any way that women are in any way inferior to men. Nonetheless, such studies may make difficult reading for many social theorists, who are committed to the belief that culture, rather than biology, is the principle determinant in the divergences of behaviour between the sexes.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Defining Holocaust denial</b></div>
<br />
On the 4<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of March 2009, the Irish Independent published an article (‘I’m a Holocaust denier, but I also believe the Nazis planned the extermination of the Jewish people’), in which Kevin Myers argued that Holocaust deniers, such as Bishop <a href="http://www.bild.de/news/bild-english/why-did-pope-benedict-rehabilitate-this-madman-7306664.bild.html">Richard Williamson</a>, should not be punished, and voiced some qualified support for such people. The article was <a href="http://m.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/the-article-you-are-looking-for-is-no-longer-available-26518240.html">removed</a> from the Independent‘s website on the day that the present controversy exploded.<br />
<br />
Myers has been called a Holocaust denier, particularly in the left-wing British media, but others disagree. An in-depth examination of the phenomenon of Holocaust denial reveals that Myers cannot be regarded as a Holocaust denier in any meaningful sense of the term, and that it was applied as a rhetorical device to justify his libertarian stance on freedom of speech.<br />
<br />
Myers stated that “there was no holocaust (or Holocaust, as my computer software insists)”, because the majority of “Jewish victims of the Third Reich were not burnt in the ovens in Auschwitz. They were shot by the hundreds of thousands in the Lebensraum of the east, or were worked or starved to death in a hundred other camps, across the Reich.”<br />
<br />
Myers also claimed that it was unlikely that exactly six million Jewish people were murdered by the NAZIs but he nonetheless affirmed that it was a particularly substantive genocide, stating that “millions of Jews were murdered”. He claimed:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I’m a holocaust denier; but I also believe that the Nazis planned the extermination of the Jewish people, as far as their evil hands could reach.”</blockquote>
A person who engages in Holocaust denial claims that there was no systemic and logistically very substantive attempt to exterminate European Jewry. Holocaust deniers will never allow for anything more than a small fraction of the six million that are reliably estimated to have been murdered. They must also necessarily deny the existence of the death camps, often by denying that they were used for systematic killing. This description is <a href="https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/working-definition-holocaust-denial-and-distortion">in accord</a> with the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) statement on the topic:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Holocaust denial is discourse and propaganda that deny the historical reality and the extent of the extermination of the Jews by the Nazis and their accomplices…</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Holocaust denial may include publicly denying or calling into doubt the use of principal mechanisms of destruction (such as gas chambers, mass shooting, starvation and torture) or the intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people.”</blockquote>
Holocaust deniers tend to present Hitler and the NAZIs in a positive light, and often claim that Hitler never planned to exterminate Jews. Myers stated the opposite in both respects.<br />
<br />
Deniers assert that if a Jewish genocide did take place, it resulted in the death of no more than a few tens of thousands, to hundreds of thousands, of Jewish people, so that any supposed Holocaust was no more significant than the several other substantive genocides of the era, which would include peoples of Christian and non-Semitic Eastern European religious and racial identities. By attempting to lessen and relativise the unique scale of Jewish suffering, which was fostered by a particularly vicious and non-evidential form of animus that was <a href="http://www.jewishhistory.org/the-coming-of-hitler/">central</a> to the <a href="http://www.projetaladin.org/holocaust/en/history-of-the-holocaust-shoah/the-nazi-regime.html">worldview</a> of National Socialism, where the destruction of German/European Jewry represented a priority for Hitler <a href="http://m.jpost.com/Blogs/The-Jewish-Problem---From-anti-Judaism-to-anti-Semitism/Chapter-11-The-Final-Solution-From-Decision-to-Execution-364523">as stated</a> in 1922, with their persecution commencing <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/empire-hatred-nazis-462809">as soon as</a> the NAZI party took power in 1933, Holocaust deniers ultimately attempt to negate the unsocial status afforded to anti-Semitic statements, and related conspiracies, in the post-Holocaust period.<br />
<br />
Myers questioned the exactness of the Holocaust’s figure of six million dead in his article, to argue that people may be punished for questioning such a figure, and may limit academic endeavour, but still noted that millions were killed. By contrast, Holocaust deniers must fundamentally question the grand scale of the murderous campaign, to present a coherent theory that Jewish people were not singled out for a particular and quite uniquely murderous programme, although it should be remembered that other minorities suffered to some extent in a similar fashion, particularly the Gypsies of Eastern Europe. Myers did not question the NAZIs intent to exterminate European Jewry. He in fact acknowledged that was the very plan of the Third Reich.<br />
<br />
However, Myers’ stance is somewhat questionable in other respects. Some historians have estimated that the death toll is slightly less than six million, but have not been branded as ‘Holocaust deniers’ by any party, nor have they been sought by the authorities, while institutions commemorating the terrible episode are not rigid in the assertion that exactly six million people died. Furthermore, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_against_Holocaust_denial">Holocaust denial laws</a> tend to be designed to specifically act against the trivialisation of the event and the gross under-representation of the genocide’s scale, rather than to enshrine any sort of exact figure on the death toll that would bind academic study into the future.<br />
<br />
Although Myers’ March 2009 article is clearly not anti-Semitic, it is nonetheless problematic. It treated a sensitive subject in a harsh and unnecessarily contentious manner, and made a claim that more Jews were killed by death squads than in the gas installations of the Auschwitz death sub-camps, to point out that the name of the NAZI extermination programme is invalid. Myers stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“For if the word is to have any literal validity at all, it must be related to its actual meaning, which comes from the Greek words holos, ‘whole’, and caust, ‘fire’. Most Jewish victims of the Third Reich were not burnt in the ovens in Auschwitz. They were shot by the hundreds of thousands in the Lebensraum of the east, or were worked or starved to death in a hundred other camps, across the Reich.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This programme was begun informally by Nazi armies in 1941, and only took organised form after the Wannsee conference in January 1942. Thus was born one of the most satanic operations in world history, in which millions of Jews were murdered. To be sure, you can use the term holocaust to describe these events, but only as a metaphor.”</blockquote>
Myers’ assertion concerning the modes of genocide is technically correct but rather misleading since there were several other death camps besides Auschwitz, with gassing and crematorium facilities, the mode of murder and disposal to which Myers seems to accord with his definition of the word ‘Holocaust’. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has estimated that almost <a href="https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/mobile/en/article.php?ModuleId=10008193">three million</a> Jewish people were murdered in death and concentration camps, while some were also murdered external to such facilities by gas. While not all those killed in such camps would have been cremated, it clearly was one of the predominant modes of bodily disposal especially after Hitler decided to proceed with the <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/mufti-haj-amin-al-husseini-s-initiatory-role-in-the-extermination-of-european-jewry/global-islam/2015/">total annihilation of Jewry</a> in December 1941. Its symbolism formed a unique motif for this particular programme of extermination, especially in view of the opposition in Jewish religious law to such burial practices. Myers may still cast such an argument as the use of a ‘metaphor’ but in truth it was much more. The numerous crematoria, and the open fire pits at Treblinka, constituted an elemental part of the NAZIs schema of destruction, which from 1942 were devised to cover up and efficiently dispose of many thousands of people on a daily basis in the camps.<br />
<br />
Myers acknowledged in private email correspondence that the tone of the article was ill-judged. He received emails of support from anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists, which he denounced. Myers also claims that the article’s headline was written by an editor, as is often the case with publications. To the best of my knowledge, this claim has not been rejected by the Irish Independent.<br />
<br />
Myers elaborated, to claim that his defence of Holocaust denial was based on freedom of speech, rather than any particular agreement with the essential tenets of Holocaust denial:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I’m a holocaust denier; but I also believe that the Nazis planned the extermination of the Jewish people, as far as their evil hands could reach. And because the Nazis lost, the free-speech party won. So, this means that the bishop can believe, and even publicly state, if he wants, that Auschwitz was an ice-cream parlour and the SS was a dance troupe.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
That is the nature of free speech. Any one of us should be able to declare any old counter-factual and even offensive nonsense, without being sent to jail, provided we preach hatred for no one. It’s a free and equal world.”</blockquote>
While legitimate concerns can arise over freedom of speech, and Myers is justified in raising the issue, there are also legitimate reasons for the existence of Holocaust denial laws.' The Holocaust is treated differently to other major events in history. Significant numbers of people, and a number of organisations, <a href="https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10008003">denied</a> the Third Reich’s criminal actions. They did so for politically motivated reasons rather than due to an innocent scepticism. By attempting to disprove the Holocaust, they invariably endorse further clichéd anti-Semitic conspiracies, often arguing that the story of the Holocaust is part of a plot of the Jews to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110718044959/http://www.jpr.org.uk/Reports/CS_Reports/no_3_2000/index.htm">silence criticism</a> of their activities, to increase their supposedly privileged status, and thereby to increase their power internationally for malefic purposes. The Holocaust is denied to invoke further hatred of this group, and often to legitimise the beliefs of Hitler and the <a href="http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/holocaust-denial/">National Socialist movement</a>.<br />
<br />
Myers also took issue with the double-standards of the authorities, which tend to ignore Islamic anti-Semitism while prosecuting its Western equivalent. He somewhat paradoxically criticised such beliefs — a stance that no genuine Holocaust deniers would adopt:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Across Europe, there are countless Islamic madrasahs, in which imams regularly preach hatred for Jews, and where the holocaust is routinely denied. Which member-state of the EU will pursue such conveyors of hate, or seek the extradition of an imam who says that the holocaust was a Zionist hoax?”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
… the EU has tolerated the creation of an informal historiographical apartheid. So, on the one hand, a single, eccentric (and possibly deranged) Christian bishop may be hounded for his demented historical beliefs: but on the other, there is a deafening silence over the widespread and virulent distortion of the ‘holocaust’ by Islamic preachers.”</blockquote>
Although some of Myers’ assertions in the March 2009 Irish Independent article may be questioned, the assertions are not motivated by anti-Semitism — in fact quite the contrary if the reader goes beyond the journalist’s astonishingly bombastic claim that he is a Holocaust denier. Myers places freedom of speech above all else, and frequently railed against all sorts of political/media consensuses, which seems to have motivated his defence of Holocaust deniers, such as Bishop Williamson. It is clear that Myers ultimately acted to deny the Holocaust as a rhetorical device, based on two effective technicalities of minor significance, to make a point about freedom of speech and Holocaust Denial laws. This viewpoint appears to have been the <a href="http://www.pressreader.com/ireland/irish-independent/20090306/281960308662270">reading</a> behind the intent behind Myers’ article at the time, despite the fact that his piece justifiably raised strong objections.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/kevin-myers-the-nature-of-anti-semitism-and-the-media-s-schadenfreude/antisemitism/2017/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i></div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-63316199341300553612016-08-04T12:30:00.000+01:002016-08-04T15:17:20.700+01:00A Comprehensive Response to Anti-Israel Tourist Activism Talking Points, Part II<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKj6b3gp9mDRaIIXE2l4UFMyIOCOhu3fpdXBseQfUsTlkTXW_nQOHIv28_Z2PXVKoEqZzd77ANOXpr3ddYdRK6fYChfn9FNVDJSK8r2D7NTieDGq6HGQoNJTbvw-SqJTQ42y0beCtx3m5r/s1600/PikiWiki_Israel_22218_Geography_of_Israel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKj6b3gp9mDRaIIXE2l4UFMyIOCOhu3fpdXBseQfUsTlkTXW_nQOHIv28_Z2PXVKoEqZzd77ANOXpr3ddYdRK6fYChfn9FNVDJSK8r2D7NTieDGq6HGQoNJTbvw-SqJTQ42y0beCtx3m5r/s320/PikiWiki_Israel_22218_Geography_of_Israel.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Geography of Israel (source: PikiWiki)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div>
This article addresses the propagandistic talking points of tourist activism, so designed to undermine the international standing of Israel. The anti-Israel commentaries by former RTE producer, Betty Purcell, in the aftermath of a 2015 visit to Judea and Samaria/West Bank, organised by the Bethlehem branch of the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association), in which she toured and lived with a Christian family, are utilised as a starting point for the arguments of rebuttal featured in this essay. <a href="http://www.newenglishreview.org/Robert_Harris/A_Comprehensive_Response_to_Anti-Israel_Tourist_Activism_Talking_Points,_Part_I/">Part One of this series</a> addresses other topics of contention.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The water libel</b></div>
<br />
Purcell echoes <a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/a-boycott-of-israel-can-help-end-the-injustice-362512.html">the “water apartheid” charge</a>, which many anti-Israel NGOs have advanced. Some NGOs <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/amnesty_s_water_report_israel_apartheid_allegations">go as far as</a> to use the libel to foster claims that the Israeli State is engaged in a campaign of ethnic cleansing. Purcell waxes lyrical on the supposed inequality of it all:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Sewage water is polluting his [a farmer in Bethlehem] remaining fields. He points to the shrunken, dehydrated olives with tears in his eyes. He has no water for irrigating the fields, and his whole village exists in a threatened zone.” […]</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Staying with Palestinian families, the first thing you notice is the rationing of water.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Palestinian houses only have their water supplied for three days a month, and they try to fill water cannisters on their roofs for the other days.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Water is at a premium, although we are told to shower as often as we need to. We try to splash quickly and dry off. I am therefore amazed, when we are taken to an Israeli settlement, to discover water in abundance there.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
There are sprinklers on the gardens, and even an aqua park. Water is available 24/7. International organisations state that one Israeli uses as much water as eight Palestinians.”</blockquote>
<i>Prima facie</i>, some readers may find it difficult to accept the notion that a team of YMCA sponsored tourists, staying as guests in the family homes of locals so afflicted, would be encouraged to liberally avail of showers in an arid environment where there is such a degree of water poverty. Water would effectively be a life-or-death resource for a farmer with fields to irrigate. Be that as it may, Purcell does not state whether the water is supplied through water infrastructure or by tankers. A few percent of homes in the region are not connected to water-mains supplies.<br />
<br />
A representative of the Israeli Embassy <a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/yourview/palestinians-havent-fixed-water-problems-363320.html">took issue</a> with her claim that Israeli people have a tendency to use as much as eight times more water than that of Arab-Palestinian people:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Ms Purcell repeats the old canard that Jews are stealing the water of the West Bank. In fact, since the Oslo Accords in the mid-1990’s Israel has far exceeded its pledge to increase water resources to the Palestinian Authority; currently, the availability of fresh water to West Bank Arabs is more than two-thirds per capita to that of Jews living there and the gap is narrowing.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Moreover, the Palestinian Authority has not helped itself by doing nothing to repair water infrastructure under its own control or to recycle water for irrigation, despite international funding.”</blockquote>
Purcell was unmoved by the reply, <a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/yourview/i-believed-israel-to-be-built-on-justice-and-now-i-believe-the-opposite-364401.html">claiming</a> that the representative:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“…inadvertently admits to the Apartheid system that exists in the West Bank, when he argues that the water Israel allows to them is two thirds that available to Israeli settlers.”</blockquote>
Purcell goes on to argue that the representative:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“does not contradict the limitation I saw on water to three days a month, or my observation that the settlers had 24/7 access for their sprinklers and water parks.”</blockquote>
Purcell fails to observe an effective rebuttal, with the claim of a water supply constituting “more than two-thirds per capita” going to Arab-Palestinians, because it is wholly incompatible with her claim that Arab-Palestinians only have water for a few days of the month. Purcell uses omissions as validations of her point of view. As a media professional, she must be aware that newspapers rarely publish lengthy letters so the representative of the Israeli Embassy cannot be expected to rebut every facet of her claims.<br />
<br />
It is impossible to claim that an “apartheid system” exists when asserting that Jewish residents have a huge abundance of water, whilst affirming the views of the representative of the Israeli Embassy, that Arab-Palestinians obtain more than two-thirds the same water per capita, which is somehow leading to immense hardship. Secondly, Purcell’s acceptance of the Embassy’s claim leads to the inadvertent acknowledgement that Israel supplies Judea and Samaria/West Bank with a lot of water, rather than the State stealing water from the region – a normative charge made against the Jewish State by anti-Israel NGOs. Thirdly, Israel does not somehow “allow” Arab-Palestinians to have water – PA water production is largely independent of the State of Israel, as mutually agreed in the Oslo peace process.<br />
<br />
From the 1970s, many Arab-Palestinian communities were first connected to a mains water supply, the Israeli National Water Carrier, which <a href="http://besacenter.org/mideast-security-and-policy-studies/the-israeli-palestinian-water-conflict-an-israeli-perspective-3-2/">allowed water consumption</a> to effectively double that of the period under Jordanian control. The improvement of such infrastructure greatly improved the health of these communities, with a reduction in infant mortality rates, and a dramatic increase in life expectancy - indicators markedly better than many Arab nations <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2005/09/missing_un_repo.html">even during the Second Intifada</a>.<br />
<br />
Israel recognised Arab-Palestinian <a href="http://www.acpr.org.il/publications/books/14-Zero-sherman.pdf">water rights at the Oslo talks</a>, which resulted in the Jewish State loosing substantive control of a large portion of its water resources – a major issue which has led to the development of highly efficient drip-irrigation techniques, and the substitution of fresh water with recycled water for agriculture usage.<br />
<br />
Today, the Palestinian Authority run their own water supply, and access their own water sources so it is quite absurd to suggest Israel is purposely starving the PA of water resources. Israel provides a <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Palestinian-lies-like-water-319582">significant portion</a> of the Palestinian Authority’s water supply which, as noted, more than exceeds their responsibilities under Oslo II. Yet this is somehow a validation of the existence of an “Apartheid system.”<br />
<br />
The Palestinian Authority’s water supply has continued to grow, with nearly 100% of all homes now having access to the mains. An eminent hydrologist, Prof. Haim Gvirtzman, who worked in the co-ordinated effort to establish the PA’s water supply, authored <a href="http://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/truth-behind-palestinian-water-libels">a study</a> that notes, in depth, the damage that the Palestinian Authority has caused to the supply. He notes that there are problems with the supply, even though Israeli citizens pay more for their water to subsidise the supply of water to the PA at discount prices. The Palestinian Authority has rejected the use of advanced water conservation techniques, and has failed to maintain water infrastructure to a reasonable standard. It continues to drill water wells without authorisation from the Israel-PA Joint Water Committee, which has compromised water quality.<br />
<br />
Purcell blames Israel for the presence of sewage on farms, echoing the claims of anti-Israel activists that Jewish neighbourhoods <a href="http://frontpagemag.com/2012/jack-l-schwartzwald/israel-palestinians-and-water-libel/">purposely poison</a> Arab-Palestinian water supplies with sewage. She neglects to mention that the PA controls such infrastructure in Areas A and B. The governing body is remiss in <a href="http://besacenter.org/mideast-security-and-policy-studies/the-israeli-palestinian-water-conflict-an-israeli-perspective-3-2/">failing to build sewage treatment plants</a>, with the co-operation of the Sewage Committee, allows sewage to flow untreated into waterways, and has <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Palestinian-lies-like-water-319582">refused to co-operate with Israel</a> in sewage treatment projects. In recent years the sewage has compromised Israel’s more low-lying water supply, which <a href="http://haifadiarist.blogspot.co.il/2013/08/polio-virus-and-contamination-of.html?m=1">has led to substantive public health concerns</a>, and regional inoculation programmes.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>A free pass for Arab-Palestinian elites</b></div>
<br />
Purcell said she felt depressed at the level of the “hardship and oppression” Arab-Palestinians endured:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“But that would not do justice to the brave and kind Palestinian families we were honoured to meet on our trip.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
They deserve nothing less than equal treatment in a fair democratic society.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Only the international community can deliver that for them, by supporting their call for the isolation and boycott of Israel, until it agrees to a settlement that is fair and just for all.”</blockquote>
Purcell’s absurdly one-sided notion of injustice is rendered ever more fanciful for blithely ignoring the wrongdoing of the Palestinian Authority. Purcell complains about a deficit of freedom, fairness and democracy, but says nothing of the PA’s <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/obamas-west-bank-strongman-mahmoud-abbas-453311">increasingly autocratic rule</a>, which impacts upon basic rights taken for granted in the West. The capacity for Arab-Palestinians to criticise the ever-corrupt PA, the capacity to strike as an employment right, and even the right to vote, with a decade since the last elections, are all curtained. Prime-minister Rami Hamdallah acknowledged in an interview that torture occurs in <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7576/palestinians-donors-teachers-strike">PA administered prisons</a>.<br />
<br />
A few months before Purcell visited the region, Israeli Christian, Druze and Bedouin leaders met in Nazareth <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=82&x_article=3093">to discuss the threat of Islamism</a> to the Middle East’s ancient Christian community, and Israel’s protections of religious minorities. Purcell focused on Christian welfare but has ignored an increasing number who have <a href="http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=12341">spoken out in support of Israel</a>, at considerable risk. Many feel they have no future in the Islamic Middle East. Some speak out at the Palestinian Authority’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyQZcKXeI4U">treatment of religious minorities</a>. Indeed the Constitution for the prospective Arab-Palestinian nation <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/55389">affirms that Shariah Law</a> shall be the basis for its legislation (Article Seven), which may in time reduce the rights of Christians to that of Dhimma status.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Protest tourism at its ugliest</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Anti-Israel advocates often begin personal accounts of the genesis of their activism, from a standpoint that seeks to obtain a level of understanding and sympathy with their audience. Such moves assist in quelling concern about the extremism of their stance. Purcell conforms to this standard when asserting:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“My interest is in the human rights area, as a member of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. What we are all sharing is a profound sense of shock at the effect of the Israeli military occupation on ordinary Palestinian’s lives.”</blockquote>
Such narratives are strengthened by claims that a given advocate once supported Israel. This theme is regularly invoked with Jewish activists, who supposedly had a revelation, leading to a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2590030.html">disenchantment with Zionism</a>. The “meme of the "disaffected Jew” can often be little more than a <a href="http://homelandsecurityus.com/archives/5540">rhetorical device</a>, with some activists <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=55&x_article=2093">pretending to be Jewish</a> to adopt this posture. There is an equivalent narrative for non-Jewish advocates who claim to have once supported Israel. In a letter Purcell <a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/yourview/i-believed-israel-to-be-built-on-justice-and-now-i-believe-the-opposite-364401.html">added the revelation</a> that:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“As a teenager, I planned to go and work on a kibbutz, believing that Israel was building an equal and fair society. My recent experience in Palestine has horrified me, seeing what that society has become.”</blockquote>
However, Purcell’s assertions, that she experienced “shock” and horror, appear to be unconvincing. Purcell comes from a hard-left political background, which would have exposed her to decades of the most intemperate criticism of the Jewish State. She has a record for anti-Israel advocacy, for example, she <a href="http://www.ipsc.ie/event/dublin-ghassan-kanafanis-returning-to-haifa-running-for-two-weeks-in-the-new-theatre">chaired ‘Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign’ talks</a> in 2014. Such activism suggests that Purcell had a far from impartial stance before visiting the region.<br />
<br />
Purcell described the contingent of fellow Christian tourists from various parts of Europe and the US:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We are a group of international visitors from 13 countries around the globe who have come on a fact finding trip with the Bethlehem YMCA…”</blockquote>
The contingent stayed with Christian Arab-Palestinian families in Bethlehem, and travelled to other parts of Judea and Samaria/West Bank, under the auspices of the YMCA. It suggests a pre-existent bias in her choices. In view of her activism, her choice may have been knowing, because the YMCA has <a href="http://www.aish.com/jw/me/48882677.html">declared itself</a> to be an explicitly anti-Israel organisation.<br />
<br />
The one-sided advocacy of the visit was all too evident in the words of Purcell’s host: “Thank you for coming here to talk to us. We won’t ever give up, while there are good people in the world supporting us.” Little wonder Purcell could only afford critical words for Israel, which apparently has no reason to protect its citizens from terrorism. Individual Arab-Palestinians are referenced but Purcell just offers a demonising collective caricature of the Jewish residents, who appear to have no business living there.<br />
<br />
In recent years, there has been a boom in the <a href="http://cifwatch.com/2013/04/15/glenn-greenwald-and-israels-booming-anti-zionist-tourism-trade/">trade of anti-Zionist tourism</a>, to Judea and Samaria, which is sponsored by a whole host of anti-Israel NGOs. In 2013, Ardie Geldman, a nearby resident of Efrat, <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2013/11/countering_the_lies_of_protest.html">wrote an all too rare rebuttal</a> of this tourist activism. The article is of particular relevance because it references several areas that Purcell also visited, going on to describe how privileged tourists from the West receptively absorb deceptive narratives - describing the information provided as ‘half-truths’ would be an understatement:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“When a stopover in Efrat follows a visit to Dheisheh or Aida, the questions the visitors ask convey the mistaken assumption that the state of Israel created these camps… and that Israel remains responsible for the camps' continued existence and their current squalid conditions…</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[UNWRA] has been resisting any contraction of its operations, never took any steps to fold up, and to date, service responsibilities were never transferred to the legitimate Palestinian Authority. UNRWA continues to act as a ‘non-territorial government’ competing with the elected Palestinian Authority for funds and responsibilities […]</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
the western edge of the Dheisheh refugee camp lies directly across the road from Ducha, a section of the Palestinian town of Beit Ja’alah. Ducha is noted for its large and ornate homes, not a few with expensive cars parked in their driveways. Years ago, some residents of Dheisheh began building homes in Ducha while retaining their homes in Dheisheh. The camp home, typically a small slum… is the only home belonging to refugees that foreign visitors are taken to see.”</blockquote>
The Road to Jenin, a <a href="http://www.pierrerehov.com/jenin.htm">documentary by Pierre Rehov</a> addresses the falsified "Jenin Massacre" narrative, where it was claimed that the IDF killed 500 civilians in the Jenin Arab-Palestinian camp in 2002. However, it was subsequently discovered that 47 died, most of which were terrorists. The documentary <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHkmCKMvnCY">includes remarks by Dalry Jones</a>, an Australian Christian, who volunteered for various humanitarian endeavours, much as Purcell describes her compatriots on the YMCA visit. Jones visited during the Second Intifada. She was initially convinced by anti-Israel propaganda, including claims that Israeli forces were torturing innocent Arab-Palestinians with the utmost savagery. However, she witnessed the <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_print=1&x_context=46&x_review=10">gruesome horror</a> of an Arab-Palestinian child-bomber explode, leading to the realisation that the supposed images of torture were a result of suicide bombing.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian?</b></div>
<br />
The contrasting way in which Purcell addresses violence by a subset of the Jewish people of the region, and that of Arab-Palestinians, presents as a normative dichotomy within the anti-Israel movement:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“These settlers are aggressive and heavily armed. In Hebron, they throw rubbish down on the Palestinian street sellers who have managed to remain open.”</blockquote>
This singular thematic narrative leads many commentators to question the motives of the anti-Israel movement, for it seeks to <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=55&x_article=2132">downplay the substantive violence</a> directed at Jewish people, whilst egregiously <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2012/05/how_many_palestinians_fataliti.html">overstating the level of violence</a> from Jewish sources.<br />
<br />
Thus, we have “aggressive and heavily armed” Jews in Hebron, but no mention of the fact that Hebron has been cleansed of its Jewish populace, by genocidal methods, in successive eras. Unfortunately, Purcell did not mention the <a href="http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/terrorism/palestinian/pages/victims%20of%20palestinian%20violence%20and%20terrorism%20sinc.aspx">more recent violence</a> that gripped Hebron during the Second Intifada, or ongoing violence in the concurrent quasi-Intifada. Purcell chose instead to relate an alleged assault on a British woman, by Jewish settlers.<br />
<br />
Purcell describes Hebron as a “Palestinian town.” She describes Judea and Samaria/West Bank, and Old Jerusalem, as “Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem.” These normative anti-Israel assertions intentionally deny the elementally Jewish features of these regions. Would Old Jerusalem be remotely the city it is without its Jewish heritage? We can ask the same question of Hebron, which is the second most important city within the Jewish faith, due to its associations and shrines. The effort to wash away Jewish culture and history in these areas, and to promote the exclusion of Jewish people from these regions, must necessarily give raise to questions of anti-Semitic intent within the anti-Israel movement.<br />
<br />
Purcell’s hostility toward Israel is exemplified by her failure to mention Arab-Palestinian wrongdoing whatsoever. She claims that Israel’s security barrier, and the restrictions on people entering from Judea and Samaria/West Bank, are not the kind of actions of “a state which genuinely wishes to live in peace with its neighbours.” The security barrier was built during the Second Intifada, a rather un-neighbourly episode, and a time when Israel had repeatedly tried to compromise with Yasser Arafat. Settlements were not the issue - Arafat walked out of the negotiations at Camp David in 2000, partly due to shared sovereignty of the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif, and again at Taba in 2001, despite improved terms.<br />
<br />
Arafat’s intransigence was in keeping with the past. Almost every relevant Arab leader rejected every possible solution out of hand. A tiny Jewish state on 1/8th of the original mandate lands was rejected in 1947. They even rejected a tiny 5% state-let, proposed by the British in a 1938 proposal. They rejected the returning of almost all of the lands taken by Israel in 1967, when they issued the ‘<a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/three_noes.html">Three Nos</a>’ at the Arab League’s Khartoum conference of 1967. Egypt was expelled from the Arab League for making peace with Israel in 1978/79. More recently, Mahmoud Abbas rejected John Kerry’s 2014 <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/tv-report-abbas-said-no-to-obama-on-3-core-peace-issues/">framework proposal</a> to bring an end to the conflict. At contention is the very existence of a predominantly Jewish Nation, <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/talking-points-against-jewish-state-fall-short/">as Abbas has noted</a>.<br />
<br />
Purcell was interviewed on RTE Radio One’s <a href="http://www.rte.ie/radio1/marian-finucane/programmes/2015/1025/737391-marian-finucane-sunday-25-october-2015/">Marian Finucane show</a> (44 minutes into the show) about her visit. When challenged that Israel suffered from terrorism, and hostile neighbours, Purcell asserted that Israel had come to an “accommodation with all of the Arab States.” Most Arab states have not recognised Israel, other than Jordan and Egypt, which maintain a rather icy peace. Other nations that attacked the Jewish State since 1948, remain overtly hostile, albeit to a varying extent.<br />
<br />
Purcell presented Israel as facing no threat that would justify the security restrictions, and stated that Arab-Palestinians were “stymied in every aspect of their lives” through Judea and Samaria/West Bank.<br />
<br />
Purcell reiterated the falsehoods of her written descriptions of the visit, almost verbatim, wrongfully stating, for example, that “those with settler number plates never get stopped.” She also justified the violence and terrorism of the 2015 quasi-Intifada, which in October alone resulted in some 620 attacks, of which all but four are of <a href="http://www.shabak.gov.il/English/EnTerrorData/Reports/Pages/ReportE112015.aspx">Arab-Palestinian origin</a>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Marian I have to say, I read a bit before I went, I was absolutely shocked by what I saw. I mean, really whats there is a system of apartheid, and I’m not surprised that in the news headlines what we’re getting is an escalation in the violence in the region.”</blockquote>
The host responded by arguing that Jewish people didn’t “feel” safe, a point which Purcell rejected, stating:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“But this isn’t even in the Jewish State. This isn’t even in Israel. This is in the Palestinian part if you like, the West Bank. [...]</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
There are no security threats because they are in the West Bank. They’ve no access to Israel.”</blockquote>
The above stance might be described as a "cake and eat it" line of argumentation. There are of course fewer terror threats (rather than none) originating from the Judea and Samaria/West Bank region, as a consequence of the very security barrier, and associated security restrictions, to which Purcell most trenchantly objects.<br />
<br />
Purcell’s article similarly describes the presence of the IDF in a melodramatically malign fashion:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“From the moment they wake up, until they close their eyes at night, every man, woman and child in the West Bank of Palestine is under the control of the Israeli army and government.”</blockquote>
The claim is extraordinary, given that the Palestinian Authority rules 97% of the Arab-Palestinian populace, in Areas A and B. The PA has full security control over Area A, with Israeli oversight in B.<br />
<br />
Objectively speaking, can it be said that Israel would have anything to fear from a full military withdrawal from the region? During the last two decades, Israel has withdrawn its troops from various regions, but reaction in each instance was an increase in terrorist attacks. Israel withdrew from the majority of Hebron in 1997, but was rewarded with substantive attacks during the Second Intifada, and latterly during the time of Purcell’s own visit. Israel withdrew from Lebanon (2000), which led to indiscriminate rocket attacks on Northern Israel’s civilian populace, temporarily displacing several hundred thousand people. Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, and <a href="http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/opening-gaza-to-the-wider-world-the-israeli-palestinian-agreement-on-moveme">guaranteed access</a> to Israel for Gaza’s people and goods. Yet the electorate would soon vote to empower a terrorist group, which in turn would intensify its campaign of belligerency.<br />
<br />
During the interview, Purcell justified the recent spate of terrorism, by claiming that this violence was a reaction to the living conditions of the attackers. She inaccurately claimed that Israel had, by that time, killed 50 Arab-Palestinians in demonstrations, and that eight Israelis were killed subsequently. Her account is incorrect. Purcell’s misleading timeline infers that the violence was a reaction to killings by the Israeli authorities. During this period, around half of Arab-Palestinian deaths were attributed to the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-the-latest-palestinians-torch-site-revered-by-some-jews-2015-10?IR=T">reaction of the Israeli security services</a> during terrorist attacks. Other deaths were attributed to clashes during violent riotous incidents, which Purcell misleadingly describes as "demonstrations."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Advocating a one-state solution</b></div>
<br />
Purcell would write in a <a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/yourview/i-believed-israel-to-be-built-on-justice-and-now-i-believe-the-opposite-364401.html">letter about her visit</a>, that:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Children in Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, (where we did a cookery lesson), have to go through the Separation Wall to get to school, enduring queuing and military searches like their parents.”</blockquote>
There are a significant number of schools in the Bethlehem area, as well as within the UNRWA camps. As of 2005-06, there are <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061014122612/http://www.mohe.gov.ps/downloads/pdffiles/statisticE.pdf">135 schools in the Bethlehem area</a> while the Aida refugee camp <a href="http://vprofile.arij.org/bethlehem/pdfs/EN/Ayda%20Camp_fs_en.pdf">features two schools</a>. The crossings always carry a degree of tension due to the prospect of terrorist attacks, so it is quite a peculiarity for parents to elect to send their children to schools not within their own locales.<br />
<br />
In the article, Purcell <a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/a-boycott-of-israel-can-help-end-the-injustice-362512.html">draws attention</a> to what she feels are additional double-standards. She blames Israel because local “Palestinian women are limited to the Bethlehem maternity hospital” while Jewish people “have quick and easy access to the modern hospitals of Jerusalem.” The Palestinian Authority receives a substantial amount of donor aid from internationals sources, while access to health care medicines and technologies is unrestricted. How is it Israel’s fault if PA health care is not up to the standards of Israel? Why is Israel not allowed restrict access to its sovereign territory to non-nationals? Perhaps the Palestinian Authority should spend less rewarding terrorists a <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/pa-funding-of-terrorists-this-is-how-its-done/2014/06/26/0/">overly generous salary</a> and spend a little more on essential services, such as health care?<br />
<br />
After Purcell lambasts Israel for such supposed double-standards, she states that the Arab-Palestinian people she met “deserve nothing less than equal treatment in a fair democratic society.” Although she does not explicitly call for a one-state solution, there can be no mistake that her article is an advocacy for that very concept, because it gives unusual focus to Israel’s supposed wrongs with respect to Arab-Palestinian access to Israel, whilst wholly ignoring the role of the PA in the provision of such services and employment. It would seem that the desired objective of “equal treatment in a fair democratic society” refers to all of the region’s Arab-Palestinians and Jews, due to her use of the grammatically singular, when speaking of diverse peoples and politically distinctive regions.<br />
<br />
One-state solution advocates must necessarily <a href="http://jcpa.org/article/whitewashing-palestine-eliminate-israel-case-one-state-advocates">ignore</a> the widespread intensive sectarian incitement against Jewish people, <a href="http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=18211">including blood-libel</a>, the genocidal intent expressed by terrorist groups, the celebration of terrorist atrocities against Jewish civilians in the public sphere, and the militant anti-Semitism endorsed by the highest religious authorities in the region. Hence, this form of proposal is sometimes termed the "Rwandan Solution."<br />
<br />
If one-state advocates are sincere in their quest for peace, then they ought to remonstrate with Mahmoud Abbas for <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170404">insisting</a> that Jewish people would be unwelcome in a prospective Arab-Palestinian state. A look at the Palestinian Authority’s <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7924/palestinians-samaritans">attitude toward the prospect</a> of Jewish people living in their midst, was recently illustrated by the behaviour of several Palestinian Authority officials, when they realised that Jewish settlers were invited to a Samaritan festival. The PA governor of Nablus, General Akram Rajoub, a VIP guest at the ceremony, rapidly withdrew, stating:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“we can’t accept the presence of settlers at the ceremony. Even worse, these settlers were given the privilege to speak at the ceremony, which is why we had to boycott the official event and leave the hall. We’re not prepared to talk to Jewish settlers because we don’t accept their presence among us.”</blockquote>
<b></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><b>Towards boycott</b></b><br />
<b><b><br /></b></b></div>
<b>
</b>
Purcell advocates a boycott of Israel to bring an end to the purported “injustice.” It has often been remarked that those involved with the "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions" movement (BDS) obsessively focus on the supposed Israeli oppression of Arab-Palestinians, whilst ignoring the overt discrimination of Arab-Palestinians living in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, where laws explicitly <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5654/palestinians-oppression">discriminate against the grouping</a>, to restrict the allowance of citizenship, and to pursue better conditions of employment. Similarly, Purcell only affords space for criticism of Israel, and labels it an “apartheid” state, despite the wrongdoing of these other nations being more redolent of the formal legal structures of apartheid South Africa.<br />
<br />
Critics of the BDS campaign argue that the movement’s ultimate intent is to facilitate the destruction of the Jewish State. Such claims may be cast as pro-Israel propaganda, but criticism of the movement is also voiced from sources quite unsympathetic to the Jewish State. The vice-chair of ‘Americans for Peace Now’ <a href="http://forward.com/opinion/israel/152360/the-dishonesty-of-park-slope-coops-bds-debate/">has asserted</a> that “BDS’s prime motivation, if their messaging is to be believed, is not to end the occupation at all; rather, it is to end Israel.” BDS’ core policy constitutes the demand for the so-called "Right of Return" for the descendants of one subset of the people displaced by the 1948/9 War of Independence, which follows the old PLO policy of destroying of the sole Jewish State in existence by way of demographic encroachment. The entire stance betrays the policy of two states for two peoples.<br />
<br />
It is quite bizarre for activists to complain about the length of time it takes for Arab-Palestinian workers to enter Israel, whilst advocating for a boycott of the very economy that offers such workers <a href="http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=12696">better employment terms</a> than they get at home. Forbes points out that boycotts cause far greater economic <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/carriesheffield/2015/02/22/boycott-israel-movement-stunts-the-palestinian-economy/#6febb0f34b09">harm to the Arab-Palestinian populace</a> of Judea and Samaria/West Bank than to the State of Israel. Israel purchases 81% of Arab-Palestinian exports, while two-thirds of imports into the Arab-Palestinian economy are from Israel. Boycott advocates complain about poor conditions in the largely PA-controlled areas for the local people, but then forcefully advocate for policies that will make their conditions dramatically worse.<br />
<br />
Purcell advocates for a political movement that harms Arab-Palestinian interests and undermines the already <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/2014/0130/Palestinian-workers-back-Scarlett-Johansson-s-opposition-to-SodaStream-boycott-video">dim prospects for peace</a>, between the respective peoples. This would suggest her advocacy is not motivated by a desire to right such supposed wrongs, as indicated by the rigid insistence that Israel providing substantive amounts of water to the Palestinian Authority, as well as a belligerent Hamas, somehow amounts to “apartheid.”<br />
<br />
The boycott movement effectively closed SodaStream’s factory in Judea and Samaria/West Bank, despite providing an economic model for greater co-operation, philosophically akin to the steel and coal treaties between France and Germany, which lent a hand in bringing a meaningful long-term peace to Western Europe. Indeed, some within the boycott movement express a blithe disregard when their campaigns cause difficulties for the very people that they purport to support. Mahmoud Nawajaa, a <a href="http://ukmediawatch.org/2016/03/01/guardian-article-inadvertently-demonstrates-the-malice-of-bds/">senior member of the movement</a> in Judea and Samaria/West Bank, described the loss of employment at the Sodastream plant as “part of the price that should be paid in the process of ending occupation.”<br />
<br />
A lack of concern for the welfare of the Arab-Palestinian populace is perhaps unsurprising, given BDS’ unsavoury background. Testimony at a US Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, by former US Treasury <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=37&x_article=3325">terror-analyst Jonathan Schanzer</a>, revealed there are established links between the supposedly non-violent BDS movement and Hamas. Schanzer is the vice-president of research for the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Irish Examiner</b></div>
<br />
The Irish Examiner’s November 2<span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span>, 2015 <a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/a-boycott-of-israel-can-help-end-the-injustice-362512.html">opinion piece by Betty Purcell</a>, would not read as a balanced piece of journalism that tried to address the widely divergent perspectives on the conflict, as indicated by the title "A boycott of Israel can help end the injustice."<br />
<br />
The Examiner presented the piece as an opinion-based article. By definition, opinion-pieces (op-eds) are intended to express certain views on a given issue, so represent a form of advocacy that should contrast with news reportage. However, op-eds do not represent a <i>carte blanche</i> opportunity to freely express unsubstantiated claims by politicised activists. Not only did the Examiner fail with respect to basic due-diligence, it went further by actually endorsing Purcell’s claims in an introductory paragraph:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“On a recent visit to Palestine, Betty Purcell witnessed the terrible conditions locals are forced to endure, with so many aspects of their daily lives under Israeli control.”</blockquote>
The conditions of such a visit, which was arranged by an anti-Israel organisation, would surely lead to substantive concerns about balance. Purcell would also cite <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/ecumenical_accompaniment_programme_in_palestine_and_israel_eappi_0">politically-partial sources</a> like the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme (EAPPI), without advising of their pointed activism. The EAPPI, under the auspices of the World Council of Churches, has promoted a narrative that <a href="http://jcpa.org/article/broadcasting-a-lethal-narrative-the-world-council-of-churches-and-israel-6/">delegitimises Israel’s right to exist</a>, ignores the oppression of Christians in the Middle East, and presents an apologia for Israel’s foes. The organisation proclaims to bear “witness” to this particular Middle-Eastern conflict, by accompanying Arab-Palestinians through their daily lives. As such, the very intent of the programme is to demonise the Israeli forces and Jewish people living in the region. The WCC’s related organisation, the PIEF, has promoted anti-Semitic replacement theology, as per the Kairos Palestinian Document, which also <a href="http://www.newenglishreview.org/Malcolm_Lowe/The_Palestinian_%22Kairos%22_Document%3A_A_Behind-the-Scenes_Analysis/">legitimises Arab-Palestinian terrorism</a> as “resistance.”<br />
<br />
Op-eds should transparently declare any interests that authors may possess. Purcell’s prior anti-Israel advocacy was not noted, nor the politicised nature of the organisation that facilitated her visit to Judea and Samaria/West Bank or the NGOs she cited. Such groups campaign on openly anti-Israel platforms.<br />
<br />
The account Purcell gave of her visit to the territory provided an insight into the trenchant political culture found at RTE, because it is so comprehensively one-sided, and unashamedly propagandistic in nature. Purcell found no time to criticise Arab-Islamic society, which is determined to deny all Jewish independence on their homeland, nor the religious-sectarian extremism that motivates indiscriminate violence, both at an individuated level and within ruling terror organisations, against Jewish civilians.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Published at the <a href="http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/184479/sec_id/184479">New English Review</a>.</i><br />
<br /></div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-11776540545041294962016-07-16T15:27:00.000+01:002017-08-19T12:34:36.541+01:00Lebanon, UNIFIL Deaths, and Ireland’s Diplomatic Machinations<i>Between 1978 and 2001, Ireland contributed significant personnel to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which was mandated to assist an orderly withdrawal of Israeli forces, and keep the peace in the border area of Southern Lebanon neighbouring Israel, after the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) repeatedly attacked the Jewish State. Irish troops returned in 2011, to assist with a modified UNIFIL mandate, in the aftermath of the 2006 Lebanon War.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Lebanon’s tragedy</b></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida sans unicode" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20.8px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4-NAWVp74rOkOVHIaaVDEjDD72zg8Z7VrL5qvM2Er-24V5oG957mqWmxv1EyelaPnsWXidgxPU30jyaCZrT1wqbSnAswoc4lYe-2ybaUrpt_OCW3WLPF_KPzIhDnRM-LRfaXHT8jXKMr/s1600/profiles_Darmour-Massacre-1976-1264801657.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4-NAWVp74rOkOVHIaaVDEjDD72zg8Z7VrL5qvM2Er-24V5oG957mqWmxv1EyelaPnsWXidgxPU30jyaCZrT1wqbSnAswoc4lYe-2ybaUrpt_OCW3WLPF_KPzIhDnRM-LRfaXHT8jXKMr/s1600/profiles_Darmour-Massacre-1976-1264801657.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The aftermath of the Damour Massacre, Lebanon, 1976.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
During the 1960s, the PLO used Jordan as a base to attack Israel, whilst attempting to <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2014/12/ny_times_again_whitewashes_pal.html">terrorise and destabilise the Arab nation</a> toward the goal of regime change. King Hussein expelled the PLO in 1971. The terrorist group would take up residence in Lebanon, to disastrous effect. The PLO was pivotal in instigating a particularly bloody civil war in the small nation-state, in which it is estimated that approximately <a href="http://wars.findthedata.com/l/158/Lebanese-Civil-War">150,000 people would die</a> between 1975 and 1990, although some sources estimate the death toll is a quarter of a million.<br />
<br />
The mandate territories in the Middle East included the region of Syria, awarded to France by the League of Nations. Due to a concentrated Christian presence, Lebanon was split from the Greater Syrian region, and was formed as a primarily Christian nation. Lebanon was an unstable factionalised mix, with weak governance and a resentful Islamic minority. War broke out between Muslims and Christians in 1958, after the Islamic populace took issue with Lebanon's pro-Western stance. The Islamic faction was defeated with US intervention. Since an effective PLO invasion, a succession of <a href="http://canadafreepress.com/article/arafats-massacre-of-damour">massacres</a> were committed by the various warring factions (Muslim and Christian). It would result in a substantive amount of the Christian populace fleeing West, such as to the United States, where a great deal of its middle-eastern populace is of Lebanese Christian origin. The continuing instability of Lebanon, and the surging power of Hizbullah, maintained pressure on the largely Maronite Catholic populace, which ceased to represent a majority by the 1990s. Today, Lebanese Christians are thought to only represent <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=241236">30% of the populace</a> although estimates vary.<br />
<br />
Iran became closely involved in Lebanese affairs, circa 1980, giving considerable support to the ‘Amal Movement’, a <a href="http://www.gloria-center.org/2011/12/the-%E2%80%9Cindependent-shi%E2%80%99a%E2%80%9D-of-lebanon-what-wikileaks-tells-us-about-american-efforts-to-find-an-alternative-to-hizballah/">terrorist Shi’ite group</a>, and especially Hizbullah, which the Shi’ite State helped establish and greatly developed, in the name of resisting an Israeli presence. Islamist Hizbullah is oft seen in the Arab world as a <a href="https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/hezbollahs-deadly-connection">proxy of Iran</a>, rather than authentically Lebanese. Some smaller Sunni factions also received support from <a href="http://www.gloria-center.org/2008/06/badran-2008-06-07/">several Sunni-Arab nations</a> but they tended to possess a pan-Arab or nationalistic orientation rather than a strong religiously sectarian identity.<br />
<br />
Iran, and especially Syria, <a href="http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.11159/pub_detail.asp">would maintain influences</a> in the territory, which ultimately broke Lebanese Christian power. Syria would finally withdraw its presence in 2005, only for Hizbullah to tighten its military and political grip on the country.<br />
<br />
The Civil War ended with Lebanon becoming a stricter kind of consociational (bi-national) state, where a new constitution dictated a strictly apportioned Islamic-Christian rule but Hizbullah effectively hold the reigns of power. Shia groups <a href="http://www.meforum.org/3579/lebanese-sunnis-political-isolation">weakened</a> rival Sunni militias and built up their forces in Southern Lebanon, pushing the Lebanese army aside. Hizbullah was the <a href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/lebanon.htm">sole militia</a> allowed to continue its activities after the end of the Lebanese Civil War. It brought chaos to the region, with continued strikes on Israel, and has effectively created a state within a state, with the <a href="http://cnsnews.com/news/article/hezbollah-hamas-raise-money-terrorist-activities-drug-trade-south-america-congressional">capacity to collect taxes locally, whilst fuelling the international drugs trade</a>.<br />
<br />
Lebanon can be regarded as a stark precursor of the conflicted Middle East seen today, where Sunni and Shia openly challenge each other, while the ancient Christian communities of the Middle East face extinction in the short to medium term. Lebanon’s history, where Muslim rulers persecuted Christian minorities for more than a millennia, guided one community leader in 1947, Archbishop Ignace Moubarac of Beirut, to illustrate the region’s simmering <a href="http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_direct_link.cfm/blog_id/28942">religious sectarianism</a> for Western leaders, in which he paralleled the fate of Christians and Jewish people in the Middle East, when at the mercy of Islam. It is perhaps a message that many leaders in the West have yet to comprehend, or prefer to ignore.<br />
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Enter war and UNIFIL</b></div>
<br />
Israel invaded Southern Lebanon in March 1978, <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2014/01/npr_skews_on_sharon.html">in response to a succession of PLO terrorist attacks</a> from the mid-to-late 1970s. One attack by the PLO, dubbed the ‘Coastal Road Massacre’, resulted in the murder of 38 Israeli citizens, including 13 children, and the wounding of 76 others. Israel made an alliance with Major Saad Haddad’s ‘South Lebanon Army’ (SLA), which developed in Lebanon several years earlier (initially known as the ‘Free Lebanon Army’), to combat the instability caused by the PLO’s actions. The Christian militia was aided by Israel, since both had a mutual interest in opposing the PLO.<br />
<br />
Israel achieved a rapid military success, driving the PLO away from the nation’s border. UNIFIL forces stepped in to facilitate an orderly withdrawal, and maintain a peaceable border area. Israel would withdraw in late 1978, and pass control to the quasi-official ‘South Lebanon Army’, which was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Lebanon_Army#History">established</a> by a commander of the Lebanese Army, Major Saad Haddad, after the failure of the national army in the region. Haddad would be dismissed from the Lebanese Army the following year for proclaiming control of South Lebanon.<br />
<br />
However, both UNIFIL and the SLA would fail to control South Lebanon. The PLO would reassert a capacity to assault Israel. In 1979 the PLO started shelling Northern Israel indiscriminately. In the summer of 1981, the PLO furthered its indiscriminate artillery barrages, which caused sustained harm to Northern Israel. A ceasefire was agreed but the PLO violated it repeatedly. The PLO also attacked Israel from Jordan, and targeted Israeli diplomats in Europe. This violence would ultimately instigate the 1982 Lebanon War, in which Israel sought to permanently expel the terror group.<br />
<br />
Ireland’s UNIFIL troops were harassed by the SLA, which deemed UNIFIL to be interlopers, but would nonetheless co-operate much of the time. Combat fatalities would not occur until April 1980, when relations with Israel declined in a dramatic fashion, after the SLA killed two UNIFIL troops, in the aftermath of a battle that had led to fatalities on both sides.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKAFtetIoijeeehsA0LliBwe2zi8MT7r8dVYh739pEedY_Vbag7ZjKjW59tNy-XrJ9yDVcC6SbpHdqZGaGCEP7NEFODepf-Wkf7P7anvVj1j6vxES1uZmQvjZ5oi73ULjxumunQ2sb6Jg/s1600/Brian_Lenihan+Senior-150x150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKAFtetIoijeeehsA0LliBwe2zi8MT7r8dVYh739pEedY_Vbag7ZjKjW59tNy-XrJ9yDVcC6SbpHdqZGaGCEP7NEFODepf-Wkf7P7anvVj1j6vxES1uZmQvjZ5oi73ULjxumunQ2sb6Jg/s1600/Brian_Lenihan+Senior-150x150.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="CY">Brian Lenihan,
Snr, (1930-95), Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="CY">(held the ministerial office in 1973, 1979-81, and 1987-89)</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><b><br /></b></b>
<b><b>The Bahrain Declaration</b></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
The then president of Ireland, Dr. Patrick Hillery, visited Bahrain in February 1980. Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Lenihan, Senior (1930-95) held talks with his Bahraini ministerial equivalent, on February 10<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>, where they drafted a joint communiqué, which principally dealt with the Arab-Palestinian concern, as well as other diplomatic and economic issues. Lenihan also delivered a speech in Bahrain severely criticising Israel. The two would effectively become known as the ‘Bahrain Declaration’, and would set a sort of precedent in Western politics, with Ireland becoming the first EEC member-state to advocate for the inclusion of the PLO in a peace process toward statehood.</div>
</div>
<br />
Lenihan called for the establishment of a Palestinian State, and called for Israel’s withdrawal from all territory captured in 1967. The Declaration cited “relevant” Security Council resolutions to support the stance, which misrepresented the substance of territorial issues appertaining to UN <a href="http://maurice-ostroff.tripod.com/id45.html">Security Council Resolution 242</a>. The Declaration asserted that the PLO are the legitimate representatives of the Arab-Palestinian people toward the formation of a State, but it did not make any reference to terrorism or Israel’s security needs. At the time, this was an unusually hard-line stance for a Western state, which more closely followed the views of the Soviet and Islamic blocks at the United Nations. The Bahrain Declaration was the forerunner of the EEC’s ‘Vienna Declaration’ of 1981, which also reiterated the PLO’s legitimacy, despite its continued belligerence. Shortly before the Venice Conference, Arafat reiterated that PLO/Fatah’s “aim is to liberate Palestine completely and to liquidate the Zionist entity politically, economically, militarily, culturally and ideologically.” The terminology suggested an intent toward ethnic cleansing and perhaps genocide.<br />
<br />
Controversially, Lenihan asserted that the PLO was no longer a terrorist organisation, describing Yasser Arafat as a “moderate”, for which the Irish minister saw a “full role” in negotiations. Lenihan’s announcement that the PLO had become a legitimate organisation occurred just with the close of a decade in which a vast number of infamous attacks on Israeli citizens occurred. Lenihan made these prognostications at a time when Irish UNIFIL troops were dealing with the effects of the PLO violence in Lebanon. Yet this notion of a supposed moderation was very much in evidence in Lenihan’s speech.<br />
<br />
Lenihan also claimed that the Irish Republican Army had no involvement with the PLO. The <a href="http://www.analyst-network.com/article.php?art_id=637">proposition is clearly false</a>. At a time when the Northern Irish Troubles was of supreme import to the Irish State, it is extremely improbable that the advance of this denial was anything other than a knowing untruth furthered by the Foreign Affairs Minister. In an era of many IRA terrorist attacks on the Island of Ireland, it may be assumed that the denial had the intent of lessening the PLO’s image, as a terrorist entity, with the FM’s Irish audience.<br />
<br />
Lenihan’s assertions were so out of kilter with the observed reality of the time that they came across as an absurdity. The speech caused considerable anger in Israel, and at home in Ireland, where Dr. David Rosen, Ireland’s Chief Rabbi, voiced criticism. Dr. Rosen stated that Ireland’s stance may increase the already volatile tensions in Lebanon, and was critical of what he saw as the motivations of the Irish government, which he believed was driven by a need for oil. This was not an unreasonable assumption in the aftermath of the 1973 OPEC Oil Crisis, which attempted to punish the West, after Arab forces failed to defeat Israel. Frank McClusky, leader of the Labour Party, was of the same belief. However, Senator Noel Mulcahy suggested the Rabbi was threatening Irish UNIFIL troops posted in Lebanon.<br />
<br />
When the pro-Palestinianism of Lenihan’s ‘Bahrain Declaration’ was challenged, the minister stated that the PLO would not be recognised by Ireland until they recognised Israel’s right to exist. However, Lenihan had already recognised the PLO as legitimate representatives. In 1993, a consular Fatah (PLO) Arab-Palestinian Delegation <a href="http://www.gdp.ie/consular.html">would be given permission</a> to establish in Ireland. Yasser Arafat (the PLO chairman) recognised Israel in an official letter to then prime-minister, Yitzhak Rabin, that same year. However, the PLO Charter continues to call for Israel’s destruction through armed struggle. The process of updating the Charter was deliberately fudged by Yasser Arafat <a href="http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=36715">during the latter part</a> of the Oslo talks process. It is telling, perhaps, that the Declaration was made in Bahrain, a state that does not recognise Israel’s right to exist.</div>
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatyh1YqKQyYNM7tl8_iUHhQPzfG3JIFvup3qbf7lB6YzwKoffdsvIWgGRqwAgNObQ96J-Gz5qCxkMIZxttLozNLB5_IvTWIugE-yDYRO4K0xTUl_bx6TR_6sGN6v3yeYhQ14KZvxZBWLE/s1600/Bahrain+Declaration+Text+-+Palestine+%2526+Mid-East+Section+%2528Source+%2527Eurabia%2527+pan-Arab+European+lobby+group%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatyh1YqKQyYNM7tl8_iUHhQPzfG3JIFvup3qbf7lB6YzwKoffdsvIWgGRqwAgNObQ96J-Gz5qCxkMIZxttLozNLB5_IvTWIugE-yDYRO4K0xTUl_bx6TR_6sGN6v3yeYhQ14KZvxZBWLE/s320/Bahrain+Declaration+Text+-+Palestine+%2526+Mid-East+Section+%2528Source+%2527Eurabia%2527+pan-Arab+European+lobby+group%2529.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">An extract of the Bahrain Declaration - Palestine & Mid-East Section <br />(Source: 'Eurabia', a pan-Arab European lobby group, Dublin branch)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Irish support for Palestinianism, including Arafat’s PLO, would remain considerable. Brian Lenihan himself told Arafat, during a visit in 1993, of the “genuine warmth in Ireland for you and your cause” [<a href="http://www.johnhewittsociety.org/file_download.php?filename=uploaded/43db54588edc0_Ireland%20-Palestine%20lecture%5B1%5D-Rory%20Miller.rtf">Ireland-Palestine lecture</a>] which points to Lenihan’s own approach during the fraught UNIFIL years, and rather unashamed support for a particularly virulent terror movement.<br />
<br />
By contrast, formal Irish relations with Israel would remain non-existent, for a protracted period of time. Ireland only recognised Israel in 1975, being the last state in the EEC to do so, and was the sole country in the European Union without an Israeli embassy until 1996. Ireland is not only supportive of Palestinianism but has displayed a distinct hostility toward Israel with respect to other matters. A year after Bahrain, Ireland strongly condemned the Israeli bombing of Iraq’s nuclear weapons facilities.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>UNIFIL killings</b></div>
<br />
Ironically perhaps, the presence of Irish troops at the Lebanese border caused new and substantive diplomatic tensions. The soldiers were placed in the midst of a civil war, where the pressures from warring sides can lead peace-keepers to pick one side over another, potentially ending in disaster.<br />
<br />
Something of a diplomatic crisis would ensue two months after the Declaration. On April 7<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>, the SLA shot an Irish soldier during a protracted gun battle near At Tiri. The soldier would die from his injuries on the 16<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of April. The Irish State would lambast Israel for the death because Israel had an allegiance with the group. The Irish authorities were concerned that their diplomatic machinations had greatly increased tensions with the SLA, and would apply substantive diplomatic pressure upon Israel in the following weeks. The following day, the Israeli government would assert that Ireland’s foreign policy stance on the Arab-Palestinian/PLO issue was distinct to its role in UNIFIL — the former would not prejudice the latter.<br />
<br />
However, Major Haddad publicly demanded financial compensation, or the bodies of two Irish soldiers, for <a href="http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2015/01/18/is-dearborn-ice-cream-man-a-war-criminal/21978977/">the death of an SLA member</a>, the 19 year old brother of one Mahmoud Bazzi, who was killed by UNIFIL during the clash. On the 18<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>, three Irish soldiers were abducted, two of which were murdered by Bazzi (Privates Thomas Barrett and Derek Smallhorne — John O’Mahoney survived). There was much speculation that the recent killings were a response to the Bahrain Declaration. Menachem Begin, Israel’s prime-minister, condemned the killing of the troops. Sholmo Agrov, Israeli Ambassador to the UK, forcefully denied that the killings had any relation to the Declaration, during an interview on RTE radio, several days afterward. Ireland would also obtain a European Council statement of condemnation, in response to the killings.<br />
<br />
There are varying beliefs on whether the Bahrain Declaration was a causal factor in the killing of Irish troops. It has been noted that Haddad’s troops were involved in significant conflict with UNIFIL prior to the Declaration. Before 1980, Ireland had a reputation as a nation unusually sympathetic to the PLO. In 1979, at the UN General Assembly, Michael O’Kennedy, the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, called for a comprehensive solution of the Arab-Palestinian issue, involving the PLO. Yet the violence in April 1980 represented something of an escalation. It is difficult to lay blame for the killings at Israel’s door, because the murder of Barrett and Smallhorne was motivated by a personal grudge, as demonstrated in a confessional interview and Bazzi’s subsequent trial — of note, John O’Mahony, the sole survivor, stated that at one point an Israeli intelligence officer attempted to dissuade Bazzi from either continuing the abduction, or killing the soldiers, before giving up and leaving. However, it is quite likely that the sharp diplomatic impact of the Bahrain Declaration would have had some bearing on Haddad’s harsher treatment of Irish forces. In 1980, the Irish would have more comprehensively resembled enemies, rather than mere impediments.<br />
<br />
Dr. Rory Miller, a senior lecturer at King’s College, who authored several books on the Middle East, <a href="http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-049-miller.htm">notes</a> that Irish troops were thought to be prejudicial:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the Irish regularly called in the Israelis to threaten them and discipline them over the treatment of Irish UNIFIL troops… There was a lot of animosity, as would happen on any tense border. There are two sides to this story. The Irish troops were no less guilty of turning a blind eye to Arab violence than any other UN troops. On the other hand, I have spoken with a number of IDF liaison officers who worked with UNIFIL and they all praise the professionalism of their Irish counterparts.”</blockquote>
The view that some or many Irish UNIFIL troops did not maintain the highest standards of neutrality, which their role would require to minimise tensions, and the potential for clashes with local factions, was a belief also expressed in the Irish media and within the Irish Parliament. It has been claimed that some Irish forces went as far as to assist the PLO in efforts to cross the border into Israel. Whether or not such claims are valid, and while the generalised criticism expressed in some quarters may be an inequitable representation of the conduct of many UNIFIL soldiers, the notable Palestinianism of successive Irish governments, not least with the issuance of the ‘Bahrain Declaration’, would have contributed to the notion that a favouritism for the PLO was prevalent amongst the Irish contingents in Lebanon. Chief Rabbi Dr. David Rosen was perhaps correct in stating that Irish foreign policy manoeuvres placed UNIFIL soldiers at undue risk, in a time of bitter civil war within Lebanon.<br />
<br />
Some have asserted that belief in a culture of anti-Israel bias at Ireland’s UNIFIL troop is reinforced by the fact that a notable number of former troops went on to become anti-Israel activists, for example <a href="http://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people/law/raymurphy/">Dr. Ray Murphy</a>, a former army captain and NUI Galway law lecturer at the ‘Irish centre for human rights’ which has presented lectures by <a href="http://galwayindependent.com/20131004/news/human-rights-defender-for-galway-talk-on-palestine-S25553.html">PFLP terrorist Shawan Jabarin</a>, who currently leads anti-Israel lawfare NGO al-Haq. Another former UNIFIL officer, journalist <a href="http://markhumphrys.com/irish.times.html#clonan">Tom Clonan</a>, has repeatedly accused Israel of ‘massacre’ and ‘war crimes’, while being aware of the chaos of war causing harmful effects to civilian populaces, without the necessary cause of intent being present.<br />
<br />
Colonel Desmond Travers, one of the four members of the UN Goldstone Commission, <a href="http://www.icej.org/article.php?operation=print&id=8551">displays an attitude toward Israel</a> that disconnects from very basic reality. Travers denied that Israel acted in self-defence, with respect to the 2008-09 Gaza War, stating that Hamas had maintained a ceasefire! He also stated “so many Irish soldiers had been killed by Israelis… a significant number who were taken out deliberately and shot.” He may be referring to the claim that an Israeli intelligence officer was present shortly before Mahmoud Bazzi killed two UNIFIL solders, on April 18<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> 1980. One of the victims, John O’Mahoney <a href="http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/peacekeepers-the-irish-in-south-lebanon-30004132/10597273/">stated (14:11 mins) in the documentary ‘Peacekeepers: The Irish In South Lebanon’</a> (critiqued in another section below):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Shouting in Arabic, my brother, my brother, and he [Bazzi] was wearing a black vest. Now Tom Barrett said to me, he said you know, black vests it means death. He [Bazzi] took the three of us out, and he took us up the steps and across the veranda, and an Israeli Intelligence Officer was trying to negotiate with him but next thing he just walked away, he walked away Bazzi opened fire.”</blockquote>
O’Mahoney affirms that the Israeli officer attempted to dissuade Bazzi from the killings, but appears to have possessed no authority to compel the militiaman, in a building housing other members of the SLA. Travers served in Lebanon so must be intimately acquainted with the events of that day. It appears that Israel is only directly implicated in the death of one Irish UNIFIL soldier throughout the entire mission, one Corporal. Dermot McLoughlin, killed in 1987 due to the effects of a tank shell.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Moral culpability</b></div>
<br />
The question of these deaths, and several others in the intervening years, would worsen Ireland’s near non-existent diplomatic relations with Israel. Yet Ireland’s reaction was not remotely as trenchant toward Arab-Palestinian and Islamist groups, when found blameworthy of the killing of Irish UNIFIL forces. In April 1981, the PLO <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/may/06/lebanon.ireland">killed two Irish solders</a>. Private Hugh Doherty was killed, and Private Kevin Joyce was taken prisoner, to be murdered subsequently. The Irish State was substantively more reticent in dealing with this situation, even though Arab-Palestinian sources appear to have cynically used Private Joyce’s death as a source of propaganda, perhaps holding onto his corpse to prevent his burial. Joyce’s body was <a href="http://www.newstalk.com/Independent-review-deaths-Irish-soldiers-Lebanon-Hugh-Doherty">never to be found</a>.<br />
<br />
If anything, the attitude that Israel was necessarily responsible for the actions of Major Haddad, and the South Lebanon army, and the intensity of Ireland’s criticism, merely reinforced the view that the Irish authorities possessed a strong bias. Israel and Haddad were allies, operating in a not-dissimilar way to that of Syria which was allied to the PLO, and Iran being allied at the time to Amal. Yet there was no substantive condemnation of Syria for the actions of the PLO at the time, nor subsequently toward Iran.<br />
<br />
Whilst a given party can rightly be criticised for its allegiances, it is a step too far to hold them directly responsible for the actions of the aligned party, unless they were complicit in directing such a policy. There may still be some level of indirect responsibility, if the actions of one party to an alliance knows the other party will use their assistance for ill. From a moral perspective, where one party aligns with a more destructive party, blameworthiness toward the former party must ultimately apply if their alliance is intended to mount acts of territorial aggression, or if it is an alliance that is entirely voluntary (not strictly necessary) in nature. Israel needed allies in South Lebanon because UNIFIL were not fulfilling their obligations to bring conditions of peace. Otherwise it would be considerably harder to protect civilians at its border, with the likely resultant increase in civilian casualties in Northern Israel, which the PLO and Hizbullah targeted with some success. Thus, the alliance was justified. By contrast, early Syrian and later Iranian alliances were entirely voluntary, and largely intended to aggress against Israel, regardless of its presence in Lebanon.<br />
<br />
The route Ireland took with its diplomatic conduct toward Israel, reduced the idea of the SLA, fighting a civil war against the PLO and other Islamists, to that of mere puppets. The stance was not factually valid. It is possible that Ireland did so to further distance themselves from Israel at a diplomatic level.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Economically informed diplomacy</b></div>
<br />
The weak diplomatic response by successive Irish governments, to the PLO’s numerous attacks on Irish troops serving in Lebanon, during the early to mid 1980s, was especially puzzling because it was widely known that the PLO had interacted substantially with the Provisional IRA since the late 1960s, helping turn the republican terror group into an efficient killing force, which also posed a threat in Southern Ireland. Since the mid-1970s, Irish governments had taken substantive measures to suppress the republican group’s activities, e.g. the formation of a closed criminal court to prevent intimidation.<br />
<br />
The answer may have some relation to the fact that the PLO, and its related groups, were sponsored by numerous Arab nations, and it would be diplomatically inopportune to cause upset to a group of notoriously sensitive despots, over a matter so close to the greatest Arabist cause of the era, particularly when attempting to enter their national markets, with agricultural produce (Ireland became a significant supplier of beef), etc. There is some justification in concluding that the Irish State paid little heed in its diplomacy, in the pursuit of narrow economic interests, with regard to the safety of the UNIFIL troops.<br />
<br />
Ireland’s trade with the Middle-East multiplied in the 1970’s, and by the early 80’s it was rated at sixty-fold that of Israel, while the security of oil supplies was a major preoccupation (Keatings, Patrick. ‘European foreign policy-making and the Arab-Israeli conflict: Ireland’. 1984. Martinus Hijhoff. Page 20) for the Irish State, in the aftermath of the 1973 OPEC Oil Crisis. Trade issues were detailed when foreign affairs minister, Brian Lenihan visited Bahrain, an issue of particular import when Ireland was going through an economic crisis that would lead to substantive political instability through the early 1980s. There was even an <a href="http://news.ie.msn.com/ireland/iran%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98championing%E2%80%99-of-bobby-sands-in-the-1980s-was-concerning-to-the-irish-government">openness to the establishment of an Iranian embassy</a>, in the immediate aftermath of the Iranian hostage crisis. It was also argued at the time that Taoiseach (prime-minister) Charles Haughey had developed a taste for political activism, arguably to improve Ireland’s standing on the international stage.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The more things change, the more they stay the same</b></div>
<br />
The issue of bias, across the UNIFIL contingents, does seem to have been a reality. For example, in 2000, UNIFIL was complicit in Hizbullah’s <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/blogs/chutzpah/is-is-time-for-the-un-to-be-scrapped/20100125-mtxy.html">fatal abduction of three IDF soldiers</a>. UNIFIL obstructed the IDF investigation, by denying the existence of security tapes which could have helped discover the abductors. UNIFIL later acknowledged the <a href="http://www.jta.org/2001/07/09/archive/israel-demands-u-n-video-in-flap-over-kidnapped-soldiers">existence of the tapes</a> but refused to supply them for several months. The cars are believed to <a href="http://secure.unwatch.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=bdKKISNqEmG&b=1314451&ct=2842505">have been turned over to Hizbullah</a>. In 2010, it was reported that the Norwegian contingent actually broke <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3964037,00.html">two Lebanese terrorists</a> out of an Israeli jail, and disguised them in UNIFIL uniforms. During the 2006 Israel-Hizbullah conflict, UNIFIL broadcast detailed reports of Israeli troop movements, numbers, and positions on their website, while not reporting similar details concerning Hizbullah.<br />
<br />
The 2006 Lebanon War, began in the aftermath of Hizbullah kidnapping Israeli troops, and launched indiscriminate rocket strikes against Israel’s civilian population centres. Approximately 300,000 to 500,000 Israeli civilians <a href="http://www.zionism-israel.com/dic/Second_Lebanon_war.htm">fled Northern Israel</a> due to Hizbullah’s attacks. UNIFIL MKII was instituted after the war, to <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/article3671013.ece">disarm Hizbullah</a>, and form a twenty kilometre <a href="http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017478856&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull">buffer zone</a> at Israel’s border. UNIFIL failed to do so on both counts. The Iranian proxy has in fact dramatically enhanced its weapons arsenal, with a reported missile armament estimated to be at least 100,000, which may include <a href="http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htart/articles/20100602.aspx">chemical and biological weaponry</a>. Senator Francesco Cossiga, a former Italian president, asserted that Italy’s UNIFIL force <a href="http://carolineglick.com/the_convenient_war_against_the/">arranged to ignore</a> Hizbullah’s procurement of weaponry, as long as the terror group desisted from attacking the UN ‘peace-keepers’.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, even in the post-9/11 world, Ireland’s <a href="http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23847/Default.aspx">soft approach to Islamo-terrorist groups</a> would remain. Hizbullah has <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/eu-threatens-pullout-of-south-lebanon-peacekeepers/">continued to harass</a> UNIFIL troops, but Ireland, and the EU, have not remonstrated with Iran. Some speculate that the increased harassment, directed at particular UNIFIL national groupings, coincides with their <a href="http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/07/losing-scent-in-south-lebanon">respective nation states</a> criticising Iran.<br />
<br />
Ireland was a leading force in the diplomatic opposition to Hizbullah being <a href="http://www.jpost.com/International/Ireland-leads-opposition-to-blacklisting-Hezbollah-315613">designed a terrorist entity</a> by the European Union, despite terrorist attacks having occurred on European soil, particularly a bus bombing in Bulgaria, which killed five Israeli civilians and one other driver. Hizbullah was <a href="http://twitchy.com/2015/01/29/geraldo-rivera-reveals-he-is-a-hezbollah-fanboy/">involved in the killing</a> of the largest number of US citizens before 9/11, has openly expressed genocidal ambitions toward world Jewry — killing a huge number of Jewish people in Argentina, and finances its activities with international drug trafficking on a rather grand scale. Ireland’s diplomatic move was seen as unusual, given that Germany, France and Spain, which have substantive UNIFIL forces, supported Hizbullah’s terrorist designation.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Irish UNFIL Death tolls, and the media influence</b></div>
<br />
Dr. Rory Miller has <a href="http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-049-miller.htm">noted</a> that Irish media coverage of the UNIFIL (I) troop presence was notably anti-Israel in tone, which tracked and arguably strengthened the resolve of the Irish authorities to find Israel blameworthy. The tone of coverage by elements within the media is <a href="http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1fa_1265705780&c=1">illustrated</a> by a Travers interview:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“… because so many Irish soldiers had been killed by Israelis, (some too by Palestinians and/or their Lebanese cohorts), with a significant number who were taken out deliberately and shot (in South Lebanon), slowly but surely, the body-bag phenomenon came into effect, and suddenly Ireland is now perceived as almost entirely pro-Palestinian.”</blockquote>
The views expressed in that statement may be sincerely held, but it tells more of the impressions presented by the Irish mainstream media than of actual fact. 45 to 47 Irish UNIFIL soldiers died between 1978 and 2000. Narratives on the conflict do not note that most soldiers actually died from accidents. The impression given by the media is often otherwise, due to a peculiar focus on Israel’s supposed misdeeds. That most should die from accidents is perhaps unsurprising, in view of the fact that the Ireland had between 45,000 and 50,000 UNIFIL members serving in Lebanon, at varying times, over a 22 year period, serving in rugged terrain, sometimes with aged transit vehicles. Most notably, <a href="http://irishecho.com/2011/02/4-irish-soldiers-killed-in-beirut-van-crash-2/">four soldier would accidentally die</a> on February 14<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> 2000. Another Irish soldier <a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/lebanon-irish-army-1982-tibnin-709898-Dec2012/">murdered three of his colleagues</a> in 1982.<br />
<br />
Statistics are difficult to obtain but, Robert Fisk’s article (reproduced in Defence Forces Review, 2008) ‘<a href="http://www.military.ie/fileadmin/user_upload/images/Info_Centre/documents/Annual_Reviews/Defence_Forces_Review_2008.pdf">At-Tiri, or Bosnia Avoided: The Irish in UNIFIL 1978 — 95</a>’, notes that:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“an examination of the non-accidental casualties in Irelands thirty five Infantry battalions over the seventeen years of their service in UNIFIL suggest that the Irish have suffered in equal proportions from all parties to the conflict in southern Lebanon. Although the UN does not provide such statistics — nor I think does the Irish army — my own figures show clearly that of the fourteen Irish soldiers killed in action or murdered in cold blood, seven were killed north of the SLA-UNIFIL ridge-line and seven to the south. Six Irish soldiers were killed by Haddad’s militiamen, one by the Israelis — this was Corporal Dermot McLoughlin, killed by Israeli Merkava tank round on 10 January 1987 — five by the Hizballah and two by Palestinians. Of the five who died at the hands of the Hizballah, four were killed by landmines, the fifth Corporal Peter Ward, by a Hizballah militiaman at Al-Jurn on 29 September 1992. These details would suggest that Ireland suffered half its combat/murder casualties at the hand of Israel and its allies and half at the hands of Israel’s Palestinian and Hizballah enemies — grim but persuasive proof, I think, that the Irish battalions did not take sides in the south Lebanon war.”</blockquote>
Fisk attributes 14 of the 38 soldiers killed up to that point, as having died in combat. He appears to over-count fatalities attributed to the SLA by two — in 1999 there was one other fatality <a href="http://irishecho.com/2011/02/irish-un-soldier-killed-in-lebanon-2/">attributed</a> by the SLA, Private. William Kedian, making five killed by the SLA in total. Fisk, a journalist noted for his staunch <a href="http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=26988">anti-Israel viewpoints</a>, would never do Israel any favours with regard to statistics, so he cannot be said to be minimising fatalities attributed to Israel.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="CY">It is rather
dubious to argue that the Irish UNIFIL contingent was balanced because the
death tolls are roughly equal. Fisk may have adapted a common defense of media
organisations, which argue that their news content must essentially be neutral
because there are complaints about their coverage from both sides of a given
issue. The argument is fallacious, because it ignores the potential validity of
complaints. They can be legitimate or illegitimate, with the less moral of pressure groups
expecting the media to unduly adopt their narratives. Likewise, UNIFIL’s
reputed bias for the PLO/Hizbullah etc., could be enforced with threatening
behaviour and killings. Fear is the essential tool of successful terrorist
organisations. Hizbullah have a history of intimidating UNIFIL, if they deem
them to insufficiently malleable, or for wider political considerations, even
though UNIFIL has conducted itself favourably toward the group. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
The broad media’s position is revisited with Robert Fisk’s stance in a retrospective article (UK Independent, March 17<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> 2001), in which he describes the killers of some Irish troops as “Israel’s murderous little proxy force, the ‘South Lebanon Army’”, while other killers are artfully labelled as “Dissident Palestinians”. Despite the passage of time, the tendency in media coverage, to blame Israel over that of other groups, would continue into the UNIFIL II phase. The 1980 murder of two Irish UNIFIL soldiers in Lebanon, by Mahmoud Bazzi, was given extensive treatment by RTE’s investigative show ‘Prime Time’ (RTE1, <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/1201/20890627-the-story-of-a-three-decade-long-fight-for-justice-on-behalf-of-two-irish-soldiers-murdered-in-lebanon-35-years-ago/">December 1<span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span> 2015</a>). The report did not note the identity of the group, nor even its well-known name, despite the feature’s length. It merely noted that the organisation was an “Israeli-backed militia”.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Crude propaganda</b></div>
<br />
RTE’s documentary, ‘<a href="http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/peacekeepers-the-irish-in-south-lebanon-30004132/10597273/">Peacekeepers: The Irish in South Lebanon</a>’ (produced and directed by John Higgins, and Shane Brennan), was notable for providing such an anti-Israel slant that it would be difficult to distinguish its content from that of the more virulent forms of conflict propaganda. Despite the benefit of hindsight, the documentary forwarded many of the falsities presented by the Irish media through the years, which unduly focus on Israel-related wrongdoing to the near-exclusion of all else.<br />
<br />
The programme failed to mention any violent attacks on Ireland’s UNIFIL troops by the PLO, with Dr. Ray Murphy stating that the South Lebanon Army caused virtually all of the conflict issues with Irish UNIFIL troops. The documentary misrepresented the identity of the first UNIFIL casualty, by distorting the timeline. With undue rapidity, it presented UNIFIL forces as battling the SLA near At Tiri, and so effectively presented Stephen Griffin as Irish UNIFIL’s first fatality, having some Israeli-related cause. However, the first UNIFIL fatality was Gerard Moone, <a href="http://www.irishmedals.org/irish-medals.html">who died in a “traffic Accident”</a>. After Moone’s death, Thomas Reynolds would die of another traffic accident that same year, and Private Philip Grogan drowned the following year. The documentary focused on Israeli/SLA actions but failed to mention that more than two-thirds of all the Irish UNIFIL deaths occurred due to non-combat issues, primarily accidents.<br />
<br />
The programme discussed in significant detail the killings by the SLA’s Mahmoud Bazzi, and the death of another soldier in 1999 during an SLA attack. It is likely that roughly equal numbers were killed by both sides. Yet, on the opposing side, the documentary would only mention the killing of a single soldier by Amal, even though Amal is associated with an intentional IED hit, which <a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/why-did-they-die-158180.html">killed three troops</a> in 1989, claimed to be a cover-up: an <a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/lebanon-bomb-that-killed-irish-soldiers-could-have-been-detected-%E2%80%93-report-230559-Sep2011/">independent governmental report</a> stated that “deficient assessment” was the cause. There was no mention of the killing of two soldiers by the PLO in 1981, one of which was ‘disappeared’, and could not be found after years of investigation by the Irish Defence Forces.<br />
<br />
When recounting events relating to the initiation of war, the documentary repeatedly obsecured which side aggressed against the other. For example, the narrator stated that both the PLO and Israel were engaged in a series of “brutal attacks” during the late 1970s, noting an attack that killed 34 Israelis, which it compared with the death toll from the Israeli invasion of 1978, which conflated civilian and terrorist death tolls, to infer that the invasion was disproportionate. Similarly, the narrator failed to note that Hizbullah aggressed against Northern Israel, with successive missile attacks in 1995/96 on civilian populaces, leading to a substantive military response in 1996, dubbed ‘Operation Grapes of Wrath’ — merely referring to a series of “lethal attacks” after the breach of a three-year cease-fire. The documentary failed to note that Israel apologised for a strike on a building housing civilians, which Tom Clonan described as a “deliberate” attack, an act that he described as a “massacre”, despite <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Was-Naftali-Bennett-responsible-for-a-massacre-of-Lebanese-civilians-386787">recent admissions</a> that there were IDF failures on the ground.<br />
<br />
The documentary stated that Israel did not withdraw in 1978. Ray Murphy, Robert Fisk, and others, asserted that Israel did not go along with the UNIFIL mandate. <a href="http://honestreporting.com/tag/lara-marlowe/">Lara Marlow</a>, a noted anti-Israel journalist, sarcastically asserted that it took Israel 22 years to withdraw. Murphy made a similar claim. However, Israel did withdraw in late 1978, handing over control of the territory it took to the SLA. If Israel had remained in South Lebanon then it could hardly have reinvaded again in 1982.<br />
<br />
The narrator also stated that Lebanese groups, Hizbullah and Amal, were established to “resist” the Israeli occupation from 1982. However, Hizbullah is a proxy of Iran, created by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, to bring conflict to Israel, and has engaged in anti-Jewish terrorism across the world. Amal was founded in 1974, some eight years before the longer term Israeli occupation. The programme also failed to note the continued assaults by the PLO on Israel, which forced the 1982 Israeli invasion.<br />
<br />
The programme failed to note the widespread belief that Irish troops favoured the PLO, and would in fact affirm the opposite — that the Irish were an “honest broker”. Ray Murphy stated that the Irish UNIFIL troops felt a natural sympathy for the poor Shia locals, but there was no mention of the fact that Lebanese Sunni and especially Christian groupings have been marginalised by conflict.<br />
<br />
Tom Clonan, argued that if it were not for the UNIFIL Irish troops, killing would be on a scale similar to Syria. This was a
peculiar observation for the ‘security analyst’ with the Irish Times to make,
because Lebanon is a much small nation, with a populace five times smaller in
2011 (4.4 million) than pre-war Syria (22 million), or eight and a half times
smaller than 2011 pre-war Syria, at <a href="https://www.google.ie/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=sp_pop_totl&idim=country:LBN:JOR:ISR&hl=en&dl=en">2.75 million</a> before civil war commenced in
1975. If the populace of the two nations (before conflict commenced) is taken into consideration, the tolls (150,000-250,000 over 15 years, and <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/31/wave-of-russian-air-strikes-on-syrian-hospitals-leaves-60-dead/">400,000 over five years</a> - March 2016 UN estimate) would suggest that the Lebanese Civil War had at least as great a proportional impact upon its people. Yet the Lebanese Civil War would rarely be mentioned in the documentary, despite its importance to the conflict. Clonan, asserted that “the Irish people can be genuinely proud of the troops”, but the documentary’s praise (brave professional individual soldiers notwithstanding) should be tempered by the entirely factual observation that UNIFIL has miserably failed twice in its purported objectives.<br />
<br />
The documentary latterly referred to the killing of a Spanish UNIFIL soldier, in a January 2015 Israeli missile strike. The documentary featured footage and narration from an ITN report on the event, detailing the substantive measures employed by Israel, presumably to present it as a disproportionate attack. However, the documentary did not mention the attack was in response to the <a href="http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/59311-150129-israel-hezbollah-isn-t-interested-in-escalation">killing of two Israelis</a> (in the Shabba Farms region), nor the fact that the IDF had come under <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/185925#.VDP7dGddXIc">repeated attack</a> from across the Lebanese border. The documentary spoke of UNIFIL precautions in the aftermath of the attack but did not discuss the quite recent intimidatory efforts by Hizbullah, which nearly led the EU to pull its troops out of Lebanon.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/lebanon-unifil-deaths-and-ireland-s-diplomatic-machinations/israel/2016/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i><br />
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.8px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-49074470521449550902016-07-06T13:16:00.000+01:002016-07-06T15:14:32.092+01:00A Comprehensive Response to Anti-Israel Tourist Activism Talking Points - Part I: Geography, Fences and Security<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xKamcB1fF5Nf8OSYc8NnTURFwIh5-vagNgwFN9vu509ZW7JXkYpXyzoVb65Gs6dqSZsOMG8ibhJNwr6Joj0LI10zKInEFL_NrWqF04J4c6S2BmzzIPFCZeDxGu9XHaJlKt7UOPxc9Y8p/s1600/fencediagram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xKamcB1fF5Nf8OSYc8NnTURFwIh5-vagNgwFN9vu509ZW7JXkYpXyzoVb65Gs6dqSZsOMG8ibhJNwr6Joj0LI10zKInEFL_NrWqF04J4c6S2BmzzIPFCZeDxGu9XHaJlKt7UOPxc9Y8p/s320/fencediagram.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">A breakdown of elements of the fence areas of Israel's security barrier. Source<a href="http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/terrorism/palestinian/pages/saving%20lives-%20israel-s%20anti-terrorist%20fence%20-%20answ.aspx"> MFA</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Betty Purcell, a member of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, is best known for her former role as a current affairs producer at RTE, Ireland’s public service broadcaster. Purcell is a television producer of longstanding, who wrote a book called <a href="http://newisland.ie/product/inside-rte-a-memoir/">Inside RTÉ: A Memoir</a> about her thirty-three year career at the Broadcasting institution, which indicated the extent to which she influenced RTE’s political culture.<br />
<br />
Purcell trenchantly advocated against the Jewish State in the mainstream media, in the aftermath of a supposed fact-finding tour of Judea and Samaria/West Bank, organised by the Bethlehem branch of the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association). Purcell’s staunch anti-Zionist claims, as expressed in an Irish Examiner article, letters, and during an RTE interview, echo most of the normative propagandistic talking points found when anti-Israel tourism activists share their insights with the international media. This article uses Purcell’s commentary as a starting point to closely critique these broad talking points.<br />
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Of land and settlements</b></div>
<br />
On November 2nd, 2015, the Irish Examiner published an opinion piece by Betty Purcell, entitled ‘<a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/a-boycott-of-israel-can-help-end-the-injustice-362512.html">A boycott of Israel can help end the injustice</a>’.<br />
<br />
Purcell’s screed begins with a description of the appearance of a field of olive trees, near Bethlehem:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“It should be an idyllic scene. But we are with the farmer who owns the field, and his story is tragic.”</blockquote>
Purcell does not name the farmer and his family, upon which several of her claims are based. The absence of an identifying source for Purcell’s claims soon becomes significant. Of the farmer, it is said:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Coming down the hill towards him is a massive Israeli settlement (illegal under international law, and condemned by the International Court of Justice in 2004).</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It has already led to the confiscation of half of his land.”</blockquote>
Numerous invalid claims have been made in the media about the <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=35&x_article=3232">confiscation of land</a> and property that was supposedly owned by Arab-Palestinians. Purcell does not even deem it necessary to name the area where the farmer lives, but it appears to be near the security barrier, in the environs of Bethlehem. It is difficult to deduce the “massive” Jewish settlement that Purcell references. It might be Efrat, or the neighbourhood of Gilo (less probably), which Purcell may deem a settlement but it is <a href="http://honestreporting.com/gilo-in-perspective-2/">merely a suburb</a> of East Jerusalem. Purcell describes this settlement as almost a living thing, coming after the unfortunate farmer, but these urban centres typically develop inward rather than outward, and do so at a relatively slow pace due to the controversy that such developments garner internationally.<br />
<br />
Arab-Palestinian farmers make use of ‘miri’ land. Most of the contested region is made up of two classes of land: miri and ‘mewat’, the latter of which cannot be cultivated because it is barren or rocky. This legal classification was instituted under the Ottoman Empire, and remained in use throughout the British Mandate and Jordanian periods of rule, up to the present. Miri land is non-urban <a href="http://www.journalonline.co.uk/Magazine/54-8/1007008.aspx">land capable of cultivation</a> for which private individuals can gain rights of use as long as it is farmed. Such rights expire once the relevant piece of land is no longer being cultivated, without good cause, for three or more years. Many anti-Israel activists and NGOs describe such land as private Arab-Palestinian land, if they have or once held such cultivation rights. These organisations describe Judea and Samaria as occupied, a claim that can be contested. Yet even if Israel is an occupier, it must nonetheless abide by the legal framework of the prior sovereign. Regardless, the Israeli State is entitled to take back abandoned miri land, for tendering to other farmers.<br />
<br />
Settlements are not illegal under international law. The region has no prior legitimate sovereign since 135 AD. The League of Nations British Mandate was set up to reconstitute a <a href="http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/palmanda.asp#art2">predominantly Jewish nation</a> and Article Six of the Mandatory text enshrined in law the right for close Jewish habitation in this zone, with and without the British authority’s assistance. The United Nations charter enshrined the capacity of prior international frameworks in Article 80, which affirms that the UN cannot alter prior legal arrangements made by international bodies, unless the parties involved agree to alter their status.<br />
<br />
Israel’s opponents assert that the presence of such Jewish neighbourhoods is contrary to international law, with respect to Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. This assertion is dubious because it relates to the mass transfer of peoples into and/or out of a sovereign nation during a time of war. Said Jewish people moved into a region that has not been held by a legitimate sovereign in millennia, and did so over five decades, in a voluntary gradual manner. They did so for religious and cultural reasons, given the zone constitutes the heartland of ancient Israel, from which their ancestors were ethnically cleansed, in both ancient and quite recent times. This activity has not displaced extant local populaces.<br />
<br />
The 2004 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was merely an “advisory” opinion. The ICJ revealed a substantive bias, by claiming that the security barrier was a political move, rather than an act of necessary security. The assertion is an absurdity, given the death of 900 Israeli citizens, and the wounding of at least 6,000 others, in a matter of a few years. At a fundamental level, however, the ICJ ruling is <a href="http://www.mythsandfacts.org/conflict/mandate_for_palestine/mandate_for_palestine.htm">factually invalid</a>, because it <a href="http://zionism-israel.com/hdoc/ICJ_fence_2.htm">conflates</a> (Point 70) the ‘Class A’ League of Nations status of the Syrian and Iraqi Mandates, with that of the Palestine Mandate, which has no designated status. ‘Class A’ status designated the readiness for a given region to achieve national independence, with the short-term development of parliamentary democracy. By contrast, the authority of the Palestine Mandate is solely vested in the Mandatory power, and a national agency, with the sole purpose of reconstructing “the Jewish National Home”. In effect, the ICJ sought to dispossess the British Mandate – an instrument of international law – of its original intent: to reconstruct a nation, minimally from the Western-side of the Jordan River, including Judea and Samaria/West Bank. <a href="http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/palmanda.asp">Article 25 states</a> only the Eastern-side of the river can be designated for alternate purposes, leading to Jordan’s creation.<br />
<br />
The judgement also attempted to <a href="http://www.zionism-israel.com/hdoc/ICJ_fence.htm">re-write</a> prior international agreements. The Armistice Line reflects the location of two armies in 1949, after Jordan’s invasion. Article VI of the Armistice deal affirms the Line must not be a <a href="http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/arm03.asp">basis for permanent boundaries</a>. Of the fifteen-member panel, there was <a href="http://www.mefacts.com/cache/html/fence/10589.htm">dissenting opinion</a> by Rosalyn Higgins, Pieter H. Kooijmans, and Justice Thomas Buergenthal. Buergenthal <a href="http://www.zionism-israel.com/hdoc/ICJ%20-%20Buergenthal.htm">criticised the contention</a> Israel does not have a right of self defense under the United Nations Charter. He asserted that the ICJ rebutted Israel’s claims of security requirements without validation, failed to examine some issues in-depth, and largely ignored the summaries of Israel’s position provided by the United Nations, which suggests that the ICJ was intentionally selective in the material relied upon for its ruling. Notably, the ICJ <a href="http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0704/dershowitz_hague_ruling.php3">excludes Israel from permanent membership</a>.<br />
<br />
Later in the same article, Purcell demonises the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria/West Bank:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We went to Hebron, a Palestinian town of 45,000 people, which has become a ghost town since the “settling” of 500 Israelis there.”</blockquote>
The “ghost town” claim is difficult to reconcile with reality. In 1967, shortly after taking Hebron in a defensive war against Jordan, a small number of Jewish people took up residence against the wishes of Israel’s military. The community remained relatively small, and merely takes up a <a href="http://cifwatch.com/2013/04/07/the-guardians-lazy-pejorative-characterization-of-jews-in-hebron/">small portion of the city</a> itself, which has a population that is three and a half times larger than Purcell indicates, presumably to reinforce her “ghost town” narrative. In 1997, as part of the Oslo process, Israel signed a <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2013/09/when_wright_is_wrong.html">withdrawal deal </a>with Yasser Arafat. Thus, 80% of the city is under Palestinian Authority control. H1 is a largest section of the town which has a solely Arab-Palestinian populace of over 120,000, while H2 has a smaller Arab-Palestinian populace as well as the Jewish populace. Purcell likely refers to H2 which disingenuously ignores H1. She adds:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Under the guise of “security considerations”, many streets have been emptied of Palestinian families, and in the Old Town, the Palestinian shopkeepers have had their market stalls closed.”</blockquote>
Purcell repeatedly uses scare quotes to dismiss the concerns of the Israeli authorities, with respect to security, terrorism and other forms of violence. Hebron has been a flashpoint for violence for a protracted period of time.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Meanwhile, the settlements, which Israel has been repeatedly asked to dismantle by the UN, are growing apace. On every piece of high land, initially a few mobile homes appear. This is a settlement outpost.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Then the army moves in to support house-building.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Next nearby houses and farms are cleared for “security reasons”. And then the settlement grows, and is linked by special road to the settlement on the next hill.”</blockquote>
Purcell describes a scenario that is wholly incommensurate with the facts. The Israeli State has repeatedly <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/security-forces-evacuate-west-bank-outpost-where-settlers-soldiers-clashed-on-friday/">dismantled</a> settlement <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4114554,00.html">outposts</a>, since the government deems their habitation illegal, and destroys the structures they contain. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) often clashes with Jewish settlers when <a href="http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Efrat-symposium-tackles-tensions-between-IDF-and-settlers">dismantling their outposts</a>. The IDF suppresses price-tag incidents and defends anti-Israel activists who attempt to confront settlers, with some organisations, such as Tayush attempting to <a href="http://www.trcb.com/news/israel/general/israeli-police-courts-lenient-with-left-wing-activist-17635.htm">disrupt economic life</a>. There was particular controversy several years ago when the Israeli authorities destroyed outposts and buildings all over Judea and Samaria/West Bank, where Jewish occupants have individually and repeatedly <a href="http://anneinpt.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/givat-haulpana-migron-redux/">bought the land</a> that they are claiming.<br />
<br />
As noted by the representative of the Israeli Embassy, processes have not been instigated by Israel, to begin the process of recognising new Jewish settlements, since the 1990s era of the Oslo II peace talks. Three settlements were given formal recognition in 2012, to finalise legal processes dating back to the 1980s and 1990s. Formal recognition were held up by the Jewish State but was reversed as a punitive measure, after the <a href="http://www.newenglishreview.org/Robert_Harris/Jewish_Settlements_Do_Not_Impede_Peace/">Palestinian Authority walked away</a> from initiatory peace talks in Amman.<br />
<br />
It can be argued that Israel’s longstanding refusal to recognise all outposts is an unacceptable, and illegal attack on the rights of Jewish residents to live in an elemental part of the mandated territory for the ‘Jewish National Home’, but it does at least demonstrate Israel’s good faith when attempting to come to a land-for-peace solution with the Arab-Palestinian community.<br />
<br />
Purcell suggests that the Jewish residential areas of Judea and Samaria/West Bank are growing at an alarming rate but notable anti-Israel sources affirm that actual settlements take up relatively little space, circa <a href="http://www.jewishjournal.com/david_suissa/article/opinion_beinarts_1_crisis_20120523">1% of the region</a>. Senior Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat <a href="http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/11/17/settlements-obstacle-to-peace/">also stated</a> that settlements constitute 1.1% of the region.<br />
<br />
Purcell goes on to cite settler violence. She claims that the presence of settlers makes peace impossible:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“There are now 700,000 Israeli settlers in the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
They become “facts on the ground”, making a two-state solution a practical impossibility."</blockquote>
It is nonsense to suggest the presence of Jewish neighbourhoods and towns in Judea and Samaria/West Bank, represent an impediment to a two-state solution. It is an established fact that the PLO walked out of talks in Camp David, Taba, etc., despite substantive concessions on territory, so this is not the substantive fact holding back a solution. Almost all major Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria/West Bank, are close to the Armistice/Green Line, and it has long been accepted by both parties, within the process, that there would be some degree of land-swapping. Settlement development has not greatly increased since the 1990s so it is entirely feasible to see most remain in a two-state solution that gives a prospective second Arab-Palestinian state much of Judea and Samaria/West Bank, in a sustainable arrangement that will be contiguous even with <a href="http://jcpa.org/article/protecting-the-contiguity-of-israel-the-e-1-area-and-the-link-between-jerusalem-and-maale-adumim/">development of the E1 area</a>.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The “Separation Wall”</b></div>
<br />
Purcell took aim at the security barrier, which she artfully called the “Separation Wall”:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“His freedom of movement is curtailed by roadblocks and the Israeli-built Separation Wall, which snakes across the land, and divides him from his neighbours and friends. Then he smiles the warmest smile.”</blockquote>
When naming the security barrier the “Separation Wall”, Purcell demonstrates a clear propagandistic intent. The term evokes the notion of apartheid and negates the historic circumstance in which the development occurred, namely the Second Intifada, in which the civilian Israeli populace was subjected to approximately four years of terrorism, that largely originated in Judea and Samaria/West Bank. It led to the <a href="http://jcpa.org/article/the-strategic-logic-of-israels-security-barrier/">death of nearly a thousand Israelis</a>, the majority of which were Jewish civilians, along with many thousands of non-fatal casualties.<br />
<br />
Purcell’s article introduced a rather extraordinary claim:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The Wall is built in the West Bank, and when it is completed will annex a further 47% of West Bank territory.”</blockquote>
This claim was <a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/yourview/palestinians-havent-fixed-water-problems-363320.html">challenged by a representative</a> of Dublin’s Israeli Embassy:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Ms Purcell states that the separation wall, when it is completed, will gobble up 47% of Palestinian territory. This is a lie; the wall is expected to take up about nine per cent of the territory. Ms Purcell does not explain why it was built in the first place: to keep potential terrorists out of Israel.”</blockquote>
However, Purcell stood by the charge in a <a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/yourview/i-believed-israel-to-be-built-on-justice-and-now-i-believe-the-opposite-364401.html">letter of response</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“…there are varying estimates as to the amount of West Bank land the Separation Wall will seize. The YMCA for instance predicts the incursion will be 47%.”</blockquote>
If there are varying estimates, then why did Purcell choose to go with the most extreme estimate in her article? Purcell’s 47% claim is so absurd that the reader might be forgiven for thinking that she has never seen <a href="http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/israel_map2.htm">a map of Judea and Samaria</a>/West Bank! If effectively half of Judea and Samaria/West Bank is to be taken in by the security barrier (or perhaps more since she describes it as a “a further 47%”), then it would have to absorb all or most of the large population centres close to the 1949-67 Armistice (Green) Line: Ramallah, Bethlehem in its entirety, and very likely Hebron and Nablus. Yet from Purcell’s own account, we only hear of the security barrier impacting a region that she describes as being “near Bethlehem”. To the West, the greater Bethlehem area effectively meets East Jerusalem’s neighbourhoods, for example Bethlehem’s Beit Jalla Christian enclave neighbour’s Jerusalem’s Gilo. The security barrier places an obstacle between the two, and with good reason. Beit Jalla was widely used to launch attacks on Gilo - some Jewish residents were also shot in their very homes by sniper fire. It is for this reason parts of the barrier feature a high wall structure, while over 90% uses fencing.<br />
<br />
Other egregiously false claims have been made by anti-Israel groups about the security barrier. For example, many anti-Israel activists have claimed that the security barrier completely <a href="http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2013/4/9/cbs-news-needs-to-come-clean-about-60-minutes-palestinian-christians-segment">encircles Bethlehem</a>, thereby turning the town into a prison. However, the barrier merely passes by the Western-most side of the town. The Security Barrier is a widely used anti-Israel <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4117/st-james-church-bethlehem-unwrapped">propaganda motif</a>, one that is commonly directed at the West’s Christian audiences. This is also a feature of Purcell’s article.<br />
<br />
Despite Purcell insisting that the 47% claim is correct, she still finds the 9% assertion a “revelation”:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Mr O’Flynn’s contention that it will take up 9% of the territory is an interesting revelation.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If the Irish Republic were to move our border posts 9% into the territory of Northern Ireland, we would, at a minimum, gobble up Newry and Derry! This is hardly a way to build neighbourly relations.”</blockquote>
Aside from Purcell’s fanciful assumption that a security barrier taking in 9% of Northern Ireland would necessarily swallow up those two geographically diverse population centres, she presented the security barrier as an ongoing attempt to “annex” a goodly portion of Judea and Samaria/West Bank. Following the dictates of propaganda, anti-Israel activists normatively use the word “wall”, when it is widely known that more than 9/10 of the barrier is fencing. The word is used to evoke a notion of permanence.<br />
<br />
Israel’s Ministry of Defense <a href="http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/pages/eng/purpose.htm">has affirmed</a> that “The sole purpose of the Security Fence, as stated in the Israeli Government decision of July 23rd 2001, is to provide security.” It has been reported that Ariel Sharon had latterly envisaged taking approximately a tenth of the region, to encompass larger Jewish settlements, while withdrawing entirely from the rest of the zone, to allow the formation of an Arab-Palestinian State. However, this plan never evolved. His successor, Ehud Olmert, offered the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, almost all of the PA’s <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/ehud-olmert-still-dreams-of-peace/story-e6frg76f-1225804745744">territorial demands</a>, with mutually agreed land-swaps. Far from keeping to the line demarked by the security barrier, <a href="http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/12/more-details-of-olmert-offer-disclosed">Olmert’s plan</a> designated 6.3% of the territory, which would be exchanged for 5.8% of Israeli territory behind the Green Line. Abbas walked away, although he would later <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-arab-world-was-wrong-to-reject-1947-partition-plan-1.392560">make favourable remarks</a> about the plan.<br />
<br />
Moreover, the two-state solutions, being so envisaged as ‘two states for two peoples’, planned that Israel would still possess a portion of Judea and Samaria/West Bank. This is in keeping with UN Security Council Resolution 242, which, as <a href="http://maurice-ostroff.tripod.com/id45.html">noted by one of its authors</a>, Eugene W. Rostow, was not designed to force Israel back “to the “fragile” and “vulnerable” Armistice Demarcation Lines, but should retire once peace was made to what Resolution 242 called “secure and recognized” boundaries, agreed to by the parties”. It was never a pre-requisite of the substantive peace-processes, involving both parties, that every inch of Judea and Samaria/West Bank would be ceded to a second prospective Arab-Palestinian state. Professor Gerald Adler <a href="http://www.journalonline.co.uk/Magazine/54-10/1007008.aspx#.UrTp4NJdXp8">has noted</a> that to have built the security barrier on the 1949-67 Armistice (Green) Line would have unduly pre-empted Final Status negotiations on a substantive number of issues, as envisaged in the Oslo Accords. Placing the barrier at the old Armistice Line would also negate Israel’s right to a secure border, as per Resolution 242, because much of the Armistice Line follows vulnerable low-lying areas. Policing a barrier on the old Line would thus pose a very substantive long-term risk, and so undermine its very reason d’etre.<br />
<br />
After being criticised by the Israeli Embassy for failing to advise that the security barrier was built to stop terrorist attacks, Purcell stuck to her guns, and refused to acknowledge there are any security risks to Israel. It is however a fact that Israel suffered a dramatic escalation in terrorism during the Second Intifada, for which the barrier <a href="http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/news.htm#news19">played a substantive role</a> in bringing to an end, especially with respect to suicide bombing. Israel’s enemies agree. Islamic Jihad’s leader, Ramadan Abdallah Salah, admitted in March 2008 that Israel “built a separation fence in the West Bank. We do not deny that it limits the ability of the resistance [terrorist groups] to arrive deep within [Israeli territory] to carry out suicide bombing attacks, but the resistance has not surrendered…” Similarly, in June 2007, Ikhwan Online reported a statement by Hamas’ Mousa Abu Marzouq: “[carrying out] such attacks is made difficult by the security fence and the gates surrounding West Bank residents”.<br />
<br />
The route of the security barrier was originally intended to cover 12% of Judea and Samaria/West Bank, but <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=3&x_outlet=220&x_article=3089">has been re-routed</a> by the Israeli military in reaction to rulings by the Israeli Supreme Court, in 2004 and 2005. The Court was petitioned by NGOs representing Arab-Palestinian issues. Whilst rejecting the ICJ position that the barrier was illegal, the Supreme Court nonetheless affirmed that security measures must be proportionate to the welfare of the local populace so affected. Consequently, the barrier now covers approximately eight percent of the disputed region.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Could the security barrier be good for progress?</b></div>
<br />
Arab-Palestinian society prospered during the Oslo-era process, but improvements came abruptly to an end with the Second Intifada. It is a fact that the security barrier played a fundamental role in bringing about the end of a phase of unprecedented violence originating from Judea and Samaria/West Bank.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, in conflict situations, choices need to be made between greater or lesser evils. Such moral complexity is afforded no space in the simplified propagandistic narratives of the anti-Israel movement.<br />
<br />
Whilst the barrier would inconvenience local residents to a varying degree, it also affords these people a far greater degree of safety, particularly in residential areas like Bethlehem, from which many Arab-Palestinians initiated attacks. The land taken for the purposes of the separation barrier is <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=32&x_article=727">appropriated for military purposes</a>. Of course these actions are very disruptive, but such land remains the property of owners. The owners are compensated for land usage, and for property damage. In truth, better security also facilitates economic progress, particularly with regard to tourism, an industry <a href="http://www.jerusalem-religions.net/spip.php?article2467">essential to Bethlehem</a>, which can only flourish in times of peace. Moreover, <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1095231.html">Israel reduced its road blocks</a> since the Intifada, and granted a greater number of permits for work within Israel. It can thus be argued that the barrier, after a period of intense strife, has had a largely positive impact for Arab-Palestinians. Those who wish to continue with conditions of strife, and especially a programme of Intifada-esque violence, are the most discommoded.<br />
<br />
Anti-Israel propagandists like to contend that Israel’s security efforts are actually designed to harm Arab-Palestinian interests. The stance may not be convincing unless presenting a highly-distorted form of reality, in which there is no actual conflict, other than with respect to the supposed wrongful acts of the Jewish State. Purcell’s silence on the trenchant terrorism of the Second Intifada leads to a question: Does she want the waves of terror to return, which not only caused substantive suffering to the Jewish populace within Israel’s old 1949-67 Line, but also extended to Arab casualties within the areas of Judea and Samaria/West Bank she visited, because the barrier causes inconvenience in these regions?</div>
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Of roads and apartheid</b></div>
<br />
Purcell attempts to assert that Apartheid motivates Israel’s policy of travel restriction into the State:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Freedom of movement is seriously compromised for Palestinians. None of the family I stayed with were free to travel to Jerusalem, just 10km down the road. (Given that they were Palestinian Christians, they would have really enjoyed seeing the historic sites of old Jerusalem…)”</blockquote>
Sovereign states have a right to control access onto their territory by non-nationals. There is no inherent right of access into the State for tourists and migrants, and none should be expected particularly in the aftermath of the Second Intifada, which was possible because access was so porous. Arab-Palestinian movement into Israel is curtailed, but otherwise is quite free. Rather
ironically, Purcell complains about a supposed annexation of parts of Judea and
Samaria/West Bank with the security barrier, and then complains about limited
access into Israel external to the barrier, as if Judea and Samaria/West Bank is
an inherent part of Israel, where citizenship rights would naturally extend to
Arab-Palestinians. The Jewish State has not annexed the region, and in all likelihood will only take a small portion in a future peace deal. Other anti-Israel activists, <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=55&x_article=3235">such as Peter Beinart</a>, make similarly flawed leaps of argument. Purcell continues:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“A friend of our family worked as a labourer in Jerusalem. He left at 3.30 in the morning to get to the checkpoint, leaving himself three hours waiting time.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Sometimes he got through more quickly, but he had to be sure…”</blockquote>
Checkpoints during times of societal and sectarian strife are typically slow due to security risks. The process is no doubt a considerable inconvenience but this person no doubt makes the effort to work in Israel because wages are substantially higher than within Judea and Samaria/West Bank. During the Second Intifada, Israel stopped issuing work permits due to security risks. This decision was changed in the aftermath of that era, but levels of violence has ebbed and flowed since that time, requiring continued vigilance. Ironically, Purcell objects to the very thing that helps limit the risk of terrorist attacks. Israel would likely be compelled to revoke the permits, if the scale of terror were to rise again.<br />
<br />
In a letter, Purcell raises another old propaganda stroke: “the issue of Apartheid roads, which allow settlers unique and speedy access to all parts of the West Bank and into Israel”, adding in her article:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“…the settlers have their own roads and distinctive yellow number plates, which allow them to zip quickly into Jerusalem in 15 minutes.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Palestinians, with their white number plates are restricted to circuitous, road blocked roads, which can be closed off at any time by the military for 'security reasons'."</blockquote>
Purcell rehashes a <a href="http://jcpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/JPSR-23-3-4-Sabel-1.pdf">long-discredited libel</a> that there are separate roads solely for Jews. Although not using the same demographic identifier, which she substitutes with ‘Israeli’ and ‘Palestinian’, the ‘apartheid roads’ claim only makes sense in this context where a given critic is referring to a discriminatory policy directed at Arab people. The dedicated roads are available for all Israeli citizens, which includes Arabs of any religious persuasion. At 20% of Israel’s populace, Arabs constitute one of the nation’s biggest demographic groupings.<br />
<br />
Purcell refers to roads between nearby Jewish neighbourhoods and Jerusalem. These roads bypass Arab-Palestinian neighbourhoods because very many terrorist attacks originated in these areas, and attacks often targeted Israeli-registered cars to lethal effect during the successive Intifadas.<br />
<br />
Purcell incorrectly declares that these “apartheid roads” allow access to “all parts of the West Bank”. In actual fact much of the road infrastructure in the region forbids access to Israeli-registered cars, due to the danger it would pose to passengers if they ended up in Arab neighbourhoods. Indeed some roadblocks exist to prevent the access of Israeli citizens into the Arab areas of the region. This is a policy based on the preservation of life rather than discrimination. Even today, attacks, quite often perpetuated by Arab-Palestinian children, cause <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-arrests-10-in-stone-throwing-terror-attack/">substantive casualties on a daily basis</a>. Rather than a reflection on Israeli-Jewish intolerance, this is a reaction to Arab-Palestinian sectarianism over successive generations.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The only West Bank Palestinians who have permission to go there [Israel], are people with work permits which allow them access, like South African black people under apartheid, who similarly were allowed permits for work, but not to live in certain parts of the city.”</blockquote>
The claim that Israel echoes Apartheid-era South Africa often relies an argument that Arab-Palestinians live in isolated ‘bantustans’, a type of township to which Black South African people were deported from areas that were designated solely for white habitation. Black people were deemed citizens of these townships. The South African ‘Pass Laws’ required a kind of passport to merely travel outside these zones to their place of work. These ‘passports’ often included <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pass_laws">remarkably invasive information</a>. Purcell’s parallel is a nonsense, in part because there no meaningful <a href="http://haifadiarist.blogspot.co.il/2014/12/39-reasons-why-there-is-no-apartheid-in.html?m=1">comparison between the two Nations</a>. Secondly, Israel has long-accepted the principle of an independent and contiguous <a href="http://www.zionism-israel.com/ezine/bantustans.htm">Arab-Palestinian nation</a> in <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/2002/04/21/dennis-ross-on-fox-news-sunday.html">substantive peace negotiations</a>.<br />
<br />
If there was truth to the apartheid charge, based on ethno-religious lines, there would be segregation in Israel for the 20% of its Arabs. However, the minority mix freely, worship freely, have no proscription on employment, and vote and stand for election. Arabic is one of Israel’s two official languages. The evidence is plentiful: Israeli Arabs <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Israeli-Arab-Supreme-Court-Judge-to-oversee-Israeli-elections-384078">serve on the Supreme Court</a>, <a href="http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23438/Default.aspx">command ranks in the army</a> and have political grouping in the State legislature. An Israeli-Arab man is the <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/04/13/amid-violence-israel-promotes-arab-police-officer.html">Nation’s deputy police commissioner</a>. Attempts to blacken Israel ultimately make light of the <a href="http://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/2013/05/pro-palestinian-ads-misrepresent-apartheid">suffering visited upon the indigenous people</a> of South Africa<br />
<br />
Jewish and Arab populaces in Judea and Samaria/West Bank operate under different legal frameworks. This fact is also <a href="http://jcpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/JPSR-23-3-4-Sabel-1.pdf">cited in attempts</a> to justify the apartheid charge. It is invalid however. Efforts to impose internal Israeli law throughout the region would be vigorously opposed by the International Community, in part because it is normative to utilise preceding legal frameworks where there is some form of military occupation. Moreover, the PA rules 97% of the Arab-Palestinian populace, for which it writes and administers law.<br />
<br />
It is absurd to denounce Israel for supposedly attempting to annex Judea and Samaria/West Bank, but to then demand the State treat Arab-Palestinians from the region as Israeli nationals. The Arab-Palestinians of the region are not nationals of Israel, and a majority would resist efforts at naturalisation if they were given the option, as previously seen in East Jerusalem, which was annexed in 1980.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Published at the <a href="http://www.newenglishreview.org/Robert_Harris/A_Comprehensive_Response_to_Anti-Israel_Tourist_Activism_Talking_Points%2c_Part_I/">New English Review</a>. </i><i>Part Two will be posted at the beginning of next month.</i><br />
<br /></div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-34796242728600629342016-06-14T15:45:00.001+01:002016-06-16T16:35:02.285+01:00Analysing Trends in Mainstream Media Bias: RTE’s October Coverage of the 2015 Quasi-Intifada – Part One<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Introduction</b></div>
<br />
Section <a href="http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2009/en/act/pub/0018/sec0039.html">39/1</a>, of Ireland’s 2009 Broadcasting Act, obliges broadcasters to ensure that news reports are “presented in an objective and impartial manner and without any expression of the broadcaster’s own views.” However, RTE (Ireland’s public service broadcaster) was criticised repeatedly by an Irish pro-Israel advocacy group <a href="https://www.facebook.com/irish4israel/posts/953482024724825">in its online postings</a>, for the quality of its reportage of the onset of intensive violence during the Autumn period, which commentators often described as a prospective ‘Third Intifada’ due to the sharp rise in Arab-Palestinian attacks (stabbings, shootings and car-rammings) against Israeli civilians and security personnel. The period was also noted for an increase in protracted clashes or riotous Arab-Palestinian protests, which typically confronted Israeli forces.<br />
<br />
While advocacy groups might be expected to be critical of news coverage that is not compatible with their views of a given issue that they represent, RTE’s news reporting on contentious issues has long been criticised by a variety of independent sources, as inaccurate, misleading, and selective in terms of the stories the Broadcaster chooses to feature. Some commentators have noted an anti-US, anti-Israel, anti-conservative slant <a href="http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/islamism-and-not-israel-is-irelands-deadly-enemy-26415134.html">in RTE’s coverage</a>, which supports liberal-left stances and political parties, although hard-left political activists have argued that RTE is conservative. A senior member of the Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign also criticised RTE’s coverage as being racially prejudiced against Arab-Palestinians. That complaint is addressed in <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2016/06/analysing-trends-in-mainstream-media-part-2.html">Part Two</a>, in the section “Pro-Israel bias?”<br />
<br />
This article discusses a quite large, albeit select, number of problematic examples of RTE’s television news coverage during October 2015, when coverage of the conflict was most prevalent, to attempt to represent the overall tone of coverage. Some brief examples of coverage from the middle of September to the end of November are also included. July-August 2015 coverage is also referenced to note trends in news reporting. With respect to journalistic practice, broad ethical problems concerning the conflict are also addressed. A <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2016/06/analysing-trends-in-mainstream-media-part-2.html">concluding part of this series</a> focuses in detail on two specific RTE reports, which are not discussed in Part One. RTE Player links of the principle daily television news programmes (Lunchtime News, 6.1 (6 O’clock) News, and 9 O’clock News) are only made available by the broadcaster for a limited period of time.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Background on the quasi-Intifada</b></div>
<br />
While the region continued to experience significant levels of Arab-Palestinian violence, the onset of the Autumn 2015 period of intensified conflict is usually dated to the 13<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of September, when Israeli security forces intervened at the al-Aqsa Mosque, to prevent an attack upon nearby Jewish worshippers closely adjacent to the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound, at the Western/Wailing Wall. Tensions grew during 2014/15 after certain Jewish activists sought changes to improve Jewish access, but Israel’s government refused to change the status quo, due to the fear that it would cause an Intifada.<br />
<br />
The planned Arab-Palestinian attack at the Temple Mount coincided with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and was also a likely reaction to a policy move by former Defense Minister of Israel, Moshe Ya’alon, because <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2015/09/10/islamic-groups-harassing-jews-on-temple-mount-outlawed-by-israel/">he outlawed</a> the Mourabitoun and Mourabitat Muslim groups, which were instituted to persistently harass Jewish people visiting the Temple Mount, as well as the Wailing Wall. Israel’s intervention was seen as validating Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ repeated claims that the Mosque was under threat. Alexander Levlovich, was perhaps the first fatality, killed in a stoning attack the following day by an Arab-Palestinian gang, when driving through East Jerusalem.<br />
<br />
The quasi-Intifada resulted in approximately fourteen-hundred recorded attacks of Arab-Palestinian origin between the months of <a href="http://www.shabak.gov.il/English/EnTerrorData/Reports/Pages/default.aspx">September and December 2015</a>. Attacks decreased in January 2016, with <a href="http://www.shabak.gov.il/English/EnTerrorData/Reports/Pages/ReportE100915.aspx">169 recorded attacks</a>, largely matching the rate of <a href="http://www.shabak.gov.il/English/EnTerrorData/Reports/Pages/ReportE100915.aspx">August 2015</a>, in which there were 171 recorded attacks. October 2015 saw the peak of this wave of terrorism, with <a href="http://www.shabak.gov.il/English/EnTerrorData/Reports/Pages/ReportE112015.aspx">620 attacks</a>.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Inconsistent news coverage</b></div>
<br />
RTE’s early reportage of the renewed violence in the region was highly partial. When RTE news editors chose to report on the heightened violence, news coverage consistently highlighted Arab-Palestinian victims, albeit with the exception of one news bulletin. Four Israeli civilians were killed, and several others seriously injured, in numerous stabbing attacks, from Thursday the 1<span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span> to Friday the 2<span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span> of October. These attacks were newsworthy because their frequency represented a stark indicator of renewed societal conflict. However, RTE’s TV news team only afforded one brief and rather belated mention, in a single Saturday the 3<span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span> morning news bulletin, without an accompanying news report.<br />
<br />
RTE’s 9<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> October <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/1009/20860799-four-arabs-injured-in-apparent-revenge-attack-in-israel/">Lunchtime television news report</a> similarly failed to mention the high frequency of anti-Jewish violence occurring in Israel during the prior 24 hours. Instead RTE continued a trend of leading reports on Israeli/Jewish violence visited on Arab-Palestinians, with what was a probable revenge attack, which lightly-to-moderately <a href="http://www.jta.org/2015/10/09/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/israeli-jew-stabs-4-arabs-in-dimona">injured four Arab men</a> in Dimona, Southern Israel, although the Israel Security Agency (ISA) <a href="http://www.shabak.gov.il/English/EnTerrorData/Reports/Pages/ReportE112015.aspx">later noted</a> that the injury to one victim was severe, with another moderately wounded, and two others injured slightly. The report included footage of grief stricken women, who were identifiably Arab-Palestinian due to their garb. The inclusion of such footage would have led viewers to the impression that the men were battling for their lives.<br />
<br />
Whilst it was newsworthy to report on one of the rare instances of violence perpetuated by a Jewish civilian on several Arab men uninvolved in the conflict, the failure to report on anti-Jewish attacks was particularly notable since a numerically <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3265054/Jerusalem-s-mayor-urges-Israel-carry-gun-times-Palestinian-shot-dead-stabbing-four-people-screwdriver.html">similar attack</a> also occurred on October the 8<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>, which resulted in the injury of four Jewish people.<br />
<br />
RTE’s reportage of the violent upsurge is consistent with coverage of the conflict in preceding months.<br />
<br />
The last major international news event to come out of Israel, and the disputed territory of Judea and Samaria/West Bank, was perhaps the July 31<span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span> Duma arson attack on the Dawabshe family home. RTE’s <a href="https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/46188/duma-a-misshapen-media-narrative-opinion/">TV coverage of the Duma attack</a> was substantial and highly problematic. RTE reporter Carol Coleman misrepresented the reasons for Arab-Palestinian violence in the aftermath of the attack, which had a distinctly sectarian-religious (Islamist) dimension associated with the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif. Coleman also failed to mention the associated <a href="http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=771">incitement by the Palestinian Authority</a> that often motivates such religious-sectarian violence, and presented reasonable security measures by the Israeli authorities as either a reprisal, or inciting a chain of escalating conflict.<br />
<br />
The Broadcaster followed up on the Duma attack with reports on the death of the Dawabshe family’s <a href="http://www.rte.ie/bosco/components/player/iframe.html?clipid=20826853&thumbnail=000af56a&autostart=true">father</a> (8<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> August), and the death of the mother (7<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> September), both from burn injuries in the aftermath of the tragic arson attack. However, RTE’s television news department did not report on any of the attacks by Arab-Palestinians upon Israelis during the same period. Besides a failure to report on post-Duma Arab-Palestinian reprisals against Israelis, there was just one report on growing violence at the Temple Mount (13<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> September), which led with the Israeli intervention at the al-Aqsa Mosque.<br />
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ37z5Gzo7kJzjGrtasic5CuAmM809bSqzuiQVu9mi7F0rgzkL8SOyNmfuIVaCUc54CIjIIXzAvgQIl-CWXvXJ0sDcixdBgpme8D14U-DNXplAU6hWzj_ZdjO4vRAfgWms8v_Uo9o5xbr7/s1600/Screen-grab+of+revolving+news+text%252C+RTE+News+Now+channel%252C+15-Oct-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ37z5Gzo7kJzjGrtasic5CuAmM809bSqzuiQVu9mi7F0rgzkL8SOyNmfuIVaCUc54CIjIIXzAvgQIl-CWXvXJ0sDcixdBgpme8D14U-DNXplAU6hWzj_ZdjO4vRAfgWms8v_Uo9o5xbr7/s320/Screen-grab+of+revolving+news+text%252C+RTE+News+Now+channel%252C+15-Oct-15.jpg" width="130" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RTE-Player screen-grab of revolving news text, <br />
RTE News Now channel, Oct 15, 2015</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h4 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
Conflating aggressors with victims</div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">News-presenter introductory comments for reports, typically described the growing death tolls, with numerical comparison between Arab-Palestinian deaths and Jewish-Israeli fatalities. However, such comparisons usually failed to note the widely divergent circumstances in which these deaths took place, with Arab-Palestinian deaths typically occurring in violent confrontations with army and security personnel, or during terrorist incidents. Sometimes the follow-on reports would clarify the preliminary remarks by the news-presenters but more often they did not. Such conflation is misleading at a most fundamental level because the resurgent violence relates to the matter of </span><u>who</u><span style="font-weight: normal;"> is doing </span><u>what</u><span style="font-weight: normal;"> to </span><u>whom</u><span style="font-weight: normal;">, e.g. an October 20<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> </span><a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/1020/20866650-ban-ki-moon-says-trip-reflects-alarm-over-escalation-of-violence-in-middle-east/" style="font-weight: normal;">6.1 News report</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> mingled aggressors with victims:</span></span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Presenter Sharon Ní Bheoláin: </span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">“The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has said his trip to the Middle-East today reflects the global alarm over the escalation of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Carole Coleman [voice-over of video featuring rioting youths]: </span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“As the frustration felt by Palestinians continues to spill over into the streets, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had this message for the young people…”</span></span></blockquote>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXeAhU9K8pw1jMqb_R_RnLjGK2Uyn5_jLQPx6OdP6GJW_oWhVpylnZrNE6qBlXFjRgh60G6fCtOvcaIDw5sAZbLJJG0BsJGHxwnaCPbu6-q9kLytOTNTShd1aXJdoaEItT59QIrdGkoyT8/s1600/RTE+6.1+News%252C+20-10-15%252C+Carol+Coleman+report%252C+captioned+%255BAs+the+frustration+felt+by+Palestinians...%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; color: #092b4c; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Sans Unicode", sans-serif; font-size: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXeAhU9K8pw1jMqb_R_RnLjGK2Uyn5_jLQPx6OdP6GJW_oWhVpylnZrNE6qBlXFjRgh60G6fCtOvcaIDw5sAZbLJJG0BsJGHxwnaCPbu6-q9kLytOTNTShd1aXJdoaEItT59QIrdGkoyT8/s320/RTE+6.1+News%252C+20-10-15%252C+Carol+Coleman+report%252C+captioned+%255BAs+the+frustration+felt+by+Palestinians...%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">RTE-Player screen-grab, RTE 6.1 News, 20-October-2015, Carol Coleman report, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">with captioning: "As the frustration felt by Palestinians..."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</h4>
</div>
<div>
<br />
RTE would continue to lead news stories with the death and injury of Arab-Palestinians individuals, through the latter part of the period of violent escalation in November, and the nature of the fatalities would still be conflated. For example, news-presenter Eileen Dunne stated that “a surge in violence has resulted in the deaths of Israelis and Palestinians”, in the 23<span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span> November 9 O’clock news programme.</div>
<br />
RTE described violent riots, which have the explicit intent of clashing with police and soldiers, as “protests”. Protests are commonly understood to be largely peaceful events, which are usually borne of moral concern. The use, by the media, of such a term was especially unjust when there was a growing awareness that this episode could have represented the onset of a new Intifada, which was driven across Arab-Palestinian society by a wave of religious intolerance, with substantively anti-Semitic overtones.<br />
<br />
RTE’s 10<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> October morning news text reported that the “IDF shot dead six Palestinians at the border of the Gaza Strip”. That morning’s news bulletins stated that “Protests have spread across the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Northern Israel after a day where six Palestinians were killed at the border of the Gaza strip…” The segment was short, at no more than 30 seconds, so it is unfair to expect it to be comprehensive, but it nonetheless misled with profound omissions in the description of the violence.<br />
<br />
The segment failed to mention that the violence was initiated by Arab-Palestinians, and that further stabbing attacks in Jerusalem were committed <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/5-killed-gaza-stabbing-attacks-continue-israel-article-1.2391486">against Jewish civilians</a>. RTE also failed to mention that the Arab-Palestinians at the Gaza border were engaged in violence directed at a heavily armed military zone, that they were <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/two-palestinians-killed-in-clash-with-idf-along-gaza-border/">affiliated with both Hamas and Islamic Jihad</a>, and that this riotous event was linked with Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ Gazan leader, who declared a new ‘Intifada’ shortly before the clash.<br />
<br />
On the 11<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> October, the text-based news highlights on RTE’s ‘News Now’ channel, featured an <a href="http://img.rasset.ie/000b39f1-642.jpg">image</a> of grief-stricken Arab-Palestinian women, also found on the RTE website, with the accompanying words: “France has said the escalation of violence in the Palestinian territories and Jerusalem was ‘extremely worrying and dangerous’”. The use of such an emotive image, with the accompanying text, places indirect blame on the Israeli authorities for the rise in Arab-Palestinian fatalities. The image inevitably carries with it an inference that those killed were substantively innocent, when many of the fatalities targeted, and sometimes murdered, Jewish civilians.<br />
<br />
RTE did not qualify which grouping was initiating violence against the other, even of the past events that led to the 2014 Gaza war, Operation Pillar of Cloud. The November 30<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> morning ‘News Now’ bulletins reported that Mohammad Abu Khdeir’s “killing was part of a cycle of violence that led to war between Israel and militants in Gaza.” RTE failed to address which group initiated the sequence of events, despite 16 months passing, and misrepresented the character of those events. The brutal murder of Abu Khadir on July 2<span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span> 2014 was likely a reaction to Hamas’ kidnapping and murder of three Jewish teenagers in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), but war in Gaza developed as a consequence of increased rocket attacks. Some believe the attacks from Gaza increased as a result of the mass arrest of Hamas’ operatives in Judea and Samaria, but a programme of mass arrest to save three teenagers does not correspond with a “cycle of violence”. Neither can Abu Khdeir’s death be thought of as a major event leading to eventual war since the particular warring groups were not involved, and the Hamas-sanctioned rocket escalation <a href="http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/article/20663">had already begun</a> before the 2<span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span> July date of murder.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>A notable departure</b></div>
<br />
RTE’s television news department first acknowledged that Arab-Palestinians were targeting Jews in a spate of stabbing and other attacks, two weeks after the dramatic intensification, in a brief October 12<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/1012/20861683-palestinian-man-shot-dead-by-security-forces-in-israel/">Lunchtime News report</a> (“Palestinian man shot dead by security forces in Israel”), which stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“A Palestinian man suspected of attempting to stab a police officer in Jerusalem has been shot dead by security forces. It was the latest in a series of knife attacks in the past fortnight, mainly by Palestinians targeting Jews. Police said the officer was unhurt as he had been wearing a protective vest. On Friday, four people – two Israeli-Arabs and two Palestinians were injured in an apparent revenge attack.”</blockquote>
Oddly, the RTE report again referenced the several days-old stabbing of four Arabs, which, <a href="http://www.jta.org/2015/10/09/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/israeli-jew-stabs-4-arabs-in-dimona">according to reports</a>, largely resulted in moderate injuries. By contrast, RTE never displayed an impetus to balance reports of Jewish violence with reference to the Arab-Palestinian equivalent. Instead, it downplayed the latter.<br />
<br />
For example, RTE’s Lunchtime, 6.1 and 9 o’clock news broadcasts (<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/1011/10478122-nine-news-web/">11<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> Oct, 10 mins</a>) solely reported on the deaths of Arab-Palestinians:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“An Israeli airstrike on a Hamas target in the Gaza Strip hit a nearby house, killing a Palestinian woman and her daughter. This marks an escalation in recent violence, which has seen several Israelis killed and a growing number of Palestinian deaths. The increase in violence has increased fears of a new Palestinian uprising.”</blockquote>
There was no mention of the <a href="http://www.israelnews.net/index.php/sid/237541207">other attacks</a> during the 11<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of October, where, for example, an Arab-Israeli man injured four Israelis in a combined car and stabbing assault. RTE also failed to report <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/10/11/palestinian-woman-detonates-car-bomb-injuring-herself-and-police-officer-in-midst-of-recent-palestinian-knife-attacks/">the attempted suicide bombing</a> by an Arab-Palestinian woman, which was disrupted by Israeli security personnel, despite the fact that the story garnered significant attention due to its circumstance.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Passive voice</b></div>
<br />
RTE reports typically led with descriptions of Israeli security forces shooting dead Arab-Palestinian aggressors, or of Israeli security measures in reaction to the intensification of violence.<br />
<br />
At times, a variant of <a href="http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/active-voice-versus-passive-voice?page=all#sthash.oasP9OKY.dpuf">grammatical passive voice</a> was used in the construction of sentences for RTE’s descriptions. Such sentence structure often occurs in <a href="http://honestreporting.com/study-reuters-headlines/">mainstream media reportage</a> of the Israeli conflict. Passive voice allows authors <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Advice_against_the_passive_voice">more control</a> over narratives, whereby the responsibility of any agent for instigating events can be obfuscated. With passive voice, the instigating group of a conflict situation can be presented as having been subjected to the actions of other parties to that conflict. It is objectionable, for confusing which side is responsible for the broad-spectrum violence, and for directing blame at those attempting to reduce the effects of the destructive acts. For example, news-presenter Brian Finnerty, Lunchtime News, 16<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> October reported:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“In the past month, the violence has claimed the lives of eight Israelis and more than thirty Palestinians, some of them suspected of carrying out attacks, have been killed by Israeli security forces.”</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Undue skepticism</b></div>
<br />
Statements, such as the above, present a double-standard, where murders, or attempted murders, were treated with scepticism, but not the reactions by the authorities. An element of scepticism is appropriate when dealing with claims made by different groupings in a state of conflict, and media reports correctly use the terms ‘alleged’ or ‘suspected’ when addressing criminal acts by individuals/groups that are not yet affirmed through legal process. Nonetheless, journalists commonly make legitimate determinations of fact, based on the security of accessible evidentiary material, and on very high probabilities, where, for example, clear intent can be ascribed to violent/criminal events. It had been firmly ascertained that a significant number of Arab-Palestinians were killed by Israel’s security forces, but it has also been ascertained that a substantive proportion of those killings were in immediate reaction to terror attacks, as the toll of Jewish casualties, and available video material to a number of the attacks, demonstrates.<br />
<br />
With further scepticism, Carole Coleman’s October 20<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> Lunchtime News report describes <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/1020/20866463-un-secretary-general-holds-talks-over-israel-palestinian-conflict/">a house demolition</a> as “Israeli soldiers dismantling a Palestinian home in the West Bank. The army claims it’s the home of a militant who carried out a stabbing a year ago killing a woman.”<br />
<br />
The report refers to the demolition of Maher al-Hashlamoun’s house. Al-Hashlamoun is in actual fact is a member of Islamic Jihad who was <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3280466/Israel-razes-West-Bank-home-jailed-Palestinian-army.html">found guilty</a> of committing several terrorist attacks, one of which led to the murder of a twenty-six year old Israeli woman. By convention, RTE attribute crimes to individuals who have been found guilty of such acts by courts of law. However, Coleman’s report would lead the viewer to suspect that the demolition is undeserved in some way, because al-Hashlamoun is supposedly innocent, or that his crimes have been insufficiently ascertained.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Notable omissions</b></div>
<br />
The attacks during this period were never described as having a terrorist intent. Yet RTE is not adverse to using the term in relation to similar attacks in the West, most recently with the Belgium attacks.<br />
<br />
RTE’s 16<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> November morning and Noon ‘News Now’ bulletins reported on a gun attack against Israeli troops, when the home of terrorist Mohammad abu Shahin (alternatively spelt ‘Shaheen’) was <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/203440#.VknMKdLhCt8">demolished</a> in response to the murder of Danny Gonen, a Jewish hiker, during the month of June. The news-presenter stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Palestinian medical sources have said Israeli troops shot dead at least two Palestinians during a gun battle in the Occupied West Bank. The Israeli military said in a statement that troops had come under attack during the operation to destroy the home of Mohammad abu Shahin… Some twenty other Palestinians were wounded in the incident as troops demolished the home of a militant whom Israel had said had killed an Israeli man in June.”</blockquote>
The report did not note that Shahin (Shaheen) had previously been found guilty of conspiring to commit a terror attack for which he was <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4680392,00.html">imprisoned</a> between 2006 and 2008, and had more recently confessed to committing numerous other attacks. He is a member of the Fatah/Tanzim Force 17 elite terror unit. Israel’s Supreme Court issued a stay of <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/israeli-high-court-blocks-destruction-of-arab-terrorists-homes/2015/10/22/">demolition</a> in October to evaluate the case, which was subsequently <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/IDF-soldiers-come-under-fire-during-house-demolition-of-terrorist-who-killed-Danny-Gonen-433218">passed</a>, while another demolition application was rejected.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Abbas’ incitement misrepresented</b></div>
<br />
A 14<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> October 9 O’clock news report by Carole Coleman (“<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/1014/20863550-two-palestinians-shot-dead-in-latest-spate-of-attacks-in-israel/">Two Palestinians shot dead in latest spate of attacks in Israel</a>”) led with the deaths of Arab-Palestinians involved in a terror attack, and used material from her earlier reports that day, analysed in <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2016/06/analysing-trends-in-mainstream-media-part-2.html">part two</a> of this article. Coleman added:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“This evening Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas held firm, saying that Palestinians would continue to struggle for the project of nation or state-hood. He spoke of the right to self defence but called for non-violent resistance.”</blockquote>
This is an inaccurate representation of Abbas’ speech, which did not in fact call for a de-escalation of violence. The speech endorsed the ongoing Arab-Palestinian violence, which he characterised as a defensive measure, and presented solely as a reaction to supposed Israeli aggression, particularly against the al-Aqsa Mosque. Abbas attempted to present an Arab-Palestinian teen, who engaged in a stabbing attack, as a martyr akin to Mohammad al-Dura, a story that has been utilised as a widespread source of incitement in the Arab world. Coleman’s description may have been based on the inaccurate accounts provided by a number of news-wire services. The article ‘<a href="http://www.newenglishreview.org/Robert_Harris/He_Said-They_Said:_Mahmoud_Abbas_October_14th_speech,_and_the_Mainstream_Media/">He Said/They Said: Mahmoud Abbas October 14<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> speech, and the Mainstream Media</a>’ provides a detailed account of the speech.<br />
<br />
The speech was <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2015/10/19/report-fatah-party-facebook-page-glorifies-palestinian-violence-encourages-escalation/">in keeping with</a> the Fatah Party’s production of a substantive amount of material encouraging violence, while demonising Israeli soldiers. Coverage of trenchant <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=4&x_article=3131">PA/Fatah incitement</a>, and associated conspiracism involving the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, was entirely absent however.<br />
<br />
By contrast, RTE’s coverage of a speech by Israeli prime-minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on October 21<span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span>, was very negative. The speech garnered international attention because Netanyahu asserted Grand Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini had a principle role in encouraging Hitler to wholly adopt a programme of extermination against Europe’s Jewish people but soon clarified that he had no intention of exonerating Hitler. Some of RTE’s reports did include that clarification, whilst other reports did not. The revolving text on the ‘News Now’ channel stated: “Netanyahu provokes holocaust row” — a title also applied to RTE’s syndicated <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1021/736492-netanyahu-holocaust/">website coverage</a> of the controversy. The article ‘<a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/mufti-haj-amin-al-husseini-s-initiatory-role-in-the-extermination-of-european-jewry/global-islam/2015/">Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini’s Initiatory Role in the Extermination of European Jewry</a>’ provides a detailed account of the way in which the international media misrepresented history to criticise the PM.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Obfuscation of identity</b></div>
<br />
The 13<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of October may be remembered as a peak in the anti-Jewish violence of the period, due to the high number of civilian casualties. The varying identities of attackers, and their victims, is of crucial importance in reports of sectarian strife, but the atypical wording of RTE coverage suggests there may have been attempts to confuse the issue. Morning and Noon news-bulletin reports, on the 13<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>, stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“In Israel at least two passengers have been killed in separate attacks on buses in Jerusalem. The first person died in a gun and knife attack on a bus in the East of the City. Police later shot him [indistinct word]. In the second, a man drove a car into a bus and then started stabbing passengers.”</blockquote>
These reports were peculiar for avoiding the use of identifying words like ‘Jew’. ‘Israeli’, ‘Arab’, and ‘Palestinian’, etc., even though early reports from Israel <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Initial-report-Stabbing-attack-in-Jeruaslem-terrorist-subdued-423793">clearly delineated the identities</a> of the attackers and their victims.<br />
<br />
Michelle McCaughren’s October 13<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> Lunchtime News <a href="http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/one-news-30003248/10479003/">report differed</a> by expressing notable sympathy for the victims. The victims of the bus attack are described as “terrified passengers who had no means of escape”. However, she continued to use impersonal descriptions like “attackers”, “men”/“man”, and “pedestrians”. She suggested one attack, involving the car-ramming of pedestrians, was indiscriminate, where the assailant got out and supposedly stabbed “anyone” who was nearby. Although McCaughren did mention that the attack took place in an Ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood, she did not clearly address the fact that Jews were targeted, including a Jewish Rabbi, who would be visibly Jewish, and that the assailants were Arab-Palestinians. Attempts to <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2015/11/ap_captions_incidents_in_hebro.html">obfuscate certain identities</a> is common in the mainstream media. The appendix has a full transcript of the report.<br />
<br />
McCaughren’s report spent almost as much time on one of the Arab-Palestinian attackers as that of the many victims, by featuring police video of a crowd apparently kicking a would-be attacker at a Tel Aviv bus stop. The report included an extract of a speech by the Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, telling Israeli citizens to calm down. The selection of such content suggested that the fears of the Jewish citizenry was unjustified, and/or that they were over-reacting. The report did not mention that the mayor <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Initial-report-Stabbing-attack-in-Jeruaslem-terrorist-subdued-423793">explicitly blamed</a> Arab-Palestinian incitement for the murders, earlier that day.<br />
<br />
Carole Coleman’s October 19<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> Lunchtime News report (“<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/1019/20865783-israeli-forces-impose-tighter-restrictions-in-jerusalem-and-west-bank/">Israeli forces impose tighter restrictions in Jerusalem and West Bank</a>”) also focused to a lengthy extent on the fact that some Israelis, who had just witnessed a terrorist incident at a bus station, then attacked another suspected attacker who would later be found to have been uninvolved. While the reprisal is worthy of comment, far greater attention was paid to this incident than the terrorist attack that initiated the subsequent event.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>“Palestinian territories”?</b></div>
<br />
RTE (and other media outlets) typically use the terms “occupied Palestinian territories” or “Palestinian territories” for Judea and Samaria/West Bank, and “Palestinian areas of Jerusalem” for East Jerusalem, etc. For example, the RTE ‘News Now’ screen-text (‘News’ section, October 19<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>), stated “The Israeli government has announced tougher security measures to tackle unrest in Israel and the Palestinian territories”, while Coleman’s October 14<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> Lunchtime News report referred to “Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem”. It is markedly different to the term “Arab East Jerusalem”, which does not infer an expected or legally/morally justified national identity. The term is prejudicial however much it may be used by the United Nations.<br />
<br />
The areas of East Jerusalem, and Judea and Samaria/West Bank, are politically contested territories, which have largely been ruled by empires for millennia. There has been no legitimate prior sovereign in these regions since the defeat of the Jewish Bar Kokhba Revolt against the Roman Empire, in 135 AD. Many do consider the territories to be occupied. However, the British Mandatory text defines all territory West of the Jordan river as necessarily being designated for “the Jewish National Home”, <a href="http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/palmanda.asp">with only territory East of the Jordan river</a> having the option of alternate applications (Article 25), with good reason since the contested territories represent the cultural and religious core of the Jewish homeland, constituting the first and second cities of Judaism (Old (East) Jerusalem and Hebron), along with its holiest of shrines and places of worship.<br />
<br />
Some experts effectively treat Jordan as having held legitimate title but the State waged an unprovoked war of aggression against Israel, when the Jewish State first declared independence in 1948. Thus, it is clear that Jordan illegitimately occupied these territories, and so such an act cannot be a basis for valid territorial claims against another so aggressed. Moreover, the entire thrust for peace, with UN Security Council <a href="http://www.mythsandfacts.com/ReplyOnlineEdition/chapter-8.html">Resolution 242</a>, the final status talks of <a href="http://www.jmcc.org/fastfactspag.aspx?tname=92">the Oslo Accords</a>, etc., make it clear that negotiations with the interested parties are to be the basis for a peace settlement. To describe these territories as entirely “Palestinian”, and as “occupied”, without qualification, pre-empts such a process.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Appendix</b></div>
<br />
An example of language usage — transcript of the 13<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of October 2015 RTE Lunchtime News report:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
John Finnerty: “In Israel at least three people have been killed and thirty others wounded in a series of knife and gun attacks. It comes on a day of rage declared by Palestinian groups. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will convene an emergency session of the security cabinet later today to discuss the recent surge in violence.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Michelle McCaughren [reporting]: “The attacks took place as early morning commuters made their way to work. The assailants used guns and knives, and in one instance drove a car into a group of pedestrians in an ultra orthodox neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. The driver then got out, and wielding a knife, attempted to stab anyone standing nearby. The most serious incident took place earlier in the capital when two men stormed a bus. One opened fire and the other used a knife on terrified passengers who had no means of escape. It resulted in multiple casualties. One of the attackers was shot dead by police. The other was seriously injured.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In a suburb of Tel Aviv an angry crowd gather around a man suspected of trying to stab another man at a bus stop. A video distributed by the police shows him being kicked and beaten as he lies on the ground. Calling for greater security measures, the mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, appealed for calm. He said all citizens must know that they cannot take the law into their own hands. The public must calm down and let the security forces do their job.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
These types of incidents have increased in frequency in recent weeks and appear to be random and sporadic. The security forces say they are difficult to predict and even more difficult to bring under control.”</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/analysing-trends-in-mainstream-media-bias-rte-s-october-coverage-of-the-2015-quasi-intifada-part-one/israel/2016/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i></div>
</div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-48340704812812981802016-06-14T15:30:00.001+01:002016-06-15T11:33:58.178+01:00Analysing Trends in Mainstream Media Bias: RTE’s Coverage of the 2015 Quasi-Intifada – Part TwoThis article provides an analysis of two RTE television news reports, during the Autumn 2015 period, when a sharp rise in Arab-Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians, and security personnel, occurred. Broad issues of normative journalistic practice are also discussed. The <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2016/06/analysing-trends-in-mainstream-media-part-1.html">preceding part of this series</a> analyses, more broadly, a relatively large number of other RTE reports broadcast during the same period. RTE Player links of the principle daily television news programmes (Lunchtime News, 6.1 (6 O’clock) News, and 9 O’clock News) are only made available by the broadcaster for a limited period of time.<br />
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Carole Coleman reports</b></div>
<br />
An <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/1014/20863236-police-authorised-to-seal-off-palestinian-areas-in-east-jerusalem/">14<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> October</a> Lunchtime News report by Carole Coleman, appears to have partly or indirectly justified the Intifada-esque conditions in Israel and the disputed territories of the Judea and Samaria/West Bank, as well as the Gaza Strip, by laying undue blame with the authorities opposing the then-resurgent bout of violence. Appendix One features an excerpted transcript of the news-report.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GEaI-3hu-EgELJPcF050TBvBaTHBLDotDEguYAPD7D6kU31UOHH34NuPNP-YjCPDeEpOeY7W9xF9MuJMxS6EuLxKrCOVYEJlNyTcQDMre7QMnU2C3_353HfjajhpIs83pgH_dKGy7HqZ/s1600/Screen-grab+of+revolving+news+text%252C+RTE+News+Now+channel%252C+14-10-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GEaI-3hu-EgELJPcF050TBvBaTHBLDotDEguYAPD7D6kU31UOHH34NuPNP-YjCPDeEpOeY7W9xF9MuJMxS6EuLxKrCOVYEJlNyTcQDMre7QMnU2C3_353HfjajhpIs83pgH_dKGy7HqZ/s320/Screen-grab+of+revolving+news+text%252C+RTE+News+Now+channel%252C+14-10-15.jpg" width="122" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">RTE-Player s</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">creen-grab, revolving news text, <br />RTE News Now channel, 14-October-2015</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Israel’s security measures are described prejudicially in the report. In the introduction, the news presenter claims the security measures will “seal off” Arab neighbourhoods, while Coleman describes the measures as “blockades”, which misleadingly evokes the actions applied to Gaza. The revolving screen-text on the RTE ‘News Now’ channel also stated: “Israeli police to seal off Arab parts of Jerusalem”. However, the security measures were not remotely as draconian. Roadblocks and ‘stop and search’ measures were put into place. Residents were not being prevented from travelling outside of their communities, nor were people being prevented from travelling into the relevant neighbourhoods.<br />
<br />
Coleman’s report features quotes from two individuals: an Arab resident who was hostile to Israel, and a representative of an anti-Israel NGO. Coleman did not quote an alternate perspective for the report.<br />
<br />
An Arab man, identified as ‘Khader Ishkirat’, a resident of Jabel Mukaber, provided his views on the new security restrictions. He described these measures as “collective punishment”, and presented the restrictions as somehow contravening the pursuit of a two-state peace solution. However, Coleman’s report failed to note that the <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/jabel-mukaber/">Jabel Mukaber</a> neighbourhood is an Arab-Palestinian village in the environs of Jerusalem, which has earned notoriety, both as a flashpoint of violence, and due to a number of its residents having engaged in particularly <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/har-nof-synagogue-attack/">vicious acts of terrorism</a>, which include what was the then-current <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/lions-gate-stabber-named-as-east-jerusalem-teen/">violent upsurge</a>. Jewish residents have <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-one-jerusalem-neighborhood-firebombs-are-a-fact-of-life/">experienced substantive violence</a>, due to their proximity to the village.<br />
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wVVkF6GxAlwaAQz68U07G3Z7qHlZt42UGISykB0A3iHwYRXaJclcIdcnhpTA0HyKrsX6dAgTXsRleLNX9FI7eLVDEXE5Y4Q0IHTKUi_zuLMOsGE67-svRSDABDu9LespDUudLlEOabw3/s1600/RTE+Lunchtime+News%252C+14-10-15%252C+Carol+Coleman+report%252C+featuring+Sari+Bashi+of+NGOs+Gisha+%2526+HRW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wVVkF6GxAlwaAQz68U07G3Z7qHlZt42UGISykB0A3iHwYRXaJclcIdcnhpTA0HyKrsX6dAgTXsRleLNX9FI7eLVDEXE5Y4Q0IHTKUi_zuLMOsGE67-svRSDABDu9LespDUudLlEOabw3/s320/RTE+Lunchtime+News%252C+14-10-15%252C+Carol+Coleman+report%252C+featuring+Sari+Bashi+of+NGOs+Gisha+%2526+HRW.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">RTE-Player screen-grab, RTE Lunchtime News, 14-October-2015, Carol Coleman</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> report, featuring Sari Bashi, of the NGOs Gisha & Human Rights Watch</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Sari Bashi, identified as a representative of Human Rights Watch, also offered highly critical views on the security measures. Bashi however is better known as the co-founder and Executive Director of <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/gazas-ark-to-break-blockade-this-time-from-within/">anti-Israel NGO Gisha</a>.<br />
<br />
Bashi does not have a reputation for presenting balanced critiques on the Israeli-Jewish/Arab-Islamic conflict. She defended the reputation of notorious <a href="http://www.jpost.com/International/HRW-appoints-alleged-terrorist-to-Mideast-Board">terrorist Shawan Jabarin</a>. Moreover, Gisha’s critiques erased the context of Israeli military actions as constituting reactions to Hamas’ rocket bombardments from Gaza. The NGO also baselessly charged that Israel was violating the <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/gisha_s_halo_effect_reflected_in_false_claims_on_fulbright_gaza_scholars">rights of students from Gaza</a>.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Misrepresenting the root causes of the conflict</b></div>
<br />
The most problematic aspect of Carole Coleman’s report is the overt attempt to lead its audience into a simplified understanding of a protracted conflict, which stands in contravention with basic established fact, when choosing to blame the current spate of violence principally on settlements and the failure of peace talks, whilst ignoring the most pernicious religious sectarianism that has pervaded this conflict, which existed long before Israel became a reality. The report finds Israel blameworthy, despite the attacks being aimed indiscriminately at Jewish civilians, as well as soldiers and the security services.<br />
<br />
This quasi-Intifada erupted following Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas’ intensive incitement, featuring false claims of an intent by the Israeli authorities to change the status-quo of the Temple Mount, and harm the al-Aqsa Mosque. The claims were echoed by the PA itself, for example, to quote a near-concurrent <a href="http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=15664">PA broadcast</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The story of the Temple is nothing but a collection of legends and myths for political reasons. They [Jews] have set Palestine and Jerusalem as their goal, and have used the myths in the service of their declared goals of occupation and imperialism. In the spirit of the delusions and legends, they try to get rid of the Al-Aqsa [Mosque] and establish their so-called ‘Temple’ — the greatest crime and forgery in history.”</blockquote>
Mahmoud Abbas <a href="http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=15714">set the stage</a> for the violence in his speeches, which were notably supportive of the increasing violence at the Mount. To cite a speech from the 16<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of September:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
‘His honor [Abbas] saluted the Murabitin (those carrying out Ribat, religious conflict/war to protect land claimed to be Islamic) and stated: ‘Every drop of blood that has been spilled in Jerusalem is holy blood as long as it was for Allah. Every Martyr (Shahid) will reach Paradise, and everyone wounded will be rewarded, Allah willing.’ … and stated: ‘The Al-Aqsa [Mosque] is ours, and they have no right to defile it with their filthy feet.”’</blockquote>
Furthermore, the modus-operandi of stabbing terror attacks had been widely linked to <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=4&x_article=3131">several speeches by leading Muslim-Arabs</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201587#.VhwgRyuGwY4">Arab members</a> of the Israeli Knesset also led <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/this-is-not-yours-arab-mk-yells-at-jews-on-temple-mount/">incitement drives</a>, claiming Jewish people have no right of worship on the Temple Mount.<br />
<br />
Likewise, a <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2015/09/poll_majority_of_palestinians_1.html">survey</a> of concurrent Arab-Palestinian opinion demonstrated that most oppose the two-state solution, based on the principle of two-states-for-two-peoples. Only 30% supported a one-state solution where Arabs and Israelis possess equal rights. No less than 58% were against the recognition of Israel as a nation for Jewish people, that carried a mutual recognition of Palestine as a nation for Arab-Palestinian people.<br />
<br />
Palestinian leaders rejected a two-state solution, and peace with Israel, in 2000, 2001 and 2008, the latter of which <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/ehud-olmert-still-dreams-of-peace/story-e6frg76f-1225804745744">afforded</a> near 100% of all Palestinian Authority territorial demands with mutually agreed land-swaps. If Arab-Palestinians were truly despairing due to a lost quest for their independence, they would instead punish their own leaders for repeatedly undermining that process.<br />
<br />
The report ignores a phenomenon that led to a century of anti-Jewish Arab-Palestinian incitement at all levels of society. It led to pogromic episodes that began circa 1920 in Jerusalem, some 47 years before the Six-Day war. Likewise, the Second Intifada erupted following PA incitement over false claims of Jewish designs on the al-Aqsa Mosque. At the time Arafat <a href="http://jcpa.org/al-aksa-is-in-danger-libel-prologue/">believed a bizarre conspiracy</a>, where Israel would engineer an earthquake to destroy the Mosque.</div>
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLSPkMaPJvtGHDPkGctD6KijM1VHmuADOnE-ftL1QZYCDFlB3IdNE83LKT_Zk8GLR9riiDr5G9rvBX337BVmmrTuCuDFNtNRQqad_OKJmJY9wXFUYYCF9r8b4uQPw01dGFbbDVOd8nUna/s1600/RTE+Lunchtime+News%252C+14-10-15%252C+Carol+Coleman+report%252C+captioned+%255BPalestinians+also+cite+increased+encroachment+on+the+al+Aqsa...%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLSPkMaPJvtGHDPkGctD6KijM1VHmuADOnE-ftL1QZYCDFlB3IdNE83LKT_Zk8GLR9riiDr5G9rvBX337BVmmrTuCuDFNtNRQqad_OKJmJY9wXFUYYCF9r8b4uQPw01dGFbbDVOd8nUna/s320/RTE+Lunchtime+News%252C+14-10-15%252C+Carol+Coleman+report%252C+captioned+%255BPalestinians+also+cite+increased+encroachment+on+the+al+Aqsa...%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">RTE-Player screen-grab, RTE Lunchtime News, 14-October-2015, Carol Coleman report, <br />captioned: "Palestinians also cite increased encroachment on the al-Aqsa..."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Reiterating sectarian propaganda</b></div>
<br />
Most surprisingly, Coleman appears to endorse the Arab-Palestinian conspiracy that Jews are somehow undermining the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, when she stated “Palestinians also cite increased encroachment on the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City…” She did not state that this is a disputed claim. Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that there is no attempt to change the ‘status quo’, nor does there appear to have been any notable <a href="http://canadafreepress.com/article/76068">increase of visits</a> to the Temple Mount. The prior year’s figures show only a marginal number of Jewish people being <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/11929445/Jews-are-being-killed-simply-for-being-Jews.html">allowed access</a> to the Temple Mount. Israel has done nothing to provoke such fears. The conspiracy is also supremely unlikely, since prior fears over the site were unfounded.<br />
<br />
Coleman claims the al-Aqsa Mosque, and its environs on the Temple Mount, is holy to both Muslims and Jews. The Temple Mount is an extremely large site, which is of course holy to the Jewish faith, but the actual structure of the Mosque, and its environs (the al-Aqsa compound), is no more holy to the Jewish faith than that of any other holy structure to an unaffiliated religion. The al-Aqsa Mosque sits on the Mount to the far-south. It is of less relevance to the Jewish faith than the Dome of the Rock, (located in the middle of the Mount), since it was built in the area where the Jewish Temple once stood.<br />
<br />
Orla Guerin, a former RTE journalist, also <a href="http://bbcwatch.org/2015/10/29/disturbing-themes-in-bbc-coverage-of-the-wave-of-terror-in-israel/">inaccurately claimed</a>, at the BBC, that the Mosque itself is also holy to Jews. Such assertions may be borne of a lack of knowledge, but both journalists are noted for possessing strong anti-Israel viewpoints. This stance reinforces one aspect of the Arab-Palestinian conspiratorial narrative, namely that Jewish people supposedly desire to take over the al-Aqsa Mosque.<br />
<br />
The Arab-Palestinian narrative on the issue is wholly implausible, with for example the BBC’s Nawal Assad <a href="http://bbcwatch.org/2015/10/29/disturbing-themes-in-bbc-coverage-of-the-wave-of-terror-in-israel/">fancifully asserting</a> that the al-Aqsa Mosque effectively sits on the whole of the Temple Mount, and so the supposed desire to rebuild the Temple necessitates the destruction of the al-Aqsa Mosque.<br />
<br />
Despite often invoking the notion of the Temple Mount ‘status quo’, RTE has failed to explain to its audiences what the term meaningfully constitutes. The ‘status quo’ is the denial of religious rights for the Jewish faithful on their holiest site, whilst <a href="http://jcpa.org/al-aksa-is-in-danger-libel-temple-mount/">ceding control</a> of the Mount to the Islamic Waqf. To explain the conflict as substantively constituting one religious groupings resistance to another religious grouping’s assertion of their most basic of religious freedoms, would greatly undermine the claims of Coleman, Guerin, and so many others in the mainstream media, that the upsurge in violence was stoked by a desire for independence. This choice can be understood as an intentional manoeuvre, because it neatly fits RTE’s complete failure to report that the upsurge coincided with wide-ranging Islamic conspiracism, stoked by Abbas and other leaders.<br />
<br />
Opposition to basic rights infers that the violence is motivated by Israel’s existence as a predominately Jewish nation situated in the historic House of Islam (Dar al-Islam). Such violence was a feature of Israel’s existence before it took possession of Judea and Samaria, in a defensive war against Jordan and other neighbouring Arab-Islamic states. The violence that concurrently emanated from Gaza cannot justifiably be deemed <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/11/13/why-gaza-is-not-remotely-occupied-i/">to be a direct consequence</a> of living under a claimed occupation.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Pro-Israel bias?</b></div>
<br />
Raymond Deane, a leading founder-member of the Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, publicly <a href="https://www.facebook.com/raymond.deane.5/posts/10153074057911956">stated on his Facebook page</a> that he complained to RTÉ about the radio-equivalent of the same programme. He accuses Coleman of having a pro-Israel bias, and asserts that the report presented a racist attitude toward Arab-Palestinians:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“On today’s News at One on RTÉ Radio 1 (14<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> October), your reporter Carole Coleman asserted that while “7 Israelis have been brutally murdered,” 30 Palestinians merely “died in the ensuing violence.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This is not merely an unprofessional formulation, but a formulation so outrageously biased as to border on racism. To begin with, it omits context: the ongoing, daily violence of the Israeli state against the illegally occupied, colonised and besieged Palestinian people. Secondly, it decontextualises “the ensuing violence”, as though it just happened out of the blue without anybody being responsible. Thirdly, it fails to itemise the acts of “ensuing violence”, most of which constituted “brutal murder” by the Israeli security forces and by armed colonial settlers, whose presence in the West Bank and occupied/annexed East Jerusalem is illegal under international humanitarian law.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It is clear that Carole Coleman views the deaths of Israelis (which I do not condone) as a matter of far greater significance than the deaths of those oppressed, persecuted, dispossessed and colonised by the Israeli state – hence my sense that her formulation is inherently racist.”</blockquote>
However, Coleman’s formulation was largely accurate. The Israelis murdered were civilians who were going peaceably about their business. They were murdered solely for having an identity that their attackers disapproved of. As Associated Press <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-the-latest-palestinians-torch-site-revered-by-some-jews-2015-10?IR=T">reported</a> on the 16<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of October:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Over the past month, eight Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks, most of them stabbings. In that time, 31 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, including 14 labeled by Israel as attackers, and the rest in clashes with Israeli troops.”</blockquote>
These clashes are often described in the mainstream media as ‘protests’. However, such events are in fact violent confrontations with troops and security personnel.<br />
<br />
It would be prejudicial to conflate the unprovoked murder of one grouping, with the fatalities of another grouping that voluntarily chose to aggress, and by extension the associated deaths of the latter grouping, typically leading from protracted episodes of violent confrontation and riot. Interestingly, Coleman’s description strayed from the norm at RTE, for example, an October 20<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> Lunchtime News report <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/1020/20866463-un-secretary-general-holds-talks-over-israel-palestinian-conflict/">features the sort of conflationist language</a> that may meet with Deane’s approval:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“UN Secrteary General, Ban Ki-moon, is meeting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today, in an effort to calm tensions which have seen at least 42 Palestinians and 8 Israelis killed.”</blockquote>
Deane charged that the description of Israeli and Arab-Palestinian deaths ‘decontextualises “the ensuing violence”’, before making the charge of occupation, whilst invalidly claiming that Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, contravene International Law. However, Deane takes the remarks on the death toll out of context. Coleman’s report does cite those very issues as causal factors, when she stated that the quasi-Intifada has been enacted: “…by Arabs upset by Israeli occupation”, adding that “The causes of the turmoil include settlements and the failure to achieve a Palestinian state.”<br />
<br />
Deane claimed that he is not justifying the death of Jewish civilians, but his efforts to explain Arab-Palestinian violence as a result of the very worst of supposed Israeli actions, namely as reactions by the “oppressed, persecuted, dispossessed and colonised”, is a distinct apologia for terrorism, as might be expected <a href="http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/63588/allied-anti-semitism-irish-connection-part-iii-rob-harris">given the extremism</a> of many of his prior expressions of support for the Arab-Palestinian cause.<br />
<br />
Deane’s criticism is without foundation. A significant amount of criticism of the media from anti-Israel voices, originates with a desire to see the Jewish State demonised to a greater intensity in the media, since such criticism is often directed at media sources that are explicitly pro-Palestinian, for example, <a href="http://ukmediawatch.org/2015/12/08/is-it-possible-to-understand-ben-whites-complaint-that-the-guardian-is-biased-against-palestinians/">the Guardian</a>, and the New York Times, with activists creating <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2016/02/npr_obfuscates_and_then_goes_s.html">fake bias</a> apology editorials.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>November’s peaks and troughs</b></div>
<br />
RTE’s TV coverage of the conflict became more infrequent during the month of November. The rate of the ongoing attacks had declined significantly, but still occurred at an atypically elevated level, with <a href="http://www.shabak.gov.il/English/EnTerrorData/Reports/Pages/ReportE122015.aspx">326 recorded attacks</a>, of which 249 utilised firebombs. Reports were brief other than that of the 12<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of November. Israeli undercover agents raided the Al Ahli Hospital Hebron, in the PA administered zone of the city, to retrieve Azzam Shalaldeh, a Hamas operative who had stabbed a Jewish resident two weeks earlier.<br />
<br />
The event was the second featured story in morning bulletins. Revolving screen text for the ‘News Now’ channel stated: “Israeli agents shoot man in hospital”. The raid became the headlining story for the Lunchtime News show, and subsequent afternoon news bulletins, which featured a report by Brian O’Donovan. News-presenter Aengus McGreanna stated “Undercover Israeli soldiers raid a hospital in the West Bank and kill a Palestinian man” in the <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/one-news-web/2015/1112/">opening headline</a> for the Lunchtime show. The 6.1 News also highlighted a very similar report.<br />
<br />
The report included numerous comments, and fact-based claims, by Arab-Palestinian individuals, but did not feature speakers presenting an alternate Israeli position. Despite a detailed report of the event itself, O’Donovan merely stated “There’s been a wave of violence in Israel, Jerusalem, and the West Bank, since the start of last month” as context for the concurrent wave of terrorist attacks and rioting.<br />
<br />
O’Donovan’s report features footage of the detained Arab-Palestinian man’s brother, claiming that his relative, Abdullah, was shot dead for merely looking at the Israeli agents, after having been told to stay in his part of Azzam Shalaldeh’s hospital room. This assertion diverges with the claim by the Israeli authorities, that the relative was shot dead for attacking the operatives. The viewer is presumably supposed to believe the former claim, since <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/nine-news-web/2015/1112/">similar reports</a> on the 9 o’clock News programme, and the 11 PM news bulletin, excluded all mention of the Israeli assertion, whilst affording the brother’s account absolute credibility. O’Donovan stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“During today’s operation, the suspect’s cousin was shot dead, and his brother witnessed it all.”</blockquote>
The late exclusion of one perspective was made <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4724483,00.html">despite available reports</a> that the Shalaldeh family had partially retracted the claim that Abdullah had not attacked the Israeli agents.<br />
<br />
The report featured the director of the hospital, Dr. Jihad Shawar, stating (by translation) “This is a clear breach of international laws and ethics. It is well known that hospitals are a safe place for everyone.” The claim that it is against international law to detain any individual while at a hospital is an unusual assertion, but the claim was not challenged. The Third Geneva Convention ‘relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War’, is the most widely cited international statute on the matter of the fair treatment of prisoner combatants. However, the Convention, does not apply to illegitimate combatants, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summary_execution#Exceptions_to_prisoners_of_war_status">principally defined as</a> individuals who do not follow the normative rules of engagement. It does not apply to those who engage in terrorist attacks, such as the intentional targeting of civilians uninvolved in a conflict. Moreover, Azzam Shalaldeh was not being held in custody by the Israeli authorities while in hospital.<br />
<br />
The story was newsworthy, but it is difficult to account for such intensive media focus on what was otherwise a busy day for domestic news stories, when the same news editors had largely ignored the insurgent Arab-Palestinian violence for several weeks. The video footage of disguised Israeli agents might be newsworthy, and indeed O’Donovan introduces the report with the words: “A dramatic armed raid captured on CCTV”. Yet visually dramatic Arab-Palestinian attacks on Israeli security personnel were also <a href="http://honestreporting.com/what-terrorism-looks-like/">caught on video</a> during the same period, but they did not garner attention at RTE. The broadcaster’s interest in the hospital-raid story was so significant that two suicide bombings in Beiruit, which at the time were known to have killed in excess of 37 people, and wounded hundreds more, played second-fiddle in the later news programmes.<br />
<br />
The BAI ‘Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs — Guidance Notes’, <a href="http://www.bai.ie/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/201300701_FairnessGuidance_vFinal.pdf">July 2013 (pages 8 – 9)</a>, note that news material should be accurate, unbiased, and lack prejudgement. Unfortunately, both RTE reports featured have breached these principles to a very substantive extent.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Appendix</b></div>
<br />
An excerpted transcript of the <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/1014/20863236-police-authorised-to-seal-off-palestinian-areas-in-east-jerusalem/">14<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> October</a> Lunchtime News report by Carole Coleman:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Presenter Sharon Toban [RTE studio]: “Israel’s cabinet has authorised police to seal off Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem and soldiers have been deployed in response to a worsening spate of violence. Seven Israelis and thirty Palestinians have been killed in the past two weeks.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Carole Coleman [narration and associated video footage]: “Israeli border police erecting road blocks in Arab East Jerusalem. They are stopping Palestinians for inspection — checking cars for anything that might be used to cause mayhem. The blockades sanctioned by Israel’s cabinet have been prompted by a wave of violence, stabbings and car rammings carried out by Arabs upset by Israeli occupation.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Many residents disagree with sealing off Palestinian areas.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Khader Ishkirat, a resident Jabel Mukaber: “The collective punishment will not achieve the goals of the Israeli government. The only way to achieve the goals of a peaceful way of living between the Israelis and the Palestinians is to establish the two-state solution.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Coleman continues: “Human Rights Watch fears the blockade will make things worse.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Sari Bashi, Human Rights Watch: “Given the history of abuse and neglect by Israeli authorities in East Jerusalem, it’s only going to exacerbate tensions between residents and police. It’s exactly what we don’t need.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Coleman continues: “Seven Israelis have been brutally murdered in the past two weeks. Thirty Palestinians have died in the ensuing violence.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The causes of the turmoil include settlements and the failure to achieve a Palestinian state. But Palestinians also cite increased encroachment on the al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, an area holy to both Muslims and Jews.” […]</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/analysing-trends-in-mainstream-media-bias-rte-s-coverage-of-the-2015-quasi-intifada-part-two/israel/2016/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i></div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-34033695855898178322016-06-11T12:50:00.000+01:002016-06-11T14:40:11.085+01:00The Shapes of Casual Western Anti-Zionism<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDeA5zbyGrNM7yoKfpv12sPQ32qBWNvxm1x3Tr-r7h9k5mQ6Iqm2c7kf2VQBTx3OEVBDj0vEwW87mnvHDv-kD_FYlZnxS0viG4wzDUldpnpST06HYJO3FkjkSXqwaxiNfuDda_eN7ZHZH0/s1600/jerusalem.dayan_.rabin_.zeevi_.narkis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDeA5zbyGrNM7yoKfpv12sPQ32qBWNvxm1x3Tr-r7h9k5mQ6Iqm2c7kf2VQBTx3OEVBDj0vEwW87mnvHDv-kD_FYlZnxS0viG4wzDUldpnpST06HYJO3FkjkSXqwaxiNfuDda_eN7ZHZH0/s400/jerusalem.dayan_.rabin_.zeevi_.narkis.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida sans unicode" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, Chief of staff Yitzhak Rabin, Gen. Rehavam Zeevi (R), Gen. Narkis, in Old Jerusalem<br />(ILAN BRUNER 7/6/67, </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/government_press_office/6325710948/" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #1873cc; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Sans Unicode", sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">GPO</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida sans unicode" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">; shared under the CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Those that criticise Israel particularly harshly over the Jewish State’s handling of the conflict, often argue that ‘Jews should know better’ or words to the same effect. This stance appeals to a protracted history of persecution and genocide in Europe, which reached a peak with the Holocaust.<br />
<br />
This seemingly reflexive bias can find expression in some unexpected places. Godfrey Graham, a seasoned cameraman who worked in current-affairs programming at RTE, since the early period of the Broadcaster’s transmission service, described several filming engagements in Israel for his memoir ‘Forty Years Behind the Lens at RTE’, published by Ashfield Press (Dublin).<br />
<br />
This relatively detailed article focuses on a number of paragraphs in Graham’s memoir — a book that was clearly not intended to be an exposition of the conflict. There does not appear to be a substantive animus held by the author toward Israel, for he describes his general experiences in quite positive terms. Yet the relevant paragraphs present a clear narrative, which forcefully asserts that the Jewish people of Israel are morally blameworthy, while the Arabs of the region are not. Thus, it represents a good example of the commonplace casually anti-Zionist views often expressed in the West today.<br />
<br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>What Israeli-Jews ought to do</b></div>
<br />
Of a visit to Israel in the early 1980s, Graham described (pages 142–144) a pleasant meeting with Chaim Herzog (President of Israel between 1983 and 1993), who was born in Belfast and had strong links with Dublin which were discussed in a convivial atmosphere. However, Graham’s tone darkened when it came to the matter of the conflict:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We visited refugee camps, where Arabs had been moved to temporary camps in 1944. There is a picture of a very dignified gentleman living in appalling conditions, who made wooden farm instruments and had a philosophical approach to being in the camp but hoped that one day he would have his home and his land back.<br />
<br />
The fact that Jerusalem has a strong Arab quarter and that all the great religions are represented there with some important shrines, seems to point to the fact that, ultimately, it must be a capital city that represents all the great religious traditions and not just the city for one dominant tradition. This would seem to me the only fair way forward. Just as the Jewish people longed for a homeland, they should be the first to see the need Palestinians have for a homeland, too.”</blockquote>
In what sense did Graham deem Judaism to be the “dominant” religious tradition of Jerusalem? Clearly he views Judaism’s apparent dominance to have been instituted illegitimately under Israeli rule, rather than being as a consequence of Judaism’s greater ties with the city than that of any other faith, where, for example, the Torah <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=4&x_article=1355">mentions</a> Jerusalem hundreds of times, while <a href="http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2006/01/offer-1-million-for-finding-jerusalem-in-the">it is not named</a> at all in the Koran. Graham’s stance naturally leads to the conclusion that Israel is trying to “Judaise Jerusalem” as many anti-Israel activists allege.<br />
<br />
The Jewish populace of East Jerusalem (including the famous Jewish Quarter of the old city) was ethnically cleansed in 1948 by Jordan. The Christian populace of East Jerusalem declined dramatically in the following decades, choosing to emigrate to other parts of Jordan and abroad. We can see that a “dominant” Islamic “tradition” can abuse its power, but, after the Six Day war the Arab populace of Jerusalem has grown at <a href="http://www.jiis.org/.upload/facts-2012-eng.pdf">double the percentile rate</a> of the Jewish populace (155% Jewish and 314% Arab) between the years 1967 and 2010. The Christian populace has only grown marginally, and in view of the rapid growth of the Arab-Islamic populace now just represents 2% of Jerusalem, but the dramatic decline under Jordanian rule has been reversed.<br />
<br />
While Graham was active in the media, he would have surely been aware that Old (East) Jerusalem was off-limits to the regional Jewish populace because Jordan, which occupied the territory until 1967, prevented Jewish people accessing religious sites (including the Wailing Wall, which is one of the last structural remnants of the Temple Mount compound), in contravention with the Armistice Agreement of 1949 between the two nations. Under Jordanian rule, many Jewish religious sites were repeatedly <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=4&x_article=1355">desecrated and destroyed</a> in violation of Article 8 the agreement, as repeatedly brought to the attention of the United Nations.<br />
<br />
After East Jerusalem’s recapture, Levi Eshkol, the Israeli prime-minister of the time, promptly declared that the holy sites of all faiths in Jerusalem would be protected, as would their freedom to worship at such sites. Moshe Dayan famously ceded control of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif to the Islamic Wafq, and established the precedent of giving Muslims exclusive rights of worship on the Temple Mount Compound. This is a matter of the utmost sensitivity to the Islamic faith — hence the rioting when Ariel Sharon visited the site, a visit that was used as an excuse by Arafat for the commencement of the Second Intifada, which was still a major news story at the time of the publication of the memoir.<br />
<br />
Therefore, under the rule of the Jewish State there is a seemingly unique situation where the leaders of the “dominant tradition” actually repress their own religious rights to placate another religious grouping, which has a longstanding hostility toward the “dominant tradition”. This Islamo-supremacist denial of the most basic of Jewish religious rights also extends to attempts to claim the Wailing Wall for the Muslim faith, an effort <a href="http://myrightword.blogspot.co.il/2015/10/the-pa-proposes-un-disposes-and-to.html">that began</a> in the 1920s to the present. Historically, related Islamic conspiracism <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=118&x_article=1691">surrounding the Temple Mount</a> has led to acts of genocide (1929), and the continued incitement thereof. Yet the accusations that Israel is an “apartheid” nation continue unabated with the anti-Israel movement.<br />
<br />
It is difficult to see how Graham can suggest that the Jewish people of Israel have not attempted to facilitate an Arab-Palestinian homeland. This stance would necessitate ignoring such well-established facts as Arafat walking out of the Camp David talks (2000), the Taba talks of 2001, etc., which offered all of Gaza, almost all of Judea and Samaria, and a large swathe of East Jerusalem with substantive control over the Temple Mount. It should be noted that Jordan/Transjordan already constitutes more than three-quarters of what was originally envisaged to be the “Jewish National Home” and as such represents the established nation for the Arabs of the region. When speaking of a “homeland” for Arab-Palestinians, Yasser Arafat’s <a href="http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_direct_link.cfm/blog_id/12181/#Arabism_.26_Violence:_Dictatorship.2C_Totalitarianism.2C_Oppression.2C_War.2C_Terrorism">assertion</a>, when he spoke to reporter Arianna Palazzi in 1970, is relevant:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
‘From the Arab standpoint, we mustn’t talk about borders. Palestine is nothing but a drop in an enormous ocean. Our nation is the Arabic nation that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea and beyond it… The P.L.O. is fighting Israel in the name of Pan-Arabism. What you call “Jordan” is nothing more than Palestine.”’</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Criticism of Jewish-Israeli morality</b></div>
<br />
When visiting Israel to film a Gate Theatre production of iconic Irish play ‘Juno and the Paycock’, Graham decided to again focus on supposed Jewish-Israeli immorality in relation to the plight of the Arab-Palestinians (page 226):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“While in Israel, our team got an opportunity to visit the profoundly moving sculpture depicting the Holocaust. That image will remain with me forever. We visited a refugee camp where Arabs had been told way back in 1948 they were going for a temporary period. The tragedy of the displacement of the Arab people is something the Israelis should understand, given the Jewish experience and their long journey to find their homeland. We met one man (his picture is presented on previous page) who had spent most of his life in this ‘temporary’ refugee camp. He had tremendous dignity and lived in just two very small, bear rooms but, despite his horrible experience, retained a gentleness of spirit that inspired all of us who met him. I often wonder whether he is still alive.”</blockquote>
This paragraph begins with a rather detached image evoking the subject of the Holocaust, which is contrasted with another image of an Arab-Palestinian refugee, before expounding on the latter subject. Graham seems to be intentionally reinforcing his point with this juxtaposition — that there is a lacking in the substance in the national morality of the Jewish-Israeli populace, since they, of-all-people, should understand the suffering of another group, given the way in which Jewish people were persecuted.<br />
<br />
Graham fails to explain why “Arabs had been told way back in 1948 they were going for a temporary period” to a refugee camp, He appears to refer to the many Arab-Egyptian and Arab-Palestinian people who left a newly independent Israel <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4617/israel-fact-fiction">at the instruction</a> of Arab invaders so the Jewish State could be more easily destroyed, with the promise that they could soon return (within a few weeks) once the deed was done. Others left out of fear of reprisals once the Arab forces began to fail in their objective. This is a crucial point that goes to the very heart of pan-Arab aggression and existential rejectionism. Graham’s assertion may be indicative of perceptive bias, where vital facts are disposed because they do not comply with a certain narrative, or the omission may be more intentional, because it would greatly undermine attempts to hold Israeli-Jews responsible.<br />
<br />
Graham described an Arab-Palestinian refugee in understandably sympathetic terms but this man, and his contemporaries, suffered because the Arab-Islamic world refused to accept Israel’s existence, and instead chose to wage a war of aggression. It is their misfortunate that the sole Jewish State in existence was not destroyed, and that the Jewish people did not face genocide — a very real threat made by <a href="http://www.meforum.org/3082/azzam-genocide-threat">Azzam Pasha in 1947</a>. The so-called “Nabka” (Catastrophe), where between 472,000 and 650,000 Arab-Palestinians were displaced, could have been avoided if the Arab world recognised the right of Jewish independence with UN Resolution 181, in what constituted just a small portion their ancient ancestral homeland, in a rather small fraction of the original British Palestine Mandate, instead of waging an unofficial sectarian war from 1947 to 1948, and invading one day after Israel declared its independence in 1948, with a coalition of seven armies.<br />
<br />
The Arab states refused Arab/Arab-Palestinian <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6484/jordan-palestinians?anid=7">refugees citizenship</a>, and curbed their basic rights. Israel feared they would become a fifth column in the <a href="http://www.beyondimages.info/b211.html">absence</a> of peace, but still offered to take back 100,000 at the Lausanne talks of 1949, to which the Arab nations refused. Nevertheless, 50,000 refugees <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2013/07/ashrawi_on_cnn_so_predictable.html">did return</a> under a family reunification programme, as well as a further 75,000 displaced by the Six Day War. Israel also absorbed vast numbers of Jewish people fleeing persecution in Arab lands. Thus, if Graham wants Jewish people to accept the notion of an Arab-Palestinian homeland (which they have), then that request must be justly conditional upon Arab-Palestinian society accepting Jewish self-determination in Israel. Otherwise, strife is merely continued, albeit at a higher intensity a la the defacto nation of Gaza.<br />
<br />
Graham only mentions Arab-Palestinian terrorism in passing, when relating Chaim Herzog’s humorous remark that the SAM rockets fired by “Palestinian factions” (pages 143 – 144) were in range of his Tel Aviv home: “He said that a SAM could make a huge mess of your fruit trees if you were not careful.”<br />
<br />
Paradoxically, Graham criticises the now-independent Jewish-Israelis who have a homeland, for not understanding the displacement of the Arab-Palestinians from the 1948-49 War of Independence. Yet it has long been a key demand of Yasser Arafat’s PLO to push for a so-called “<a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-palestinian-wrong-of-return-demystifying-the-legal-basis-of-the-right-of-return-and-overinflated-refugee-numbers/">right of return</a>” to nullify Israel’s existence as a principally Jewish State. The two conditions are mutually exclusive so it seems Graham is indirectly criticising Israeli-Jews for not seeking a loss of their own homeland, their own self-determination, and religious freedom, free of the persecution visited upon them by the Islamic world for over a millennia, which peaked with their oppression, genocide and expulsion from the Arab-Islamic world between the 1920s and 1970.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>An authentic homeland?</b></div>
<br />
Graham appears to doubt the strength of the historic links between Israel and the Jewish People, since he describes the re-establishment of Israel as their “long journey to <b>find</b> their homeland”. In an earlier paragraph Graham talks of “the Jewish people” having “longed for <b>a</b> homeland” [emphasis added].<br />
<br />
Graham may have in mind Theodore Herzl’s early flirtation with the idea of establishing a Jewish safe-haven in South America, because it was further away from the locus of the imperialist ambitions of the Western powers, which saw opportunities to carve up the territories of the ailing Ottoman Empire, and also avoided Palestine’s geographical proximity to the Russian Empire which had brutally oppressed its quite large Jewish populace. However, the defacto Zionist movement’s return to Palestine <a href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1245184859050">preceded Herzl</a>. It seems the secular-minded Herzl may not have fully appreciated the scale of the importance of Palestine to the Jewish people — an importance that led to migration back to the homeland hundreds of years earlier, long before the Zionism movement was devised, and so Herzl’s idea was abandoned.<br />
<br />
A passing knowledge of Jewish culture and history demonstrates that the Israeli State is located on part of the ancient homeland of the Jews. They constitute an indigenous people, which numerous<a href="http://www.nature.com/ejhg/journal/v13/n3/full/5201319a.html?message=remove&iframe=true&width=100%&height=100%">objective genetic</a> studies <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/06/03/the-dna-of-abraham-s-children.html">have demonstrated</a>. It explains the fact that Jerusalem features so strongly in the Torah, in prayer and in sayings, and, as such, are morally entitled to live in a region from which their ancestors were displaced, by successive pagan, Christian and Islamic empires. This is rather more than merely “a” homeland, that the Jewish people journeyed to “find” after fleeing the Christian West.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/the-shapes-of-casual-western-anti-zionism/israel/2016/">Published at Crethi Plethi.</a></i></div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-14171997408467560642016-06-01T13:30:00.000+01:002016-06-01T13:52:44.793+01:00He Said-They Said: Mahmoud Abbas October 14th speech, and the Mainstream Media<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgafCj9pGfVAPhyphenhyphenopQF0YGrhNllr3F23ZsH6NRaMl0syOeUB_L9DIiGBHjyXvFY_EDq0rBJjmZLw_L0n1ijr11cpSLS-w9CAReqRVREfSWfa4ashWCutv0gHNRO05v-XIdCAuxRwfh6u6E9/s1600/Mahmoud-Abbas-AP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgafCj9pGfVAPhyphenhyphenopQF0YGrhNllr3F23ZsH6NRaMl0syOeUB_L9DIiGBHjyXvFY_EDq0rBJjmZLw_L0n1ijr11cpSLS-w9CAReqRVREfSWfa4ashWCutv0gHNRO05v-XIdCAuxRwfh6u6E9/s320/Mahmoud-Abbas-AP.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas (AP)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority’s president, delivered an important televised speech to Arab-Palestinian society on October the 14<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> last year, during the height of a newly resurgent period of violence, which some commentators thought to be the opening salvo of a new Arab-Palestinian intifada or uprising. AFP (Agence-France Presse) described the speech in an article entitled “<a href="http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/news/abbas-says-he-backs-peaceful-struggle-against-israeli-occupation_35781">Abbas says he backs 'peaceful' struggle against Israeli occupation</a>”:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Wednesday he favours "peaceful, popular resistance" against Israeli occupation, amid a two-week wave of violence that has killed more than 30 people on both sides.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In a speech broadcast on official Palestinian television, his first since the outbreak of the violence, Abbas spoke of the Palestinian people's 'right to defend ourselves' and 'pursue our national struggle'."</blockquote>
The ‘Abbas favours “peaceful, popular resistance” against Israeli occupation’ sentiment was echoed in other mainstream syndicated news services. Aron Heller, of the Associated Press, <a href="http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israeli-military-begins-deploying-in-cities-to-stop-attacks/ar-AAfqBcZ">wrote</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“In a brief speech Wednesday, Abbas called for a peaceful "national struggle." He also threatened to submit a case to the International Criminal Court against what he called Israel's "extrajudicial killings" of Palestinians.”</blockquote>
That same day RTE’s 9 PM news programme featured a report by Carol Coleman (“<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/1014/20863550-two-palestinians-shot-dead-in-latest-spate-of-attacks-in-israel/">Two Palestinians shot dead in latest spate of attacks in Israel</a>”) which presented the speech thusly:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“This evening Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas held firm, saying that Palestinians would continue to struggle for the project of nation or state-hood. He spoke of the right to self defence but called for non-violent resistance.”</blockquote>
Al Jazeera America <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/10/14/israeli-troops-start-deploying-seals-off-east-jerusalem.html">stated</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Addressing Palestinians for the first time since the violence began, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said in a recorded televised speech he supported 'peaceful and popular' struggle against Israel."</blockquote>
The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinhua_News_Agency">Xinhua News Agency</a> similarly emphasised Abbas’ <a href="http://www.herald.co.zw/palestinians-will-keep-struggle-against-israel-says-abbas/">supposed desire</a> for a meaningful peace, while in an article carrying the headline “<a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/palestinians-still-extend-hand-for-real-peace-process-abbas-115101500008_1.html">Palestinians still extend hand for real peace process: Abbas</a>”, the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) also described the speech in peaceful terms.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>What Abbas really said</b></div>
<br />
The reader would rightly understand such descriptions of the speech as the first seeds of a de-escalation of violence. However, the speech was received very differently in Israel.<br />
<br />
Most sectors of Israeli society, including some segments of the more “dovish” left, <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/caught-in-a-lie-cast-as-a-villain/">condemned Abbas’ speech</a>. Indeed, the leader of the liberal secular Yesh Atid party <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-accuses-israel-of-executing-teen-pisgat-zeev-stabber/">lambasted the speech</a> in the strongest possible terms.<br />
<br />
Which perspective on the speech is correct? A full English translation provided by the <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israel-and-its-herd-of-settlers-are-terrorizing-Palestine-426003">Jerusalem Post</a> (much of which is reproduced below) amply validates the criticism that emanated from Israel.<br />
<br />
In the paragraph below, Abbas does indeed speak of “non-violent popular resistance” but he simultaneously endorses the past violence of the PLO, to which he repeatedly refers:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We will continue our legitimate national struggle, which is based on our right to defend ourselves and on non-violent popular resistance and political and legal struggle. We will work with needed patience, wisdom and courage to protect our people and our political and national achievements, which we have achieved after decades of hard work and persistence through a long path of martyrs, injured people and prisoners.”</blockquote>
He continues, describing this violence or terrorism as the “price of our freedom” which will soon come:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“It’s true that we paid a big price through the blood of our martyrs, the injured, the tears of our mothers and the pain of our prisoners. However, it’s the price of our freedom, which is around the corner…”</blockquote>
Abbas speaks of tearing up the Oslo Accords, the foundational agreement between the PLO and Israel allowing for Yasser Arafat’s return to Ramallah in 1993 from exile in Tunisia, which facilitates shared security measures (<a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/iaannex1.html#article2">Article II</a>), the transfer of taxes, <a href="http://besacenter.org/mideast-security-and-policy-studies/the-israeli-palestinian-water-conflict-an-israeli-perspective-3-2/">water resources</a> etc., to the new Palestinian Authority:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We will together continue with you our national, political and legal struggle. We will not remain hostage to the agreements that are not respected by Israel, and we will continue to join the international organizations and treaties”</blockquote>
Abbas claims that Israel did not respect the Oslo Interim Accord, a view that he has <a href="http://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/palestinians-no-longer-bound-by-pacts-with-israel-abbas-31572675.html">often asserted</a>. However, grave and longstanding breaches by the PLO <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/how-israel-caused-the-oslo-accords-to-fail-1.254165">undermine the notion</a> that the terror group was ever serious about peace. An <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/time90s.html">upsurge in terrorist attacks</a> during the 90s undermined the possibility of final status negotiations. The newly established PA police force did not fulfil their security obligations under Oslo II, the PLO charter was <a href="http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=36715">not changed</a> to recognise Israel (<a href="http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/peace/guide/pages/the%20israeli-palestinian%20interim%20agreement.aspx">Article XXXI, section 9</a>), nor were the undertakings to stop using paramilitary forces (Article XIV, section 3) and <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2013/10/wheres_the_coverage_palestinia_7.html">incitement to violence</a> (Article XXII) upheld. Abbas also continues to breach the agreement with unilateral moves to achieve statehood without negotiation.<br />
<br />
The speech ends with the threat of continued violence and an exhortation of those Arab-Palestinians involved in the violence and terrorist acts:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Here, I invite you my great people, wherever you are, to, unite and be wary of the occupation schemes designed to abort and terminate our national project. We will never hesitate to defend our people and to protect them this is our right.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A tribute to the martyr’s… greetings to the wounded, greetings to the prisoners.”</blockquote>
In an earlier part of the speech, Abbas describes the conflict in apocalyptic terms, and blames Israel solely for the violence:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, land and holy places continues to escalate. The racist barbarism exacerbates the ugliness of the occupation, in a way that threatens peace and stability and the igniting of a religious conflict that would burn everything, not only in the region but perhaps the whole world. […]</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We are clearly saying that we will not accept a change in the status quo of al-Aksa Mosque compound, as we will not allow any Israeli schemes aimed at compromising its holiness and Islamic identity to pass. It’s our exclusive right: for the Palestinians and Muslims everywhere in the world.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We are asking for our rights, justice and peace, we do not commit aggression on anyone and we do not accept aggression against our people, our nation and our holy places”</blockquote>
Abbas describes the clashes on the Temple Mount in purely defensive terms. When speaking of self-defence, Abbas is <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/abbas-calls-for-calm-solidarity-with-temple-mount-rioters/">justifying such violence</a> which, paradoxically, is seen in defensive fashion by many of the faithful within the Islamic world. Muslims have claimed that the Jewish people of Israel are attempting to destroy the al-Aqsa Mosque. This trend began in 1929 when the then-Mufti of Jerusalem incited genocide, leading to the mutilation and slaughter of many Jewish civilians, especially in Hebron – the second holiest city within the Jewish faith. Abbas’ audience would not be deaf to the power of his words, which he often reiterated, as for example in an <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/abbas-calls-for-calm-solidarity-with-temple-mount-rioters/">October 8<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> statement</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas says the Palestinians will not be 'dragged' into more violence with Israel, but says his people stand with those 'protecting Al-Aqsa mosque.'</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Speaking to business leaders on Thursday in Ramallah Abbas says he is committed to 'peaceful popular resistance,' though he backs rioters who recently barricaded themselves inside Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque and clashed with Israeli police on the Temple Mount."</blockquote>
Whilst describing the clashes on the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif in defensive terms, he nonetheless reiterated in the October 14<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> speech that Muslims had sole rights over the contested religious site, asserting that “it’s our exclusive right: for the Palestinians and Muslims everywhere in the world.”<br />
<br />
Abbas not only repeated the patently false charge that the Israeli State wished to change the status quo of the Temple Mount, a claim originating in the 1920s, <a href="http://jcpa.org/al-aksa-is-in-danger-libel-prologue/">which evolved</a> after Israel retook East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, an assertion that initiated the Autumn 2015 spate of violence (as well as the Second Intifada), he heightened the political temperature by falsely claiming that Israel was the aggressor of this violence, and that Israel is destroying homes - an <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/02/08/palestinian-authority-rewards-terrorists-for-number-of-jews-they-kill/">action against the financial rewards</a> provided by the Palestinian Authority for encouraging terrorism by providing substantial financial incentives.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><b>Ahmed Manasra’s martyrdom</b></b><br />
<b><b><br /></b></b></div>
<b>
</b>
And yet the baleful quality of such sentiments was nothing new for Abbas – the section of his speech that <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4711817,00.html">caused real controversy</a> was the claim that Israel murdered a youth called Ahmed Manasra:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We will not give up to the logic of brute force, policies of occupation and aggression practiced by the Israeli government and the herd of settlers who are engaged in terrorism against our people, our holy places, our homes, our trees and the execution of our children in cold blood as they did with the child Ahmed Manasra and other children from Jerusalem.”</blockquote>
Ahmed Manasra is a thirteen-year-old Arab-Palestinian, who engaged in an indiscriminate stabbing spree with his fifteen-year-old brother in a Jewish neighbourhood of East Jerusalem called Pisgat Ze'ev, as vividly caught on CCTV footage. Manasrah stabbed a thirteen-year-old Israeli boy multiple times, rendering him <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=6&x_article=3179">clinically dead upon arrival</a> at hospital. Abbas’ claim was <a href="http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-refutes-abbass-claim-palestinian-child-was-executed-cold-blood-1133614881">easily refuted</a> with the publication of an image of Manasrah recovering in an Israeli hospital after he was injured when struck by a car. Yet Abbas attempted to present the Arab-Palestinian teen who engaged in a particularly savage stabbing attack as a martyr akin to the falsified <a href="http://www.meforum.org/3076/muhammad-al-dura-hoax">Mohammad al-Dura case</a>, a hoax that has been used as a widespread source of incitement in the Arab-Islamic world.<br />
<br />
A day before Abbas’ television speech, one of Abbas’ spokesmen also claimed Manasrah <a href="http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=15885">was executed</a> and compared the youth with al-Dura:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina stated that the execution of child Hassan Manasrah in front of the media, as child Muhammad Al-Dura was executed in the year 2000, is an abominable crime, and the legal, humanitarian and political responsibility for it is on the Israeli government.”</blockquote>
The fabrication seemed to work. Micah Halpern, of the New York Observer, noted the effect <a href="http://observer.com/2015/10/official-misconduct-how-mahmoud-abbas-lies-to-incite-violence/">caused by this lie</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
‘Mr. Abbas used expressions like “Israeli aggression” against the Palestinian people, their holy places and their homes. He spoke of the “executions of children like Ahmed Manasra.” He actually calls terrorists victims and heroes. And the Arabic press backs him up.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Here are two Arabic press news headlines. The first one reads: “Palestinian Child Bleeds to Death While Israeli Police and Civilians Watch, Shouting Insults.” The second reads: “Teen Shot by Israelis Stomped On, Left to Bleed to Death.”’</blockquote>
US news channel MSNBC <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=3&x_outlet=16&x_article=3147">reinforced Abbas’ account</a> of Ahmed Manasra’s falsified martyrdom whilst Vice News <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=6&x_article=3179">minimised</a> what was a particularly savage stabbing attack, by claiming that it was merely an attempted stabbing. However, controversy over Manasra’s would lead the PA to <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/PLO-issues-revised-version-of-Abbas-controversial-execution-speech-426049">amend their translation</a> of Abbas’ speech, which was changed to say that Manasra and other children were “shot at in cold blood.”<br />
<br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Words of defence as words of aggression</b></div>
<br />
The very considerable divergence between the international media’s presentation of the October 14<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> speech, and its interpretation in both Israel and the Arab world, related to basic descriptions of the content of the speech and how Abbas’ claims ought to be understood in view of the ongoing conflict.<br />
<br />
Abbas’ speech did not subtly suggest a de-escalation of violence, or express a favouring for non-violent methods. His call to action was starkly framed by images of Israeli aggression and murder, supposedly designed to prevent the basic rights of Arab-Palestinian people to live in their homes, to worship freely, and to achieve political freedom. How could the media justify describing the speech as endorsing non-violent methods to gain statehood? Perhaps because Abbas’ speeches use language that conjures up superficial notions of humanism. To analyse the first of two sentences most indicative peaceful intent:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We are asking for our rights, justice and peace, we do not commit aggression on anyone and we do not accept aggression against our people, our nation and our holy places”</blockquote>
This sentence uses the noble words “peace” and “justice” but Abbas does not voice any criticism (however feeble) of the then-recent spate of Arab-Palestinian terror attacks against Jewish civilians. Instead Abbas claims that the Arab-Palestinian collective does not “commit aggression,” but rather that Israeli authorities and Jewish people living in Judea and Samaria (AKA the West Bank) are aggressing against them in the renewed violence. By contrast, when a <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/5-killed-gaza-stabbing-attacks-continue-israel-article-1.2391486">reprisal attack</a> occurred, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “strongly condemned the harming of innocent Arabs” and warned those resorting to violence would be brought to justice. The Western ideal of justice, with the iconic image of the scales of balance representing fairness, has no real meaning in Abbas’ world.<br />
<br />
Abbas’ notion of “rights” is also problematic because it is politically loaded by decades of conflict-propaganda. The primary longstanding Arab-Palestinian demand is for the so-called “Right of Return”, which is couched in the language of human rights, even though it has no <a href="http://maurice-ostroff.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/resolution-194.pdf">legal basis</a> or <a href="http://www.pol-inc-pol.com/2015/09/refugees-point-of-no-return.html">moral justification</a> – rather it is an effort to nullify Israel’s existence as a principally Jewish State through demographic means, despite being wholly incompatible with the longstanding "two states for two peoples" approach to the peace process.<br />
<br />
The supposedly peaceful stance of sentence two reinforces the difficulties in the first quoted sentence:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We will continue our legitimate national struggle, which is based on our right to defend ourselves and on non-violent popular resistance and political and legal struggle.”</blockquote>
This sentence talks of “non-violent popular resistance,” which likely refers to the wide-scale riotous violence which is typically described as “protest” by the media. Furthermore, the statement distinguishes between this form of action and the “right to defend ourselves.” Thus, AFP’s claim that Abbas "favours "peaceful, popular resistance" is clearly incorrect. He actually legitimised ongoing sectarian violence, which often targeted Jewish-Israeli civilians, as an inherent right of self-defence.<br />
<br />
In a November 16<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> broadcast on PA television, Abbas explained his intent. He described the attacks <a href="http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=16437">as part of</a> a “peaceful uprising” (seemingly because some of the attacks did not use military hardware), and admitted to calling for terror attacks:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We said to everyone that we want peaceful popular uprising, and that’s what this is. That’s what this is. However, the aggression of firing bullets has come from the Israelis.”</blockquote>
A poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research also found that <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2015/12/by_popular_demand_hamas_celebr.html">a majority</a> of Arab-Palestinians believe that Fatah, the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority, supported the terror attacks.<br />
<br />
When leaders express such obvious counterfactuals as the claim that the Arab-Palestinian collective “<a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4711538,00.html">do not commit aggression on anyone</a>,” then their statements must be treated with scepticism and be duly scrutinised. This ought to be deemed a significant ethical issue, particularly during a period of substantive conflict. Where there is a parallel endorsement of ongoing and prior acts of terrorism, it necessarily follows that the use of words like “peace,” “peaceful struggle,” and “defence” can only be legitimately viewed in propagandistic terms.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Lethal results</b></div>
<br />
In keeping with Abbas’ description of Arab-Palestinian violence as defensive, whilst Israel and segments of the regional Jewish populace commit acts of aggression, an incendiary August 1<span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span> 2015 speech<a href="http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/5098.htm">asserted</a> that “the story of the [Jewish] Temple is… the greatest crime and forgery in history,” and as a means to allow the Jewish People to conquer historic Palestine and “get rid of the al-Aqsa [mosque].” In September Abbas <a href="http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=708#853">spoke</a> on a PA television channel, heaping blessings on the Murabitin/Murabitat (defenders or guardians of the faith), which the PA and Islamic Movement in Israel hired to harass non-Muslim visitors at the Temple Mount. He added these now-infamous words:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“we bless every drop of blood that has been spilled for Jerusalem, which is clean and pure blood, blood spilled for Allah, Allah willing. Every Martyr (Shahid) will reach Paradise, and everyone wounded will be rewarded by Allah. The Al-Aqsa [Mosque] is ours, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is ours, and they (the Jews) have no right to defile them with their filthy feet. We will not allow them to, and we will do everything in our power to protect Jerusalem.”</blockquote>
These words were followed <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Column-One-Abbas-must-be-stopped-421387">all too predictably</a> by an intensified period of violence, with numerous Arab-Palestinian terrorists citing these very reasons for attempting to kill Israeli civilians or security personnel, for example, Muhannad Halabi, a nineteen-year-old university student, <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-third-intifada-is-here-jerusalem-terrorist-wrote-day-before-attack/">who murdered two Israelis</a> and injured a further two, including a two-year-old. He wrote on a Facebook page:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“What is happening to al-Aqsa [mosque] is what is happening to our holy sites, and what is happening to the women of al-Aqsa [the Murabitat] is what is happening to our mothers and women. I don’t believe that our people will succumb to humiliation.”</blockquote>
Halabi decided to kill because he was outraged at the arrest of murabitat for abusing Temple Mount visitors, an act by the Israeli authorities that he characterised as aggressive, and as a “humiliation”. His parents would also <a href="http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=17018">praise</a> their “martyred son” for “avenging” those of the Muslim faith on Temple Mount “against the impure enemies.”<br />
<br />
Besides constituting one of many examples of the Islamist supremacism so defining this conflict, as forcefully reinforced by the <a href="http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/5129.htm">tone of incitement</a> during the period, the terrorist views his act as defensive, which the Arab-Palestinian authorities reinforce in conceptually bizarre ways. Thus, terrorists who attack, injure and/or kill are commonly <a href="http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=911&doc_id=15988">described as defenceless</a> when they themselves are killed in acts of self-defence, <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/206941-8Pl9600">which is used</a> to fuel further violent intent to attack Israeli civilians and/or security personnel.<br />
<br />
This peculiar form of reasoning is founded on a century of Arab-Islamic rejectionism, based on the notion that the Jewish people have no right of self-determination in the region, <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/195441">regardless of how small the territory</a> might be that they may possess. For example, the 1964 PLO Charter rejects UN Resolution 181 (Article 17: “The Partitioning of Palestine in 1947 and the establishment of Israel are illegal and false…”). In effect any violent response to Israel is an act of self-defence, while Abbas still refuses to <a href="http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=16053">accept the existence of Israel</a>, especially as a Jewish state. This longstanding Arab-Palestinian perspective explains why so many perceive acts of aggression to be acts of defence. Article 15 of the <a href="http://www.mefacts.com/cache/html/palestinians/10366.htm">PLO Charter</a> (or ‘Palestinian National Charter’) makes it clear that war, violence and <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3316183,00.html">even terrorism against Israel</a> is viewed in purely defensive terms:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The liberation of Palestine, from an Arab viewpoint, is a national (qawmi) duty and it attempts to repel the Zionist and imperialist aggression against the Arab homeland, and aims at the elimination of Zionism in Palestine. Absolute responsibility for this falls upon the Arab nation––peoples and governments…”</blockquote>
It is quite clear that much of the lexicon of terms utilised by Arab-Palestinian leaders have been highly distorted by conflict-propaganda, and so these terms should be understood differently to that of their commonly understood usage. This fact would not come as a surprise to seasoned journalists familiar with the effects of incitement. However, after the major upsurge in violence, with various Fatah leaders and spokesmen <a href="http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=471&doc_id=15928">celebrating and endorsing</a> such acts of terror, the regional mainstream media bureaux did not read Abbas’ 14<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> October speech with any level of scepticism. The PA president is rarely presented as anything other than a moderate politician by the media, a peacemaker who doesn’t have a partner for peace with a supposedly-intransigent Israel.<br />
<br />
Over a period of months, the mainstream media would continue to present the surge in Arab-Palestinian violence as a <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/not-an-uprising-against-occupation-an-uprising-against-israel/">despairing response</a> to failed peace efforts, rather than as a consequence of Islamist supremacism and/or extreme nationalism. Some media experts even believe that religious sectarianism etc. <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-says-glick-shooter-will-go-to-heaven-as-martyr/">is irrelevant</a> when attempting to explain this violence, contenting themselves by <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=2&x_article=3183">reiterating</a> Arab-Palestinian talking points.<br />
<br />
And yet surveys demonstrate that Arab-Palestinian society continues to believe that the al-Aqsa compound is in <a href="http://www.pcpsr.org/en/node/505">grave danger</a>, despite the fact that the site has been in Israel’s possession for nearly half a century, and continue to <a href="http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/other/PalestinianPollingReport_June2014.pdf">favour the elimination of Israel</a>, which would be replaced by a nation where Jewish people would not share equal rights with Arabs.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Published at the <a href="http://www.newenglishreview.org/Robert_Harris/He_Said-They_Said:_Mahmoud_Abbas_October_14th_speech,_and_the_Mainstream_Media/">New English Review</a>.</i></div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-10756611188241290752016-05-25T12:03:00.000+01:002016-05-25T12:36:38.936+01:00Anti-Zionism’s links with anti-Semitism - RTE subscribes to Livingstone Formulation in Labour Party controversy<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimTd33JjZAOLr-oBFHut_t1Eq-3uIKlfbA3y10YwBIHqCGG9_OPXR3o5pRhDLhwVF2ItCY6XNVU9zm5w1vwQu67kPyAk_PkHxiF889Z7IJlDWzJxR5Mmn523GMTyLtmRnOAcKqEvNutALL/s1600/ken.livingstone.antisemitic.labour.row_-300x169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimTd33JjZAOLr-oBFHut_t1Eq-3uIKlfbA3y10YwBIHqCGG9_OPXR3o5pRhDLhwVF2ItCY6XNVU9zm5w1vwQu67kPyAk_PkHxiF889Z7IJlDWzJxR5Mmn523GMTyLtmRnOAcKqEvNutALL/s1600/ken.livingstone.antisemitic.labour.row_-300x169.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida sans unicode" , sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Ken Livingstone facing camera crews at Westminster (source: Youtube/C4News</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida sans unicode" , sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
RTE, the public service broadcaster of the Irish Republic, has the capacity to immensely influence the views and moral stances of the Irish nation as seasoned commentator (and one-time senior RTE insider) <a href="http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/eoghan-harris/eoghan-harris-rtes-public-sector-bias-is-a-gross-abuse-of-its-power-26726539.html">Eoghan Harris</a> has often pointed out. Due to a virtual broadcasting monopoly, the way in which RTE treats contentious issues of major social concern, such as terrorism, migrant waves, the resurgence of European anti-Semitism, etc., arguably has a greater impact on the thinking of the Irish Nation than equivalent broadcasting institutions in other countries, such as the United Kingdom’s BBC, that compete with a strong private sector.<br />
<br />
RTE’s audience reach extends beyond the Irish Republic, with media saturation in Northern Ireland, and its radio and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT%C3%89_Television#Availability_outside_the_state">television channels</a> are viewed quite widely abroad, particularly in the UK mainland.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>King Newt strikes Jerusalem</b></div>
<br />
The controversy over Ken ‘Newt’ Livingstone’s <a href="http://www.itv.com/news/update/2016-04-28/ken-livingstone-suspended-by-the-labour-party/">suspension</a> from the British Labour Party, for defending Naz Shah, an MP accused of anti-Semitism, raged in the UK last month. Livingstone was suspended for an odd apologia of Shah’s actions – he claimed that Hitler supported the Zionist movement until he “went mad” and instituted the programme of mass Jewish extermination. Livingstone has since doubled-down in his attack on the Jewish State by <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/06/ken-livingstone-describes-the-creation-of-the-state-of-israel-as/">claiming</a> Israel’s creation was a “catastrophe”.<br />
<br />
Livingstone’s comments were without any <a href="https://theconversation.com/labour-antisemitism-row-there-was-nothing-zionist-about-hitlers-plans-for-the-jews-58656">historical basis</a> but he would attempt to back-up his claims with the use of <a href="http://hurryupharry.org/2016/04/29/who-is-lenni-brenner/">bigoted ahistoric sources</a> cited by neo-NAZI types in the shadier side of the Internet. His assertion that Israel should not have been created “because there had been a Palestinian community there for 2,000 years,” was similarly ahistorical, fitting the PLO’s old propaganda-narrative that Jesus Christ was the first Arab-Palestinian <a href="http://elderofziyon.blogspot.ie/2012/11/pa-tv-jesus-was-palestinian-first-shahid.html">shahid</a> (martyr). He also <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/06/ken-livingstone-describes-the-creation-of-the-state-of-israel-as/">holds Israel responsible</a> for the military aggression of the Arab-Islamic world, and the creation of ISIS, whilst conflating the risk of a nuclear-Iran with Israel’s arsenal.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Patchy coverage</b></div>
<br />
The fracas has been given little attention to-date on RTE. Their sole article on the topic (‘Livingstone defends Hitler comments in Labour row’, <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0430/785341-livingstone-comments-jews/">30<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> April 2016</a>) was peculiar because it only featured Livingstone’s perspective and that of his defenders. The article also included Livingstone’s obviously fallacious strawman of Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments concerning Haij Amin al Husseini’s role in the Holocaust — the Israeli prime-minister <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/mufti-haj-amin-al-husseini-s-initiatory-role-in-the-extermination-of-european-jewry/global-islam/2015/">never suggested</a> that Hitler supported Zionism.<br />
<br />
Broadcast coverage was similar. The story only featured passing mention on television, in an afternoon ‘RTE News Now’ bulletin on the April 28<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>, when the news of Livingstone’s suspension first emerged but was not featured in RTE’s lengthier <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/six-one-news-web/2016/0428/#page=2">prime news programmes</a> later that <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/nine-news-web/2016/0428/#page=2">same day</a>. By contrast, the election of Labourite Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of London, received substantive coverage on radio and television throughout the May 6<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>/7<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> period, and featured more strongly in online content.<br />
<br />
The lack of coverage on RTE is rather peculiar. British political events tend to feature quite prolifically in RTE news schedules due to the close connections between the two States. Moreover, Livingstone is a politician of some renown in Ireland. He was the first senior British political figure to openly engage in talks with Sein Fein-IRA, and one of the very few to have advocated loudly for the Republican group’s cause. While head of the Greater London Council, he talked prolifically with <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7381008.stm">the terror group</a> during an intensive period of its London bombing campaign, for which he earned a considerable degree of notoriority — principally hatred.<br />
<br />
Livingstone also earned a lot of affection within the London-Irish community of yore by <a href="http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/boris-is-the-boss-because-red-ken-lost-green-vote-26444000.html">pandering</a> to an exaggerated and unworthy victimhood. Indeed, Livingstone once <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3619738/Labours-shameful-debt-to-Livingstone.html">charged</a> that “What Britain did in Ireland was worse than what Hitler did to the Jews.” It is worth noting that Livingstone’s views would have also been percieved as extreme in Ireland! While many sympathesised with the very poor treatment of the Catholic populace in Ulster, few would have agreed with his expressions of support for the IRA. Sein Fein only found electoral pre-eminance in Ulster after the Good-Friday Agreement, and only obtained electoral success in the Republic in more recent years.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Labour’s electoral woes matter more?</b></div>
<br />
Perhaps RTE’s most notable input on Livingstone anti-Semitism controversy came when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Finucane">Marian Finucane</a>, a veteran RTE journalist and presenter of repute in Ireland, discussed the issue in the second hour of RTE Radio One’s ‘<a href="http://www.rte.ie/radio1/marian-finucane/programmes/2016/0501/785503-marian-finucane-sunday-1-may-2016/">Marian Finucane</a> Show’ on Sunday the 1<span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span> May 2016. Enda Brady, an Irish correspondent with UK broadcaster ‘Sky News’, was invited onto the show to provide some insights into the on-going row. However, the discussion was rather more revealing for its misleading and oddly slanted appraisal of the controversy.<br />
<br />
The contributions to the radio slot focused far more on the impact that the controversy would have on the British Labour Party’s electoral ability, than on the actual anti-Semitic content of the remarks that led to the very controversy. This peculiar focus may have led some listeners to wonder if there was any real substance to the criticism of Livingstone’s remarks, beyond that of mere historical inaccuracy.<br />
<br />
In a brief commentary to introduce the issue, Brady stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Basically a row over comments Ken Livingstone had made earlier in the week defending a Yorkshire MP called Naz Shah. She had shared something on Facebook. She had shared a post calling for Israel to be relocated to the United States… Ken Livingstone waded in and attempted to defend her, and in doing so kept digging, making the situation just awful for Labour.”<br />
<br />
Finucane: “Just coming up to elections?”<br />
<br />
Brady: “Yes, local elections here on Thursday, and you know the focus should be on, you would imagine from a Labour perspective, the focus should have been on fighting a Conservative Government, and austerity, and cuts, and what have you to public spending, and yes Labour riven by internal strife and division, and a rather unpleasant nasty row over allegations of anti-Semitism. […]<br />
<br />
But yes it’s a mess, and you just think the Conservative Party, David Cameron, everyone else, they must just be watching this with their mouths open”<br />
<br />
Finucane: “Manna from heaven.”<br />
<br />
Brady: “Yes precisely…”</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
Finucane and Brady would go on to discuss how the controversy could undermine Sadiq Khan’s prospects in the London mayoral election, with Brady adding:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Again he’s [Khan] being embroiled in this as well, and just by association, questions being put, you know ‘are you anti-Semitic as well?’ It just looks terrible for Labour. It really, really does, with day after day of headlines, and of course I guess its been a comparatively quiet news cycle, this has just been leading every single bulletin for five six days.”</blockquote>
The questions surrounding Khan related to his own personal associations with extremists, rather than merely his being a member of the Labour Party. Senator Kevin Humphrys, a member of the Irish Labour Party, described the remarks as “wrong”, but similarly focused on the damage it would cause to the British Labour Party vote.<br />
<br />
There was a vague reference to a broader concern about anti-Semitism within the Labour Party but there was no mention of the many egregious comments by other Labour members, which would have assisted in framing a discussion to which Irish audiences have limited media exposure.<br />
<br />
To cite a few examples of the scale of this problematic behaviour: Gerry Downing’s suggestion that Marxists address what he termed “the Jewish Question”, descriptions of Hitler as the “<a href="http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/154551/labour-candidate-dumped-over-hitler-zionist-god%E2%80%99-comment-elected-local-party-vic">Zionist God</a>”, charges that Israel <a href="http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/157341/labour-activist-suspended-saying-israel-uses-holocaust-a-political-tool%E2%80%99">uses the Holocaust</a> as “a financial racket in the West”, media reports that Labour secretly <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/02/labour-has-secretly-suspended-50-members-for-anti-semitic-and-ra/">suspended</a> fifty Labour members for issues connected with anti-Semitism, and the resignation of a Oxford University Labour Club chairman spurred by the <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/news/1.703638">endemic anti-Semitism</a> of its members. To Brady’s credit, he did however note that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s critics point out his poor performance in dealing with the issue.<br />
<br />
It should be noted both Brady and Finucane briefly mentioned the hatred exhibited toward Jewish people in France, with Brady describing it as a “massive issue”. Finucane also noted that anti-Semitism is an unacknowledged problem, and disagreed with Livingstone’s view that Hitler supported Zionism. Ultimately however, it was a missed opportunity to discuss an issue that the Western mainstream media often <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/how-does-the-media-relate-to-anti-semitism/">seeks to avoid</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Naz Shah’s unfortunate ‘Facebookery’</b></div>
<br />
Finucane’s radio segment reported that Naz Shah posted a Facebook entry stating that the conflict would be solved if Israel was moved to the US. Later the discussion strayed into flippant territory:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Finucane: “There’s a lot to be said for keeping away from Facebook.”<br />
<br />
Sinead O’Carroll (News Editor with Journal.ie): “Absolutely, this started with a politician making a very flippant point on Facebook.”</blockquote>
Such opining infers that Shah did not really mean anything of substance when writing the post. Neither Finucane, nor the other contributors, explained why this particular post is thought by many to be offensive. Shah’s ‘transportation’ Facebook post was not intended to be a constructive idea (however bizarre) — another contributor later suggested that anti-Zionism is not necessarily anti-Semitic. Shah posted a kind of mocking <a href="http://hurryupharry.org/2016/04/26/naz-shahs-vision-for-the-middle-east">info-graphic that suggested</a> Israel was to blame for all of the troubles of the Middle East (presumably including Islamist terrorism spreading Westward), and that the existence of the Jewish State somehow made the world unhappy. By inference, the post recommends ethnically cleansing the Middle East of its Jewish people, much of whom were forced, by persecution, to flee to Israel from other regions of the Middle East in the first instance.<br />
<br />
Finucane and O’Carroll present the post as little more than a ‘blonde moment’ but Shah added a comment that reinforced the message of the infographic, and the contributors also failed to note that she has a record for making other <a href="http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/157371/naz-shah-steps-down-private-secretary-after-facebook-posts-about-israel-and-jews">problematic comments</a> in the past.<br />
<br />
Shah has also posted critical content about “Jews”, compared Israel’s policies to those of Hitler, and promoted an article that likened Zionism to al Qaeda, which charged that the movement had caused Jews to act in negative ways, akin to neo-Nazi claims of normative Jewish behaviour, with respect to control of politics, the media etc. in European societies, and offered a solution to the “Jewish Question in Europe”. Shah was a relatively senior politician. She is an MP, was private secretary to the Shadow Chancellor, and more remarkably, a member of a committee combating anti-Semitism in Britain, so critics, both within and outside the Labour party, were fully entitled to raise concerns about bigotry.<br />
<br />
By the time of the discussion on the Finucane Show, news had also emerged that Shah’s aide, Mohammed Shabbir, had <a href="http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/157406/labour-mp-naz-shah-hired-zio-tweet%E2%80%99-councillor-parliamentary-aide">engaged</a> in overtly anti-Semitic messages, inferring that Orthodox Jewish people were engaged in child abuse, prostitution, used the neo-Nazi term “Zio”, suggested Israel created ISIS to serve as a pretext to invade Syria, compared Israel to NAZI Germany, etc. These views echoed some of Shah’s comments, thus raising further questions about her beliefs.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>RTE’s Livingstone, I presume</b></div>
<br />
At the end of the discussion, Finucane stated that she had been suprised when she found out that Livingstone was involved in a row over anti-Semitism<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I have to say I was very surprised — I certainly wouldn’t have anticipated that Ken Livingstone would be in any way anti-Semitic.”</blockquote>
Livingstone, who has been a guest on <a href="http://www.rte.ie/radio1/marian-finucane/programmes/2015/0913/727539-marian-finucane-sunday-13-september-2015/?clipid=1974157#1974157">Finucane’s show previously</a>, has intermittently caused a quite substantive level of <a href="http://archive.adl.org/special_reports/livingstone/livingstone.html#.Vy4ICNIrKM8">controversy</a> over many expressions that displayed a strong disregard and dislike of Jewish people. And has expressed strong support for the likes of Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an individual who not only supports Arab-Palestinian terrorism, but has openly expressed <a href="http://www.investigativeproject.org/profile/167/yusuf-al-qaradawi">genocidal sentiments</a> toward the Jewish people.<br />
<br />
After the odd focus on Labour’s election worries, and some expressions of generalised concern about anti-Semitism in Europe today, the discussion strayed into contentious territory when Finucane stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The tricky bit is that just because somebody says that they disagree with Israeli policy in Gaza, it does not mean they are anti-Semitic, and those lines have to be clarified. And they’ve kind of got blurred I think in this debate as well.”<br />
<br />
Brady: “Yes I think that’s a fair point but I think in modern politics the speed the reaction of labour to clamp down on all of this, a lot of people here will feel very sore.”</blockquote>
Shah posted the offending infographic during the Gaza war so Finucane appears to be arguing that the comment was not in itself anti-Semitic. However, Shah did not merely criticise Israeli policy in Gaza. Shah took issue with Israel’s very existence. Another guest, Gerard Howlin, a former Fianna Fail Party advisor, agreed but also drew attention to the fact that anti-Zionism often coincides with anti-Semitism:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“There is this thing between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. And of course they aren’t always the same. You can be perfectly anti-Zionist without being in any way anti-Semitic, and that should be very much acknowledged. You can be critical of Israel in particular without being in any way anti-Semitic. But of course Zionism is a response to anti-Semitism originally.”</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Livingstone reformulated</b></div>
<br />
Finucane advanced the argument that criticism of Israel is not necessarily anti-Semitic, and that the debate confused or conflated anti-Zionism (as inferred by her defence of Shah’s existentially anti-Zionist views) with anti-Semitism, as further indicated by Howlin’s response. By inference, such a position would suggest that the views of the two main players in the controversy — both Shah’s and Livingstone’s — were not necessarily anti-Semitic. Therefore, it seems that Livingstone was quite entitled to defend Naz Shah since the MP did not express views that were inherently anti-Semitic. Such argumentation would lead to the conclusion that if her views are not inherently or necessarily anti-Semitic then, in effect, they should ultimately not to be regarded as anti-Semitic because such accusations are no longer deemed to be fair (in view of the supposed power of the accusation that may be reputationally damaging) or morally legitimate, and so the charge is presented as a vicious ploy.<br />
<br />
The stance endorsed on the ‘Marian Finucane show’ constitutes a category error, because it forms a fallacious conflation of two divergent categories of argumentation. There is of course an area where the two categories coincide because anti-Zionism must by definition be critical of the existence of the State of Israel, and efforts to defend its existence. Yet there are circumstances where criticism of Israel does not originate from anti-Zionist positions. Anti-Zionism is a different category of argumentation that is advanced by those possessing trenchant anti-Israel positions. Anti-Zionism is necessarily extremist because anti-Zionists advocate for the dissolution of the sole principally-Jewish State in existence, regardless of its borders and compromises it has attempted to make with Arab-Palestinian society.<br />
<br />
Perhaps unwittingly, Finucane may have advanced a strawman’ argument created by anti-Israel advocates, not least by Livingstone himself (for whom David Hirsh coined the term ‘<a href="https://engageonline.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/david-hirsh-the-livingstone-formulation/">Livingstone Formulation</a>’), who wish to attack those defending Israel in debate. Such advocates present opponents defending Israel (from what is seen as unjustified criticism) as being disingenuous and attempting to silence all criticism of the Jewish State by using the “anti-Semitism card” to trump legitimate debate.<br />
<br />
However, it does not appear that anyone has ever argued that all substantive criticism of Israel is inherently anti-Semitic. This cannot be a normative pro-Israel position because it is not uncommon to find criticism of the Jewish State emanating from those who do support Israel in a substantive and meaningful way (in contrast to Peter Beinart, J-Street, et al, who only claim to support Israel but adopt <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/200306">staunchly anti-Israel positions</a>). Rightly or wrongly, many who genuinely support Israel express reservations about Israeli government policy.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Anti-Zionism is necessarily anti-Semitic</b></div>
<br />
There is a strong material link between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, both in more traditional and the newer forms, the latter of which manifests most overtly as an intensive and aggressive demonisation of Israel, which is notably singular in its treatment. This reality leads to another question: <i>‘Is anti-Zionism necessarily anti-Semitic or is it possible to be anti-Zionist without holding anti-Semitic beliefs or being discriminatory by holding the Jewish collective to a different standard to that of other peoples?’</i><br />
<br />
Anti-Zionism is notable for white-washing anti-Semitism. It disregards the oppression that Jewish people experienced in the Christian and Islamic worlds for over a Millennia, which arose with hatreds that continue to exist, albeit in a modified form in the Western World which normatively adopt the language of humanitarianism. It often re-writes the oppression Jews experienced in the Islamic world.<br />
<br />
Anti-Zionism disregards the ancient cultural link between Israel and the Jewish People, which may only continue with Jewish self-determination, given the continued rejection of Jewish religious rights within Arab-Islamic societies throughout the Middle East, and the likelihood that a Jewish presence in the region would cease to exist in a would-be Palestinian Nation, as it has ceased throughout almost all of the rest of the Middle East. Trenchant anti-Semitism is normative at all levels in Arab-Palestinian society, of a form that incites violence, terrorism and genocidal sentiment. Rather, anti-Zionists portray wholly improbable results to their advocacy, <a href="http://jcpa.org/article/whitewashing-palestine-eliminate-israel-case-one-state-advocates">claiming</a> (in contravention to all available evidence) that peaceful democratic and pluralistic scenarios would result, rather than a further purging of the Middle East.<br />
<br />
Anti-Zionists do not accept the two-state solution. They unjustly blame Israel for Arab-Palestinian rejectionism. Ultimately, peace cannot be made with Israel — rather this nation must be compelled to surrender all and effectively abandon the aim of Jewish autonomy, or be cleansed ethnically — the Jewish people should all “go back to Europe”, even if they are Mizrahi purged from Arab nations.<br />
<br />
While people can hate a nation for a variety of reasons, hatred that motivates criticism of Israel is typically anti-Semitic, because it directly or indirectly focuses on the Jewish character of the State, which can often be seen in those people who form negative obsessions about a distant nation, which they problematize, often by holding it to <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=35&x_article=2253">absurdist double-standards</a>. They do so while wholly ignoring (or sometimes defending) the manifest wrongdoing of Israel’s regional opponents. Such posturing effectively denies the Jewish State’s right to defend its own citizens.<br />
<br />
Indeed, if Israel’s existence is a fundamental wrong visited on another people, then it must necessarily follow that the military defence of Israel’s physical integrity, particularly from attacks by its enemies seeking to remedy supposed wrongs that resulted in the Jewish State’s creation, must also be wrong.<br />
<br />
As a consequence, it is difficult not to conclude that anti-Zionism is a form of anti-Semitism that singles out one particular ethnicity of the world’s diverse tapestry, as not deserving of autonomy in its homeland, whilst simultaneously denying the dangers of anti-Semitism that gave rise to Zionism.<br />
These advocates often engage in hysterical demonising language, and sometimes classically anti-Semitic imagery. They project insidious forms of wrongdoing on their opponents, such as arguing that those who disagree are part of a ‘Zionist cabal’ engaging in ‘hasabara’. Anger of an unusual intensity toward other perspectives is common in those advancing anti-Israel stances, whether it be in discussions <a href="http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/radio/two-tribes-go-to-war-on-the-airwaves-30479281.html">in the media</a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/israeladvocacymovement/videos/vb.829113587172986/1063096580441351/?type=2&theater">on marches</a>, and indeed it is common to see anti-Israel activists disrupting or preventing pro-Israel speakers from expressing themselves, whilst commonly claiming that supporters of Israel silence their own arguments at various levels in political, media and academic domains.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>True to form</b></div>
<br />
RTE’s treatment of the Livingstone controversy provides an illustrative example of their failings when dealing with issues that do not sit very easily with the normative <a href="http://markhumphrys.com/rte.html">political culture</a> found at the Broadcaster. Unlike most of her colleagues at RTE, Marian Finucane does deserve some credit for having the presence of mind to allow space for other perspectives on the Israeli-Jewish/Arab-Islamic conflict, besides the common anti-Israeli stances that pervade the media. Similarly, Brady and her guests were largely sympathetic to the difficulties Jewish society faces in Europe today. However, there are limitations, arguably due to RTE’s staunch political culture, where those on the left always have to be the good guys. Red Ken, and so many others in the anti-Israel movement, professes to care about racism and deny being anti-Semitic so it must be thus! Such a level of trust and faith is not displayed toward the political right.<br />
<br />
This bias, a kind of cognitive schtoma, thoroughly taints RTE’s political coverage, where opponents of the recently defeated Fein Gael-Labour government were never meaningfully scrutinised, so leading to an <a href="http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/john-downing/a-minority-government-cannot-bring-stability-34536944.html">unprecedented degree of political instability</a>, and the grave consequences of the leftistcause celeb of abolishing the new water-charges regime was rarely analysed by the media <a href="https://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2016-04-27a.200#g295">as a whole</a> despite the longstanding failure to adequately fund Ireland’s ancient water infrastructure, which has led to grave economic and public health issues, and etc., etc.<br />
<br />
While it is fair to say that most people in Ireland do not particularly care all that much about the Jewish-Israeli/Islamic-Arab conflict, there is still an unthinking insistence that those loudly lambasting Israel possess only the very best of motives. Such people tend to insist their activism is motivated by humanitarianism but their activism in relation to other conflicts, such as the Assad slaughter in neighbouring Syria, is conspicuously absent, as one well known critic of <a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/yourview/why-are-palestinians-of-yarmouk-ignored-compared-to-those-in-gaza-323116.html">the movement</a> has noted. Supposed Jewish wrongs matter a lot more.<br />
<br />
For <a href="http://markhumphrys.com/rte.html#israel.jihad">a long time RTE</a> has played no small role in advancing and reinforcing such perceptions, which neatly fit the Broadcaster’s reflexively anti-US/pro-Islam posturing. Thus, the recent migrant waves are typically described as “refugees”, and the spate of Islamist attacks on European soil are borne of economic disadvantage and Western Islamophobia and/or racism rather than anything remotely associated with intolerance borne of religious ideology. The absolutist uniformity of RTE’s narratives can be startling — the same on-message NGOs are trotted out for interviews and sound-bites, with nary a murmur of dissent ever afforded the briefest of airtime.<br />
<br />
This blindness extends to the levels of coverage afforded to a given topic. RTE audiences are much more likely to hear about the enthusiasm British Labour Party leader <a href="http://www.rte.ie/ten/news/2015/0929/731233-labour-leader-jeremy-corbyn/">Jeremy Corbyn</a> has for Motown’s style of music, than last year’s concerns that he held <a href="http://www.rte.ie/search/?query=jeremy%20corbyn%20anti-semitism">anti-Semitic views</a> after defending an anti-Semite of some notoriety, <a href="http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/142144/the-key-questions-jeremy-corbyn-must-answer">giving support</a> to an anti-Israel Holocaust denier, etc., etc.<br />
<br />
And when such unfortunate matters come to a head, and so demand to be addressed, we may expect just one perspective. Therefore, we only hear voices in defence of Livingstone’s actions. But even when the ‘right’ or ‘good’ team wins out, it is difficult to find balanced coverage. For example, RTE presented several <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0506/786726-london-mayor-khan/">unopposed voices</a> <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0507/786840-khan-london-mayor/">defending</a> Labour’s newly elected London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, with inferred charges of Islamophobia against competitor Zac Goldsmith and the wider Tory Party, even though it is widely known that Khan repeatedly <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3575614/Introducing-London-s-Muslim-mayor-Sadiq-Khan-bus-driver-s-son-human-rights-lawyer-dogged-links-extremists-claims-moderate-loves-manicures-wooed-wife-McDonald-s.html">shared a platform</a> with an ISIS supporter, has <a href="http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/05/is-it-islamophobic-to-draw-attention-to-sadiq-khans-links-with-extremists/">assisted other unsavoury characters</a>, and has described moderate Muslims as… “Uncle Toms”!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/rte-s-gaza-news-coverage-sponsored-by-irish-aid-s-pro-palestinian-proxy/arab-israeli-conflict/2015/">RTE</a>, like the UK’s <a href="https://bbcwatch.org/">BBC</a>, the US’ <a href="http://www.camera.org/search/?domains=camera.org&sitesearch=camera.org&q=npr+pbs&x=10&y=12">NPR/PBS programming</a>, Norway’s <a href="http://www.israelwhat.com/2016/04/29/dr-michal-rachel-suissa-israel-and-the-nrk/">NRK</a>, et al., are more than conventional media sources. They are institutions constructed to serve the public of a given nation, funded in an enforced manner by the self-same public, with licence fees or a portion of the national tax spend. Thus there is every right to expect the highest of journalistic standards, which in turn can foster fair and informed debate, particularly as such institutions often have an especially powerful role in broadcasting. However, public service broadcasting has almost become a by-word for slanted unduly politicised commentary of a form typically <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/public-broadcasting-is-in-its-death-throes/news-story/89acaa37001cb0fa2e3cc9320d653cbb">reinforcing left-wing narratives</a>.<br />
<br />
If there is truth to the old saying, that “being on the left means never having to say you’re sorry,” then it may be presumed that public service media advocacy of certain political narratives play a significant role in the notable deficits of public scrutiny across their associated segments of the political spectrum.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/anti-zionism-s-links-with-anti-semitism-a-case-study-on-rte-and-ken-livingstone/antisemitism/2016/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i><br />
<br /></div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-36667017186902180522016-04-23T16:35:00.000+01:002016-04-23T16:45:44.702+01:00Rafeef Ziadah - a rather objectionable “poet”<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUs2Ryb4YTCa5bfzUOgiH1SVpJCqrVJG-ZR0dYeMHGtzr0FoUuAKZd1bLK_-DxflPA7JA77W5-lnF_JpjJ6n7z40tYi8l8mRR_cqujeOKDbpILLt24JifM0UF0xd06Trt8BYE70VpbOoj/s1600/download.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUs2Ryb4YTCa5bfzUOgiH1SVpJCqrVJG-ZR0dYeMHGtzr0FoUuAKZd1bLK_-DxflPA7JA77W5-lnF_JpjJ6n7z40tYi8l8mRR_cqujeOKDbpILLt24JifM0UF0xd06Trt8BYE70VpbOoj/s1600/download.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>'International Literature Festival Dublin’ - source: ark.ie</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Next month’s ‘International Literature Festival Dublin’, will feature numerous speakers of a certain political persuasion – the likes of Naomi Klein, Yanis “evilly grinning the IMF/EU into submission” Varoufakis, and <a href="http://connachttribune.ie/galway-playwright-snubs-tribute-to-ruc-man/">so-called “peace activist”</a> Margaretta D'Arcy. <br />
<br />
The oddity of art events universally promoting hard-left politics, with a revolutionary slant, in festival after festival, is worthy of comment. Indeed, such events do not seem to be complete without an Arab-Palestinian or two completing the bill. In this instance, one of the two stages of the Abbey Theatre will be <a href="http://ilfdublin.com/event/rafeef-ziadah/">graced by Rafeef Ziadah</a> on the 22nd of May. To quote the International Literature Festival’s promotional literature:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
‘“Rafeef’s poetry demands to be heard” ~ Ken Loach<br />
<br />
Rafeef Ziadah is an acclaimed Palestinian refugee poet and activist. Her poem ‘We Teach Life, Sir’ – an impassioned attack on media misrepresentation of the Palestinian cause – went viral within days of its release, clocking up millions of views, and since then she has toured the world, representing Palestine at the Poets Olympiad in London in 2012 and releasing We Teach Life, an acclaimed new album of poetry and songs. This live show offers an exciting blend of poetry and music, which she brings to the stage with Australian guitarist and We Teach Life producer Phil Monsour.’</blockquote>
It is standard in the promotion of such events for the contentious and often objectionable character of such guests to be completely ignored. Thus, Rafeef Ziadah is presented merely as a “Palestinian refugee poet and activist”. Whilst it might be unfair to expect promotional material to afford full voice to her critics, it is nonetheless quite a white-wash, given her close association with a number of highly objectionable organisations. Perhaps indication of such would raise question (in the mind of the reader) about the legitimacy of her invite.<br />
<br />
Ziadah claims to be a Lebanese-Palestinian refugee but uses her family history to <a href="https://bbcwatch.org/2014/09/06/bbc-r4-promotes-unchallenged-anti-israel-propaganda-and-warped-histories-of-jerusalem/">promote a victim narrative</a> that is out of step with the historical record of the era.<br />
<br />
Ziadah is first and foremost a leading and <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/08/21/palestinians-should-support-boycotting-hamas-not-israel/#">widely publicised BDS campaigner</a>. She is as a member of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), which is <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/reports/apartheid_week_all_the_usual_ngo_suspects/">“the Palestinian coordinating body for the BDS campaignworldwide.”</a> She is also a member of PACBI (Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott Initiative) – <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/reports/factsheet_palestinian_campaign_for_the_academic_and_cultural_boycott_of_israel_pacbi_/">a group</a> that became notorious for its dishonesty, stances opposed to reconciliation,
and inflammatory pseudo rights-based rhetoric, and claims on her website to have been a founding member of "Israel Apartheid Week", a movement which is noted for its <a href="http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=lsKWLbPJLnF&b=4441467&ct=13047017">anti-Semitism</a>, which has increasingly made campuses a <a href="http://www.cameraoncampus.org/blog/thank-you-uc-board-for-condemning-anti-semitism/#.VvsFecdNnGI">hostile space</a> for Jewish students,<br />
<div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Ziadah is also a leading member of controversial UK charity ‘War on Want’, which has <a href="https://richardmillett.wordpress.com/2015/02/16/jews-murdered-why-is-war-on-want-handing-out-fake-guns/">engaged in particularly egregious activity</a> designed to inflame extreme hatred, leading the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/02/charity-backing-anti-israel-rallies-no-longer-receives-state-funding/">UK government to cease</a> affording the organisation the <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/ngos/war_on_want_uk_/">financial benefits</a> of a charity.<br />
<br />
Ziadah is a lecturer at SOAS, University of London (the School of Oriental and African Studies), doubtlessly teaching her brand of hatred at the university’s ‘London Middle East Institute (LMEI)’ and ‘Centre for Palestine Studies (CPS)’. In her role she has presided over events that <a href="https://richardmillett.wordpress.com/2016/02/23/israelis-accused-of-rape-and-organ-harvesting-at-soas/">forwarded</a> discredited, demonising, and decidedly anti-Semitic theories, such as the claim that Israel harvests the organs of Arab-Palestinians, and engages in the systematic rape of Arab prisoners. <br />
<br />
Ziadah opposes the Oslo Accords and effectively <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/02/charity-backing-anti-israel-rallies-no-longer-receives-state-funding/">calls for the destruction</a> of Israel. Much like her boss at PACBI, Omar Barghouti, She has made it clear that <a href="http://hurryupharry.org/2011/07/05/bds-versus-gazan-and-israeli-arab-farmers/">the boycott movement is an effort</a> to destroy Israel, regardless of any future placement of its borders: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Rafeef concluded the forum with an open invitation to all to her house in Haifa, once Palestine is free. Once she can return home. And the campaign to boycott the products of Carmel Agrexco is a step along the way.”</blockquote>
Ziadah makes much of her claim that those who collectively make up Arab-Palestinian society “teach life”. This is of course a response to criticism concerning normative Arab-Palestinian incitement, which teaches a particularly <a href="http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=339">violent form of hatred</a> towards both Israeli citizens, and Jewish people more generally. Such sentiments are inculcated in a systemic form from childhood, through education, familial bonding and popular entertainment. And yet Ziadah has praised figures like Khader Adnan, who is a <a href="https://ukmediawatch.org/2013/12/25/tis-the-season-for-anti-israel-propaganda-at-st-jamess-church-piccadilly/">leading member</a> of Islamic Jihad, noted for his encouragement of suicide-terrorism. However, she believes it is to engage in a <a href="https://richardmillett.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/faithless-guitarist-dave-randall-suggests-israelis-could-feel-liberated-after-right-of-return/">racist discourse</a> to actually discuss this abiding threat to Israel's existence.<br />
<br />
Ziadah’s hypocritical posturing does not make her “We teach life” meme any more sincere than rather ambitious mass-invites to her future home. However, her message will continue to be presented uncritically at festivals in the coming months where she will promote her new album.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><i>Also published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-43642208179659746482015-11-06T20:51:00.000+00:002015-11-06T21:18:23.357+00:00The EU Violates International Law with Respect to Jewish Settlements<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60dQg6OyiN24dsGCfGLp4YEPGrALbHaEMXPQw18lsQDaOtJKk_qtcA6csm8ZvR0-eYLzl15YPdzshmpu5mmNYUizeoLB4tWZPs-bkOhOT9hMPeSRw40OF3f8tJ6mOjzXQSrmC_M_gwDvk/s1600/20132110_hod_lars_faaborg-andersen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60dQg6OyiN24dsGCfGLp4YEPGrALbHaEMXPQw18lsQDaOtJKk_qtcA6csm8ZvR0-eYLzl15YPdzshmpu5mmNYUizeoLB4tWZPs-bkOhOT9hMPeSRw40OF3f8tJ6mOjzXQSrmC_M_gwDvk/s320/20132110_hod_lars_faaborg-andersen.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Lars Faaborg-Andersen [source http://eeas.europa.eu/ - Yossi Zwecker</span>]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In an <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/EU-Ambassador-Territory-beyond-the-Green-Line-is-not-part-of-Israel-defends-settlement-labeling-431944">interview</a> with the Jerusalem Post, the European Union’s ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, expressed support for the move by the economic union to encourage its member states to reject and modify the labelling of items originating in East Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria (AKA the West Bank), and the Golan Heights, as having been produced in Israel. Some of this EU legislation will be obligatory. Faaborg-Andersen stated: <br />
<blockquote>
“The EU position is that we do not recognize Israeli authority beyond the Green Line. It is not part of Israel. It is not part of what we understand to be Israel’s international recognized borders” </blockquote>
This view is commensurate with the EU’s systematic and substantive flouting of law in <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2874883/EU-funding-illegal-building-West-Bank-says-report.html">Judea and Samaria</a> and its partial <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-entities-wishing-to-cooperate-with-eu-must-prove-no-links-to-territories/">boycott of Jewish organisations</a> operating in these territories. <br />
<br />
The EU’s stance is used to carry favour with the Islamic Middle East. The EU/EEC began to support the Arab-Palestinian cause soon after the 1973 OPEC Oil Embargo began, which blackmailed Western states for supposedly supporting Israel. Support for terrorist factions began with the <a href="http://mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/mfadocuments/yearbook4/pages/100%20resolution%20of%20the%20heads%20of%20government%20and%20mini.aspx">Venice Declaration of 1980</a>, which called for Israel to negotiate with Arafat’s PLO, despite the terror organisation’s public affirmation that they would <a href="http://www.thejc.com/comment-and-debate/comment/84713/when-thatcher-turned-against-israel">‘liquidate’ the Jewish State</a> just days before the Declaration, the PLO’s ongoing terror against Israeli civilians, as well as their role <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/4325767?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">triggering civil war</a> in Lebanon.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/eu-envoy-i-dont-get-why-israel-makes-such-a-fuss-about-labeling/">stance adopted</a> by Faaborg-Andersen appears to suggest that the EU expects Israel to accept the new measures without objection, arguing rather absurdly that new labelling will improve the standing of Israeli produce, and be detrimental to the discriminatory anti-Israel boycott movement. However, this new development <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Likud-minister-skips-event-with-EU-envoy-in-protest-of-settlement-labeling-432195">may cause</a> a substantive and permanent breach in Israeli-European relations, already strained by the EU’s undue interference. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>International law </b></div>
<br />
The EU Ambassador’s assertion affirms that the Union is in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 242, which allows Israel to administer the territories of East Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), the Golan Heights, etc., until peace settlements would come into effect. Eugene V. Rostow, one of the <a href="http://maurice-ostroff.tripod.com/id45.html">authors of Resolution 242 noted</a>: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Resolution 242, which as undersecretary of state for political affairs between 1966 and 1969 I helped produce, calls on the parties to make peace and allows Israel to administer the territories it occupied in 1967 until “a just and lasting peace in the Middle East” is achieved. When such a peace is made, Israel is required to withdraw its armed forces “from territories” it occupied during the Six-Day War — not from “the” territories nor from “all” the territories, but from some of the territories, which included the Sinai Desert, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. <br />
<br />
Five-and-a-half months of vehement public diplomacy in 1967 made it perfectly clear what the missing definite article in Resolution 242 means. Ingeniously drafted resolutions calling for withdrawals from “all” the territories were defeated in the Security Council and the General Assembly. Speaker after speaker made it explicit that Israel was not to be forced back to the “fragile” and “vulnerable” Armistice Demarcation Lines, but should retire once peace was made to what Resolution 242 called “secure and recognized” boundaries, agreed to by the parties.” </blockquote>
Rostow’s view is clearly echoed by <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=118&x_article=1267">other drafters of the Resolution</a>. <br />
<br />
The EU’s stance also needs to be seen in the context of the Armistice line agreements of 1949, between Israel and Jordan, and Israel and Syria, in the aftermath of a ceasefire during Israel’s war of Independence. Jordan and Syria previously occupied the territories currently in dispute. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/arm03.asp">Article VI of the agreement</a> between Israel and Jordan states: <br />
<blockquote>
“The Armistice Demarcation Lines defined in articles V and VI of this Agreement are agreed upon by the Parties without prejudice to future territorial settlements or boundary lines or to claims of either Party relating thereto.” </blockquote>
Similarly, <a href="http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/arm04.asp">Article V of the Armistice Agreement</a>, between Syria and Israel, states: <br />
<blockquote>
“It is emphasized that the following arrangements for the Armistice Demarcation Line between the Israeli and Syrian armed forces and for the Demilitarized Zone are not to be interpreted as having any relation whatsoever to ultimate territorial arrangements affecting the two Parties to this Agreement.” </blockquote>
Thus, all of the boundaries that the EU is pressuring Israel to return to were explicitly rejected as lasting political boundaries by all sides in the conflict. The <a href="http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/pal04.asp">1974 armistice agreement</a> between Syria and Israel notes that it does not constitute a peace deal, and that a resolution of the conflict should be made through negotiations. <br />
<br />
The <a href="http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/palmanda.asp">British Palestine Mandatory text</a> affirms that the territory of Palestine is for “the establishment of the Jewish national home”. A clause of exception included, gave the British Mandatory authority some flexibility over territories solely east (<a href="http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/palmanda.asp#art25">Article 25</a>) of the Jordan River, which would subsequently become the Arab-Palestinian nation ‘Trans-Jordan’. However, Judea and Samaria is west of the Jordan River (hence the Jordanian name ‘West Bank’), which establishes Israel’s claim, as the Jewish national home, to the territory. <br />
<br />
The 1920 San Remo agreement effectively made <a href="http://maurice-ostroff.tripod.com/id350.html">the right to a Jewish national home</a> in Palestine binding. Territorial borders were not defined but the biblical phrase “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Dan_to_Beersheba">from Dan to Beersheba</a>” was applied by British leaders. The identified territory would necessarily include Judea and Samaria (West Bank). <br />
<br />
With respect to Resolution 242, the EU is violating international law on two counts: (1) failing to recognise Israel’s authority in said territories, and (2) by attempting to prevent Israel from coming to peace-deals with defensible borders. Consequently, the EU is harming interests in obtaining peaceful relations by undermining Israeli authority, and prejudging the outcome of highly sensitive negotiations. Since several parties conducted belligerent campaigns against Israel in 1967, the Jewish State has a legal right, as per 242, to obtain defensible secure borders, which would necessitate some modification of the 1949-67 armistice lines. <br />
<br />
The EU refutes this principle which endangers Israel’s long-term security, and thus the stability of the region as a whole. Resolutions passed by the Security Council <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_resolution#Terms_and_functions_mentioned_in_the_UN_Charter">are legally binding</a> so in effect become a part of international law.Consequently, the EU’s stance is wholly out of line with international law on the issue. However, the EU’s pretend-balance was again regurgitated during the interview, when Faaborg-Andersen claimed: <br />
<blockquote>
“We do not expect the Israeli side to make peace on its own. We understand that it takes two to make peace… what we require is that both parties refrain from taking steps that undermine the peace effort.” </blockquote>
And yet the EU rarely <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Liberman-summons-European-envoys-to-reprimand-them-over-anti-Israel-bias-338520">reprimands the Arab-Palestinian factions</a> for the most egregious wrongdoing. Instead, they lay blame on the existence of settlements beyond the 1949-67 Armistice Lines, when they do not in fact contravene international law, and have a <a href="http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/160386/sec_id/160386">negligible impact</a> on the prospect for peace, since they only occupy approximately 1% of Judea and Samaria, while the principle of mutually-agreed land-swaps has been accepted by both the Palestinian Authority and Israel. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Golan Heights</b></div>
<br />
The EU’s stance on the Golan Heights is particularly bizarre, given the fact that the zone was <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/golan_hts.html">used by Syrian forces</a> to almost continually harass Israel and its citizens until the 1967 Six Day War, which gave rise to Resolution 242. <br />
<br />
Judge Stephen M. Schwebel, a former <a href="http://legal.un.org/avl/faculty/Schwebel.html">president</a> of the International Court of Justice, <a href="http://www.mythsandfacts.org/article_view.asp?articleID=264">noted</a> that: <br />
<blockquote>
“a state acting in lawful exercise of its right of self-defense may seize and occupy foreign territory as long as such seizure and occupation are necessary to its self-defense […] as condition of its withdrawal from such territory, that State may require the institution of security measures reasonably designed to ensure that that territory shall not again be used to mount a threat or use of force against it of such a nature as to justify exercise of self-defense” </blockquote>
Syria is technically still in a state of war with Israel. A peace initiative in the 1990s failed, as well as <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israeli-source-syria-israel-were-on-brink-of-direct-talks-in-2008-1.341647">indirect negotiations in 2008</a> which ended when Operation Cast Lead began in reaction to intensified missile strikes from Gaza. Further talks are not envisaged. Syria’s closer relations with Iran and Hizbullah make possibility of a deal with Israel very improbable. Yet EU policy <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/123204#.VjvEVdLhCt8">endorses</a> handing this territory, so vital to Israel’s security, back to Syria. Today, Syria comprises an illegitimate failed-state, with the prospect of becoming a Sunni-Islamist equivalent with the potential to recommence war with the Jewish State. Yet the EU’s stance <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/bennett-looks-for-attention-with-appeal-to-world-to-recognize-golan/2015/06/08/">remains unchanged</a> with respect to its policy approach.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Supporting a two-state solution?</b></div>
<br />
During the recent rise of violence against Israeli civilians, the EU noted the <a href="http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/47d4e277b48d9d3685256ddc00612265/510bcef4b374d6dd85257ed2004a9338#sthash.huhaJs4C.dpuf">killing of an Israeli couple</a> but rather than condemn Arab-Palestinian religious incitement as a <a href="http://www.investigativeproject.org/4658/palestinian-incitement-attacks-glorification">principle</a> cause, the statement called for restraint from all sides, and a renewed engagement in a peace process:<br />
<blockquote>
“in the face of such a crime, restraint and calm are needed on all sides to ensure that the violence witnessed yesterday and in recent months does not aggravate the situation further. On the contrary, the continuing loss of life highlights once more the necessity for a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”</blockquote>
The failure to condemn state-sanctioned incitement, which has led to a huge number of attacks against Israeli civilians, is noteworthy because it violates the PLO’s undertaking under the <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2013/10/wheres_the_coverage_palestinia_7.html">Interim Oslo Accord</a> known as Oslo II. Systematic and continued incitement is indicative of bad faith but the EU would rather blame settlements, which were <a href="http://www.jmcc.org/fastfactspag.aspx?tname=92">to be determined</a> in final status negotiations, whilst simultaneously assisting in the building of illegal Arab-Palestinian enclaves.<br />
<br />
Ironically, Federica Mogherini, the EU’s Foreign Policy Chief, asserted that Israel should implement steps on the ground consistent with prior agreements, and to work toward a solution based on the Arab Peace Initiative. The Arab League’s Initiative is a highly problematic ‘take it or leave it’ proposal, which stands in contravention of Resolution 242 by demanding that Israel fully withdraw before a weak non-binding form of <a href="http://jcpa.org/article/the-arab-peace-initiative/">Arab State recognition</a> is implemented, with the demographic nullification of the Jewish State by enshrining a ‘right of return’ on those claiming to be descendants of Arab-Palestinian refugees, whilst preventing the voluntary settlement of such Arab people that lived in Arab lands for decades. Joel Singer, a negotiator at the Oslo talks, <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east-jan-june02-next_3-28/">noted</a> that the Initiative doesn’t call on Arab-Palestinian groups “to stop terrorism”, much less commend any mechanism to prevent its impact.<br />
<br />
Despite insistence to the contrary, the EU, whilst advocating for a two-state solution which it <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/eu-israel-s-policies-in-the-west-bank-endanger-two-state-solution-1.430421">accuses Israel</a> of undermining, is in fact acting in contravention of the very principles set down in successive plans for a two-state solution, based on Resolution 242. EU behaviour also delegitimises Israel’s just claim to a secure existence. Should a new labelling policy be enshrined in EU law, it will represent another <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/the-eu-at-war-with-israel-the-prospect-of-an-irish-led-eu-wide-boycott/israel/2012/">epoch of a broad long-term strategy</a>, which demonises the Jewish State in an effort toward Arab appeasement.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Also published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/the-eu-violates-international-law-with-respect-to-jewish-settlements/israel/2015/">Crethi Plethi</a>. </i>Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-88241769979537881432015-10-22T16:11:00.001+01:002015-10-23T22:16:13.329+01:00Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini’s Initiatory Role in the Extermination of European Jewry<i>(Updated - 23<span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span> October)</i><br />
<br />
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been harshly criticised in recent days for highlighting what he believes to be the role of Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem during the British Mandate era, in encouraging the initiation of the most destructive phase of the Holocaust. The position of Grand Mufti affords the highest authority on religious law in Sunni Muslim nations.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
During a speech at the 37<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem this week, Netanyahu <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Palestinian-mufti-convinced-Hitler-to-massacre-Europes-Jews-Netanyahu-says-427592">claimed</a> that Hitler originally intended to expel European Jews but changed his mind due to the influence of al-Husseini. The Mufti argued that the expulsion of the Jews would lead to their migration to Mandatory Palestine, which he had a <a href="http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2150">leading role in violently opposing</a>. Netanyahu stated that Hitler was persuaded to exterminate Europe’s Jewry at a meeting between the two men on the 28<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> November 1941.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUFoTgvEQDcvFaESFRMpHL1Q4TG6Y6FiK9nMrMs02KWsWihJ7zKVJV_Z_gJi25lrHvhbA6v_FVCOdVu1F_2Q-f8W1-YyULEPw2zEiSfpdFHrtQr8GBrzxEoLUg6M5Dmb2SrLo5PtPlp2h/s1600/mufti-haj-amin-al-husseini-hitler-final-solution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUFoTgvEQDcvFaESFRMpHL1Q4TG6Y6FiK9nMrMs02KWsWihJ7zKVJV_Z_gJi25lrHvhbA6v_FVCOdVu1F_2Q-f8W1-YyULEPw2zEiSfpdFHrtQr8GBrzxEoLUg6M5Dmb2SrLo5PtPlp2h/s320/mufti-haj-amin-al-husseini-hitler-final-solution.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husaini, meets with Adolf Hitler,<br />
November 28<span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span>, 1941</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The claim has been widely criticised. Some elements in the media presented Netanyahu as somehow making trouble, for example RTE titled its article on the controversy: “<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1021/736492-netanyahu-holocaust/">Netanyahu provokes Holocaust row</a>” when in fact the Mufti’s relationship with Hitler was only <a href="http://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/watch-netanyahus-devastating-indictment-of-the-palestinian-leadership/">referred to briefly</a> in the speech. The thrust of criticism concerned Arab-Palestinian incitement from the Mufti’s era to the present, which media outlets ignore.<br />
<br />
Fatah-PLO lambasted Netanyahu's comments,<a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/163916"> unsurprisingly perhaps</a>, given al Husseini's heroic status in Arab-Palestinian society. Carlos Latuff, an illustrator who deals in anti-Israel propaganda, mocked Netanyahu over the episode. Latuff makes <a href="http://jcpa.org/article/anti-semitic-cartoons-on-progressive-blogs/">near-continual use of Holocaust imagery</a> to demonise the Jewish State’s role in the Israeli-Arab conflict.<br />
<br />
Moshe Zimmermann, of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, went as far as to argue that Netanyahu is <a href="http://apnews.myway.com/article/20151021/ml--israel-holocaust-4c841bda04.html">a Holocaust denier</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Any attempt to deflect the burden from Hitler to others is a form of Holocaust denial”</blockquote>
Such a charge is a nonsense since Netanyahu didn’t deny Hitler’s responsibility for the Holocaust. Holocaust Deniers <a href="http://www.ushmm.org/confront-antisemitism/holocaust-denial-and-distortion">deny that the Holocaust occurred</a>, suggest there was no intent to exterminate European Jews, or minimise or relativise the dimension of the episode by presenting it as a fairly typical genocide for the period. The term is not used for those who argue that Hitler may have been influenced by other allied elements.<br />
<br />
Associated Press failed to note that Moshe Zimmermann has a record for applying offensive Holocaust terminology to Jewish political opponents. He <a href="http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/135698/peace-trains-jews-against-israel-giulio-meotti">described</a> Hebron’s Jewish children as <i>‘Hitlerjugend’</i> (Hitler Youth). Such behaviour is often deemed to be objectionable since it trivialises the scale and cruelty of the Holocaust. Thus, it is most peculiar for Associated Press to claim that Zimmermann is a prominent expert on anti-Semitism. His expertise in fact focuses on <a href="http://israel-academia-monitor.com/index.php?type=large_advic&advice_id=8484&page_data%5Bid%5D=173&cookie_lang=en">German history</a>, and is regarded as one of the most extreme anti-Israel propagandists in Israeli academia.<br />
<br />
Netanyahu later <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4714313,00.html">clarified</a> that he had no intention of absolving Hitler of his responsibility for the extermination programme but wished to highlight “the role played by the Mufti, Haj Amin al-Husseini, a war criminal, in encouraging and goading Hitler, Ribbentrop, Himmler and others to exterminate European Jewry.”<br />
<br />
Associated Press wrote that unnamed historians disagreed with Netanyahu’s claim of the Mufti’s role:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Historians quickly noted that the Nazi Final Solution was already well underway at this point, with several concentration camps up and running. Hitler had previously repeatedly declared his lethal intentions for the Jews.”</blockquote>
Such claims are not in keeping with the known timeline of the Holocaust, and also conflates the nature of concentration camps. There were concentration camps in NAZI Germany going back to the middle 1930s but they were not extermination camps. Camps with the principle purpose of committing mass murder <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Solution#Background">are known to have only been built after</a> the Wannasee Conference of January 1942, which marked a major turning point in the Holocaust.<br />
<br />
Hitler had indeed declared a lethal intent towards the Jewish race, such as in a <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Hitlerthreats.html">January 1941 speech</a> but it was clearly a threat of extermination should war spread internationally. Hitler’s <a href="http://ww2history.com/key_moments/Holocaust/Hitler_talks_of_Jewish_annihilation">private speech to Nazi Leaders</a> 20 days after his meeting with al-Husseini attests to his wish for extermination to finalise the ‘Jewish Question’. It is important to note that this was after war had spread to the United States and the USSR. Hitler appeared to believe that powerful international Jewish financiers were out to destroy the Reich and the Germanic people. His stance may have been propagandistic but the NAZIs projected many of their own <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/13/1187645/-Psychology-Of-Hatred-Part-II-Projection-Projective-Identification">character defects</a> upon a notional Jewish collective which was described as genocidal in intent.<br />
<br />
There is no consensus among historians as to when NAZI Germany decided upon extermination rather than a mix of expulsion, starvation and genocide. Arguments tend to vary, favouring the middle of 1941 or closer to the end of 1941 as the turning point in this horrific episode. Critics might argue that Netanyahu pointed to a specific meeting as turning Hitler’s opinion toward extermination rather than expulsion. However, it appears to be incorrect to point to the existence of genocidal methodologies prior to al-Husseini’s visit, as a refutation of Netanyahu’s stance.<br />
<br />
It is worth noting that an expulsion strategy was adopted at the time as
a solution to the ‘Jewish Question’. Mass genocide was systematic in
the newly <a href="http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005130">NAZI-occupied areas</a> of Eastern Europe which had an immensely destructive impact on the regional Jewish
populaces but this strategy does not appear to have been envisaged as
the primary solution for ending European Jewry's presence. Professor Peter Longerich, a scholar of the Holocaust, argues that it is difficult to place the exact date of transition <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/genocide/racial_state_01.shtml">toward a programme of pure extermination</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“In mid-1941, Hitler ordered the deportation of Jews from the Greater German ‘Reich’ to Eastern European ghettos. Ten thousand German Jews were sent to Lodz, Minsk and Riga between October 1941 and February 1942. From March 1942 they were deported to ghettos in the Lublin district. Hitler was thus putting into practice his plan, developed at the start of 1941, to deport the Jews to occupied Soviet territories. But he did not wait for his original precondition to be fulfilled — military victory over the Soviet Union’s Red Army.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In autumn 1941, the Nazi regime extended the policy of mass murder to areas outside the Soviet Union. In so doing they drew on experience gained from the defunct T4 ‘euthanasia’ programme. From this point, fixed and mobile gas chambers were to be used to murder Jews. At Chelmno, from December 1941, specially adapted buses (Gaswagen) were used for this purpose. In March 1942, Belzec extermination camp went into operation, killing Jews from Lublin and Galicia.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The exact date on which the leadership of the Nazi regime decided to convert the as-yet-unplanned intention to exterminate all European Jews into a concrete programme is not documented and is still the subject of controversy among historians. It is likely that it was not the consequence of a single decision, but of a longer process.”</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
A multifaceted strategy for resolving the “Jewish Question” was not novel. Konstantin Pobedonostsev, a leading Russian political figure of the late 19<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> Century, famously <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0016_0_15881.html">remarked</a> on what he saw as the desired fate of the then three-million Jews living in Imperial Russia: “one-third will die, one third will leave the country, and the last third will be completely assimilated within the Russian people.”<br />
<br />
Al-Husseini was in contact with the Third Reich since 1933, and testimony, such as that of Eichmann’s assistant, <a href="http://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%206524.pdf">Dieter Wisliceny</a> establishes that he had a role in <a href="http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2012/05/hitlers_long_shadow_over_israel.html">encouraging</a> a Holocaust extermination programme, rather than expulsion as a means for Hitler to be rid of the Jewish people:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Adolf Eichmann’s deputy, , stated at his Nuremberg trial that the mufti’s importance “must not be disregarded[.] … [T]he Mufti had repeatedly suggested to … Hitler, Ribbentrop and Himmler, the extermination of European Jewry"</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.ushmm.org/online/film/display/detail.php?file_num=4743">Andre Steiner</a> also relayed a conversation with Wisliceny in Bratislava, June 1944:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"When acting as adviser on Jewish affairs to the Slovakian government,
Wisliceny is believed to have said that “the Mufti was one of the
instigators of the systematic extermination of European Jewry and was a
partner and adviser to Eichmann and Hitler for carrying out this plan.”
(citation from the book “<em>Israel: The Will to Prevail</em>,” by Danny Danon, 2012).</blockquote>
Some prominent historians have <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-netanyahus-mufti-holocaust-allegation-echoes-of-his-fathers-maverick-approach-to-history/">cast doubt</a> on the accuracy of Wisliceny’s statement however, arguing that the timelines suggest the Mufti’s meeting with Hitler came too late, although Wisliceny suggests that al-Husseini influenced other members of the Third Reich as well.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OIovLAJ6D9M/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OIovLAJ6D9M?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Bernard Wasserstein’s book ‘Britain and the Jews of Europe, 1939-1945’, asserts that the Third Reich precluded Jews being allowed to emigrate to British-Mandatory Palestine due to the <a href="http://myrightword.blogspot.ie/2015/10/hitler-al-husseini-and-hungarian-jewry.html">NAZI alliance with the Mufti</a> — in March 1941, Hitler <a href="http://jcpa.org/article/palestinians-arabs-and-the-holocaust/">agreed</a> to this condition, and a few months later the Nazis ended the legal emigration of Jews from areas under German control, for which they often extorted substantial sums of money.</div>
<br />
During 1941, leading <a href="http://ww2history.com/key_moments/Holocaust/German_Jews_deported">NAZI members were advocating</a> the deportation of Jews to the USSR, to free up space for German citizens. Hitler finally agreed to the proposal at the end of September 1941. At some point between October and December, NAZI policy would crystallise into an approach solely constituting extermination. Little wonder that some historians believe that the Mufti’s visit was a pivotal moment in the Holocaust.<br />
<br />
The book ‘Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East’, authored by Wolfgang G. Schwanitz and Barry Rubin, points to Hitler being open to emigration as a solution to the “Jewish Question” in 1941. The book vividly <a href="http://www.rubincenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/v18n02a03_rubin_PDF.pdf">illustrates (see pages 20–22)</a> the influence that the Mufti brought to bear in helping initiate a mass extermination programme, albeit a contention that is controversial amongst other historians:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Hitler had to decide precisely how “the very last” of the Jews were to leave Germany. As late as 1941, Hitler thought this could happen, in the words of Hermann Göring in July, by “emigration or evacuation.” Yet since other countries refused to take many or any Jewish refugees, Palestine was the only possible refuge, as designated by the League of Nations in 1922. If that last safe haven was closed, mass murder would be Hitler’s only alternative.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The importance of the Arab-Muslim alliance for Berlin, along with the grand mufti’s urging, ensured that outcome" </blockquote>
The question is one of intentionality. Holocaust deniers would like to believe that Hitler and the Third Reich did not possess the most murderous ambitions toward the Jewish people, and would not have preferred to murder world Jewry rather than merely expel such people. The intensity of Hitler's hatred led him to see Jews as an international threat, and believed that such a concentration in Palestine might cause further trouble, as asserted during his meeting with al Husseini. Yet the scale of murderous ambition would have an impact on the number of Jewish people ultimately killed in the Holocaust.<br />
<br />
The issue is one of intent to destroy the entire Jewish populace in Europe, and perhaps the Middle East and elsewhere. The NAZIs murdered a large number of Jews up until 1941 but also entertained expelling them to other parts of the world. The Holocaust is often deemed to have begun in 1941 when death squads murdered Jews en masse in Eastern Europe. A report by a senior member of the Einsatzgruppen <a href="http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/document/DocJager.htm">states</a> that the death squad killed 137,346 people in Lithuania between the start of July 1941 and the end of November that same year. Thus, the Reich was using ever more lethal efforts to handle Jewish populaces.<br />
<br />
Material evidence is somewhat contradictory. Construction in October 1941 of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auschwitz_concentration_camp#Auschwitz_II-Birkenau">Second phase</a> of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, which would be used for mass extermination the following year, was first intended to ease the prison population, but on the other hand, the first mass killings at Auschwitz took place in September 1941, when prisoners were murdered by gas in the basement of one building.<br />
<br />
Rudolf Hoess, the commander of Auschwitz, asserted under questioning 1946, that he <a href="http://law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/hoesstest.html">was summoned</a> to Berlin to speak to Heinrich Himmler in the summer of 1941. He claimed that Himmler told him that Hitler had given the order for the extermination of the Jewish people, and Auschwitz was chosen for that purpose.<br />
<div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This meeting likely came after Hermann Goering's July 31<span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span> order to the more senior figure of Reinhard Heydrich, <a href="http://www.holocaust-history.org/hitler-final-solution/">to prepare</a> plans “for the implementation of the aspired final solution of the Jewish question” in all German-occupied areas of Europe. Such a plan would not necessarily conflict with a plan to deport Jews to Russia, although Adolf Eichmann would later relay (presumably the same order) that Heydrich had told him the <a href="http://archive.adl.org/holocaust/response.html#.ViqTDtKrSt8">following month</a> that "the Führer has ordered the physical extermination of the Jews." However, Gord McFee argues that Hitler was likely indecisive, given the delay in the plans. Hitler’s delayed decision to agree to the mass deportation of Jews to Russia in September suggests that he considered different options to resolve the ‘Jewish Question’.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
An active policy of expulsion paralleled murderous policy. As Holocaust specialist Professor David Cesarani <a href="http://ww2history.com/key_moments/Holocaust/German_Jews_deported">noted</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The autumn of 1941 is one of the strangest and most difficult periods to get a hold of… In the Soviet Union you have got the most radical conceivable kind of ethnic cleansing which is the mass shooting of populations, particularly the Jewish population. You have the crystallization of an idea in Berlin that during the war itself the Jews are going to be removed from the sphere of influence of the Third Reich, which I think at that point means after the defeat of the Soviet Union, which is imminent, dumping them in Siberia, not actually killing them… Tens of thousands of Jews are being massacred, but people are thinking of sending Jews alive to somewhere else where they may die, but they may not.” </blockquote>
A diary entry by Joseph Goebbels, of the 12<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of December, affirms a substantive change in Hitler’s thought: "Führer has decided to make a clean sweep. He prophesied to the Jews that if they again brought about a world war, they would live to see their annihilation in it." This position was echoed in <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/goeb2.html">an article published</a> in 1943.<br />
<br />
<div>
The closest to an outright order for extermination is a note that Heinrich Himmler made in his appointment diary, in the aftermath of the December 18<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> meeting with Hitler. Himmler wrote: "Jewish Question—to be exterminated as partisans" seemingly <a href="https://books.google.ie/books?id=jHQdRHNdK44C&lpg=PA410&ots=KwqaSayOoW&dq=%27Judenfrage%E2%80%94als%20Partisanen%20auszurotten&pg=PA410#v=onepage&q='Judenfrage%E2%80%94als%20Partisanen%20auszurotten&f=false">in response</a> to Hitler’s belief that “New York Jews” were waging war against the Third Reich, and must now collectively suffer the consequences.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
While it is correct to suggest that Netanyahu exaggerated the likely role of al-Husseini in Hitler’s decision to extend the Holocaust programme’s reach, and to claim that other factors would have likely had a substantive impact on Hitler’s decision-making, especially the spread of war to the US, it nonetheless appears to be correct to assert that the Mufti had a significant influence on the Reich when it came to migration policy, including a <a href="http://www.investigativeproject.org/3479/dutch-holocaust-survivor-i-saw-how-the-mufti#">direct complicity</a> in the deaths of many thousands of Jewish children.<br />
<br />
Al Husseini's influence would extend to the establishment of a <a href="http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/recruited.html">Bosnian-Muslim Waffen SS division</a> in 1943, and planning to institute a <a href="http://www.ushmm.org/research/publications/academic-publications/full-list-of-academic-publications/nazi-palestine-the-plans-for-the-extermination-of-the-jews-of-palestine">Jewish extermination programme in Palestine</a>, which was prevented by Rommel’s defeat by the British at El Alamein, as attested in the book ‘Nazi Palestine: The Plans for the Extermination of the Jews of Palestine’, by Klaus-Michael Mallmann and Martin Cüppers.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Arise. O sons of Arabia, fight for your sacred rights. Kill the Jews wherever you find them. Their spilled blood pleases Allah, our history and religion. That will save our honor.” — Haj Amin al-Husseini, <a href="http://cjhsla.org/2014/12/08/haj-amin-al-husseini-and-nazi-racial-policies-in-the-arab-world/">radio broadcast</a>, May 1942.</blockquote>
Al-Husseini may not have merely encouraged an extermination programme - there is less historical debate in the fact that he collaborated in efforts to implement such policy, and systematically promoted the NAZI cause in the Arab world. Although the media has presented a white-wash of the Mufti's behaviour, perhaps this week’s argument will encourage some renewed interest in this issue, which has been all too often ignored.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“…The sole German objective in the region will be to liquidate all Jews who live in Arab countries under the patronage of Great Britain.” — Adolf Hitler to Hajj Amin al-Husseini, <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Hitlerthreats.html">November 28, 1941</a>.</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Also published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/mufti-haj-amin-al-husseini-s-initiatory-role-in-the-extermination-of-european-jewry/global-islam/2015/">Crethi Plethi</a>. </i></div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-42519120704770718242015-05-26T22:46:00.000+01:002015-05-27T11:50:02.459+01:00An Analysis of Media Narratives on Present Circumstances in Gaza<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCL29i1i5-vtw9bZiTwle1QpmhIvcDxe-oQcWZS8NPLhSUtbzccUTMF25kYz88ZviB9Fwp3G-rRtn64Jr1n5yFMZNMvr2c9fsZoUXURIM1Z3jRawEVpV7lX_vnzpAy-e4hBiwbnQioJr4z/s1600/Screen-grab%252C+Robert+Shortt%252C+Prime+Time%252C+RTE%252C+7-5-15.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCL29i1i5-vtw9bZiTwle1QpmhIvcDxe-oQcWZS8NPLhSUtbzccUTMF25kYz88ZviB9Fwp3G-rRtn64Jr1n5yFMZNMvr2c9fsZoUXURIM1Z3jRawEVpV7lX_vnzpAy-e4hBiwbnQioJr4z/s320/Screen-grab%252C+Robert+Shortt%252C+Prime+Time%252C+RTE%252C+7-5-15.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Robert Shortt, Gaza, Prime Time, May 7, 2015 (RTE Screen-grab).</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Ireland’s principle broadcasting institution, RTE, ran a series of news reports by journalist Robert Shortt, which are concerned with the current troubles that the people of Gaza face, in the aftermath of ‘Operation Protective Edge’, last year’s war between Israel and several terrorist groups based in Gaza.<br />
<div>
<br />
Shortt’s reportage echoes many of the recent accounts of the situation in Gaza found in the mainstream media. His reports form the basis of this article’s broader thematic rebuttal of current media coverage.<br />
<br />
The most substantive report, ‘Inside Gaza’, was broadcast on ‘Prime Time’, RTE’s premium current affairs programme, on <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/0508/10416733-prime-time/">May 7<span style="font-size: x-small;">th </span>2015</a> (RTE incorrectly posts the date as May 8<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>). The segment begins at 9:57 in RTE’s Internet Player.</div>
<div>
<br />
<i>An article, titled ‘<a href="http://eirael.blogspot.ie/2015/05/rtes-gaza-news-coverage-sponsored-by.html">RTE’s Gaza news coverage sponsored by Irish Aid’s pro-Palestinian proxy</a>’ details possible breaches of broadcasting code in Shortt’s reports.</i><br />
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
The report is introduced by David McCullagh, who accepted United Nations “estimates” of the civilian death toll, without mention of their <a href="http://legalinsurrection.com/2014/09/how-hamas-casualty-figures-became-news/">true source</a> — Hamas, which often used distorted figures for propaganda in the past.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Last year Hamas and Israel fought a 50 day war in the Gaza strip. It was the third conflict in six years and the deadliest. The UN estimates that on the Israeli side 67 soldiers and four civilians were killed. On the Palestinian side, over 2,200 people were killed, including over 1,500 civilians, of whom 551 were children. Now many are warning that tensions are rising once again.”</blockquote>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRKBfu9sqxUPZteM3fhjYHEpsnI6DZMRDwuqINRXFO8W5569-ITChZ3fs8AMJjFviu8LpwksCyzVEBwgFJc4JeT9mjEUXhz4ZBjl31QdCg3e9tNO18ayGok6glDRUVToJH2gJ-V1fMj8l/s1600/Screen-grab%252C+Zaitoun+Elementary+School%252C+New+Crisis+in+Gaza%252C+RTE+News%252C+9-5-15.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRKBfu9sqxUPZteM3fhjYHEpsnI6DZMRDwuqINRXFO8W5569-ITChZ3fs8AMJjFviu8LpwksCyzVEBwgFJc4JeT9mjEUXhz4ZBjl31QdCg3e9tNO18ayGok6glDRUVToJH2gJ-V1fMj8l/s320/Screen-grab%252C+Zaitoun+Elementary+School%252C+New+Crisis+in+Gaza%252C+RTE+News%252C+9-5-15.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Zaitoun Elementary School, '</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">New Crisis in Gaza', RTE News, May 9, 2015</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"> (Screen-grab)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>On the UN report: ‘attacking’ schools?</b></div>
<br />
Shortt’s 11 and a half minute report highlights the suffering of children during and after the 2014 conflict. For example, he stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Last July, Mara, her ten siblings, father, and mother, then heavily pregnant, fled the bombing of their home to find shelter in this UN school. Over a thousand people are still crammed into the classrooms of Zeitoun Elementary. Seven such centres were attacked by Israeli forces during the war causing 44 deaths, and 227 injuries.”</blockquote>
Shortt’s claim relates to the damage of seven schools studied in a UN Board of Inquiry report — its summary findings were issued on the 27<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> April. Shortt’s claim that Israel “attacked” seven UN schools is not credible. The report <a href="http://blog.unwatch.org/index.php/2015/04/27/full-text-un-board-of-inquiry-on-gaza/">notes</a> that one school (appertaining to ‘Incident (g)’ in the study) was not being used as a shelter, and the road outside another school (‘Incident (f)’) was struck, rather than the school itself. Moreover, the word ‘<a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attack">attack</a>’ suggests an overt intentional wish to strike these UN civilian installations, which the UN report, although prejudicial in its own right, does not itself <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/concerns-over-the-un-board-of-inquiry-report-on-the-treatment-of-unrwa-facilities-in-the-2014-gaza-war/israel/2015/">ascribe</a> to Israeli actions.<br />
<br />
Despite the specificity of the report, Shortt failed to properly identify the school in question. It may be an ‘United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East’ (UNRWA) school in Zeitoun (also spelt Zaitoun), called the ‘Shahada Al-Manar Elementary’, a site from which Hamas was <a href="https://www.idfblog.com/blog/2014/08/04/hamas-fires-rockets-everywhere-gaza/">identified</a> to have fired weaponry, or ‘Zeitoun Preparatory Girls “B” School’. The UN report blames the IDF for a stray “projectile” striking the roof of the latter school, whilst <a href="http://blog.unwatch.org/index.php/2015/04/27/full-text-un-board-of-inquiry-on-gaza/">stating that “militant activity was also noted”</a> (Point D, 35) some hours earlier in the area, and that no IDF activity can be explicitly tied to the single strike. Therefore, to describe the school as having been “attacked” is misleading.<br />
<br />
Shortt’s subsequent news report, discussed below, appears to reference the same building visually, but a sign identifies it as “Zaitoun Elementary Boys “B” School”, which was not one of the schools featured in the UN report, albeit related to the girls school of the same name. Shortt further remarks:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Last week the UN dismissed Israeli claims that Hamas rockets were found in schools used as shelters but it admitted rockets were found in empty schools.”</blockquote>
Israel did not claim rockets had been found in schools actively used as shelters. Broad Israeli claims related to the use of active school shelters by terrorist groups, to launch attacks. Such claims were latterly disputed by witness testimony in the report but the conditions of the testimony <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/preliminary_analysis_of_un_board_of_inquiry_summary_regarding_gaza_conflict">can be deemed problematic</a> with some justification, given <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/concerns-over-the-un-board-of-inquiry-report-on-the-treatment-of-unrwa-facilities-in-the-2014-gaza-war/israel/2015/">potential</a> conflicts of interest with the parties collecting it. Moreover, the word ‘dismissal’ is an undue and misleading description of the UN report’s findings. The UN report looked specifically at a small number of instances, namely those that involved UNRWA property (see Point 5 of the report), rather than provide an actual overview of the conflict:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“In its report, the Board noted that it was not within its terms of reference to address the wider aspects of the conflict in Gaza, its causes or the situation affecting the civilian populations of Gaza and Israel in the period before “Operation Protective Edge” was launched. Its task was limited to considering the ten incidents identified in its terms of reference.”</blockquote>
Furthermore it should be noted that inactive schools were not merely acknowledged to have been used for the storage of weaponry. Two of the three referenced sites were also used to fire against the IDF. Shortt’s report focuses on the area of Jabalia. The UN report notes an interesting event in relation to one of the area's local schools: it “was highly likely that an unidentified Palestinian armed group could have used the school premises to launch attacks on or around 14 July” (point 70) but Shortt does not appear to deem it necessary to mention such mitigating circumstance.<br />
<br />
Shortt makes similarly misleading claims <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2015/0506/699196-prime-time-inside-gaza/">in an article</a> on RTE’s site, which comes across as an apologia for the use of schools:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Israel claims Hamas used school shelters to store rockets. But a report last week from the UN found the schools where rockets were located were empty and not the shelters where hundreds gathered only to come under attack once more.”</blockquote>
The UN report noted that the three schools in question were at summer recess so it is possible they could have been used if the war began at a slightly earlier date. They are designated civilian structures, so it is still a highly problematic matter to use them in war. Shortt <i>et al</i>. wish to dismiss the import of such unprecedented findings but they represent just a surface glimpse of long-established <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths3/MFcastlead.html#a15">behaviour</a>, e.g. from 2009:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
‘United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Chief John Holmes told the UN Security Council, “The reckless and cynical use of civilian installations by Hamas and indiscriminate firing of rockets against civilian populations are clear violations of international humanitarian law.”’</blockquote>
The UN report’s findings add further credence to the long-expressed view that terror groups use human shields in civilian areas. The report only addressed three structures. An increasing number of <a href="http://honestreporting.com/foreign-journalists-acknowledge-hamas-human-shields-tactics/">international journalists</a> have acknowledged that Hamas use human shields, while Ghazi Hamad, a representative of Hamas, grudgingly <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2753176/Hamas-DID-use-schools-hospitals-Gaza-Strip-human-shields-launch-rocket-attacks-Israel-admits-says-mistake.html">admitted</a> they fired from civilian areas during the war, while civilians would have been resident.<br />
<br />
It is time for the likes of Shortt, <i>et al</i>, to stop making excuses, whilst subtly inferring that Israel targets civilians intentionally, as per his claim (quoted above) that civilians were twice attacked by Israel.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Gaza’s embargo</b></div>
<br />
The report mentions the failure of promised donations to materialise, but fundamentally blames the present problems on the blockade, with Siobhan Powell, of (UNRWA) echoing the notion. Shortt says:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza after a violent split between Palestinians in 2007. Hamas has ruled Gaza since.”</blockquote>
It is not wholly accurate to describe Israel’s action as a ‘blockade’, other than with respect to its maritime activity, which cut off access to the sea beyond a six nautical mile zone, due to efforts to smuggle weaponry into Gaza. A <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/blockade">blockade</a> tends to be defined as “The isolation of a nation, area, city, or harbor by hostile ships or forces in order to prevent the entrance and exit of traffic and commerce.” UNRWA however <a href="http://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/emergency-reports/gaza-situation-report-90">notes</a> that “Israel allows most goods into the Gaza Strip except for items it defines as “dual-use” materials which could have a military purpose.”<br />
<br />
Israel allows some Gazan produce <a href="http://www.lacs.ps/documentsShow.aspx?ATT_ID=19490">to be exported</a> internationally, through its borders, and has assisted farmers in recent years with a <a href="http://unitedwithisrael.org/idf-helps-gazan-farmers-attend-agricultural-conference-in-israel/">variety of projects</a>. Export levels remain small but have shown signs of increasing in the aftermath of the 2014 war, a situation that looks set to continue by <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/We-need-free-trade-Gazan-farmers-representative-says-at-Tel-Aviv-agricultural-fair-400766">addressing</a> security issues.<br />
<br />
Israel’s actions over land would be more correctly defined as a partial type of ‘embargo’, a forceful diplomatic measure adopted by some nations to limit its interaction with a given territory. Israel and the Palestinian Authority <a href="http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/opening-gaza-to-the-wider-world-the-israeli-palestinian-agreement-on-moveme">signed</a> the Agreement on Movement & Access, allowing for free access of people and goods into Israel. However, after the 2006 elections, Hamas refused to recognise Israel’s <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-12-08-palestinian-pm_x.htm">right to exist</a> or to curtail its violence, which led to the EU and the Quartet suspending <a href="http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/68794.pdf">assistance arrangements</a> in Gaza. Hamas would then enter into a state of revolt by violently throwing off the legal structures of the Palestinian Authority in 2007, the interim arrangement toward forging of a new Arab state, with it concomitant security arrangements.<br />
<br />
With Hamas instigating further belligerent acts, a maritime blockade was formally <a href="http://www.ukho.gov.uk/ProductsandServices/MartimeSafety/WeeklyNms/37wknm08_Week37_2008.pdf">announced in June 2008</a>: </div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“In accordance with the agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, entry by foreign vessels to this zone is prohibited. Israeli Notice 6/2008”</blockquote>
The embargo and naval blockade grew out of a worsening scenario with a belligerent seizing absolute control in a coup. As such it was and continues to be a justified measure, as the Palmer Report accepts.<br />
<br />
<b></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><b>Shortt on steel and cement</b></b><br />
<b><b><br /></b></b></div>
<b>
</b>
The limited reconstruction of Gaza should be blamed on Hamas and the international community for not ensuring that construction materials are utilised for their intended purpose. Shortt thinks differently:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Rebuilding after a war is a huge task. Rebuilding after three wars in six years is a monumental task. Add to that a blockade and a temporary cease-fire, and it’s leading to frustration and a simmering sense of anger, which is stretching hope of return to any sort of a normal life here in Gaza to its limits.”</blockquote>
The destruction to some neighbourhoods nearer the Gaza border with Israel is considerable. The <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2014/10/wheres_the_coverage_un_report.html">zones of conflict</a> were limited however, so it is somewhat misleading to present all of Gaza as being in a near-complete state of destruction, and to present the entire enclave as being in need of reconstruction thrice-over, when there were substantive efforts to rebuild previously. In 2010 Israel significantly eased the <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/talking/62_Blockade.html">embargo</a>, allowing Gaza’s infrastructure to be improved, yielding results that were at times unexpected, given common perceptions of <a href="http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/001127.html">quality of life</a> in the Strip. In 2013 Israel further eased restrictions on construction materials, until these materials were repeatedly found to <a href="http://www.jpost.com/National-News/IDF-discovers-Palestinian-terrorist-tunnel-leading-from-Gaza-to-Kibbutz-in-Israel-328584">have been exploited</a> by Hamas for building terror-tunnels into Israel itself.<br />
<br />
Shortt then presents, as an unsubstantiated claim, the notion that Hamas is using building materials to construct new tunnels to conduct assaults, when it is in fact rather more than just a mere accusation:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Israel accuses it [Hamas] of continuing to use cement and steel to rebuild tunnels to launch attacks into its territory.”</blockquote>
The programme segment then leads to an apologia from a representative of Hamas. Dr. Hamad Ghazy, Hamas’ Deputy Foreign Minister, who, after indirectly justifying such acts as a defence, stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We want to take precautions to prevent any possible aggression against our people, but ah we gave promises that all the building materials that come to Gaza go to people who need it. Hamas will not interfere.”</blockquote>
Despite the contradictory message, purposefully aimed at Western audiences, Hamas’ leaders have loudly pledged <a href="http://www.progressonline.org.uk/2015/02/27/britain-can-prevent-another-war-in-gaza/">Hamas’ wish</a> to build new tunnels, and rearm. Recent reports attest to an unpleasant reality that Hamas is <a href="http://www.westernjournalism.com/hamas-uses-german-excavator-to-rebuild-tunnels-in-gaza-but-israel-now-has-an-answer/">intensifying</a> its tunnel-building efforts, with the use of greater mechanisation.<br />
<br />
Dual-use cement imports had been curtailed, due to its military usage. However, tens of thousands of tons <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israel-increases-Gaza-exports-and-exit-permits-for-merchants-391358">of other building materials</a> had been transported into the Gaza Strip since the end of the 2014 war, and Israel has in another respect liberalised the import of cement. UNRWA itself <a href="http://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/emergency-reports/gaza-situation-report-90">notes</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Construction materials defined as dual-use are only permitted to enter for approved projects by international organizations and, since mid-October 2014, under the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM), an agreement between the governments of Israel and Palestine, for private sector use. The GRM, to which UNRWA is not a party, allows for private sector imports, and hence for shelter self-help for large scale reconstruction which was not possible prior to the establishment of the GRM”</blockquote>
The Jewish State had restricted the <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4630919,00.html">import of cement</a> due to Hamas’ efforts to obtain such materials, often via the black market, but has since <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192477#.VRqr_9LF_Ic">lifted its restrictions</a>.<br />
<br />
In another <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/0509/20777164-new-crisis-in-gaza/">news report</a>, entitled ‘New Crisis in Gaza’, broadcast on the RTE’s 6.1 (6 o’clock) and 9 PM news programmes, and otherwise repeated cyclically on the broadcaster’s ‘News Now’ channel, Robert Shortt states:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“In Gaza they call concrete ‘grey gold’. Building materials are in such short supply that people are literally taking sledge hammers to the remnants of buildings here, to extract the steel rods and break down the concrete rubble, in order to use it again.”</blockquote>
Similarly, Shortt <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2015/0506/699196-prime-time-inside-gaza/">wrote</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The dull thud of sledgehammers can be heard as people break up collapsed concrete floors. Donkeys pull carts piled with twisted steel rods literally torn from the wreckage. Such is the shortage of building materials, Gazans are recycling everything they can use.”</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_-pe-zT_JDMcBVlEMIhSw6_EoQFDx90E75ZbGgcQvrFZMH-3LWjnUvcYXk37S6eDMLs-mM7M__TNNHe3WLJRu9kvBY_FXrDWLFQC5cCnNR-CxqhF2dDzh2Du-d2bQqmZh29SnlF7rm89/s1600/Screen-grab%252C+cement+factory+rep%252C+New+Crisis+in+Gaza%252C+RTE+News%252C+9-5-15.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_-pe-zT_JDMcBVlEMIhSw6_EoQFDx90E75ZbGgcQvrFZMH-3LWjnUvcYXk37S6eDMLs-mM7M__TNNHe3WLJRu9kvBY_FXrDWLFQC5cCnNR-CxqhF2dDzh2Du-d2bQqmZh29SnlF7rm89/s320/Screen-grab%252C+cement+factory+rep%252C+New+Crisis+in+Gaza%252C+RTE+News%252C+9-5-15.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Cement factory representative, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">'</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">New Crisis in Gaza', RTE News, May 9, 2015</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"> (Screen-grab)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Shortt presents this story as if individual Arab-Palestinians are remoulding rubble with their bare hands. However, there is in fact an established localised industry <a href="http://www.demotix.com/news/3895422/palestinian-labourers-work-cement-factory-gaza-strip">recycling steel bars and concrete</a>. Shortt indeed does mention a “concrete factory was destroyed during the war and rebuilt at a cost of four million Euro” but does not <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConstructionIndustriesCo/photos/a.667504506616649.1073741829.665133180187115/865241803509584/?type=3&theater">tie the point to</a> the recycling of concrete.<br />
<br />
To <a href="https://www.transterramedia.com/media/48136">quote</a> one pro-Palestinian source critical of Israel:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Abu Ali Daloul is one of the main traders of recycled iron bars in Gaza. He bought tons of the iron bars removed from the rubble of the recent war. He fixes the bars and prepares them to be used again for construction purposes.<br />
<br />
The concrete rubble are transported to stone breaking workshops in order to be turned into pebbles for use on road paving projects. Abu Lebda is a stone breading [sic] workshop which recycles concrete rubble and provides brick manufacturers with pebbles to make bricks with<br />
<br />
Malaka concrete bricks factory brings the pebbles from Abu Lebda’s stone breaking workshop and puts the amounts in its stores hoping the cement to pass through the crossings to be able to produce bricks suffecient to rebuild Gaza.”</blockquote>
Moreover, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_recycling">recycling of steel and concrete</a> building materials has become commonplace the world over, for environmental reasons. Shortt, however, would sooner have the viewer believe that this is a remarkable, near-unprecedented phenomenon!<br />
<br />
An anti-Israel NGO, called Gisha, <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/where-did-gazas-concrete-go/2015/01/12/">reported</a> in January that quite substantive amounts of concrete had entered Gaza since the end of Operation Protective Edge, but very little has been used to rebuild Gazan homes, despite the fact that Gaza’s residents are entitled to free building materials if their homes are damaged. The materials were in fact sold to Hamas, and requisitioned by Hamas.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Dr. Mona el-Farra</b></div>
<br />
In the Prime Time report, Shortt proceeds to discuss the more personal effects of the embargo upon Dr. Mona el-Farra, a leading member of a highly partisan NGO called the ‘<a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/middle_east_children_s_alliance_meca_">Middle East Children’s Alliance</a>’ (MECA):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“But the blockade goes deeper. Gazans cannot travel freely across their borders. Dr. Mona el-Farra was prevented from travelling to Ireland in March to speak at a conference.”</blockquote>
The conference in question was organised by SIPTU in Dublin. SIPTU, Ireland’s largest <a href="http://markhumphrys.com/irish.tax.israel.html#trade.union">trade union</a>, has long pushed for a strong anti-Israel agenda, and supports a boycott. Some made a fuss of her non-attendance at the time. Sinn Féin-IRA leader, Gerry Adams, <a href="http://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/34565">took up</a> el-Farra’s cause with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan, but the conference, far from advocating a fair just solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, actually <a href="http://www.ipsc.ie/event/dublin-conference-palestine-now-two-state-solution-solidarity-sanctions-siptu">promoted</a> a boycott of Israel, and a one-state solution, which would destroy the self-determination of the Jewish People, in a region that is otherwise <i>Judenrein</i>.<br />
<br />
Therefore, it was no surprise that el-Farra proceeded to blame Israel for not letting her travel through its borders. She suggested it was because her voice is ‘loud’. However, neither she nor the programme makers noted that both Egypt and Israel denied her passage from Gaza, nor that both states have a right to control their borders, particularly when belligerent groups lie in wait beyond these barriers!<br />
<br />
It should be noted that the Palestinian Authority constitutes the body responsible for the issuance of Gaza’s passports, as established in the Interim agreement with Israel. It is left unsaid in Shortt’s report, but Hamas has <a href="http://israelmatzav.blogspot.ie/2010/07/palestinians-are-imprisoned-in-gaza-and.html">accused</a> its Fatah/PLO rivals of frustrating the efforts of academics and campaigners <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Turkeys-support-of-Hamas-worries-PA">to travel from</a> the Gaza Strip, since 2008.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>For the children?</b></div>
<br />
Notably, Robert Shortt’s reports focused to a significant extent on the welfare of children. He states:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Its against this backdrop of continuing violence and confrontational politics that children like Mara attempt to grow up.”<br />
<br />
Like many Gazan children, she has seen the horrors of war. Psychological support has helped her re-adjust.”</blockquote>
Similarly, to quote a <a href="https://www.storehouse.co/stories/48h9v-inside-gaza">promotional</a> webpage:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Dr El Farra was prevented from travelling to Ireland in March to speak at a conference on Gaza. Her main concern is the impact of the conflict on the children of Gaza.”</blockquote>
Dr. el-Farra comments further on the predicament of Gaza’s children, who suffer the effects of war:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The direct impact is the children don’t sleep well at night, having nightmares. Different sorts of phobias. Some of them lost speech. Some of them are afraid of dark nights or back to bedwetting again.<br />
<br />
Some cannot focus at school. They became very irritable and they cannot focus at school. And this of course has another effect which is social problems. Have restless children, quarrelous, aggressive children.<br />
<br />
There’s no life at the moment in Gaza. You are coming as visitor but I live here, and I go everyday to the refugee camp areas, and I can see the frustration on peoples faces and souls and minds.<br />
<br />
My concern is the youth. They will start looking for radical solutions, getting involved with more radical Islamist groups like ISIS”</blockquote>
In this context, Israel’s influence on Gaza, through embargo and war, is blamed for these disturbing behavioural traits. Oddly however, neither el-Farra, or the programme makers, mentioned the extent to which Hamas <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-2945523/Gaza-youngsters-flock-Hamas-training-camps.html">radicalises</a> Gaza’s children, with thousands of youngsters going to training camps. Even some Gaza-based anti-Israel NGOs are objecting to Hamas’ use of children in this way:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“local human rights groups are accusing Hamas of exploiting children for political purposes.<br />
<br />
“We are not disputing the right of an occupied people to resist, but it must be done by adults, not children,” one human rights activist told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.<br />
<br />
“The camps are making young people aggressive instead of educating them and teaching them to abide by the law,” the activist said.”</blockquote>
Thus, problematic unsocial behaviour in children can equally be attributed to radicalisation. <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/New-Israeli-documentary-shows-Hamas-training-child-soldiers-395928">Hamas</a> and other Arab-Palestinian factions have engaged in such behaviour, which is illegal under international law. The issue is far from recent, e.g. with the use of children in the <a href="https://books.google.ie/books?id=zQYQ0tho6mAC&lpg=PP1&dq=%22Armies%20of%20the%20Young%3A%20Child%20Soldiers%20in%20War%20and%20Terrorism%22&pg=PA106#v=onepage&q&f=false">First Arab Revolt</a> of 1936.<br />
<br />
Despite el-Farra’s/MECA’s professed wish to see the welfare of Arab-Palestinian children improve, the <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/middle_east_children_s_alliance_meca_">vocal defence</a> of terrorism, and <a href="http://elderofziyon.blogspot.ie/2011/09/fake-child-artists-of-gaza.html#.VVqg_7lViko">use of children</a> for emotive conflict propaganda, may explain why they turn a blind eye to the <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/05/09/terror-tv-for-tots-hamas-show-has-child-vowing-to-shoot-jews/">abuse of children</a> on their very doorstep, an abuse that even has expression in Gaza’s media. “Every Muslim mother must nurse her children on hatred of the sons of Zion” is one of Hamas’ many <a href="http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=12237">statements</a> on the desired outcome of parenting.<br />
<br />
Schools have long been <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/11/20/new-scandal-envelops-unrwa-as-employees-praise-jerusalem-synagogue-atrocity/">a source</a> of radicalisation in the Arab-Palestinian territories. Even children attending UNRWA’s own putatively civilian schools can experience the force of radicalisation. The headmaster of Zeitoun Elementary Boys school <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/11/director-of-us-funded-un-school-calls-synagogue-jihad-murders-wonderful">openly celebrates</a> genocide and massacre. Shortt visited the school but seemingly such behaviour didn’t deserve mention!<br />
<br />
El-Farra frets about the possibility of Islamic State becoming popular in Gaza. While the Western media presents ISIS in justifiably strong terms, due to its extraordinary bloodlust, Hamas’ speech is notably more <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/16224#.VV23g7lVikp">extreme</a> with respect to its advocacy of the genocide of all Jews, leading to the distinct possibility that the Sunni group’s bloodlust is only impeded by arguably the most sophisticated counter-terror force in the world.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Does responsibility lie with Arab-Palestinian rule?</b></div>
<br />
Shortt’s coverage suggests Israel treats Gazans worse today than say a year ago. Arguably the opposite is the case. Shortt failed to report on various developments. For example, Israel facilitates the mass transit of construction materials into Gaza. Israel is <a href="http://new.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israel-helps-relieve-water-crisis-in-Gaza-Strip-by-doubling-supply-392976">doubling the water delivery</a> to Gaza, after a crisis due to illegal drilling in the Strip’s coastal aquifer. Israel is also helping to <a href="http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/middle-east/israel-and-the-middle-east/israel-and-turkey-helping-to-increase-electricity-supply-to-gaza-9854">increase the supply of electricity</a> in the region, and may have indirectly engaged in discussions with Hamas, to <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/193299">construct a pipeline</a> going from the Jewish State to Gaza to reinforce the electricity supply.<br />
<br />
It is of course stating the obvious to say there are very limited opportunities for the people of Gaza, and that many are likely to feel a deep sense of despair. However, although conditions are extremely challenging after the damage caused by war, further Israeli initiatives, for business and reconstruction, <a href="http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/Peace/Humanitarian/Pages/Further-steps-to-assist-reconstruction-of-Gaza-Strip-17-Feb-2015.aspx">were initiated</a> during the latter months of 2014.<br />
<br />
Shortt focuses on Israel’s blameworthiness for the present circumstances blighting the Gaza Strip, but what of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority themselves? The viewer only hears mention of “dysfunctional Palestinian politics”. Perhaps he hints at a topic that goes beyond Hamas’ rejectionist stances. He may refer to factionalism and corruption but viewers are not advised even though it relates strongly to the topic at hand. Is blameworthiness attributable to non-Jews of less interest to the viewer?<br />
<br />
It is acknowledged that political factionalism has played abidingly negative role on conditions in Gaza from the <a href="https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PolicyFocus78.pdf">very outset</a>.<br />
<br />
Other than previously mentioned issues, such as the dispute over passport issuance, there have been <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/gazas-only-power-plant-shuts-down-over-tax-dispute/">continued disagreements</a> between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority over the payment of trans-state energy bills, which has resulted in power cuts of up to 18 hours per day. Such a measure would have a profoundly destructive impact on any economy. Likewise, the PA is believed to be <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/193299">intentionally slowing</a> the payment of wages to State employees in Gaza, which constitute a substantive source of revenue to the localised economy. Lack of pay for many months has <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-workers-in-gaza-begin-sit-in-over-salary-dispute/">led to protests</a>. There have been reports that Hamas is imposing another tax on imports, the <a href="http://www.jewishjournal.com/israel/article/hamas_imposed_taxes_create_new_hardships_for_palestinians_in_gaza">monies</a> from stressed private sectors will go into the pockets of long-unpaid members of Hamas.<br />
<br />
Hamas have <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2015/05/can_afp_say_egyptian_blockade.html">claimed</a> that the Palestinian Authority demanded control of 50% of the monies pledged by international donors, to aid reconstruction in Gaza, whilst also stating that they rebuffed an Israeli offer to lift the embargo, and open up Gaza’s territory for shipping and air travel, in return for a long term truce. Both <a href="http://www.thecommentator.com/article/4267/palestinians_very_serious_about_stealing_aid_billions">Fatah/PA</a> and <a href="http://aijac.org.au/news/article/evidence-mounts-that-hamas-is-profiting-from-aid">Hamas</a> have of course their own agendas in attempting to commandeer billions of dollars in promised international aid.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Shortt on facts?</b></div>
<br />
As we have seen, Shortt’s capacity to place blame on Israel was achieved due to significant omissions of basic fact inconvenient to his narrative. Shortt closed his Prime Time report with these troubling sentiments:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Gaza is hemmed in by the sea and Israel. Its people are caught between dysfunctional Palestinian politics and the constant threat of war. The tide of violence breaks regularly here. Summer is coming. People fear what it may bring.”</blockquote>
Tellingly, Shortt made no mention of the fact that Israel’s embargo and maritime blockade is made in partnership with Egypt. This is a normative approach for the media, which largely <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2015/05/can_afp_say_egyptian_blockade.html">ignores</a> Egypt’s crucial role. Egypt has long appreciated the threat that Hamas poses to its security, as a military faction of the long proscribed Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Whilst the Arab nation did temporarily allow access through its borders, Egypt’s policy had broadly been harsher than that of Israel, giving little assistance at all.<br />
<br />
Be that as it may, conditions for the people of Gaza are harsh. Siobhan Powell of UNRWA stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“There are no jobs so people can’t provide food for their families. It’s why we have such a dependency on assistance.”</blockquote>
Such a claim is an exaggeration, with the <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4081681,00.html">employment rate</a> of Gaza largely remaining at 55% in recent years. Beyond the hyperbole, it is one of the highest rates in the world. The international community, including UNRWA, et al, blame Israel for such circumstance. And yet, in Israel’s defence, it does foster assistance programmes, continues to provide water and electricity (sometimes at its own peril), and supplies the assistance that keeps Gaza fed, the fuel to provide comfort and transport, and the materials to at least tentatively rebuild.<br />
<br />
Shortt’s closing statement illustrates the problem with these normative media narratives — they flatly refuse to place any meaningful blame at Hamas’ door. Any sensible evaluation would surely conclude that when Israel withdrew from Gaza, Hamas, via the electorate’s assistance, took the opportunity to perpetuate conflict. Israel had to act to cut off a lethal belligerent operating freely on one of its borders.<br />
<br />
The international community decry the wars with Hamas, and they decry the suffering of the populace. A highly vocal number claim that Israel should release Gaza from its embargo, and somehow peace will be found! All such a strategy will do is give Hamas carte blanche to wage a greater scale of war. As a result, Gaza’s civilians and the Israeli populace near Gaza’s border, will suffer all the more. There is no option for peace, other than Gaza being rid of Hamas, but the common ideological blind spot, which Shortt appears to suffer from, has to blame Israel for not only for its own legitimate defensible actions, but for the pain Hamas visits on the populace that voted it in on a mandate of continued strife.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We shall not rest until our entire holy land is liberated … To the Zionists we promise that tomorrow all of Palestine will become hell for you” (<a href="http://www.memri.org/report/en/print1469.htm">Memri</a>)</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Also published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/an-analysis-of-media-narratives-on-present-circumstances-in-gaza/arab-israeli-conflict/2015/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i><br />
<div class="indent" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 30px; margin-right: 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-17837971056716135052015-05-26T22:09:00.000+01:002015-05-26T23:44:19.181+01:00RTE’s Gaza News Coverage Sponsored by Irish Aid’s Pro-Palestinian Proxy<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34084m5svIIixTeTaf2xRHLwna9c6Zqk4lCosSvC22M4UxxNWRi-DhzhmGNG6FO0sDlPc1YWsh6nn9avzccsH2SBqzqCspcx2AusOAlbchLCWMTqzLQYS8L47HFhLlvQ5QefL35_QzTho/s1600/Screen-shot%252C+focusing+on+gun+held+by+IDF+major+near+border%252C+RTE%252C+PRime+Time%252C+7-5-15.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34084m5svIIixTeTaf2xRHLwna9c6Zqk4lCosSvC22M4UxxNWRi-DhzhmGNG6FO0sDlPc1YWsh6nn9avzccsH2SBqzqCspcx2AusOAlbchLCWMTqzLQYS8L47HFhLlvQ5QefL35_QzTho/s320/Screen-shot%252C+focusing+on+gun+held+by+IDF+major+near+border%252C+RTE%252C+PRime+Time%252C+7-5-15.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Focusing on gun held by IDF interviewee, RTE, Prime Time, May 7, 201515 (RTE s</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">creen-shot)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
RTE, Ireland’s monopolistic public service broadcaster, ran a series of news reports by veteran RTE journalist Robert Shortt, relating to the current difficulties that the people of Gaza experience, in the aftermath of ‘Operation Protective Edge’, the 2014 war between Gaza’s belligerent groups and Israel.<br />
<br />
The most detailed report, ‘Inside Gaza’, was broadcast on Prime Time, RTE’s premium current affairs programme, on <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/0508/10416733-prime-time/">May 7<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> 2015</a> (RTE’s Internet player May 8<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> date is incorrect). The segment begins at 9:57 in the Internet Player. Robert Shortt’s visit to Gaza was also featured in radio programming (cf. World Report, Radio One, <a href="https://twitter.com/RobertShortt/status/595577990685323264">May 3<span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></a>) and in RTE’s news articles.<br />
<br />
To summarise, the Prime Time report asserts that a humanitarian crisis is on the horizon, due to a lack of promised international donations and Israel’s embargo. Shortt reinforces the latter as the primary reason for Gaza’s weak recovery, and he suggests little reconstruction occurred after prior wars. There is no mention that Israel has supplied large amounts of construction materials, including cement. Shortt presents the stance that Hamas has diverted cement and steel, to build tunnels, as an Israeli claim rather than fact, even though Hamas acknowledges it. There is no mention of Egypt’s embargo in the reports.<br />
<br />
Shortt repeatedly used the word ‘attack’ in relation to the findings of the UN Board of Inquiry report into the incidents at seven UN schools. This is a <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/concerns-over-the-un-board-of-inquiry-report-on-the-treatment-of-unrwa-facilities-in-the-2014-gaza-war/israel/2015/">wholly misleading assertion</a>, as the report does not make findings of intent to harm and kill in the schools inspected. In fact, the sole finding of intent in the UN report asserts that the injury and death caused at one school was in error whilst pursuing terrorists. Shortt also appeared to infer that the IDF purposely targets civilians, when he spoke of “the shelters where hundreds [of civilians] gathered only to come under attack once more.”<br />
<br />
To Shortt’s credit, he did allow some voice to Israeli views, with the interview of two Ìsraeli individuals in the middle of the segment, which provided some perspectival balance with the opinions of those Arab-Palestinians interviewed. However, his narrational voice, which carries greater authority for viewers, provided a prejudicial account, belying the superficial sense of balance their voices bring. Indeed he went as far as to undermine the views of the of two Ìsraelis featured, by broadly accusing Israeli people of being narrow-minded, and caring little for the welfare of Arab-Palestinian children:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“On the other side of the border, everything is seen through the prism of the threat posed to Israel, including attacks on [Gaza’s] UN schools.”</blockquote>
It would not be unreasonable to argue that the report breaches the codes of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. The BAI’s ‘<a href="http://www.bai.ie/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/20130408_BAICOFOI_OnlineVer_bf.pdf">Code of Fairness, Objectivity & Impartiality In News and Current Affairs</a>’ states that:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Views and facts shall not be misrepresented or presented in such a way as to render them misleading. Presenters should be sensitive to the impact of their language and tone in reporting news and current affairs so as to avoid misunderstanding of the matters covered.” (Page 11, section 19)</blockquote>
<i>The article ‘<a href="http://eirael.blogspot.ie/2015/05/an-analysis-of-media-narratives-on.html">An analysis of media and NGO narratives on present circumstances in Gaza</a>’ provides an in-depth study of the many inaccuracies in Shortt’s reportage from Gaza.</i><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVRUmTGqrytSegoMCc9LJDEk_Cx8lPodJ7I1xDrL2CUULLIPSaG9XPPyshywOGyoY0S4Svf2pW-XcLnluU4V-EnhWtRwwYnM59KNkdWnTyyAZ4thQTY_Cb6ZzYklqNBmm5Jx26A9O_ZPa/s1600/Screen-grab%252C+Dr+Mona+el-Farra%252C+Prime+Time%252C+RTE%252C+7-5-15.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVRUmTGqrytSegoMCc9LJDEk_Cx8lPodJ7I1xDrL2CUULLIPSaG9XPPyshywOGyoY0S4Svf2pW-XcLnluU4V-EnhWtRwwYnM59KNkdWnTyyAZ4thQTY_Cb6ZzYklqNBmm5Jx26A9O_ZPa/s320/Screen-grab%252C+Dr+Mona+el-Farra%252C+Prime+Time%252C+RTE%252C+7-5-15.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Dr. Mona el-Farra, interviewed on RTE's Prime Time </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">(RTE s</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">creen-shot).</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Middle East Children’s Alliance</b></div>
<br />
Shortt’s reports focus on the suffering of children, with extended commentary by Dr. Mona el-Farra, of the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA).<br />
<br />
MECA is reported to have funded the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), which has a record for <a href="http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=2601">promoting and giving active</a> terrorists cover. One might think MECA is soft on terrorism, but it appears to be <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/middle_east_children_s_alliance_meca_">even worse</a> than that! El-Farra, MECA’s Director of Gaza Projects, asserted that MECA refused funding from USAID because (to quote NGO Monitor):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“it came with the condition that they promise “not [to] give any help or any aid whatsoever for the families of the militiamen, or their relatives, or anyone related to ‘terrorist attacks’” because “we consider it resistance”.”</blockquote>
MECA’s founder, Barbara Lubin, was caught telling a story that comes across as a <a href="http://hurryupharry.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Yvonne_Ridley_and_Hamas.pdf">modern day equivalent</a> of an anti-Semitic blood-libel, which she latterly distanced herself from, and MECA has failed to verify:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I met a mother who was at home with her ten children when Israeli soldiers entered the house. The soldiers told her she had to choose five of her children “to give as a gift to Israel”. […] Then these soldiers murdered five of her children in front of her. The concept of “Jewish morality” is truly dead. […] We have to end the Zionist state. We’ve got to charge the war criminals. We have to boycott Israeli goods.”</blockquote>
The above is the sort of statement that undermines the oft-asserted claim, by anti-Israel critics and activists, that criticism of Zionism and Israel does not equate with anti-Semitism, or indeed self-hatred in this particular case. MECA normatively present stark one-sided propagandistic narratives, such as with the organising of a <a href="http://elderofziyon.blogspot.ie/2011/09/fake-child-artists-of-gaza.html#.VVqg_7lViko">notorious exhibit</a> supposedly of artwork by Arab-Palestinian children, of dubious provenance.<br />
<br />
El-Farra is a contentious figure in her own right, <a href="http://www.jewishnews.net.au/aunty-under-fire-over-bias/32034">who unfortunately</a> receives uncritical treatment in the mainstream media the world over, despite the fact that she is hardly a balanced commentator. For example, she hysterically <a href="http://socialistworker.co.uk/art/21035/After+the+massacre%3A+rise+up+against+Israel">claimed</a> Israel intended to violently attack the May 2010 flotilla, despite the fact that there was a violent fracas on one ship alone, the Mavi Mariner, its crew <a href="http://pjmedia.com/andrewmccarthy/2013/03/24/terror-flotilla-part-ii-the-mavi-marmara-incident-turkish-terror-and-hypocrisy/">having planned to attack</a> boarding IDF soldiers:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Israel meant to attack the flotilla and it is trying to cover up this reality with propaganda,” Mona el-Farra, a doctor in Gaza, told Socialist Worker. “Israel is committing crimes against humanity.”</blockquote>
The use of such a propagandist group should be a problematic matter for news programme makers. It is unethical to make no mention of MECA’s intense political advocacy and its likely support of terrorism.<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Motivations</b></div>
<br />
Robert Shortt’s news-reports focused on the purported intensification of the crisis situation inside Gaza. His May 7<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> Prime Time report begins and similarly ends in an apocalyptic fashion:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Hopelessness, impatience and anger threaten a fragile ceasefire. Many now fear the ghost of war will return. […]</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The tide of violence breaks regularly here. Summer is coming. People fear what it may bring.”</blockquote>
The reports cited unnamed NGOs warning of a downward spiral, which, it is claimed, could lead to violence over the Summer period. Subsequently, only one NGO is referenced, Dr. el-Farra’s MECA. Shortt tweeted on the <a href="https://twitter.com/RobertShortt/status/595553690401906689">5<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of May</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Dr Mona El Farra @MECAForPeace couldn’t come to Dublin. So we went to #Gaza.”</blockquote>
El-Farra was not granted permission to leave Gaza by both Egypt and Israel, although she only blames the Jewish State. Shortt’s tweet suggests a rather less than impartial motive for travelling to Gaza, given the focus of the exercise was to interview a noted propagandist who is a senior member of a trenchant <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/middle_east_children_s_alliance_meca_">anti-Israel NGO</a>.<br />
<br />
The troubles in Gaza are nothing new, often being stimulated by Hamas’ choice of going to war, and its refusal to co-operate with Israel. Shortt and MECA appear to have shaped the ongoing and substantive difficulties in Gaza as turning toward a dramatic low-point, when, in some respects, matters appear to be improving, albeit slowly, with respect to Israel’s actions. The limitations on the supply of cement have been relaxed, exports are modestly increasing, and there have been increases in both the <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192141#.VV_SRtLBzGc">water and electricity supplies</a>.<br />
<br />
These matters received no coverage in the reports however, and while mention of criticism of Hamas was referenced, little was said about Hamas’ various <a href="http://www.jewishjournal.com/israel/article/hamas_imposed_taxes_create_new_hardships_for_palestinians_in_gaza">unhelpful contributions</a> to the local economy.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Less than forthcoming</b></div>
<br />
Near the very end of the closing credits for the 7<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> May Prime Time programme, it is written:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“GAZA REPORT<br />
Made with the support of the Simon Cumbers Media Fund.”</blockquote>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6TmhkyJpqXGBAoCH70VM87pg2CItEDt6tJeDIIwlfm8gRihr_Xj2thzNyCDRyryji1GyXNzPNdQz6Cg4nWhcul8DZM7MIIvNxzHq2qp3SwlPx4a8BW2r7Q62b6I6o1fQwfvK7niEcD3w/s1600/Screen-grab%252C+Simon+Cumbers+MF+acknowledgement%252C+Prime+Time%252C+RTE%252C+7-5-15.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6TmhkyJpqXGBAoCH70VM87pg2CItEDt6tJeDIIwlfm8gRihr_Xj2thzNyCDRyryji1GyXNzPNdQz6Cg4nWhcul8DZM7MIIvNxzHq2qp3SwlPx4a8BW2r7Q62b6I6o1fQwfvK7niEcD3w/s320/Screen-grab%252C+Simon+Cumbers+MF+acknowledgement%252C+Prime+Time%252C+RTE%252C+7-5-15.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Prime Time's acknowledgement of the involvement of the <br />Simon Cumbers Media Fund (RTE Screen-grab).</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<br />
The <i>blink and the viewer would miss it</i> statement would raise questions about the objectivity of any news report so funded by an organisation external to the broadcaster itself. The involvement of the Simon Cumbers Media Fund was not noted in any other way for the viewing audience.<br />
<br />
The report was seemingly <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/prime-time-web/2015/0507/">promoted over that of other</a> programme segments, perhaps indicating the importance that RTE’s editors attached to the material. There was no mention of assistance by the Simon Cumbers Media Fund in the promotions.<br />
<br />
It is arguably a breach of broadcasting guidelines to make the statement so inaccessible to viewers, and to present the nature of this outside organisation’s contribution to the programme in so ambiguous a fashion. RTE’s own <a href="http://www.rte.ie/about/en/working-with-rte/2012/0727/330811-broadcast-sponsorship-guidelines/">guidelines on sponsorship</a>, in the subsection ‘Editorial Integrity’, note that:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The presence of sponsorship must be clearly indicated to the programme audience. Furthermore a sponsor must not have any editorial input or involvement in programming or scheduling, nor should there be reasonable grounds on the part of the viewer to believe that input or influence does exist. For these reasons the broadcaster must carefully consider the suitability of any potential sponsorship arrangements.”</blockquote>
While the dimension of the Simon Cumbers Media Fund’s input is unclear, an analysis (see below) of their activities, and relationship to Irish Aid, would suggest influence in financial and editorial terms.<br />
<br />
Indeed, RTE subsequently took the step of clearly informing viewers in the introduction to a <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2015/0509/20777164-new-crisis-in-gaza/">related report</a> by Robert Shortt, entitled “New Crisis in Gaza” (broadcast 9<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> May). The RTE news presenter Úna O’Hagan stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“This report by Robert Shortt was supported by the Simon Cumbers Media Fund.”</blockquote>
The Prime Time report was not updated in a similar fashion, at the date of this article’s publishing.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Irish Aid’s connection to the Simon Cumbers Media Fund</b></div>
<br />
The Simon Cumbers Media Fund appears to be a form of proxy organisation for Irish Aid, Ireland’s overseas development programme run by the Department of Foreign Affairs. The Simon Cumbers <a href="http://www.simoncumbersmediafund.ie/">website</a> acknowledges Irish Aid started and funds their group:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“In 2005, a little over a year after the tragic death of Irish journalist Simon Cumbers, Irish Aid established the Simon Cumbers Media Fund to honour his memory. The aim of the Fund is to assist and promote more and better quality media coverage of development issues”</blockquote>
The same website features a section entitled ‘<a href="http://www.simoncumbersmediafund.ie/about-irish-aid/">About Irish Aid</a>’, which explains that the fund acts as a media wing of Irish Aid:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The media play a crucial role in promoting public understanding of global issues. The Simon Cumbers Media Fund was established by Irish Aid in 2005 in memory of the late Irish journalist and cameraman, Simon Cumbers. Irish Aid has invested in the Fund to help create a space to broaden and deepen coverage of global development issues in Ireland. The Fund is intended to facilitate coverage which presents a balanced and realistic picture of the challenges — and also the opportunities — that developing countries face, and of progress achieved.”</blockquote>
Some of Shortt’s news coverage briefly <a href="https://www.storehouse.co/stories/48h9v-inside-gaza">refers to Gaza’s funding</a> by Irish Aid, for example, with respect to the funding of UNRWA’s projects in Gaza, Shortt notes that “€4million of Irish Aid will support its work this year.”<br />
<br />
Irish Aid’s website <a href="https://www.irishaid.ie/what-we-do/how-our-aid-works/where-the-money-goes/">refers to the organisation’s mission statement as</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“To help achieve our goal of eradicating poverty and hunger in the world’s poorest countries, the Government allocates significant funding to our aid programme.”</blockquote>
‘Palestine’, rather than say <i>a contested territory, much of which is termed ‘Judea and Samaria, more latterly called the ‘West Bank’</i>, is one of Irish Aid’s fourteen “partner countries”, although this designated territory has not in fact constituted a sovereign state since the Bar-Kokhba Revolt, which was <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/revolt1.html">crushed</a> by Rome in 135 AD.<br />
<br />
With such a peculiar account of history implicit on the naming Irish Aid applies, it is unsurprising that they almost wholly adopt the <a href="https://www.irishaid.ie/what-we-do/countries-where-we-work/othercountries/palestine/">pro-Palestinian narrative</a> over a whole host of issues, including the indefensible <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=12&x_article=1756">water apartheid charge</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Occupation and the impact of the ongoing conflict are amongst the primary obstacles to development in the occupied Palestinian territory. Restrictions on the movement of people and goods, the lack of access to land and water resources, the separation of the West Bank and Gaza, the Gaza blockade and the fragmentation of the West Bank continue to disrupt progress.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We recognise that long-term, sustainable development in Palestine is closely linked to a successful outcome to the Middle East Peace Process, which remains a key foreign policy priority for the Government. We now provide more than €10 million annually in support to the Palestinian people to help them deliver on their development priorities, to support the promotion of human rights and to meet immediate humanitarian needs.”</blockquote>
Such a crass one-sided narrative reads like the kind of screed featured on propagandistic websites like Mondo Weiss, rather than a state-run developmental fund. If the above was truly the case, one must wonder why the Palestinian Authority has repeatedly rebuffed near 100% territorial concessions from Israel. Could it not be that a century of war-like genocidal pan-Arab incitement has made peace a very distant dream? Unfortunately, Irish Aid <a href="http://markhumphrys.com/irish.tax.israel.html#irish.aid">has long used revenue</a> from the Irish tax payer, and other states including the UK, to campaign in a highly politicised fashion against Israel, by funding prejudicial and intentionally demonising <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/ireland">NGOs</a>, the sort of groups that perpetuate hostility rather than try to heal it.<br />
<br />
Irish Aid supports groups with highly problematic records, e.g. Irish charity Trocaire, attempts to bring <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/trocaire-and-its-outrageous-propaganda/ireland/2012/">trenchant pro-Palestinian propaganda</a> into Ireland’s education system. Al Haq’s leading figure, Shawan Jabarin, has ties to the PFLP, a particularly blood-thirsty leftist Arab-Palestinian terror group. Irish Aid is a major contributor to the PCHR, which uses inciteful invective, such as the charge that Israel is <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/palestinian_center_for_human_rights_pchr_">pushing</a> for the “Judaization of Jerusalem.”, describing the rededication of an important synagogue as a “war crime”. An NGO called Miftah <a href="http://elderofziyon.blogspot.ie/2013/03/why-cant-hanan-ashrawis-miftah.html#.VV9abLlViko">advanced</a> an old anti-Semitic blood libel, claiming Jews use Christian blood in Passover matzah bread.<br />
<br />
Little wonder then that the groups Irish Aid funds advocate ‘right of return’, namely the end of Israel’s status as a principally Jewish state through a mass demographic influx. Ireland ostensibly commends a two-state solution, based upon the principle of two states for two peoples, but it can be inferred that the Irish State supports the effective end of a sovereign state, even though it is not founded on international law in any <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=7&x_article=3005">genuine sense</a>.<br />
<br />
In harmony with Irish Aid’s funding, the Simon Cumbers Media Fund publishes one-sided articles <a href="http://www.simoncumbersmediafund.ie/project-showcase/palestinian-refugees-how-statehood-bid-at-un-affects-us-niamh-fleming-farrell/">supportive</a> of the ‘right of return’, and criticism of the <a href="http://www.simoncumbersmediafund.ie/project-showcase/another-brick-in-the-wall-palestine-senan-hogan-2/">security barrier</a> which was largely instrumental in bringing the savage Second Intifada to <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_print=1&x_context=2&x_outlet=31&x_article=2310">an end in 2005</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Codes of conduct</b></div>
<br />
Despite being seasoned reporters and producers, working on material to be broadcast on RTE’s flagship current affairs show, the programme makers breached both the BAI’s codes and RTE’s own professed standards, on fairness, balance, accuracy, and objectivity, in a very overt fashion. Severe breaches of objectivity <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_to_Prey">are not new</a> to Prime Time.<br />
<br />
Number 25 of the section ‘Objectivity & Impartiality Rules’, in the BAI’s ‘<a href="http://www.bai.ie/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/20130408_BAICOFOI_OnlineVer_bf.pdf">Code of Fairness, Objectivity & Impartiality In News and Current Affairs</a>’ booklet (page 12) notes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Each broadcaster shall have and implement appropriate policies and procedures to address any conflicts of interests that may exist or arise in respect of anyone with an editorial involvement in any news or current affairs content, whether such person works on-air or off-air.”</blockquote>
Thus, it would seem that RTE did not implement appropriate procedures to avoid serious editorial conflicts. The terms of Section 26, of the same booklet, indicate that the makes of Prime Time were remiss in not calling the audience to the attention of the Simon Cumbers Media Fund’s involvement before, during, or immediately after the segment, and not specifying the nature of their involvement:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Any personal, professional, business or financial interest of anyone with an editorial involvement in news or current affairs content that calls into question (or that might reasonably be perceived as calling into question) the fairness, objectivity or impartiality of a programme or item, shall be brought to the attention of the audience. To this end broadcasters shall satisfy themselves that they are in a position to be aware of the relevant interests of the personnel concerned”</blockquote>
The BAI’s ‘<a href="http://www.bai.ie/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/201300701_FairnessGuidance_vFinal.pdf">Code of Fairness, Objectivity & Impartiality in News and Current Affairs Guidance Notes</a>’ (July 2013), addresses the issue of objectivity in a more explanatory fashion. The booklet discusses the involvement of outside parties in news and current affairs coverage, stating (page 24):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“It is also important that broadcasters take appropriate measures to ensure, insofar as possible, that independent producers or freelance staff do not have any interests which could undermine the fairness, objectivity and impartiality of the output they produce for the broadcasters.”</blockquote>
The BAI notes (page 20), with respect to news originating from social media Internet sites:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Potential for bias: is the information emanating from a lobby or representative group? Are there any political/religious/commercial affiliations?”</blockquote>
The BAI’s point however is equally applicable to other sources of information, such as Dr. el-Farra, a senior member of ‘Middle East Children’s Alliance’, a highly politicised NGO. According to Shortt, her opinions on Gaza were the sole or principle purpose of his team having decided to visit the region.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Also published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/rte-s-gaza-news-coverage-sponsored-by-irish-aid-s-pro-palestinian-proxy/arab-israeli-conflict/2015/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i></div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-35273696293555239142015-05-19T18:08:00.000+01:002015-05-19T18:50:02.798+01:00Concerns over the UN Board of Inquiry Report on the Treatment of UNRWA Facilities in the 2014 Gaza War<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_1GNYaW_3du6xZpotmDyjP17W0ixP6Ezy6hTzIgL795DpoRziGca_tVPh6ZVrkel30cfJzsORcx1KMuPfnXYzf0Agb24f7hY6w4YV8RG4Ri7OPO8P1SsfLJelW7gENgIZ0GW6_UVrTvp/s1600/UN+Secretary-General+Ban+Ki-moon+visits+an+UNRWA+school%252C+February+2012%252C+Gaza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_1GNYaW_3du6xZpotmDyjP17W0ixP6Ezy6hTzIgL795DpoRziGca_tVPh6ZVrkel30cfJzsORcx1KMuPfnXYzf0Agb24f7hY6w4YV8RG4Ri7OPO8P1SsfLJelW7gENgIZ0GW6_UVrTvp/s320/UN+Secretary-General+Ban+Ki-moon+visits+an+UNRWA+school%252C+February+2012%252C+Gaza.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visits an UNRWA school, February 2012, Gaza.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The United Nations’ ‘Board of Inquiry’ issued a report to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, in February of this year. He issued a summary of the report’s findings, on the 27<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> April, which asserts that Israeli military action killed and injured Arab-Palestinian civilians, who had sought refuge in six United Nations schools during the 2014 conflict in Gaza and its environs, between Israel and an assortment of terrorist groups, including Hamas, the ruling authority of the Gaza Strip itself.<br />
<br />
Whilst stating that it was standard procedure not to issue such ‘Board of Inquiry’ reports, Ki-moon justified the publication of a <a href="https://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/263384091?access_key=key-0od7ykQkWVv3B14TMExG&allow_share=true&escape=false&show_recommendations=false&view_mode=scroll">summary</a> on grounds of interest. The study was widely reported upon in a prejudicial fashion.<br />
<br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Questions of intent</b></div>
<br />
The report did not make findings of intentionality on the part of Israel. Findings of criminality were noted to be beyond the purview of the UN Board’s report. However, the report recommended that Israel take greater care in future conflicts, suggesting a belief that the strikes were conducted in error:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The United Nations should request the Government of Israel to give a commitment that, in the event that it plans any future military operation in proximity to United Nations premises, it will provide advance warning, sufficient to enable the United Nations to ensure the security and safety of its personnel or other civilians attending its facilities, and ensure that coordinating procedures are such that confusion or misunderstandings concerning UNRWA as well as other United Nations installations are excluded.” (Section 99, C)</blockquote>
The response to the UN summary was rather predictable, with numerous media outlets describing the incidents as actual “attacks” causing death and injury to Arab-Palestinians in seven (rather than six) UNRWA schools. The report also found that unidentified terrorist groups used several schools to store weapons, and to fire from those sites. This was a notable revelation but some media outlets emphasised that the report found the schools used in this manner were empty at the time. Institutions treating the story in this manner include <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/04/blames-israel-school-attacks-gaza-war-150427164558524.html">Al Jazeera</a> and Irish public service broadcaster <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0427/697150-israel-gaza/">RTE</a>. Intent, on the part of Israel, to harm and kill was unfairly inferred, while the more probable intent of the relevant terror groups was minimised.<br />
<br />
The notion that the IDF intended to attack is hard to justify, in view of the fact that all seven incidents did not constitute protracted attacks. Several involved a single strike, typically with a non-precision guided shell, in environments where fighting had taken place. Extracts of the incidents detailed in the <a href="http://blog.unwatch.org/index.php/2015/04/27/full-text-un-board-of-inquiry-on-gaza/">report</a> are quoted:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Incident (a): Injuries occurring at and damage done to the UNRWA Maghazi Preparatory Girls “A/B” School on 21 and 22 July 2014” […] the school was struck at roof level by direct fire from an IDF tank, likely involving a 120 MM High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) Multi- Purpose (MP) or High Explosive (HE) projectile. Injuries were caused to a man and a child sheltering at the school, as well as damage to the school premises.</blockquote>
The following day, two mortars hit the roof of the school after its evacuation, causing no injury.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Incident (b): Injury occurring at and damage done to UNRWA Deir El Balah Preparatory Girls “C” School on 23 July 2014 […] Between 05:45 and 06:15 hrs in the morning of 23 July 2014, the medical isolation room on the third floor of the school was hit by a projectile, which passed through a window and two walls of an elevator shaft, partially striking the external veranda wall and exiting the school grounds. Three displaced persons, among the approximately 40 sleeping in the room at the time of the incident, suffered light injuries. No one was killed. There was relatively minor damage to the school.”</blockquote>
Incident (c) relates to the graver event involving fatalities at Beit Hanoun. It is discussed in some depth in the sub-section “On the veracity of testimony”.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Incident (d): Injuries occurring at and damage done to Zaitoun Preparatory Girls “B” School On the night of 28/29 July 2014 […] On 29 July, at approximately 01:30 hrs, a projectile struck the roof of the school, penetrating the ceiling and striking the wall immediately adjacent to the door of a classroom in which approximately 40 people were sleeping. Seven residents were injured.”</blockquote>
Incident (e) relates to a graver event, involving fatalities, at UNRWA Jabalia Elementary Girls “A” and “B” School, on the 30<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of July. The report notes that a volley of four shells struck the school: “At approximately 04:45 hrs, the school was hit by a barrage of four 155 MM high explosive (HE) projectiles, an artillery indirect fire weapon.” The IDF did not deny the strike, and have ordered an investigation. They stated the fire was aimed at another more legitimate target. Credence may be given to this claim because the report acknowledges the ordinance which struck the school is used in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indirect_fire">indirect fire weaponry</a> that aims at targets that are not in direct sight.<br />
<br />
Incident (f) involves the deaths of civilians at UNRWA’s Rafah Preparatory Boys “A” School on the 3<span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span> of August. A single precision-guided missile struck the road outside the school. The IDF acknowledged responsibility for the killings, but claimed the deaths were caused in error while it was pursuing three Islamic Jihad fighters on a motorcycle, who were passing by the school gate. The UN report agreed with this assertion, stating “The Board found that the missile had been directed at a motorcycle carrying three individuals.”<br />
<br />
Incident (g) of the report noted more extensive damage done to UNRWA’s Khuza’a Elementary College Co-educational “A” and “B” School, between the 17<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of July and the 26<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of August. However, the buildings on the site were empty, and the IDF found material that suggested it had been used as an Islamic Jihad command centre and observational post for a period of time. The UN report did not contradict this perspective in its findings.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Issues of balance</b></div>
<br />
Whilst the UN ‘Board of Inquiry’ report is more balanced than might be expected, given the UN’s prejudicial treatment of Israel in recent decades, it is nonetheless problematic for a number of reasons.<br />
<br />
As previously noted, the report was only released as a summary. There are no plans to ever have the two hundred and seven page study published. It is clearly problematic for any major agency to publish findings that are not fully substantiated. It is near-impossible to substantiate why the UN Board found all the incidents to be attributable to the IDF, when there is noteworthy evidence to the contrary.<br />
<br />
If the decision by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to publicise details of the report, was motivated by public interest, it would surely have been convention to issue the report in its entirety, in order to allow readers to evaluate its findings. Such a move would have been in the interests of the UN, assuming the findings were based upon secure evidence. The decision to instead issue a summary would have likely been motivated by two primary considerations: either some of the report’s findings are based on contentious claims, or some evidential material not included in the summary would have worsened its relationship with Hamas. Ban Ki-moon stated in his covering letter that the actual report:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“…contains a significant body of information the disclosure of which would prejudice the security or proper conduct of the Organisation’s operations or activities.”</blockquote>
The ‘United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East’ (UNRWA) is of course the principle UN “Organisation” operating in Gaza. In the past, UNRWA’s Gazan branch has been criticised for politically modifying its position, to be in line with the wishes of Hamas. One issue of note was the controversial decision to <a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/hamas-complains-so-un-school-will-not-teach-gaza-students-about-holocaust">back-pedal</a> on the decision to teach the Holocaust in its school curriculum, due to Hamas’ objections based on an outright denial of the event!<br />
<br />
It would not be unfair to suggest that Hamas has long kept UNRWA on a short leash. Despite the fact that UNRWA members often demonstrate <a href="http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/reminder-most-gaza-unrwa-staff-are-hamas-supporters/">support</a> for Hamas, and it is accepted that many UNRWA employees <a href="http://www.aish.com/jw/mo/48945166.html">are Hamas members</a>, grave threats against UNRWA staff <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Exclusive-Hamas-threatened-UNRWA-personnel-at-gun-point-during-Gaza-war-375051">at gunpoint</a> are not unknown. Thus, if the full report was redacted over security concerns, it is reasonable to infer that the summary may give a somewhat partial position.<br />
<br />
The report relied to a substantial extent on UNRWA witness testimony, where there would have been a desire to <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4653096,00.html">downplay the involvement</a> of some UNRWA employees with Hamas, and/or UNRWA failings to secure its own civilian structures to prevent their usage by combatants. A gloss was also placed on some of UNRWA’s more objectionable actions. The report asserts that the UNRWA did not hand weaponry stored at UN facilities to Hamas, but were in fact handed back to <a href="http://www.israellycool.com/2015/04/28/chris-gunness-has-clearly-lost-his-mind-but-so-far-not-his-job/">unnamed individuals</a>, after contacting the Hamas-run police force.<br />
<br />
The UN summary notes the contribution of unnamed non-governmental organisations to the report’s findings. Such organisations typically present a <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/a_troubling_picture_of_un_complicity_in_palestinian_war_crimes_">prejudicial image</a> of the conflict in analyses.<br />
<br />
The summary findings are also rather inconsistent. Ban Ki-moon <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/UNs-Secretary-General-Palestinian-militants-put-UN-schools-at-risk-during-Gaza-war-399342">asserts</a> that the three schools used by belligerents for the storage of weapons were not in use. This was fortuitous, since the war occurred during school summer recess, as noted in the summary. However, it nonetheless appears that some schools may have not been wholly disused at the time, with the admission that the grounds of one school, where a terrorist group fired rockets, was <a href="http://blog.unwatch.org/index.php/2015/04/27/confirmed-un-admits-palestinians-stored-rockets-in-unrwa-schools-and-highly-likely-used-school-premises-to-launch-attacks/">open for usage</a> by children.</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>On the veracity of testimony</b></div>
<br />
The report also relied on anonymous non-UNRWA witness testimony, often <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/preliminary_analysis_of_un_board_of_inquiry_summary_regarding_gaza_conflict">obtained</a> by UNRWA staff themselves. The neutrality of such staff can be questioned, due to the sympathy and affiliation of some with Hamas. Such a situation would possibly lead to selection bias, with the picking of witnesses that provide accounts favourable to Hamas’ agenda. Moreover, testimony obtained in an oppressive intimidatory environment is problematic, where reprisals against critics are not uncommon.<br />
<br />
To take one example, the report blames Israel for perhaps the most infamous strike on a school during the war, at Beit Hanoun, which led to the death of 12 to 14 civilians, despite evidence that terrorist groups were fighting in close proximity to the school, and may have struck it. The summary <a href="http://blog.unwatch.org/index.php/2015/04/27/full-text-un-board-of-inquiry-on-gaza/">notes</a> that there was fighting very close to the school for several days, and also notes the repeated warnings from the IDF to UNRWA, to evacuate the compound over a <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4549474,00.html">three day period</a>, with terrorist fighters acting in an area in very close proximity to the school:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The Board noted that most witnesses described shelling in the vicinity of the school as a daily occurrence and that some of the residents at the school were injured as a result of shrapnel from the shelling outside the school. The Board also noted that an UNRWA security official testified to having received multiple calls from Israel’s Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA) during the three or four days prior to the incident indicating that, according to the IDF, rockets were being fired from and around the school and that it needed to be evacuated. On the other hand, the Board noted that witnesses interviewed by UNRWA had said that there was no militant activity either inside or in the near vicinity of the school, though rocket launching could be heard from areas further away.” (Section C, 27)</blockquote>
The report notes these contradictions but the authors of the summary and/or report appear to place greater weight on subsequent witness testimony that denies these strongly fact-based assertions, due to its conclusion: “The Board found that the incident was attributable to the IDF.” The shaping of witness testimony is a crucial <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/Iraq/Saddam-witnesses-deny-Kurd-gas-attack/2005/01/17/1105810804475.html?from=moreStories">strategy</a> for dictatorial entities. Significant <a href="http://www.iccwomen.org/wigjdraft1/Archives/oldWCGJ/icc/iccpc/021999pc/rpe.htm">effort</a> has to be made to protect witnesses against illegitimate threatening influence, to obtain accurate views in such regions.<br />
<br />
The report also contradicted a prior public statement by UNRWA, which <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/hamas-may-have-fired-rockets-that-hit-unrwa-school-killing-17/2014/07/24/">asserted</a> that a Hamas rocket hit the school in Beit Hanoun, making its conclusions harder to accept.</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>UNRWA complicity with belligerents</b></div>
<br />
The report summary contains a passage that discreetly acknowledges <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/preliminary_analysis_of_un_board_of_inquiry_summary_regarding_gaza_conflict">wrongdoing</a> on the part of some UNRWA staff:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The United Nations should request the Government of Israel to give a commitment that, at any time that it believes it has information that United Nations premises have been misused for military purposes or that UNRWA staff are involved in militant activities, such information will be promptly conveyed in strict confidence to the senior management of UNRWA or other United Nations entity…” (Section 99, b)</blockquote>
In another incident, three IDF soldiers were killed, with seven others wounded, in a heavily booby-trapped UN clinic that was situated on top of a Hamas tunnel. The scale of the endeavour may suggest that there was some level of complicity between <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183566">certain UNRWA staff</a> and Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Unfortunately, this serious incident was not investigated by the UN Board of Inquiry.</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>A broader perspective</b></div>
<br />
To place the scale and number of strikes on Gaza’s schools in some perspective, three of the strikes resulted in serious harm to the civilian populace of Gaza. Two of these incidents appear to be attributable to Israel, with a combined death toll of approximately 30 individuals, but were carried out in error. The other incident at Beit Hanoun may have involved Hamas. Of the other four incidents, one caused substantive damage while a school complex was known to be empty, and the other three caused injury to a modest number, and relatively minor damage. The responsibility for these events is disputed.<br />
<br />
According to UNRWA’s <a href="http://country-facts.com/en/country/asia/169-gaza-strip/1252-gaza-strip-education.html">own figures</a>, Gaza’s education infrastructure is considerable. There are 640 schools in Gaza, 221 of which are run by UNRWA, which in total serve approximately 450 thousand students. According to the World Health Organisation, illiteracy among Gazan youth was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/world/middleeast/hamas-run-schools-in-gaza-set-out-to-teach-hebrew.html?_r=0">less than 1%</a> in 2010, while the Gaza Strip plays host to five universities. By contrast, in neighbouring Egypt, the adult illiteracy rate <a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2014/12/19/Dear-Sisi-it-is-time-to-deal-with-Egypt-s-illiterates.html">is over 20%</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Also published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/concerns-over-the-un-board-of-inquiry-report-on-the-treatment-of-unrwa-facilities-in-the-2014-gaza-war/israel/2015/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i></div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-5813158782062424682015-04-02T17:39:00.000+01:002015-04-03T12:11:49.159+01:00A review of June to December 2014 coverage of the Israeli-Arab conflict on Irish television – Part One: Introduction, summary and conclusion<i>This article is the first part of an extended study of Irish television coverage of the Israeli-Arab conflict, during the latter part of 2014. <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-review-of-june-to-december-2014-coverage-part-two.html">Part Two</a> provides specific examples of bias on RTE, whilst <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-review-of-june-to-december-2014-coverage-part-three.html">Part Three</a> expounds upon several examples of bias on TV3.</i><br />
<br />
Doctor Rory Miller, an Irish Middle-East analyst, <a href="http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-049-miller.htm">asserted</a> that the Irish media historically motivated anti-Israel posturing amongst Irish political elites, at a time when the international media exhibited a lesser antagonism toward the Jewish State. Today, Ireland is regarded as one of the most anti-Israel nations in the Western world. Whether this charge is true or not, it can be justifiably suggested that the Irish media continues to shape inaccurate and hostile narratives. <br />
<br />
This article largely focuses on RTE’s News reports. RTE is Ireland’s state-funded radio and television broadcast institution. It has a distinct monopoly, in terms of national radio and television channels, with six of the eight SaorView television channels on the free terrestrial digital transmission platform, until a further independent channel was launched in 2015. Analysis of TV3 is also included, which in 2014 was the sole privately owned Irish television broadcaster. It tends to achieve smaller viewer figures. <br />
<br />
Any entity that constitutes a source of information should be open to scrutiny. Questions, such as “is the information correct or not”, “can the organisation verify its claims”, “does the organisation have a past indicative of prejudice”, etc. are all legitimate questions that we can ask of any information source. <br />
<br />
These questions become especially important for organisations that constitute a constant and prolific mainstream source of information on current affairs. Mainstream media organisations play a substantive role in the shaping of society on a broad spectrum of issues. The role they play is pivotal, for any given society is dependent upon these entities to advise and inform. TV3’s role is important in this regard, and RTE’s especially so, since it constitutes a public service broadcaster with a significant monopoly. Remits to inform audiences should of course be applied in an impartial fashion, without undue politicisation. We should also expect good standards of accuracy and insight from public service broadcasters, which, due to tax funding, are in theory less subject to narrow commerical constraints.<br />
<br />
Broadcasters are acutely aware of the importance of reputations for accuracy. At a recent Irish State Committee hearing, Ms. Moya Doherty, a member of the RTÉ Board, argued that it would make “little sense” for the Broadcaster to be politically prejudicial <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0325/689628-rte-committee/">because</a> it would “fundamentally undermine the public trust in everything RTÉ does”. <br />
<br />
The featured examples of Irish media reportage should not be treated as a complete study on coverage of the Israeli-Arab conflict in Ireland, in part because the focus is on televisual broadcasting, rather than radio, the print media etc. Being examples, they do not constitute a comprehensive analysis. The RTE news reports represent the most extensive sample herein, but it should be noted that they are just a fraction of the number of features actually broadcast on the conflict. The coverage of discussion shows is better represented. The cited examples are indicative of the broader tone of the public broadcaster’s coverage on the topic, where opinion and analysis of the conflict illustrate RTE’s own political outlook.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2rl50omnCdfMiZModhKCvncHsx-E866hv6_na3fV-cK5nf_NFs3LaFQj_z7kCn4DpBvJkvfp-Yl4-PvUTotLWZuH0_ZeImhKG7AfXsBfiw2n0qiBDubpki_ooBTI-IOtneBuBboOWIJs/s1600/Screen-grab+of+RTE+lunchtime+news+and+sports+bulletin+8-July-14+-+Israeli+side.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2rl50omnCdfMiZModhKCvncHsx-E866hv6_na3fV-cK5nf_NFs3LaFQj_z7kCn4DpBvJkvfp-Yl4-PvUTotLWZuH0_ZeImhKG7AfXsBfiw2n0qiBDubpki_ooBTI-IOtneBuBboOWIJs/s1600/Screen-grab+of+RTE+lunchtime+news+and+sports+bulletin+8-July-14+-+Israeli+side.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screen grab of RTE lunchtime news and sports bulletin, 8 July, 2014. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Summary assertions </b></div>
<br />
Part Two and Part Three of this extended article feature a selection of instances of substantive bias in reports and discussions in the Irish televisual media, through the latter half of 2014. This period is selected as it began with the kidnapping and murder of three Jewish-Israeli teenage males. The kidnap-murder initiated a phase of escalation in the Israeli/Jewish-Arab/Palestinian conflict. A sequence of events ensued, including the 2014 Gaza war, ‘Operation Protective Edge’, the near-intifada violence in Israel during the aftermath of the war, and the Palestinian Authority’s activities at the United Nations. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the numerous examples cited in Part Two demonstrate that RTE has a propensity to present the Israeli-Arab conflict in a manner that is both favourable to Arab-Palestinians, and injurious to Jewish-Israelis. The failings relate to very basic matters of balance, where in some instances only one account of contested events was presented, failings in terms of the veracity of factual claims, and a lack of disclosure that some sources, and interviewees, are not disinterested observers of the conflict. <br />
<br />
There were some similar concerns with TV3’s coverage, albeit criticism relates more so to discussion programmes. The specific instances cited relate to ‘The Vincent Browne Show’, which was of a distinctly lower standard than ‘Prime Time’, RTE’s broadly equivalent current-affairs programme. <br />
<br />
The scope of this bias suggests that both Irish broadcasters cannot be firmly relied upon to report or discuss events appertaining to the issue with quite modest expectations of basic accuracy and balance. <br />
<br />
It can be argued that both broadcasters presented a significant amount of programming that unduly limited access to the perspectives of one side in this conflict. The consistent patterns suggests an intentional prejudice on the part of programme makers, and, as a consequence, may constitute a violation of <a href="http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2009/en/act/pub/0018/sec0039.html">Section 39/1</a> of the 2009 Broadcasting Act, which obliges broadcasters to ensure all news reports be “presented in an objective and impartial manner and without any expression of the broadcaster’s own views.” <br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Proportionality </b></div>
<br />
On the 24<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> July, RTE’s 6.1 News featured 16 minutes on the death of 15 in Gaza, and spent 15 seconds on 82+ killed in a terrorist attack in Nigeria. We may assume that the importance alloted to each story, by news-editors, is based on quite obvious features, such as our cultural, religious, and geographic proximity to those killed, whether those killed were innocent civilians (greater interest) or combatants (lesser interest), and the sheer scale of the tragic deaths in question. In both instances, civilians were killed, and, in both cultural and geographic terms, the distance of the typical Irish viewer to these deaths was very substantial. Thus, the scale of the loss of life would be a prime interest in determining the degree of coverage both events warranted. However, the smaller event obtained a 60 fold increase in broadcast time, despite the larger event having a 5.5 fold higher death toll. Whilst this dry numerical comparison may seem unfairly selective, it nonetheless illustrates a major issue with proportionality. <br />
<br />
It might be argued that there is a greater interest in Israel itself, as it is a notionally more Western State, and so somehow closer to the sphere of Irish interest than the other contemporaneous conflicts of the period. However, RTE largely ignored the Ukrainian conflict during the war in Gaza, until the downing of the uninvolved Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which led to the death of almost 300 civilians. <br />
<br />
RTE’s news editors are of course fully entitled to follow their own sense of what topics they ought to feature most highly. However, a very modest sense of proportionality must surely follow, if RTE’s remit is to inform its viewers. When it comes to the troubled Middle East, the Gaza war was the event that truly registered on RTE’s radar, from its commencement to cessation. It was impossible to deduce from watching RTE’s news coverage that concurrently there was an <a href="http://jonathanmessing.com/2014/07/22/massacre-in-yarmouk/">immense loss of life in Syria and Iraq</a>, while the war in Gaza was at its peak. The unprecedented bloody rise of ISIS’, did get significant coverage. However, even at its most newsworthy, ISIS never quite got the same degree of coverage as the Gaza war received at its peak. It echoes RTE’s limited coverage of the Sri Lankan war of 2009, which ran in a largely parallel timeframe to ‘Operation Cast Lead’, the first <a href="http://www.justjournalism.com/special-reports/download/Israel_and_Sri_Lanka_-_a_media_analysis_of_war_crimes_allegations.pdf">major Gazan war</a> between Hamas and Israel. Similarly, there was almost no mention of the starvation and death of large numbers of Arab-Palestinians based in Syria the preceding year, nor of displacement due to civil war. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Addressing potentials for incitement </b></div>
<br />
The examples illustrate a notable trend in RTE’s news reportage of the time. RTE failed to present meaningful contexts, because their narratives focused on Israeli actions, with little or no comment about the actions of opponents. This highly partial form of narrative can compel the viewer to conclude that Israeli actions should be deemed aggressive rather than defensive, and, due to the way in which the narratives were framed, any explanation provided by Israeli commentators would appear to be excuses. <br />
<br />
When images of military activity appeared, Israel’s forces were those invariably featured. Imagery of Hamas was an extremely rare sight. The imagery of this conflict focused intensively on the injury of children. The suffering of children is of course newsworthy but this focus was highly disproportionate. For example, before and after the 24<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of July Beit Hanoun school missile strike, news-features on the topic could lead with images of distressed children, and TV interviews featured repetitive video loops of injured children. During the same period, RTE’s ‘News Now’ channel featured highly emotive motifs of Gazan infants in its revolving ‘Top Stories’ news-box, located on the top-right of TV screens. <br />
<br />
The display of the impact of war upon a civilian populace is an important feature of news reportage. It is entirely fair to present images of distressed children but to focus on them above almost all else has become a worrying <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/all-news-hamas-sees-fit-print_796823.html">international trend</a> in the mainstream media. Whether intentional or not, the selection of such images presented stark suggestions that the Jewish State intentionally murders children, akin to old anti-Semitic blood-libel. Media coverage of the conflict has been linked with the <a href="http://cifwatch.com/2015/01/14/poll-82-of-uk-jews-believe-media-bias-against-israel-fuels-antisemitism-in-britain/">rise of anti-Semitism</a> in Britain and the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/02/world/europe/anger-in-europe-over-the-israeli-gaza-conflict-reverberates-as-anti-semitism.html?_r=1">European mainland</a>. In recent years, hate-crimes against Jewish minorities have <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183690">multiplied</a> during times of conflict in Israel and its environs.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMI6Q3qFmINrEiNRtJXnEq3-tWSqhNFkAXo8lAoYDVj5NPcRTeHTrrmyTeX1pWnoIENe6XabAvHm7KCbdXqqyv0XkknZ8hAIvOhunLZDxDA9suKB_dtI41yx_Ayo9yD85Mu8ZBPfPclznA/s1600/The+Phoenix.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMI6Q3qFmINrEiNRtJXnEq3-tWSqhNFkAXo8lAoYDVj5NPcRTeHTrrmyTeX1pWnoIENe6XabAvHm7KCbdXqqyv0XkknZ8hAIvOhunLZDxDA9suKB_dtI41yx_Ayo9yD85Mu8ZBPfPclznA/s1600/The+Phoenix.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Phoenix, August 1-14 2014, presenting Israeli leaders as NAZI style war criminals</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Ireland’s Jewish populace is less of a conduit to hostility, perhaps because it is extremely small. Yet during the Gaza war, a well-known <a href="http://www.herald.ie/news/mrs-brown-boys-star-rory-i-got-death-threats-over-hosting-israeli-event-31053565.html">Irish comedic actor received death threats</a> and anti-Semitic abuse for hosting an Israeli film event, while a sports pundit issued a violent anti-Semitic tweet after <a href="http://ulsterherald.com/2014/08/18/ex-tyrone-star-says-sorry-for-punching-jews-tweet/">watching</a> TV news coverage of the conflict. The open rhetoric from pro-Palestinian quarters became so <a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/yourview/isis-and-ebola-just-a-distraction-from-the-real-issue-gaza-genocide-289734.html">intense</a> that it verged on overt anti-Semitism, and emanated from <a href="http://itsstillonlythursday.wordpress.com/2014/07/23/israels-reply-to-provisional-sinn-fein/">various</a> quarters. <br />
<br />
Ultimately, it would be a genuine wrong for the mainstream media to censor disturbing imagery that emanates from conflict zones. However, the broadcast industry has tight ethical and legal guidelines with respect to the coverage of news. Prejudicial reportage is never desirable, and could have an impact on the welfare of the Jewish populace, as has been the case in other regions of Western Europe. The broadcast industry could act more responsibly, by addressing stories involving Israel with a modest sense of proportionally, and pay special attention to due diligence, because intensive demonising propaganda has long been a mainstay of this conflict, for which the media has often been a <a href="http://jcpa.org/article/manufacturing-exploiting-compassion-abuse-media-palestinian-propaganda/">conduit</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/a-review-of-june-to-december-2014-coverage-of-the-israeli-arab-conflict-on-irish-television-part-one-introduction-summary-and-conclusion/israel/2015/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-eNnnd2EyWuw%2FVR1sRzqiROI%2FAAAAAAAAAR0%2F-AgSEWQF6eA%2Fs1600%2FThe%252BPhoenix.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMI6Q3qFmINrEiNRtJXnEq3-tWSqhNFkAXo8lAoYDVj5NPcRTeHTrrmyTeX1pWnoIENe6XabAvHm7KCbdXqqyv0XkknZ8hAIvOhunLZDxDA9suKB_dtI41yx_Ayo9yD85Mu8ZBPfPclznA/s1600/The+Phoenix.jpg" --><!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-zIvuahIIDQ8%2FVR1ru1GKU3I%2FAAAAAAAAARs%2FI0IyW4WwDrg%2Fs1600%2FScreen-grab%252Bof%252BRTE%252Blunchtime%252Bnews%252Band%252Bsports%252Bbulletin%252B8-July-14%252B-%252BIsraeli%252Bside.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2rl50omnCdfMiZModhKCvncHsx-E866hv6_na3fV-cK5nf_NFs3LaFQj_z7kCn4DpBvJkvfp-Yl4-PvUTotLWZuH0_ZeImhKG7AfXsBfiw2n0qiBDubpki_ooBTI-IOtneBuBboOWIJs/s1600/Screen-grab+of+RTE+lunchtime+news+and+sports+bulletin+8-July-14+-+Israeli+side.jpg" -->Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-35620742433638752682015-04-02T17:10:00.000+01:002015-04-03T14:03:27.391+01:00A review of June to December 2014 coverage of the Israeli-Arab conflict on Irish television – Part Two: RTE’s coverage<i>This article is the second part of an extended study of Irish television coverage of the Israeli-Arab conflict, during the latter part of 2014. <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-review-of-june-to-december-2014-coverage-part-one.html">Part One</a> introduces and summarises the study, whilst Part Three provides specific examples of <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-review-of-june-to-december-2014-coverage-part-three.html">bias on TV3</a>.</i><br />
<br />
This extended article features a selection of instances of substantive bias in reports and discussions on RTE’s television channels, through the latter half of 2014. It begins with the kidnapping and murder of three Jewish-Israeli teenagers, which led to a dramatic escalation in the Israeli/Jewish-Arab/Palestinian conflict, resulting in war. The examples represent just a fraction of RTE’s reportage on the conflict. Israel was also discussed in other RTE news reports, which are not as relevant because they focused on the evolving political situation in Israel’s internal politics, in a brief matter-of-fact manner, without significant opinion and analysis, elements which would be indicative of RTE’s broad political outlook. <br />
<br />
While RTE’s lunchtime and six o’clock (called ‘6.1 News’, the broadcaster’s principle hour-long news show) news reports are mainly referenced, these reports were uniformly featured in rotation cycles on RTE’s ‘News Now’ channel, and usually featured in identical or near-identical form on other RTE news programmes. <i>Please note that programme content contained in the links to RTE’s Internet Player is only available for limited periods of time. Some quotations are included.</i><br />
<br />
Pat Rabbitte, former Minister for Communications, recently echoed a commonly held belief that RTE is a powerful force of <a href="http://www.independent.ie/incoming/pat-rabbitte-calls-rte-a-recruiting-sergeant-for-the-far-left-and-sinn-fein-in-its-coverage-of-irish-water-controversy-31094950.html">support for political parties to the left</a>. A related belief also exists that RTE has long been unduly <a href="http://markhumphrys.com/rte.html">supportive</a> of pan-Arab/Arab-Palestinian positions relating to the Israel-Arab conflict. Whilst this issue is somewhat peripheral in the Irish political landscape, prejudicial coverage of the conflict may still have an impact on the parties involved, both at an international and local level. The welfare of the related Jewish minority living in Ireland may also become an issue, if <a href="http://www.thetower.org/1677-how-does-the-british-media-contribute-to-anti-semitism-in-europe/">trends</a> in Western Europe are at all indicative. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Hamas’ 2014 Kidnap-Murder </b></div>
<br />
Events in the region took a turn for the worse with the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens on June 12<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> 2014. Hamas would subsequently take <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/In-first-Hamas-official-takes-credit-for-kidnap-and-murder-of-Israeli-teens-371703">credit</a> for these murders. However, the terrorist group initially refused to confirm or deny their involvement. RTE falsely stated that Hamas denied any involvement in the kidnapping, and they continued to so in a consistent manner. <br />
<br />
It seems to have taken RTE several weeks to revise its stance about Hamas’ claims, since it appears that a 6<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of July lunchtime news report was the first to present an accurate account of Hamas’ response to the kidnapping. The amendment was first <a href="http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10300690">made</a> in a two minute report, on the subject of the apparent beating of an Arab-Palestinian teenager with US nationality. <br />
<br />
However, this particular lunchtime news report was problematic for other reasons. RTE featured an interview with the son’s mother but did not present a response from an Israeli perspective. RTE showed video purportedly of the beating, but failed to give anything but passing reference to the <a href="http://anneinpt.wordpress.com/2014/07/06/israel-burns-and-bibi-dithers/">violence perpetuated by masked “protesters”</a>, of which this US national was likely one, given that the confrontation took place during a serious riot. <br />
<br />
RTE’s sequencing of the story was quite peculiar. The report of the beating came after the news bulletin’s 45 second headline story, concerning an interview with Irish government minister Richard Bruton. The report was followed by a 15 to 20 second segment on the death of 29 Kenyans in a serious terrorist incident, and a shorter mention of a major parachuting accident in Poland that led to 11 deaths. <br />
<i><br />RTE’s presentation of events in the conflict during this period are analysed in more depth in an article entitled <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2014/07/obsession-exclusion-and-double.html">“Obsession, Exclusion and Double Standards”</a>. </i><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Gaza War </b></div>
<br />
With the onset of Operation Protective Edge, at an early phase prior to the ground offensive, RTE featured a lunchtime <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2014/0708/20611646-israel-targets-hamas-militants-in-operation-protective-edge/#page=4">news report</a>, by journalist Nieve Nolan, detailing Israel’s increased air-strikes on targets in Gaza. There was no mention of rocket strikes until a brief statement by Israeli spokesman Mark Regev, even though Hamas’ increased rocket attacks the previous night were clearly the precursor for Israel’s intensified response. <br />
<br />
Nolan justified the rocket attacks on Israeli towns as a response to the Jewish State’s killing of Hamas terrorists, who may have <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-calls-up-troops-as-escalation-against-gaza-looms/">in fact died</a> from handling explosives. Her claim is difficult to justify as the broad swathe of rocket strikes was initiated with the kidnap-murder of Jewish teenagers the previous month. Nolan’s view might be excused as an insufficient explanation of events but, at the end of the report, she states that Israel is set on a course of “escalation rather than de-escalation”, despite Netanyahu having acted with relative restraint, and voiced a reluctance to engage, until the dramatic increase of rocket attacks. <br />
<br />
<i>A detailed analysis and transcript of the report can be found in an article entitled <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2014/07/problematic-media-coverage-of-operation.html">“Problematic Media Coverage of Operation Protective Edge”</a>. The article also discusses an RTE ‘News for the Deaf’ bulletin, which described Israeli’s as “militants”, perhaps to associate the IDF with terrorism. </i><br />
<br />
An email of complaint was sent to RTE about the report on the 8<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> July. Fiona Mitchell, Deputy Foreign Editor, replied, via complaints@rte.ie, on the 14th of July. She stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“You mention use of the sentence "escalation rather than de-escalation'. This was the same day that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel had "significantly expanded our operations against Hamas and other terrorist organisations" making it clear that this was escalation rather than de-escalation, and making it a noteworthy news line.”</blockquote>
However, it appears that Netanyahu’s statement, which Fiona Mitchell quotes, appears to have been made after the Nolan's report was broadcast. Netanyahu’s statement was <a href="http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=64270">issued in the evening of the 8<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></a> July. Even allowing for a two hour time difference with Israel, the statement was issued hours after the news segment was broadcast. Thus, it remains unclear what information RTE News was reacting to, which resulted in the ‘lead’ with this stance in the report.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, Mitchell stripped the Netanyahu quotion of its context, in which he still indicated a reluctance to intensify action, noting that: “Israel is not eager for war, but the security of our citizens is our primary consideration.” This is notable because Nolan's report fails to address the fact that Hamas made several blood-curdling announcements of its desire to intensify the war. The day before Nolan's report, Hamas rejected Netayahu's request for cessation, going as far as to <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/as-israel-grapples-with-homegrown-killers-violence-continues/">claim that the group would</a> engage in criminal behaviour by targeting Israeli civilians indiscriminately. Nolan’s report was thus highly selective, by ignoring the dark threats made by Hamas, whilst choosing to cast Israel as the aggressor.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Yet, an anti-Israel tone was occasionally absent at RTE News. Senior newscaster Brian Dobson interviewed the Palestinian ambassadorial representative to Ireland, Doctor Ahmad Abdelrazek, on 6.1 News, July 9<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>. Dobson was critical of Abdelrazek’s explanations for Hamas having initiated the war. Abdelrazek erroneously claimed the Iron Dome completely shields Israeli’s from Hamas rocket fire. <br />
<br />
On the 22<span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span> of July, RTE’s 6.1 featured a substantive amount of problematic coverage on the conflict. The 48 minute programme (excluding advertising) included over twelve minutes on the issue. Chris Gunness, of the UNRWA, gave a misleading account of events. Gunness’ selection as a guest, without an Israeli response, was problematic. Gunness has earned some notoriety for being deeply prejudicial. He supports incitement and sources that are <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/07/16/israels-un-ambassador-calls-for-immediate-suspension-of-unrwa-spokesman-chris-gunness/">supportive</a> of terrorism. <br />
<br />
RTE news presenter, Sharon Ní Bheoláin, pointedly interrupted Charlie Flanagan, Minister for Foreign Affairs, to state that Hamas claims not to have been party to Egypt’s cease-fire initiative. However, the claim was not credible, since Hamas had already rejected two prior cease-fire proposals by that stage: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Now it should be said of course that Hamas say they were not party to those talks, and that was part of the reason they rejected the Egyptian solution as it were. Can I ask you, because time is against us Minister, what is the Irish position on aspects of this, and I am thinking the Blockade, for example, which very many people would say has contributed enormously to the suffering of the humanitarian [sic] people, and also what the Irish position is with regard to the settlements, and the expansion of those settlements?” </blockquote>
Notably, Ní Bheoláin presents an excuse for Hamas’ failure to agree a ceasefire, while pointedly inferring blame on Israeli policy for the war. She also prompted the minister to state that Israeli air strikes are human rights violations, citing a report by Human Rights Watch, an NGO with a <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=118&x_article=2416">noted hostility</a> toward Israel. However, it was to be an assertion he would not make, since he did not wish to pre-empt investigations. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Beit Hanoun </b></div>
<br />
A missile strike at a school in an area of Gaza called Beit Hanoun, led to the deaths of 15 to 17 Arab-Palestinians, believed to be civilian. At the time, international media coverage was particularly intensive. The rush to blame Israel was exceptional, in view of the fact that there was a significant amount of uncertainty over what transpired. Subsequently, little or no coverage was given to emerging reports and video footage that suggested Israel was not to blame. RTE’s coverage fitted this template. <br />
<br />
On the 24<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of July, RTE’s coverage of the conflict was as obsessive as it was of poor quality. Almost 16 minutes was devoted to the conflict on 6.1 News, with a mere 15 seconds of coverage provided for the 82+ civilians killed in a terrorist attack in Nigeria. Such selective coverage was part of a persistent pattern, where reports of terrorist attacks in similar regions was rarely more than minimal. <br />
<br />
Paul Hirschson, a member of the Israeli foreign ministry, claimed in an interview for the programme, that Hamas more than likely were responsible for the strike that led to the deaths. Chris Gunness also admitted, on the same 6.1 show, that the UNRWA didn’t know the source of the attack. Gunness is a partisan anti-Israel guest, who also claimed that the IDF did not allow UNRWA to evacuate civilians from the school. In an uncommonly strong reaction, an IDF spokesperson <a href="http://freebeacon.com/national-security/idf-calls-out-un-for-lying-about-gaza-civilian-casualties/">said</a> Gunness’ claim is a “flat-out complete and total lie.” Therefore, Gunness was unlikely to be forwarding an apologia when he claimed not to know the source of the attack on the school. Nonetheless, screen-text on RTE’s News channel appeared soon after the interviews, which recurrently stated (in two separate locations) that Israel was responsible for the strike on the school: “15 killed as Israel bombs UN school in Gaza”. <br />
<br />
RTE included a lengthy <a href="http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10307023/">interview</a> with Doctor Mads Gilbert at the end of their 9 PM news programme. He was interviewed by news-presenter Kate Egan. Doctor Gilbert earned notoriety for being one of the first Westerners to justify the 9/11 terrorist attacks, despite the substantive targeting of civilian infrastructure. He has also acted as an apologist for Hamas. He co-authored a book of <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4103213,00.html">his time in Gaza</a>, which was economical with the truth. As a far-left terrorism advocate, his selection for interview, to describe events during an ongoing conflict, was inappropriate, in view of the friendly unchallenging interview, with smiling news presenter who did not discuss his controversial activism, however briefly. <br />
<br />
On Prime Time, RTE’s principle journalistic show, Claire Byrne, a presenter and interviewer, stated in the <a href="http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10307010/">introduction</a> that Israel admitted targeting the school. She presented a narrative, of Israel admitting it targeted the school but attempting to justify the strike. <br />
<br />
However, a few minutes later, Byrne would deny having made the assertion, when an Israeli guest, Professor Dan Shiftan, subsequently challenged her about the accuracy of the claim. He rightly pointed out that Israel had admitted firing in the area as hostilities with Hamas took place, but noted that Israel also denied being responsible for the attack which caused the civilian deaths. Byrne strongly disagreed with what he said. However, her rebuttal was unconvincing. Her explanation appears to suggest that the RTE news editors thought Israel’s admission that it had fired in the area to combat Hamas, was the same as an admission that they intentionally fired on the school, resulting in fatalities. A transcript of the introduction, and their subsequent argument, is featured in the <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/a-review-of-june-to-december-2014-coverage-of-the-israeli-arab-conflict-on-irish-television-part-two-rte-s-coverage/israel/2015/#_ftn1">Appendix</a> to this article. More favourably, Byrne did appear to genuinely entertain Shiftan’s comments concerning Hamas’ conduct. <br />
<br />
Prime Time’s accompanying news report, by journalist Kevin Burns, blamed Israel for the continued violence. Burns stated at the start of the report that “Israel said it was trying to stop rockets”, to suggest another intent. He also spoke in a noticeably higher-pitched tone of voice, when stating that Netanyahu said he regretted the loss of civilian life, to possibly give Netanyahu’s claim an incredulous quality. <br />
<br />
RTE did not issue clarification, after blaming Israel for the Beit Hanoun school strike, when the source was unknown. They would in fact intensify the claim latterly — see Paul O’Flynn’s October 12<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> report. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>A question of figures </b></div>
<br />
The 26<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of July Lunchtime News report, authored by Michelle McCaughren, claimed the Palestinians used rocks and firecrackers during riots in Judea and Samaria/West Bank, while Israel responded with tear gas and live fire, after stating that an Arab-Palestinian teenager was shot dead. The veracity of this claim is doubtful because there would have been a considerable death toll if Israel substantively used live ammunition to suppress a riot, unless the live bullets were used in a highly selective fashion, but this is not how McCaughren’s David and Goliath narrative is presented. <br />
<br />
The 28<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of July Lunchtime News report, by Joan O’Sullivan, claimed that Israel didn’t dispute the death toll of over a thousand Arab-Palestinians killed in the then-present war, before focusing on the apparent scale of Arab-Palestinian civilian deaths. Her assertion appeared to suggest that Israel had endorsed or not contested the Hamas health ministry/UNRWA/PCHR (Palestinian Center for Human Rights) NGO claims, which assert that three quarters of those killed are civilian. Such a claim is misleading because Israel asserted that it believed that half or more of those killed were engaged in belligerency, which was borne out by <a href="http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/article/20734">detailed analysis</a> of the affiliations of the individuals killed. It is often difficult to distinguish between militant and civilian fatalities, and Israel tends not to issue or endorse death tolls until studies are carried out. <br />
<br />
In the past, Hamas-based studies were the basis for <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Civilian-casualties-Gaza-and-the-political-war">statistics from the UN</a> and a variety of anti-Israel NGOs. In the last major Gaza war of 2009, Hamas was forced to correct its statistics due to <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/hamas-minister-700-hamas-militants-were-killed-during-operation-cast-lead/israel/2010/">political expediency</a>. Death tolls derived from Hamas’ health ministry are thus unreliable.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMZf8z7V1ld78NddSIrGY4vD-TrRJZG5jz2Et49y5NP7icX7t8-ii4CbFVOPVeeQFePUN-dxGpN0ZU8tJmjbMvGOX1vHYxwwqOoIZbG1l-BK7SMv1IXQTRmZNJbaodHSGfZrjpLhwD5WkN/s1600/RTE+1st+September+Lunchtime+news+Screen-grab.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><i>RTE Player Screen-grab of </i>RTE’s </i><i> Lunchtime News ,</i><i>1st September 2014</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>War’s Aftermath</b> </div>
<br />
Christopher McKevitt’s <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2014/0901/20641973-us-urges-israel-to-reverse-a-decision-to-take-palestinian-land-in-west-bank/">1<span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span> of September Lunchtime news report</a>, focused on the transfer of land in Judea and Samaria/West Bank into state ownership. It failed to note that the site was the location of the <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/west-bank-land-appropriation-harming-israel-livni-says/">kidnapping of the three Israeli teens</a>, and while his report mentions that the murders were a stated reason for the State action, he casts doubt upon the claim because that purpose wasn’t mentioned in a sign at the site! McKevitt presents the transfer as a theft of Arab land. The report header states “US urges Israel to reverse a decision to take Palestinian land in West Bank”. It would emerge however that the site went through a lengthy legal process to determine its ownership. It was declared to be <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=10&x_article=2835">state land</a> when none was found.<br />
<br />
Paul O’Flynn’s <a href="http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10332919/">October 12<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> Lunchtime News report</a> discussed financial assistance for Gaza’s repair. O’Flynn also describes the war that Hamas initiated, as a “bombardment”. The news presenter, when introducing the report, also spoke of an “Israeli military bombardment”. Israel is presented as the only group reluctant to assist Gaza. However, various donors are worried about such funds going to Hamas, which would facilitate the financing of a new war, as on prior occasions. Oddly however, the word “Hamas” is not found anywhere in the two-minute report. <br />
<br />
The journalist claimed that 30 Arab-Palestinians were killed by an Israeli rocket at the Beit Hanoun school during the recent conflict: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“This school in Beit Hanoun was hit by an Israeli rocket during the summer, and 30 people died.” </blockquote>
There is in fact robust evidence to suggest that Israel <a href="http://cifwatch.com/2014/07/27/breaking-video-suggests-idf-mortars-did-not-play-role-in-beit-hanoun-killing/">was not responsible</a> for the strike that killed the civilians at the UN school in Beit Hanoun. As previously mentioned, this evidence was not widely discussed in the aftermath of the <a href="http://cifwatch.com/2014/07/28/uk-media-fails-to-report-evidence-contradicting-presumption-of-idf-guilt-in-un-school-deaths/">intense mainstream media condemnation</a>. There was also little mention of reports that the UNRWA <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/hamas-may-have-fired-rockets-that-hit-unrwa-school-killing-17/2014/07/24/">acknowledged</a> that a Hamas rocket hit the school. However, with the benefit of hindsight, after the initial and misguided rush to judgement, O’Flynn’s blame, focusing on an “Israeli rocket” to the exclusion of all other opinion and compelling evidence, is a rather serious ethical breach. The death-toll also appears to be inflated, from approximately 15 to 30, seemingly without justification. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Incitement and Intifada </b></div>
<br />
Christopher McKevitt’s 6.1 news report, on the 18<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of November, <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2014/1118/20683851-israeli-government-promises-harsh-response-to-synagogue-attack/">addressed</a> the terrorist attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem, resulting in the murder of five. <br />
<br />
Mckevitt stated that Palestinian Authority president… <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Mahmoud Abbas did condemn the killings but in the same breath criticised the recent Israeli assault on the al Asqa Mosque on the Temple Mount, a site venerated in both Judaism and Islam.” </blockquote>
Mahmoud Abbas, like Arab-Palestinian leaders before him, has repeatedly claimed that Israel is taking possession of the al Asqa mosque, to stoke intensive violence. However McKevitt failed to provide any clarification or qualification that “Israel’s assault on the al Asqa Mosque” was a particular truth claim that Abbas was advancing. McKevitt’s assertion tacitly justified the attack, by pointing to supposedly provocative actions on the part of the side so attacked. The PA president condemning a terrorist attack, whilst echoing the <a href="http://www.jta.org/2014/11/18/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/abbas-condemns-terror-attack-on-jerusalem-synagogue">very sentiments that gave rise</a> to such violence at the time, was indeed a terrible irony, and surely merited some comment concerning his role of inciting violence. <br />
<br />
An RTE <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/1118/660331-jerusalem-attack/">article</a> ‘Fifth person dies after Jerusalem synagogue attack’, published the same day, undermined Netanyahu’s claims regarding Abbas’ incitement. It failed to mention Abbas echoed the very inciteable claims in his “condemnation”. <br />
<br />
McKevitt’s report noted that the dispute was over access rights to the Temple Mount. However, he fails to mention that the issue is in fact over the access rights of one group — Jews, who at the time were campaigning for the right to worship on the Mount, which is their holiest religious site. <br />
<br />
McKevitt asserted that twelve Arab-Palestinians had died versus seven Israeli’s. To his credit, he said that some of those Arab-Palestinians were the instigators of homicidal acts. However, he failed to mention that the others were involved in violent Intifada-like protests at the time (except for a man who committed suicide) so it is rather misleading to draw equivalences to innocents murdered by terrorists, whilst praying in a synagogue or waiting at a bus or train stop.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Simplified narratives </b></div>
<br />
Paul O’Flynn’s 6.1 <a href="http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/search/?q=six%20one%20news">News report</a>, of the 10<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of December, on the death of PA minister Ziad Abu Ein, appears latterly in the news programme, despite being announced as an upcoming story in the first part of the show. Presenter Sharon ní Bheoláin misleadingly suggested that he died when he was hand-grabbed by an Israeli soldier, when in fact he died subsequently, for reasons that are disputed. Secondly, O’Flynn’s report features a lengthy comment by PA minister Hanan Ashwari, in which she not only calls it an act of murder, but claims Israel killed thousands of other Arab-Palestinians “in cold blood”. There was no corresponding response from any Israeli official, other than O’Flynn noting that both sides disputed the events. <br />
<br />
In an article published on the 31<span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span> of December, RTE claims Israel committed war crimes in the “occupied territories” <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/1231/669673-mideast/">without qualifying</a> that the claim is the position of one side, or with the citing of any source, however prejudicial: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is to apply immediately to join the International Criminal Court, senior officials said, after the UN Security Council rejected a resolution on ending the Israeli occupation. <br />
<br />
Mr Abbas will sign the Rome Statute, adhering to the founding treaty of the ICC, where the Palestinians could sue Israeli officials for war crimes in the occupied territories.” </blockquote>
Reports by United Nations bodies have levelled the war crimes charge at Israel’s door but all have been contested. For example, the Goldstone Report was demonstrated by numerous sources to possess strong <a href="http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2009/09/goldstone-report-inaccuracies-part-14.html">evidential problems</a> responses, and convincing <a href="http://www.thetower.org/article/why-the-schabas-report-will-be-every-bit-as-biased-as-the-goldstone-report/">charges of bias</a> in its analysis. <br />
<br />
Irish pro-Israel advocacy group, <i>Irish4Israel</i>, noted RTE’s continuing fascination with the story into the New Year, whilst <a href="https://www.facebook.com/irish4israel/posts/808329642573398">failing to give</a> the Israeli perspective much voice, nor address the fact that the PA may be vulnerable to charges as well.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>End of year news roundups </b></div>
<br />
News channels, the world over, like to fill their end of year schedules with news coverage of the year then coming to an end. This programming can at times be edifying, but for the most part comes across as the rehashing of old news stories. Occasionally it can also provide an <a href="http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Media_bias.html">indicator of certain biases</a> because the partial selection and coverage of stories can constitute a glimpse of what the news-editors value. <br />
<br />
RTE’s run-down of what it feels were the most newsworthy stories of the year, entitled “2014 Year In Review” published on the 30<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of December 2014, used some <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/special-reports/2014/1218/667685-year-in-review-2014/">problematic language</a> in the two featured stores on Israel, the first of which addressed the death of former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon. <br />
<br />
The piece features an inaccuracy with respect to Sharon’s military record. It states: “He left major historical footprints on the Middle East through military invasion, Jewish settlement-building on occupied land the Palestinians seek for a state”. <br />
<br />
Casting his role as one of acting in military invasions, ignores some of the most notable events of his military career as being in the defence of Israel, with particular respect to his defining role in the <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4477324,00.html">1973 Yom Kippur war</a>. Even the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, for which Sharon’s reputation was tarnished, can be deemed a defensive act, after <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Lebanon_War.html">persistent PLO incursions</a>. <br />
<br />
<i>‘<a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2014/01/rtes-error-laden-coverage-of-ariel.html">RTÉ’s Error-Laden Coverage of Ariel Sharon’s Death’</a> offers a detailed analysis of their prior coverage. </i><br />
<br />
With respect to the 2014 Gaza war, ‘Operation Protective Edge’, the broadcaster states: <br />
<blockquote>
“By the end of the 50-day conflict, more than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed. Sixty-seven Israeli soldiers and six civilians in Israel were killed by Hamas rockets and attacks. <br />
<br />
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon later said the destruction in Gaza was “beyond description”.” </blockquote>
RTE accepted the UN’s death toll figures, without mention that Israel disputes these figures for good reason, since they are <a href="http://bbcwatch.org/2014/10/24/bbc-complaints-defends-its-use-of-hamas-supplied-casualty-figures/">derived from Hamas’ health ministry</a>, which has a record of forwarding tolls that grossly distort civilian death rates. The Meir Amit Terrorism and Information Center has been investigating the identities of casualties since the early stages of the war. In a succession of seven reports, it has so far examined 1,165 individual Gazan fatalities. It found 52% of deaths <a href="http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/Data/articles/Art_20734/E_191_14_1801441599.pdf">are linked with</a> terrorist groups. <br />
<br />
By contrast, the RTE review featured nothing about the Syrian civil war, other than with respect to the emergent terrorist group ‘Islamic State’. The death toll of the civil war had by then <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/12/03/200000-dead-why-syrias-rising-death-toll-is-so-divisive/">exceeded 200,000</a> in just over three and a half years, in what began as an Arab Spring protest, transitioning into an organised anti-Assad insurgency by Summer 2011. Yet all the reader gets is a sub-section entitled “The rise of the Islamic State group”, which does not directly reference the civil war. <br />
<br />
RTE’s one-hour special on 2014 in review (first broadcast on RTE One, 31<span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span> December 2014), reflected similar biases with respect to the Gaza war, whilst failing to discuss the Syrian civil war. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Presenting a pro-Palestinian alternative </b></div>
<br />
When accused of bias, many media outlets claim to have received accusations of bias from both sides in a given issue. Therefore, they argue that they cannot be biased. Such a stance may be deemed to be a fallacy because the argument does not measure the broad veracity of the complaints from each side. <br />
<br />
Accusations of bias can of course be motivated by a dislike for the expression of stories that do not suit a person’s own narrative on an issue, so the veracity of these criticisms has be measured, in terms of accuracy and balance. This point is <a href="http://news.ie.msn.com/ireland/rt%C3%A9-apologises-for-%E2%80%98confusion-caused%E2%80%99-by-gaza-woman-footage">exemplified by the biggest controversy</a> over RTÉ’s coverage of the Gaza war, where Irish anti-Israel groups organised an online petition, to object to a supposed misinterpretation of what an Arab-Palestinian woman stated. The charge was difficult to justify because the broadcaster did not present her comments as being a direct translation.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Appendix </b></span></div>
<br />
On 24<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> July 2014, RTE television programme ‘Prime Time’, featured a segment where Claire Byrne, the presenter and interviewer, <a href="http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10307010/">suggested</a> that Israel admitted targeting a school in a northern district of Gaza, called Beit Hanoun. However, she would deny making the assertion to an Israeli guest, Professor Dan Shiftan.<br />
<br />
Claire Byrne’s introduction to the segment conflated the targeting of the area with targeting the school: <br />
<blockquote>
“Israel has admitted tonight that it targeted an area in Gaza where 15 people were killed, when a UN school was hit earlier today. Hundreds more were injured in the attack on the school, which was being used as a shelter for civilians during fighting in the Middle East. But Israel says that Hamas is to blame, claiming that it prevented civilians from leaving the school, which was being used as a cover to launch rocket attacks.” </blockquote>
Later in the segment, Shiftan disputed Byrne’s claim that Israel admitted “targeting” the school. <br />
<br />
<b>Byrne</b> replied: “I want to be very clear what we did say, and what the Israeli Defence Forces said on their official blog. They say that Hamas continued firing from Beit Hanoun. This is the IDF, which is where the shelter is located. The IDF, the Israel Defence Forces, they say, responded by targeting the source of the fire. So they are saying that they did target that area.” <br />
<br />
<b>Shiftan</b>: “No, no. The source of the fire. Not the school. The source of the fire. Not the school. You said Israel targeted the school.” <br />
<br />
<b>Byrne</b> interjecting: “No we didn’t, no we didn’t. We very very clearly and very deliberately said that they targeted the source of the fire. We did not suggest that they targeted the school because we’ve said exactly what the IDF said.” <br />
<br />
<b>Shiftan</b>: “Ok, no you didn’t but we can come to that later. The important thing is that we don’t know yet if these casualties came from Hamas rockets that fell. About 20%, somewhat less than 20% of the rockets Hamas is launching, vis-à-vis Israel, are falling inside the Gaza Strip.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/a-review-of-june-to-december-2014-coverage-of-the-israeli-arab-conflict-on-irish-television-part-two-rte-s-coverage/israel/2015/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-Ixpu_UoxFNk%2FVR1cRjB2T4I%2FAAAAAAAAARc%2FfACuGeh19cI%2Fs1600%2FRTE%252B1st%252BSeptember%252BLunchtime%252Bnews%252BScreen-grab.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMZf8z7V1ld78NddSIrGY4vD-TrRJZG5jz2Et49y5NP7icX7t8-ii4CbFVOPVeeQFePUN-dxGpN0ZU8tJmjbMvGOX1vHYxwwqOoIZbG1l-BK7SMv1IXQTRmZNJbaodHSGfZrjpLhwD5WkN/s1600/RTE+1st+September+Lunchtime+news+Screen-grab.jpg" -->Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-50154742195549292122015-04-02T16:01:00.000+01:002015-08-06T20:35:42.479+01:00A review of June to December 2014 coverage of the Israeli-Arab conflict on Irish television – Part Three: TV3’s coverage<i>This article is the third part of an extended study of Irish television coverage of the Israeli-Arab conflict, during the latter part of 2014. <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-review-of-june-to-december-2014-coverage-part-one.html">Part One</a> introduces and summarises the study, whilst <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-review-of-june-to-december-2014-coverage-part-two.html">Part Two</a> provides specific examples of bias on Ireland's public service broadcaster RTE. </i><br />
<br />
TV3 is RTE’s chief competitor in the Irish broadcasting industry, for television-based news coverage. RTE, as the Irish State Broadcaster, obtains funding from a mix of tax revenue and advertising. Due to RTE’s broad monopoly, TV3 has complained that it is a challenge to compete in the broadcasting environment, because it relies solely on advertising revenue, for which it has to compete with RTE. <br />
<br />
The ‘5.30 News’ reports, on the TV3 channel, during the 2014 Gaza war (‘Operation Protective Edge’), often followed a fairly straightforward narrative, that did not tend to strongly favour one side, e.g. Steven Murphy’s 23<span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span> July segment, which did not shy away from strong content but still presented both perspectives. This may be surprising, in view of TV3’s modest budget for news content, compared to that of RTE, and because news coverage on the TV3/3e channels tend to focus less so on hard-news. <br />
<br />
The quality of content seems to diverge to some extent, one variable perhaps being the programme makers. TV3’s ‘Ireland AM’, with presenter Mark Cagney, often favours anti-Israel perspectives, while an extended ‘FYI’ documentary (1<span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span> August, 3e), for young adult audiences, was deemed to have given fair voice to both sides. By contrast, RTE’s reportage seemed to become more overtly prejudicial as the war in Gaza progressed. <br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneh9osK1Wm8rwMsKwA2i3i0M93CvUrctXVOxGDzID4-V04dL-9F6vOdm_10M2OdyKG8im9Ja5905NFaLIwhllOCshhusUTu8T2pQVwbuKIsmD8dAhzwtdpp3CHKMz2Pmm_3zjeT7RB-pe/s1600/Tom+McGurk+on+Vincent+Browne+show+17-7-14.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneh9osK1Wm8rwMsKwA2i3i0M93CvUrctXVOxGDzID4-V04dL-9F6vOdm_10M2OdyKG8im9Ja5905NFaLIwhllOCshhusUTu8T2pQVwbuKIsmD8dAhzwtdpp3CHKMz2Pmm_3zjeT7RB-pe/s1600/Tom+McGurk+on+Vincent+Browne+show+17-7-14.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom McGurk (left), Israeli Ambassador to Ireland, Dr. Boaz Modai (middle), and <br />
Palestinian ambassadorial representative to Ireland, Dr. Ahmad Abdelrazek (right). TV3, July 17th, 2014 </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Tom McGurk tackles Israel’s Ambassador</b></div>
<br />
TV3’s news reporting focuses on entertainment and sport above politics. This may suggest the channel is less weighed down by ideologically driven analysis of the news. Unfortunately however, TV3’s primary current affairs vehicle, the ‘Vincent Browne Show’ proved to be the complete opposite.<br />
<br />
In one extended <a href="http://www.tv3.ie/3player/show/41/82320/1/Tonight-with-Vincent-Browne">17<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> July segment</a>, the harshness of the questioning directed by guest host Tom McGurk, toward the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland, Doctor Boaz Modai, was extraordinary. One might expect presenters to try to calm feelings when attempting to discuss emotive topics, but McGurk used highly dramatic language, gestured wildly during his argument with Modai, and obsessed about the IDF invading Gaza at night when common sense would indicate such a legitimate measure was used to reduce Hamas’ capacity to strike. He also forwarded a number of notable inaccuracies. McGurk is a journalist, ex-rugby player and RTE sports pundit. <br />
<br />
Challenging questioning should be expected, but the presenter displayed a stark favouritism with respect to his treatment of the Palestinian ambassadorial representative to Ireland, Doctor Ahmad Abdelrazek, who he seemingly agreed with completely. McGurk did not challenge Abdelrazek’s overt falsehoods, such as a denial that Hamas fires at Israelis indiscriminately, and seeks Israel’s destruction. <br />
<br />
Tom McGurk did not appear to take any questions or issues arising from Modai’s points, whilst directly leading the questioning from the PA representative’s points, on several occasions. McGurk insisted that Hamas are the legitimate democratic rulers of Gaza. This is a bizarre claim that anti-Israelis advance, since the regime has long exceeded its democratic mandate. Such stances are proffered by apologists, so may indicate a sympathy with the terrorist group. However, in a contradictory fashion, McGurk also makes out Gazans are completely innocent, that they have no desire to have Hamas wage war on Israel, despite having <a href="http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Hamas.html">elected Hamas</a> on a continued mandate of violence, shortly after the end of the intensive terrorism of the Second Intifada. <br />
<br />
McGurk presented a misleading premise, that there was somehow the option for peace, after Hamas attacked Israel in a sustained fashion, ignored pleas for a cessation, and subsequently escalated the rocket barrages. He also posited the notion that Israel was punishing Gazans in a prison camp. He stated it was an act of collective punishment, and asserted that Jews were killed by the million due to “collective punishment”. Although McGurk denied it, his paralleling with the Holocaust was overt. His stance may even suggest that some Jews were deserving of punishment during the Holocaust era, since the notion of ‘collective punishment’ rests on the idea that a group is punished for the actions of some.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIbwPo1FDDf8KiCFVQ_cDHTZrnUMwcm_M6yef6am42kBNkYC6d3hMUldlXp2Q5-WVWOA5vOTUg0tc57_9nTHESrQI22upUJD1raHCTEdp17y56pI-xw2s4okz2wgsed5vYhHFt8EsX-0MM/s1600/Tom+McGurk+on+Vincent+Browne+show+17-7-14+%232.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIbwPo1FDDf8KiCFVQ_cDHTZrnUMwcm_M6yef6am42kBNkYC6d3hMUldlXp2Q5-WVWOA5vOTUg0tc57_9nTHESrQI22upUJD1raHCTEdp17y56pI-xw2s4okz2wgsed5vYhHFt8EsX-0MM/s1600/Tom+McGurk+on+Vincent+Browne+show+17-7-14+%232.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Tom McGurk argues with,Israeli Ambassador to Ireland, Dr. Boaz Modai (off-picture), TV3, July 17th, 2014</i>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
At the end of the interview, McGurk’s input arguably led to a breach of the <a href="http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2009/en/act/pub/0018/sec0039.html">2009 Broadcasting Act</a> by TV3, which bears a responsibility for the <a href="http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2009/en/act/pub/0018/print.html#sec2">actions</a> of those programme makers whose content the broadcaster presents to the public, when he lectured Ambassador Modai on the attitudes of the Irish toward the conflict, which he presented as both pro-Palestinian and noble in intent. McGurk argued that the Irish people sympathised with the Arab-Palestinian collective because the Irish were a people historically dispossessed of their land, as he claims the Arab-Palestinians to be. However, it can be argued that McGurk’s analysis is both facile, and factually incorrect, thereby exceeding his role as presenter with a highly subjective opinion. Whilst Ireland is rightly viewed as a pro-Palestinian nation, it is worth noting that a great number of people in Ireland have little interest in this conflict. The debate is also very one-sided because there is no substantive Irish pro-Israel movement, while the Irish pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel faction is highly organised, and highly vocal. It is almost an inevitability that sympathies will be swayed if people are presented with one-sided media narratives over very <a href="http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-049-miller.htm">extended periods</a>. A study published in <a href="http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Anti-Israeli-mood-rife-in-Ireland-says-new-survey-findings--122794539.html">May 2011</a> also found that 11.5% surveyed were hostile to Jews. Thus, with some unjustifiable hostility, combined with a broad lack of interest in the conflict, a lack of genuine local debate, where only one narrative is commonly expressed, and an absence of knowledge of the issue, with some of those <a href="https://www.facebook.com/irish4israel/posts/714352925304404">hostile to Israel</a> misinformed to the point of absurdity, it cannot be affirmed that the Irish hold anti-Israel sentiment for any one particular or primary reason, and whether that reason is noble or base. <br />
<br />
McGurk selectively views the Arab-Palestinians as a displaced people, while apparently deeming the Jewish nation as not. For McGurk, it would seem that the Jewish People, as a collective, is fundamentally a homeless group. It is well known that some early senior Irish republicans sympathised with Zionism, seeing the plight of the Irish as somewhat similar, being a people going through a similar dispossession of their homeland by external forces. There is also a concurrent parallel between the Jewish and Irish Diasporas, since the Irish experienced substantive oppression in early migratory phases. Therefore, given their history, it is certainly not obvious that the Irish people would have a greater historic similarity to Arab-Palestinians, a group culturally and in part racially descended from prior Arab-Islamic occupiers, who would subsequently make so much of the Middle East judenrein. <br />
<br />
Tom McGurk exhibited very similar behaviour in the past, where he browbeated pro-Israel guests, e.g. McGurk undermined the sole Irish pro-Israel speaker, in an episode of his show ‘Spirit Moves’ (RTE Radio One, 11<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> January 2009), going as far as to personally insult him. After the guest pointed out that the IDF was trying to suppress Hamas, an organisation with genocidal anti-Semitic aims, McGurk said: “You’re an extraordinary cheerleader! 300 dead children and you’re on the sidelines cheerleading!” Through the programme, McGurk referred to the death of 300 children. A BBC report, circa January 6<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> was cited as a source. However, figures supplied by the BBC, via Hamas’ health ministry, vary between <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7814490.stm">205</a> and <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7814054.stm">195</a>, in another erroneous report. These figures were strongly contested, since the tolls relate to an early phase in ‘Operation Cast Lead’, just a few days after the IDF’s ground invasion of the 3<span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span> January, but McGurk, and his other guests, would insist upon its veracity. Hamas <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/hamas-minister-700-hamas-militants-were-killed-during-operation-cast-lead/israel/2010/">revised</a> its death toll in 2010, aligning more with figures provided by the IDF. <br />
<br />
<i>A transcript of the 17<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> July 2014 discussion is available below, in an appendix of this article. </i><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Dearbhaill McDonald Presents </b></div>
<br />
Journalist Dearbhaill McDonald presented another episode of the ‘Vincent Browne Show’ on the 24<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> of July. McDonald chose to discuss what impact social media was having on the Gaza conflict. Indeed, sites like Twitter were used intensively to post images of apparent suffering, with a particular focus on Arab-Palestinian children. This issue may have had a profound impact on the way the media conducted itself, as well as the way in which it shapes narratives on the conflict, where propaganda, devoid of any context, could take a leading role. Questions of the veracity of these images was also relevant, with Hamas and other parties having often used images from other conflicts. This activity began to intensify in 2012, when <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/manufacturing-blood-libel-hamas-propaganda-war/israel/2012/">images</a> of heavily injured and dead children were misrepresented as having been killed by Israel. Such visceral imagery may have also played a role in the increase of anti-Semitic <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183690">sentiment</a> in Europe. These were worthy areas of discussion but McDonald chose to limit the conversation to essentially pro-Palestinian talking points: whether or not the display of such explicit imagery is acceptable, in view of our social sensibilities! <br />
<br />
The panel comprised of guests that were hostile to Israel, with the exception of Declan Power, a security analyst, who was critical of both Israel and Hamas. Despite often criticising Israel, he was nonetheless continuously interrupted, sometimes in a hostile fashion, and at times undermined by the host, when criticising Hamas. This may suggest that the presenter and/or the producers of The Vincent Browne show fostered an intolerant climate for one side of this discussion, where any expressions of sympathy with Israel were to be discouraged. <br />
<br />
Colette Browne, an ‘Irish Independent’ columnist, even criticised Power’s opinion that Hamas should not be indiscriminately launching rockets on Israelis. Power stated that if Hamas “really were interested in the security of their people, one of the things that would give them huge leverage is if they stopped firing these rockets”. Colette Browne interrupted to assert that “they [Hamas] stopped in 2012 and the blockade wasn’t lifted on Gaza.” This contention relates to the unlikely claim by some terrorist groups that they stopped firing rockets in the 2012 ‘Pillar of Cloud’ War, in exchange for the <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-says-it-fulfilled-all-its-goals-while-hamas-hails-an-exceptional-victory-pillar-of-defense-gaza/">opening</a> of Israel’s borders. Extravagant claims of victory are a normative part of conflicts, where terror groups like Hamas and Hizbullah often proclaim victory after resounding defeat. <br />
<br />
The 24<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> July was the day of the missile strike on the UN school in Gaza’s Beit Hanoun district. The mainstream Western media <a href="http://cifwatch.com/2014/07/27/breaking-video-suggests-idf-mortars-did-not-play-role-in-beit-hanoun-killing/">rushed</a> to a judgement on the strike, with the attribution of blame unjustly associated with Israel, which appears to have become an innate reflex since the Millennium. <br />
<br />
Dearbhaill McDonald directed a question on the issue to ex-rugby player, Trevor Hogan, who having repeatedly berated Declan Power, was speaking on behalf of anti-Israel group ‘Gaza Action Ireland’:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“And some breaking news over the course of the programme, Trevor, that Israel is no longer standing over the position earlier that Hamas is responsible for that attack on the UN school.” </blockquote>
These claims did in fact emerge several hours earlier. Trevor Hogan, replied with an unintended irony:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Exactly, Israel, Israeli spokespeople have a tendency, their immediate reaction is to deny everything, and blame Hamas, and then after everything cools down, they accept responsibility. And they’ve already done that with this latest incident. So it’s just a reminder that we should never believe a word Mark Regev, all of these spokespeople say, because they continuously twist the truth. And now as Larry and Colette has pointed out, there’s no way for them to hide anymore.” </blockquote>
In reality however, Israel asserted that they conducted a military campaign in the area within hours of the mainstream media’s frenzied coverage so it is fanciful for the presenter and guest to suggest they are spinning the story. McDonald and Hogan misrepresented Israel’s stance as they continued to deny responsibility for the missile strike on the school which led to the death of 15 Arab-Palestinians. <br />
<br />
Whilst RTE’s ‘Prime Time’ coverage of the Beit Hanoun school missile strike (as described in <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-review-of-june-to-december-2014-coverage-part-two.html">Part Two</a> of this article) was undoubtedly problematic, the presenter, Claire Byrne, did at least allow the fair expression of competing viewpoints. By contrast, ‘The Vincent Browne Show’ once again became an example of what any responsible broadcaster should avoid. <br />
<br />
The attitudes of the principal host, Vincent Browne, were cause for complaint in the past, which the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/vincent-browne-and-the-israeli-cancer-that-poisons-western-foreign-policy/jew-hatred/2012/">largely upheld</a>. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Appendix </b></span></div>
<br />
Tom McGurk’s questions to Ambassador Boaz Modai, on the Vincent Browne show (17<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> July 2014), show a marked contrast to the questioning directed at the Palestinian ambassadorial representative to Ireland, Ahmad Abdelrazek. Some responses are given in a synopsis due to the length of the debate. <br />
<br />
<b>Tom McGurk</b> [question to Ambassador Boaz Modai]: “Tonight Ambassador thousands of Israeli troops, tanks are invading on Gaza. Presumably a very large number of people will be dead tomorrow morning?” <br />
<br />
[<b>Modai</b> states that Rockets have continued with 12,000 rockets hitting Israel, stating that no government would tolerate such a thing] <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: “But not many governments in the world would sent in troops, armoured cars, and tanks, into a small area of a million people, into a civilian situation, in the dark. They’ve gone in tonight with all the lights out in Gaza. Is that not a terrifying prospect?” <br />
<br />
[<b>Modai</b> explains that there are two Gaza’s, and air strikes could not destroy the tunnels and rockets.] <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: “But you’ve invaded both Gaza’s because they are still the same piece of territory.” <br />
<br />
[<b>Modai</b> states the army will do its utmost to protect civilians] <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: “Yeah but what do you hope to achieve by this? Presumably if you have members of Hamas, what will you do with them tonight, will you arrest them, shoot them on the spot, what will you do with them?” <br />
<br />
[<b>Modai</b> states it is difficult to discuss the military operation] <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: [Laughs] “I think we should [discuss the military operation]. There is a moral question there.” <br />
<br />
[<b>Modai</b> responds by stating that the moral question is who aims what at whom — pointing out Hamas does a double war crime by aiming at civilians from civilian areas] <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b> [Interrupting]: “Ok we’ve heard that speech all week! What is the purpose of the invasion tonight. If a certain number of people are killed, will Hamas stop, will Hamas surrender, what is the purpose of it because when you pull out, after how many people will be killed on either side, what will the difference be?” <br />
<br />
[<b>Modai</b> states that the aim is not to kill people but to achieve a solution to a problem — the terror tunnels, Israel intercepted Hamas militants using a tunnel to get into a Kibbutz to cause a massacre.] <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b> [sighing and interrupting]: “There has already been a massacre… But ambassador, there has already been a massacre, and 60 children. The world is looking at Israel in astonishment. Do you realise the damage you are doing to the state of Israel internationally and globally? To kill 60 children is a war crime in anybody’s language.” <br />
<br />
<b>Modai</b>: “The easy use of the word ‘war crime’” [goes on to challenge the stance by pointing to the bombing of Kosovo in 1999, by Western nations, in which 2000 civilians were killed, including many children.] <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: “So 60 don’t matter that much then?” <br />
<br />
[<b>Modai</b> counters that war often leads to civilian deaths, especially when used as human shields] <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b> [To the Palestinian ambassadorial representative, Doctor Ahmad Abdelrazek]: “The bottom line here is that the Hamas rockets have provoke the situation. And if there were no Hamas rockets, there wouldn’t be this invasion. Does that not add up?” <br />
<br />
<b>Abdelrazek</b>: “The results that we see they are targeting the civilians without ah sometimes I think its for fun because what we have see yesterday, and all the journalists in Gaza saw yesterday, that the gunship, the Israeli gunship shot the four children at the beach. It was clear there are children. It was clear they are not armed but they shot two shots and the second shot the children, and blast others… when this people are on the beach there were nobody, no Hamas people, no fighters people. There are children playing football.” <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b> [to Modai]: “Well Ambassador, would you explain to this Palestinian gentleman why… let the ambassador explain why that was done?” [Notably McGurk allows the PA Ambassador to completely side-step this question, and actually turns on Modai] <br />
<br />
[<b>Modai</b> states that it was probably a mistake due to the confusion of war. He notes his surprise the Arab-Palestinian ambassador’s stance as his leader Mahmoud Abbas was critical of Hamas’ actions in targeting Israeli civilians indiscriminately. He suggests the ambassador is trying to protect Hamas]. <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: “Are Hamas not elected?” <br />
<br />
<b>Abdelrazek</b> [instead of stating that he does not defent Hamas — the PA Ambassador states]: “Mr. Ambassador, you say you your soldier doesn’t target civilians, I’ll give you many examples. First of all you remember on last March, when a soldier shooted killed a Jordanian judge, just with cold blood. Many witnesses. The second, when the soldier shooted and the unity, the army said he wasn’t a member of the unity but [indistinct] he shooted the young boy.” <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: [instead of allowing Modai reply, McGurk interrupts and asked the PA ambassador] “Sorry to interrupt you. I want to move you on to tonight, you are familiar with Gaza, what is that scene like tonight” <br />
<br />
<b>Abdelrazek</b>: “you can imagine one point seven million people are…” <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: “…in the dark” <br />
<br />
<b>Abdelrazek</b> [echoes McGurk]: “…in the dark, and in an area of 300 square kilometres only, and ahh ahh ahh the Israelis say they don’t want to war but we have to know that before the beginning they started to to call the reservists, how many reservists Mr. Ambassador? More than 60,000 reservists has been called. How, what for? A tiny three hundred square kilometres. It’s a huge army for Gaza. It’s a huge army so it was deliberately preparing for the invasion of Gaza.” <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: “Boaz, can I put this to you, ah you know there the accusation that this is the doctrine of collective punishment, and who knows more about the doctrine of collective punishment than the Jewish people who were murdered in millions by the process of collective punishment. How do you face that accusation because to many Gaza is a prison camp.” <br />
<br />
<b>Modai</b>: “Could you repeat the question. Are you trying in any way to compare in any way the Holocaust…” <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: “No, I’m talking about the process of collective punishment, where a whole group of people are punished. That is what is going on here in Gaza. Would you recognise that?” <br />
<br />
[<b>McGurk</b> interrupting as Modai begins to answer] “You saw everybody tonight in Gaza being punished.” <br />
<br />
<b>[Modai</b> states the Gazans are the victims of Hamas, rather than the Israelis]. <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: “Perhaps but what can they do about Hamas? What do you want them to do about Hamas?” <br />
<br />
<b>Modai</b>: [pauses, seemingly with incredulity at the question] “What does the world do about Hamas, what does the Palestinian Authority do, I mean this is a question you should be asking? … his government is sharing power with the Hamas.” This is a terrorist organisation, do you accept that? [McGurk allows the PA Representative to interrupt.] <br />
<br />
<b>Abdelrazek</b> [The PA Ambassador puts his hand up to interject]: “I’ll tell you something now. I’ll tell you something. Since we are… Mr. Ambassador. Mr. Ambassador, the whole problem lets go to the origin. The whole problem is occupation, and we say the only way to have security is to have a just solution of two state solution. When you started to negotiate with the Israeli government, Mr. Netanyahu, the prime minister, he used to say ah ah ah President Abbas doesn’t represent all the Palestinian, and when we form the unity government Mr. Netanyahu say Mr. Abbas ah ah ah should choose between peace or Hamas. Our government is recognising Israel, our government is so we don’t.” <br />
<br />
[<b>Modai</b> reminds the PA Ambassador that Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel.] <br />
<br />
<b>Abdelrazek</b> [taking exception]: “Excuse me, no no you have people in your government, excuse me, Mr Neftali Benai who is a minister” <br />
<br />
<b>Modai</b>: “He’s not against peace. He’s for peace.” <br />
<br />
<b>Abdelrazek</b>: “I’ll tell you what he said…” [reaches into his pocket] <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: “Boaz, can I just ask you this? You said the people in Gaza have to deal with Hamas. How do they deal with Hamas? I mean they don’t ask Hamas to fire the rockets. How do they deal with them?” <br />
<br />
<b>Modai</b>: “We’re trying to help them to get rid of the Hamas…” <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b> [interrupting]: “…by invading with thousands of [indistinct]? By killing them?” <br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Abdelrazek </b>[joining in with McGurk]: “the civilians… the civilians…” <br />
<br />
<b>Modai</b>: “We are not killing the civilians [intentionally]. It’s very nice, I’m sure the viewers see how you both attack me on that.” <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b> [interrupting as well as Abdelrazek]: “your affliction of the facts, not of any [indistinct].” <br />
<br />
[<b>Modai</b> states that Abdelrazek knows well what Hamas are all about, and objects to the equivocation of Hamas and the IDF, stating that they only target civilians, not the military. Refers to the Allies having killed more civilians than military, asking does that mean they were wrong, and Germany right?] <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: “Speaking of history, can I say something to you? In Ireland we have a particular understanding of this problem because we too were a dispossessed people for hundreds of years. We too understand the notion of being dispossessed in our own land. This has been the experience of the Palestinians. And that’s perhaps why Irish sentiment is sympathetic to the Palestinians. We’ve also had a peace process. We’d a thirty-year war here. Nothing was ended until both sides put away the weapons and sat down and had an agreement, and an enemies became friends.” <br />
<br />
<b>Abdelrazek</b>: “Absolutely.” <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: “Where are you ever going to start a peace process gentlemen? Where can there be a starting point, certainly not tonight.” <br />
<br />
<b>Abdelrazek</b>: “When Israel accept the are two states on the 1967 borders.” <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: “1967 Borders, no?” <br />
<br />
<b>Modai</b>: “Israel already agreed to two states but there is no dialogue.” <br />
<br />
<b>Abdelrazek</b>: “How you say there is no dialogue” [states Abbas is proposing negotiating now for a strictly three month period — argue back and forth about a notional ‘right of return’, and setting preconditions of the 1967 borders before negotiations.] <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b>: “Is there a possibility ah that ah sometime tomorrow, if there’s huge numbers of people dead, that Israel will realise the level of the mistake that is being made here, because you’re looking at thousands of young kids in Gaza, and the population, as you know, almost half the population is under the age of 10 or 15. Tonight, watching their doors smashed in, and the soldiers arresting their family, what are they going to become in 10 or 15 years time?” <br />
<br />
<b>Modai</b>: “You have to decide what is better, to target from the air or the ground?” <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b> [interrupting]: or or or try the peace.” <br />
<br />
<b>Abdelrazek</b> [laughing at Modai’s phrasing]: “Do we have to choose which way to be killed, Mr. Ambassador?” <br />
<br />
[<b>Modai</b> refers again to Hamas’ wish for destruction]: “Do you try to make peace with someone who calls for your destruction, who shoots at your citizens indiscriminately?” <br />
<br />
<b>Abdelrazek</b>: “No, no, this is nonsense.” <br />
<br />
<b>McGurk</b> [to Abdelrazek]: “I’m going to give you the final word. We’re running out of time. Final thought about tonight in Gaza.” <br />
<br />
<b>Abdelrazek</b>: “Already already since the the Israeli ah invaded, the Israeli troops invaded Gaza, already there are four dead people, and twenty twenty ah ah blast, but ah thank you Mr. Ambassador to give us the chance to choose our way to be killed, by air or by troops.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/a-review-of-june-to-december-2014-coverage-of-the-israeli-arab-conflict-on-irish-television-part-three-tv3-s-coverage/israel/2015/">Crethi Plethi.</a></i>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-fhFs9wmo2Os%2FVR1QB8PPXaI%2FAAAAAAAAARM%2F58dposHX8ds%2Fs1600%2FTom%252BMcGurk%252Bon%252BVincent%252BBrowne%252Bshow%252B17-7-14%252B%25232.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIbwPo1FDDf8KiCFVQ_cDHTZrnUMwcm_M6yef6am42kBNkYC6d3hMUldlXp2Q5-WVWOA5vOTUg0tc57_9nTHESrQI22upUJD1raHCTEdp17y56pI-xw2s4okz2wgsed5vYhHFt8EsX-0MM/s1600/Tom+McGurk+on+Vincent+Browne+show+17-7-14+%232.jpg" --><!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-qRfKQSL5e-M%2FVR1Pg4UcfnI%2FAAAAAAAAARE%2Fs7Tzi-bKNkA%2Fs1600%2FTom%252BMcGurk%252Bon%252BVincent%252BBrowne%252Bshow%252B17-7-14.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneh9osK1Wm8rwMsKwA2i3i0M93CvUrctXVOxGDzID4-V04dL-9F6vOdm_10M2OdyKG8im9Ja5905NFaLIwhllOCshhusUTu8T2pQVwbuKIsmD8dAhzwtdpp3CHKMz2Pmm_3zjeT7RB-pe/s1600/Tom+McGurk+on+Vincent+Browne+show+17-7-14.jpg" -->Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-17390839555124725172015-02-27T10:34:00.000+00:002015-04-02T14:46:31.401+01:00“Welcome to Gaza” – Banksy’s anti-Israel video<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a bgaza="" bscreen-shot.jpg="" bto="" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2mCRgxC3c18JdMiefu5pD5joEr5t6Xfg3tYTTHPg77RwanjhGf_-f5OmT-Bg8PrmXo0cxmungK9yIZbR8UvUSHH7rbzfErfz_nukQJl22eTeVXVeiQ8t6gXCEdoFvnRz6l9RWFuCPRmo/s1600/Banksy+" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" welcome=""><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2mCRgxC3c18JdMiefu5pD5joEr5t6Xfg3tYTTHPg77RwanjhGf_-f5OmT-Bg8PrmXo0cxmungK9yIZbR8UvUSHH7rbzfErfz_nukQJl22eTeVXVeiQ8t6gXCEdoFvnRz6l9RWFuCPRmo/s1600/Banksy+'Welcome%2Bto%2BGaza'%2Bscreen-shot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">A screen-shot of Banksy's anti-Israel video, showing the West Bank security barrier</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<i>[March 31<span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span> update: Two paragraphs have been added just above the sub-heading ‘Omitting Hamas from the equation’]</i><br />
<br />
Banksy, a popular British street-artist, has just issued a new video attacking Israel’s more recent conduct in Gaza. The video, ostensibly presented as a promotional film to attract tourism to Gaza, heavily applies sarcasm from the outset, with statements concerning Gaza’s appeal as a tourist destination, that frame bracketed follow-on points intended to reveal Gaza’s supposed reality.<br />
<br />
The video begins by recommending a new destination for tourists: Gaza! It shows Banksy apparently climbing through a tunnel, presumably constructed by Hamas. The video claims that Gaza is…<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Well away from the tourist track (Access is via a network of illegal tunnels)”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The locals like it so much they never leave (because they’re not allowed to)”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Nestled in an exclusive setting (surrounded by a wall on three sides and a line of gun boats on the other)”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Watched over by friendly neighbours” (in 2014 Israel destroyed 18,000 homes)</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Development opportunities are everywhere (No cement has been allowed into Gaza since the bombing)”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Plenty of scope for refurbishment”</blockquote>
An Arab-Palestinian man discusses a street painting of a cat, presumably by Banksy. He repeatedly asks “what about our children?” The “promotional” video then ends with a message painted on a wall:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“If we wash our hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless we side with the powerful — we don’t remain neutral.”</blockquote>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><b>Point and Counterpoint</b></b><br />
<b><b><br /></b></b></div>
<b>
</b>
Despite the fact that Banksy has attacked Israel intermittently over the years, this short and quite unremarkable Youtube video was deemed to be newsworthy. For example, on February 26<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>, it was featured cyclically on Irish State broadcaster RTE’s “top stories” section of their News Now channel (“Banksy video takes aim at Gaza destruction”), and given a glowingly <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0226/683015-banksy-gaza/">uncritical reception</a> devoid of any meaningful analysis.<br />
<br />
In 2005, Banksy is believed to have produced a Christmas card that recalls old Christian anti-Semitic imagery concerning Jews rejecting Jesus, with Israel now <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/banksy-christmas-card_n_4468517.html">obstructing the movement of Mary and Joseph via the security fence</a>. <a href="http://archive.adl.org/israel/anti_israel/alison_weir/anti-semitism.html?m_flipmode=3">Anti-Semitic website</a> “If Americans Knew” has widely used the image to suggest Israel <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/christmas-card-features-separation-barrier/">imprisoned</a> the notionally Christian town of Bethlehem.<br />
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyMpf2cN3nu2MkWjatyoy60qFH6msZTTXQ1X1HpaOPQ-uO3dv68Wk2k__OFcSi0tLX6ciayoQCNj8dH1Sxy56-1_cQCt3r2vkg1hCI9Up8UptQGgeGD88DT9qg33PhTMrgPaFk9UgxQKAw/s1600/Banksy+anti-Jewish+Christmas+card.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyMpf2cN3nu2MkWjatyoy60qFH6msZTTXQ1X1HpaOPQ-uO3dv68Wk2k__OFcSi0tLX6ciayoQCNj8dH1Sxy56-1_cQCt3r2vkg1hCI9Up8UptQGgeGD88DT9qg33PhTMrgPaFk9UgxQKAw/s1600/Banksy+anti-Jewish+Christmas+card.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;"><i>Banksy's "Christmas card"</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Concerning Gaza, Banksy <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/banksy-releases-promo-video-for-gaza/">states</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Gaza is often described as ‘the world’s largest open air prison’ because no one is allowed to enter or leave. But that seems a bit unfair to prisons — they don’t have their electricity and drinking water cut off randomly almost every day,”</blockquote>
Banksy’s particularly strong criticism is unwarranted. Israel supplies water and electricity to Gaza, along with foodstuffs, medicine, and other items. It also provides medical assistance to thousands of Gazans each year in Israeli hospitals, regardless of political affiliation to Hamas. Israel is not obliged to supply water and electricity to Gaza since the zone involved is not a signatory to the Fourth Geneva Convention <a href="http://www.i24news.tv/en/opinion/38008-140723-why-does-israel-supply-gaza-with-electricity-and-cement">but it still does so</a> to lessen the impact of the maritime embargo. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ultimately, there would be no blockade if Hamas had not engaged in protracted periods of belligerency, which largely impacts the civilian populace in Southern Israel, just a few miles from the Gaza border. Substantive numbers of civilians have been fleeing Hamas’ <span style="font-family: inherit;">attacks</span> <a href="http://israelmatzav.blogspot.ie/2006/11/israelis-are-fleeing-olmert-is.html">since its election</a> in 2006. </span>The Palmer Report has found Israel’s maritime blockade to be a <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Palmer-Gaza-blockade-lawful-IDF-used-excessive-force">legal act</a> due to Hamas’ sustained hostilities.<br />
<br />
Hamas, as the <i>de facto</i> governing body controlling the region, is the authority responsible for supplying water to Gaza’s populace. Israel transferred control of the water supply infrastructure to the Palestinian Authority, with their withdrawal in 2005, and exceeds its OSLO II 31 MCM water supply obligations, by <a href="http://www.water.gov.il/Hebrew/ProfessionalInfoAndData/2012/19-Water-Issues-between-Israel-and-Palestinians-Main-Facts.pdf">supplying</a> the Palestinian Authority with increasing amounts of water in more recent years: 52 MCM in 2012, constituting 67.75% more water annually.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, Hamas damaged the supply substantively in the intervening period. It has <a href="http://www.thecommentator.com/article/2706/is_israel_really_to_blame_for_gaza_s_water_shortages">drilled several hundred wells</a> without authorisation from the joint Israeli-Palestinian water authority, thereby harming water quality. In 2013, Israel doubled its water supply to Gaza, with the construction of a new pipeline. During the 2014 war, Israel continued to supply Gazans with water, and <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=118&x_article=2863">repair damage</a> to the infrastructure.<br />
<br />
Hamas’ own actions led to frequent <a href="http://elderofziyon.blogspot.ie/2012/02/gaza-blackouts-intensify-so-they-blame.html">power blackouts</a> over the territory, whilst Israel initiated projects to <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/175861">improve and maintain</a> the electricity supply. In June 2014, Hamas rocket fire <a href="http://unitedwithisrael.org/hamas-rocket-damages-gaza-electric-supply/">damaged</a> the power supply. The many media reports claiming Israel had destroyed the plant were <a href="http://cifwatch.com/2014/09/14/miracle-in-gaza-power-plant-the-guardian-declared-destroyed-comes-back-to-life/">fanciful</a> since it would soon come back on line. During the war, COGAT also imported substantial <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4594/palestinian-poverty">amounts of fuel</a> for domestic use.<br />
<br />
In broader terms, Israel has sponsored several hundred projects to improve conditions <a href="http://www.cogat.idf.il/Sip_Storage/FILES/5/3495.pdf">in Gaza</a> which ill-befits Banksy’s image of <i>evil Israel</i>.<br />
<br />
Banksy appears to suggest that Gaza is surrounded on all sides by Israel, and sarcastically refers to its “friendly neighbours”. Odd then that he makes no mention of Egypt, the other nation that shares a border with Gaza. Egypt intermittently allows passage out of Gaza but prevents the entry of water, electricity and foodstuffs into Gaza. It can be suggested Israel is the party at war with Hamas but Egypt has long been keen to prevent Hamas, a military wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, from flourishing, and is taking increasingly drastic steps to prevent Hamas and Islamic Jihad from infiltrating the Sinai.<br />
<br />
It is surely pure invention to claim that “a line of gun boats” surround Gaza by sea. With the maritime blockade, <a href="http://un-truth.com/israel/investigation-gazas-maritime-space">sea access was restricted</a> from the 13<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> August 2008 after Hamas instigated further acts of belligerency. A six nautical mile limit for Gaza’s fishermen was established, which was temporarily restricted to three miles when hostilities escalated.<br />
<br />
Banksy claims 18,000 homes have been destroyed by the 2014 Gaza war. This figure was postulated in August/September 2014 by Arab-Palestinian representatives. Figures are difficult to establish with some estimating as few as 10,000 buildings were destroyed, whilst the UNRWA asserts that 7,000+ homes have been destroyed, <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188829#.VO9aOnysXIc">doubling its previously held figures</a> during a recent campaign to raise further funds. The UNRWA’s <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/12/04/palestinian-human-rights-activist-calls-for-major-overhaul-of-unrwa-interview/">anti-Israel activism is notorious</a> so it is likely that its figures err rather generously. Either way, it is untrue to claim that 18,000 homes have been destroyed by Israel<span style="font-family: inherit;">, and particularly disingenuous to reveal such a figure without mention of Hamas’ policy of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/gaza/11018868/Israel-has-won-the-tunnel-war-but-lost-the-propaganda-battle-to-Hamas.html">firing from residential areas</a> and placing their fighters<a href="http://www.thomaswictor.com/two-pallywood-duds/"> inside family homes</a></span>.</div>
<div>
<br />
Banksy claims that tunnels are the only method of access to Gaza. Presumably, this claim is not meant to be taken seriously. However, it does reinforce the imprisonment narrative, whilst presenting to his audience an amusing stance on Hamas’ use of tunnels for black market imports as well as terrorist activities.<br />
<br />
It would surely have been intolerable for Banksy’s anti-Israel narrative to have informed his viewers that Hamas use tunnels to conduct terrorist attacks against civilians. The immense amount of cement used in such tunnels has been widely discussed. Hamas <a href="http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/article/20702">diverted thousands of tons of building materials away</a> from the construction of homes and public infrastructure despite apparent supervision by international bodies and aid agencies. The terrorist group <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4605504,00.html">continues to do so</a>.</div>
<div>
<br />
Banksy claims no cement has entered Gaza, which is a follow-on point from his assertion about the number of houses that were destroyed during the 2014 war. Dual-use cement has been proscribed, due to its military usage. However, Banksy’s claim is disingenuous because thousands of tons of other building materials have been transported to the Gaza Strip. Israel’s COGAT agency stated that in excess of 62,000 tons of constructions materials <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israel-increases-Gaza-exports-and-exit-permits-for-merchants-391358">were transferred</a> between August 2014 and February 2015, which is believed to have assisted 43,000 Gazans. Israel has since lifted the <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192477#.VRqr_9LF_Ic">ban</a> on cement.<br />
<br />
Banksy also infers there are few opportunities for the People of Gaza. However, whilst conditions would doubtlessly be extremely challenging due to the war, further Israeli initiatives, for business and reconstruction, <a href="http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/Peace/Humanitarian/Pages/Further-steps-to-assist-reconstruction-of-Gaza-Strip-17-Feb-2015.aspx">commenced</a> in the aftermath of the conflict.</div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Omitting Hamas from the equation</b></div>
<br />
Perhaps the most notable aspect of Banksy’s video is not so much what it states but the content it leaves out. There is a complete absence of any reference to Hamas, rocket and mortar attacks, Islamist terrorism perpetuated against Israeli civilians etc. In other words, the video provides zero context. There is only space for poignant images of Arabs living in a bomb damaged environment, and apparent instances of Israeli oppression and aggression.<br />
<br />
The video’s absolutist dichotomy is reinforced by a total absence of images or footage that includes Hamas. The viewer is not any wiser about Gaza’s governance. In fact, without explanation, the video features a scene of heavily armed IDF soldiers, with the words “The locals like it so much they never leave (because they’re not allowed to)”. However, the video footage of the soldiers appears to have been shot in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), because the security barrier is shown in the background. The inclusion of such content may lead to the viewer to believe that Gaza is still occupied by Israel.<br />
<br />
By implication, Banksy cast Hamas as powerless, when he wrote “of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless…” This is a normative claim by anti-Israel activists, who excuse Hamas’ belligerency, incitement, and terrorism against a civilian populace which it desires to see exterminated.<br />
<br />
Perhaps Banksy should ask which party truly tyrannises the Gazan populace? Could it be an Islamist regime that no longer constitutes the territory’s legitimately elected representatives, that puts its people in harms way to <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4706/gazan-hamas-war-crimes">continue</a> its belligerency at all costs, to be used as fodder in intensive anti-Israel propaganda?<br />
<br />
Other than shady motivations, what could possibly prompt omissions of Hamas from this narrative?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>“Art” versus reality</b></div>
<br />
Over the years, Banksy has become an integral part of the British cultural landscape, endeared to many by the <a href="http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/banksy-the-artist-in-residence-of-the-new-snobby-elite/15979#.VO-CKXysXIc">left-wing themes of his work</a> which are arguably compatible with Britain’s more recent cultural patterns. His <a href="http://markhumphrys.com/israel.wall.html#banksy">critiques of Israel</a> are in keeping with this paradigm, where there is <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/08/07/israeli-columnist-in-london-probes-why-uk-is-fascinated-with-hamas-as-underdog-its-one-sided-media-and-to-death-to-all-juice/">little space afforded</a> to pro-Israel perspectives.<br />
<br />
Any promotional tourist video will of course be expected to present the location being advertised in the most attractive fashion possible. Such videos are expected to be economical with the truth. Banksy’s rather artless faux-tourist video is presented as an opposite. It is presented as the unpleasant truth confronting the viewer. Unfortunately however, a rich unintended irony occurs since the video features is a string of normative and propagandistic pro-Palestinian falsehoods.<br />
<br />
Perhaps the most meaningful scene in Banksy’s video occurs where an Arab-Palestinian man asks “what about our children?” This is a question that can cut both ways. It has a particular resonance for anyone with a passing familiarity with <a href="http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/teaching-terror-how-hamas-radicalizes-palestinian-society">Hamas’ policy of radicalising</a> the <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Child-on-Hamas-TV-Jews-are-barbaric-apes-385295">children of Gaza</a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It can be argued with justification that, despite all its profound falsehoods, this <i>Banksy</i> reveals a deeper truth – how disingenuously the anti-Israel movement <i>present</i> this complex conflict. </span>Viewers might ask if the echoing of conflict propaganda clarifies ethical matters or merely thickens the fog of war.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Also published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/welcome-to-gaza-banksy-anti-israel-video/israel/gaza-and-westbank/2015/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2mCRgxC3c18JdMiefu5pD5joEr5t6Xfg3tYTTHPg77RwanjhGf_-f5OmT-Bg8PrmXo0cxmungK9yIZbR8UvUSHH7rbzfErfz_nukQJl22eTeVXVeiQ8t6gXCEdoFvnRz6l9RWFuCPRmo/s1600/Banksy+'Welcome%2Bto%2BGaza'%2Bscreen-shot.jpg" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2mCRgxC3c18JdMiefu5pD5joEr5t6Xfg3tYTTHPg77RwanjhGf_-f5OmT-Bg8PrmXo0cxmungK9yIZbR8UvUSHH7rbzfErfz_nukQJl22eTeVXVeiQ8t6gXCEdoFvnRz6l9RWFuCPRmo/s1600/Banksy+'Welcome%2Bto%2BGaza'%2Bscreen-shot.jpg" -->
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2mCRgxC3c18JdMiefu5pD5joEr5t6Xfg3tYTTHPg77RwanjhGf_-f5OmT-Bg8PrmXo0cxmungK9yIZbR8UvUSHH7rbzfErfz_nukQJl22eTeVXVeiQ8t6gXCEdoFvnRz6l9RWFuCPRmo/s1600/Banksy+'Welcome%2Bto%2BGaza'%2Bscreen-shot.jpg" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2mCRgxC3c18JdMiefu5pD5joEr5t6Xfg3tYTTHPg77RwanjhGf_-f5OmT-Bg8PrmXo0cxmungK9yIZbR8UvUSHH7rbzfErfz_nukQJl22eTeVXVeiQ8t6gXCEdoFvnRz6l9RWFuCPRmo/s1600/Banksy+'Welcome%2Bto%2BGaza'%2Bscreen-shot.jpg" -->
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2mCRgxC3c18JdMiefu5pD5joEr5t6Xfg3tYTTHPg77RwanjhGf_-f5OmT-Bg8PrmXo0cxmungK9yIZbR8UvUSHH7rbzfErfz_nukQJl22eTeVXVeiQ8t6gXCEdoFvnRz6l9RWFuCPRmo/s1600/Banksy+'Welcome%2Bto%2BGaza'%2Bscreen-shot.jpg" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2mCRgxC3c18JdMiefu5pD5joEr5t6Xfg3tYTTHPg77RwanjhGf_-f5OmT-Bg8PrmXo0cxmungK9yIZbR8UvUSHH7rbzfErfz_nukQJl22eTeVXVeiQ8t6gXCEdoFvnRz6l9RWFuCPRmo/s1600/Banksy+'Welcome%2Bto%2BGaza'%2Bscreen-shot.jpg" -->
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-VwY5U4J0rjA%2FVPBEdOcMFKI%2FAAAAAAAAAQc%2FfP1ySDHxMuM%2Fs1600%2FBanksy%252Banti-Jewish%252BChristmas%252Bcard.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyMpf2cN3nu2MkWjatyoy60qFH6msZTTXQ1X1HpaOPQ-uO3dv68Wk2k__OFcSi0tLX6ciayoQCNj8dH1Sxy56-1_cQCt3r2vkg1hCI9Up8UptQGgeGD88DT9qg33PhTMrgPaFk9UgxQKAw/s1600/Banksy+anti-Jewish+Christmas+card.jpg" --><!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-UUAqGnNferg%2FVPBEtCa5e4I%2FAAAAAAAAAQk%2Fkl4b4QLPurY%2Fs1600%2FBanksy%252B%27Welcome%252Bto%252BGaza%27%252Bscreen-shot.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2mCRgxC3c18JdMiefu5pD5joEr5t6Xfg3tYTTHPg77RwanjhGf_-f5OmT-Bg8PrmXo0cxmungK9yIZbR8UvUSHH7rbzfErfz_nukQJl22eTeVXVeiQ8t6gXCEdoFvnRz6l9RWFuCPRmo/s1600/Banksy+'Welcome%2Bto%2BGaza'%2Bscreen-shot.jpg" -->
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-21264861836132603832014-07-10T02:57:00.001+01:002014-07-12T16:13:03.634+01:00Problematic Media Coverage of Operation Protective Edge(Updated final section 12<span style="font-size: x-small;">th </span>July 2014)<br />
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYeP9j7YoaFX5g3_qw0iJAFfSAaw31CiF4SwBYvigG4ZLKOY4qOabOPjeZrbVFLx4aSwsgkMiTnboDtTn9PIeewTExb5gvv5CYLBu2kshLnoKg9f4Zq4aKfbhZJTg-loCT-E_JZ8CG5Ii/s1600/kids-rockets-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYeP9j7YoaFX5g3_qw0iJAFfSAaw31CiF4SwBYvigG4ZLKOY4qOabOPjeZrbVFLx4aSwsgkMiTnboDtTn9PIeewTExb5gvv5CYLBu2kshLnoKg9f4Zq4aKfbhZJTg-loCT-E_JZ8CG5Ii/s1600/kids-rockets-.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Israeli children sheltering from a rocket attack originating in Gaza<br />(source: algemeiner.com)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br />
Faced with an asymmetrically powerful opponent, Arab-Palestinian terrorist groups have no realistic hope of winning conflicts militarily. However, they can use conflict to strengthen their hand in a number of ways. By bringing violence to Israel's door, in assaults where they have no hope of overwhelming their foe, their political esteem in the Islamic world is nonetheless raised substantially. The Arab-Palestinian populace, radicalised from youth, also finds favour in such conflicts, despite the hardship it often brings.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
With the onset of any protracted conflict between Israel and the various Arab-Palestinian military factions, so much of the substance of a given fracas comes to be waged on television screens across the world. The fight, as per Hamas’ <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0wJXf2nt4Y">stated strategy</a>, should be taken into civilian Arab-Palestinian areas, to use the people it purports to represent as human shields. Fittingly, its operational headquarters, during the 2009 Cast Lead war, was located in Gaza’s <a href="http://worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2009/me_hamas0039_01_14.html">Shifa Hospital</a>.<br />
<br />
With every war comes graphic images of Arab-Palestinian suffering, ending in a public relations disaster for Israel. Some of this imagery <a href="http://elderofziyon.blogspot.ie/2014/07/bbc-exposes-pallywood-lies-in.html#.U7v2hZRdWSo">is faked</a> as has so often been the case <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.com/2012/11/manufacturing-blood-libel-hamas.html">in the past</a>, or it can be stripped of context by elements in the media. Some journalists also follow far-fetched <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/04/28/the-new-york-times-says-abbas-vilified-for-challenging-number-of-holocaust-victims/">pro-Palestinian narratives</a> without critique. Some reports featured subtle justification for the recent widespread <a href="http://bbcwatch.org/2014/07/06/bbcs-james-reynolds-reports-from-jerusalem/">Arab rioting</a>. Some lay blame at Israel’s door for any act of self-defence, and interpret motives in a fashion wholly <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/faux-fairness-at-the-new-york-times/">disconnected from obvious facts</a>.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The prejudicial narration of one RTE report</b></div>
<br />
A July 8<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2014/0708/20611646-israel-targets-hamas-militants-in-operation-protective-edge/#page=4">news report</a> by Niamh Nolan (or see from 7:48 found <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2014/0708/10301351-one-news/">here</a>) featured on Irish public service broadcaster RTE’s Lunchtime News (frequently repeated on RTE’s news channel), can be justifiably seen as one of the many recent examples of the mainstream media’s close observance of the pro-Palestinian narrative. The report shares a number of common features with that of the prejudicial coverage in other mainstream and international news sources. Below is a full transcript of Ms. Nolan’s two-minute report.<br />
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The air-strikes hit before dawn. The injured were rushed to hospitals in Gaza City. Palestinians say the rocket attacks injured as many as fifteen, including two women and a child.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
At one scene residents used the light from their mobile phones to search the rubble for their belongings.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Sunrise over Gaza, and the full scale of the damage is visible. This house, one of two flattened by the Israeli’s, was evacuated in time. This was Selem Selemi’s home, where he lived with his ten children. He says [English translation] “the army called after three AM and asked us to leave. Ten minutes after evacuating they attacked. The house is totally destroyed.”/”</blockquote>
<blockquote>
It’s hard to see past the destruction.</blockquote>
<div>
<blockquote>
Israel have stepped up their offensive against the Hamas militants in a campaign named Operation Protective Edge. Dozens of tanks and bulldozers have amassed along the border with Gaza, lined up in fields in a true show of force and determination.<br />
<br />
[Statement by Israeli official Mark Regev:] “Israel defence forces are currently acting to put an end to this once and for all. Our goal is to free the people of Israel from the threat of these incoming rockets.”<br />
<br />
Those rockets were fired into Southern Israel by militants in Gaza, enraged by the reported death of five of its forces in Sunday’s strikes.<br />
<br />
Hamas warns it will continue to hit targets in Israel unless the air-strikes stop. But the Israeli position has now moved into one of escalation rather than de-escalation.<br />
<br />
Niamh Nolan, RTE News.”</blockquote>
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>A distorted sequence of events</b></div>
<br />
Niamh Nolan’s report fails to mention Hamas’ rocket attacks, until the brief statement made by Mark Regev, more than half-way through the report. This is a substantive omission that skews the sequence of events, to present Israel as acting in a wholly aggressive fashion, without any provocation.<br />
<br />
The reporter worsens this inaccuracy by then claiming that Hamas had fired the aforementioned rockets at Israel after the Jewish State killed five of its terrorists, two days previously. This statement is misleading for two reasons. The group of five or six Hamas members <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-calls-up-troops-as-escalation-against-gaza-looms/">likely died handling explosives</a> in a tunnel designed to attack Israel. This incident was used by Hamas to justify stepping up attacks on Israel.<br />
<br />
Secondly, Israel had targeted Gaza due to persistent rocket barrages, which had gathered pace <a href="http://freebeacon.com/national-security/three-kidnapped-israeli-teens-found-dead-in-hebron/">since the kidnap of three Jewish Israeli teens</a> on June 12<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>, who were subsequently murdered, in all likelihood by Hamas operatives. None of this context is provided, despite the opportunity to do so in what was a relatively slow-moving report, which lingered on the damage Israel’s bombing raids caused in Gaza.<br />
<br />
The inaccuracy is further compounded by failing to mention the dramatic upturn in rocket attacks, to an almost unprecedented level. An 80 rocket barrage hit Israel within the space of a few hours, with no mention of <a href="http://anneinpt.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/massive-rocket-onslaught-on-israel/">the chaos it caused</a> to the populaces of Israeli towns nearest the Gaza border, where it effectively paralysed life.<br />
<br />
Notably, other popular news outlets have presented the same lopsided narrative. For example, the <a href="http://bbcwatch.org/2014/07/08/james-reynolds-tells-bbc-viewers-about-hamas-crudely-made-rockets/">BBC</a> and the <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=6&x_article=2748">New York Times</a> have both suggested Hamas is responding to Israeli attacks, rather than the other way around.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Escalation or proportionality?</b></div>
<br />
At the end of the report, after presenting Israel as the true aggressor, Nolan states that Israel is set on a course of “escalation rather than de-escalation”. Whilst Israel is stepping up its Gaza strikes, this view is not in keeping with the fact that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been open to compromise.<br />
<br />
Netanyahu has acted with relative restraint to the protracted rocket fire, for which he was <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/182572#.U73eAvki2o1">strongly criticised</a>. Israeli forces conducted a modest number of reprisals, until the dramatic increase of rocket attacks on Sunday last.<br />
<br />
Before the increase in military strikes, Netanyahu gave Hamas <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4537719,00.html">repeated opportunities</a> to scale back their assault on Israel:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Amidst increased rocket fire at the Israeli south and threats from Hamas to expand the range of rockets, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that if Gaza rocket fire stopped then Israel would also halt its actions.”</blockquote>
Last week, Netanyahu is also rumoured to have given Hamas a 48 hour deadline to stop the attacks, via an <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/07/03/hamas-threatens-as-rockets-wound-israelis-slam-into-summer-camp-nursery-video/">Egyptian intermediary</a>. Netanyahu’s reaction, prior to military actions on Sunday, was one of relative restraint, until it became clear Hamas’ rocket barrages would not desist.<br />
<br />
By contrast, Hamas <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/as-israel-grapples-with-homegrown-killers-violence-continues/">rejected</a> a de-escalation. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“This is not the time for quiet. We have a bank of various targets. An Iron Dome [Israeli missile defence system] will be needed in every Israeli home.”</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>The importance of images</b></div>
<br />
The report featured lingering images of the destruction of Gaza. The image-led narrative may possibly suggest that Nolan's narration followed a video sequence constructed by RTE's news production team.<br />
<br />
Tellingly, the report's imagery presents a rather overt dichotomy: for the Arab-Palestinian side, it is one of innocent suffering; for Israeli’s, it is intense militaristic aggression. The report focused on the destruction of Selem Selemi’s Gazan house — an appropriate human interest story, but there was no question of the reasons for Israel’s targeted attack, in which they chose to forewarn the residents.<br />
<br />
There have been a number of reported instances of Israel specifically targeting the homes of <a href="http://bbcwatch.org/2014/07/08/bbc-news-describing-hamas-command-control-centres-as-houses/">Hamas operatives</a>. Often, residents claim to be civilian but some of these stories can be discounted, along with the suggestion the homes did not store weapons or munitions. The Washington Post recounts one such <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israel-launches-major-operation-against-hamas-in-gaza-strip/2014/07/08/81874d52-067a-11e4-a0dd-f2b22a257353_story.html">incident</a> in the present conflict:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Ahmed Kawarea said he ran home when he heard about the first rocket. The second missile hit when he was in the stairwell on his way to the roof.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We are civilians,” he said. “We don’t have anyone who lives in the house who works in the resistance.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But neighbors suggested that one of the occupants was a member of the military wing of Hamas. Soon after the house was hit, a man pulled a sidearm out of his waistband and scurried into the gutted building, saying he had been sent to retrieve a laptop computer from the debris.”</blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMccEKE9v8zXvzQiH_5rphjDnkxgYNnyT6Da6_HemiHDkU7B1Ewg9vngYtixunRWgVg_Ff_VApdzSp4VKze29UVTP929HXt-o2qd3lzcS2AksFg-3cVQRJIJiG6bY4kqIyNU2t1uIPSZnX/s1600/Screen-grab+of+RTE+lunchtime+news+and+sports+bulletin+8-July-14+-+Arab-Palestinian+side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMccEKE9v8zXvzQiH_5rphjDnkxgYNnyT6Da6_HemiHDkU7B1Ewg9vngYtixunRWgVg_Ff_VApdzSp4VKze29UVTP929HXt-o2qd3lzcS2AksFg-3cVQRJIJiG6bY4kqIyNU2t1uIPSZnX/s1600/Screen-grab+of+RTE+lunchtime+news+and+sports+bulletin+8-July-14+-+Arab-Palestinian+side.jpg" height="195" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pr</i><i>es</i><i>entation of</i><i> sympathetic imagery of Arab-Palestinian circumstance</i><br />
<i>- Screen-grab of RTE lunchtime news </i><i>and sports</i><i> programme, 8<span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span> July 2014.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The RTE report presents the viewer with emotive images of a young girl looking past barbed wire, with the narrative line “it’s hard to see past the destruction”. Realistically, news reports that display some level of artistic licence, which draw the viewer into the story, are not necessarily a bad thing. However, with contentious news stories, an appropriate level of care is required.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2J6SSVo2TQn7MW8O_mFfOTR8r1xQrmdv8mvemgdrjTw7EkN5pvv5J0FxM6ECYee4sEglTR1QSMfsgL66ZsWbYNybSQ75qHBRrLB-EXBzsN67GCCVa_F1SceCiz6oudctz5_VLoMq2Wuj9/s1600/Screen-grab+of+RTE+lunchtime+news+and+sports+bulletin+8-July-14+-+Israeli+side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2J6SSVo2TQn7MW8O_mFfOTR8r1xQrmdv8mvemgdrjTw7EkN5pvv5J0FxM6ECYee4sEglTR1QSMfsgL66ZsWbYNybSQ75qHBRrLB-EXBzsN67GCCVa_F1SceCiz6oudctz5_VLoMq2Wuj9/s1600/Screen-grab+of+RTE+lunchtime+news+and+sports+bulletin+8-July-14+-+Israeli+side.jpg" height="195" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>R</i><i>ecurring p</i><i>r</i><i>es</i><i>entation of</i><i> unsympathetic imagery of Israeli circumstanc</i><i>e</i><i> -</i><br />
<i>Screen-grab of RTE lunchtime news and sports </i><i>programme,</i><i> 8<span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span> July 2014</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In this instance, there was no corresponding footage of attacks in Israel, except a few seconds of ambiguous footage of a field on fire, shown after video of a regimented line of IDF bulldozers.<br />
<br />
Despite <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4539617,00.html">many</a> applicable <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/07/03/hamas-threatens-as-rockets-wound-israelis-slam-into-summer-camp-nursery-video/">examples</a>, there was no corresponding human interest angle presented of the Israeli side.<br />
<br />
The report’s references to non-specific Israeli “targets” that Hamas wish to hit, further emphasises its divergent treatment of both populaces, since these targets are solely civilian – Israeli towns and cities. The report’s oddly depersonalised treatment of this issue is particularly noteworthy since the terrorist group has recently <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-calls-up-troops-as-escalation-against-gaza-looms/">stepped up</a> its rhetoric, with boasts of targeting civilians, in a further effort to intimidate.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<b></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><b>Broader ethical issues in RTE coverage (</b><span style="text-align: start;">12</span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">th </span><span style="text-align: start;">July update)</span></b><br />
<b><b><br /></b></b></div>
<b>
</b>
Other RTE reports have been more balanced in their coverage but a variety of their reports nonetheless downplay the <a href="http://m.rte.ie/news/touch//2014/0708/629210-gaza-israel/">impact of rocket fire</a> despite Hamas’ long range rockets reaching as far as <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Iron-Dome-intercepts-second-rocket-over-greater-Tel-Aviv-361994">Jerusalem and Tel Aviv</a>, Israel’s Iron Dome defence system at times limited in its capacity to intercept the large number of projectiles.<br />
<br />
Hamas use both <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTArVIHDelg">involuntary and voluntary human shields</a>, as evident in footage from recent air strikes, and <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/frustrated-hamas-seeks-a-quality-terrorist-attack/">reports from Gaza</a> itself. The resultant effect of voluntarily taking part in a conflict, by assisting one side’s objectives, represents the most fundamental feature of belligerency as distinct from that of civilian categories. However, such individuals tend to be classified as civilian by media institutions generally, with RTE failing to ever mention that there have been numerous reports of the application of such strategies, on the part of Hamas, whilst omitting from coverage <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/11/numbers-don-t-tell-the-mideast-story.html">the fact</a> that Israel forewarns civilian areas of impending strikes.<br />
<br />
Problems of methodology arise with the reportage of casualties. RTE’s news programmes frequently repeat headlines throughout an allotted time-slot. With the present conflict, these segments habitually refer to death tolls. Such references are appropriate but they do not distinguish between the death of militants and those of other groupings. This form of reportage is politically leading for several reasons. <i>Palestinian</i> narratives markedly conflate such categories in missives concerning death tolls, and have used misleading imagery of civilian suffering in a persistent fashion. The present conflict is proving to be <a href="https://twitter.com/grasswirefacts">no exception</a> in this regard. It constitutes conflict propaganda.<br />
<br />
Similarly, RTE tends to lead in its reports with figures of overall Arab-Palestinian casualties. Its recent reports assert that no casualties on the Israeli side have been reported. For example, Joan O’Sullivan’s Lunchtime News report (<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2014/0709/20612257-israel-continues-its-aerial-bombardment-of-gaza/">July 9<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></a>) stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“No injuries have so far been reported as a result of the rocket attacks.”</blockquote>
O’Sullivan, in an otherwise quite balanced report, may be making this assertion with respect to the given day of the report but it is unclear, as on other occasions (<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2014/0710/20614730-palestinian-medics-say-death-toll-from-israeli-airstrikes-has-reached-80/">Carole Coleman, 6.1 News report, July 10<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></a>). Such assertions, without clear contextualisation, will inadvertently reinforce notions that Israel’s response is disproportionate, even though their stated aim is to simply silence rocket attacks on their towns and cities. There have been a modest number of reports of injury, both physical and Mental, as a consequence of the rocket barrages. For example, on the 7<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> it was reported that a <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/182624#.U705xZRdWSp">woman and child</a> from the town of Askelon were being treated for shrapnel injuries, with others suffering mental distress.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJOZnJ_hqnIUwVHZ-XSbSndu1op4SyfkwiXsstRWM2de6yytNk0Bkm_hfUMjuD6AYjfpj1IiVI3_Eg5bgDjqEHyPWX_H5w59uBPXbojYtlnky50t2aSBBs_jp53GB14owLkZ8VHiSWdmp/s1600/Screen-grab+RTE+Player+%2527News+with+Signing%2527+10-July-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJOZnJ_hqnIUwVHZ-XSbSndu1op4SyfkwiXsstRWM2de6yytNk0Bkm_hfUMjuD6AYjfpj1IiVI3_Eg5bgDjqEHyPWX_H5w59uBPXbojYtlnky50t2aSBBs_jp53GB14owLkZ8VHiSWdmp/s1600/Screen-grab+RTE+Player+%2527News+with+Signing%2527+10-July-14.jpg" height="195" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Screen-grab of RTE '</span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">News with Signing'</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> programme, 10</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">July 2014.</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></div>
RTE’s July 10th News with Signing (AKA ‘News for the Deaf’) text-based bulletin (<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/nuacht-and-news-with-signing/2014/0710/">see at 9:30</a>) stated:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The UN Secretary General has warned that the situation in the Middle East is on a knife edge. He said that the region cannot afford another full blown war and has urged Israeli and Palestinian militants to end hostilities.”</blockquote>
As with many other news outlets, it is problematic for RTE to consistently describe Hamas as “militants”, when the EU, of which Ireland is a full member state, recognises the group as a terrorist entity. However, the phrase “Israeli and Palestinian militants”, wording that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon does not appear to have used personally in the statement so described in the <a href="http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=7852">News with Signing report</a>, negates not only the Israeli Defense Forces’ sovereign status, it also represents a rather extraordinary degree of moral relativism, in view of <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/The-current-conflict-between-Israel-and-Hamas-shatters-myths-362327">Hamas’ “dead baby strategy”</a>, which was publicly reaffirmed by Hamas Spokesman <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ6S0-o3uFI">Sami Abu Zuhri</a> this week.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>“Obsession, Exclusion and Double Standards – the Points of Prejudice in the Coverage of an Emergent Third Intifada” discusses <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.ie/2014/07/obsession-exclusion-and-double.html">another example</a> of RTE’s coverage of the conflict.</i><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Also published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/problematic-media-coverage-of-operation-protective-edge/israel/2014/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-11822785974304239212014-07-06T23:57:00.000+01:002014-07-07T00:34:54.704+01:00Obsession, Exclusion and Double Standards – the points of prejudice in the Coverage of an emergent Third Intifada<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmsZqFszsYOyO6_ZocuJ_IkBkWZzdLSXxhw2gbUxCvWXSn87IzN8AVbBzJTkk2y4Z_d_JM21Ai6pZvN9S_V9WKu9JGrSLj1GYNcbf3rSQ3ZYTPIK2K44lQ-FnOfbtDOcCwAstqmjXZwNM/s1600/Screen-grab+of+RTE+lunchtime+news+and+sports+bulletin+6-July-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmsZqFszsYOyO6_ZocuJ_IkBkWZzdLSXxhw2gbUxCvWXSn87IzN8AVbBzJTkk2y4Z_d_JM21Ai6pZvN9S_V9WKu9JGrSLj1GYNcbf3rSQ3ZYTPIK2K44lQ-FnOfbtDOcCwAstqmjXZwNM/s1600/Screen-grab+of+RTE+lunchtime+news+and+sports+bulletin+6-July-14.jpg" height="195" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Screen-grab of RTE lunchtime news and sports bulletin, 6</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> July 2014</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>RTE’s obsession and exclusion</b></div>
<br />
On July 6<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> 2014, Ireland’s public service broadcaster, RTÉ, broadcast a Sunday <a href="http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10300690">lunchtime news programme</a> (repeated cyclically on the RTE News Channel) featuring a report on the alleged beating of an Arab-Palestinian teenager, Tariq Khdeir, who possesses US nationality.<br />
<br />
At two minutes, the length of the report was unusual because the entire Sunday lunchtime news and sports bulletin lasts only five minutes by convention. Indeed, the story of the beating came after the 45 second opening report on an exclusive interview with Richard Bruton, an Irish government minister. The story of the alleged beating was then followed by a 15 to 20 second slot on the murder of twenty-nine Kenyans <a href="http://www.newstalk.ie/29-killed-in-Kenyan-terrorist-attacks">in two terrorist incidents</a>, and a shorter mention of a major parachuting accident in Poland that led to eleven deaths! The bizarre length of the feature represents a not-uncommon media obsessiveness with negative stories coming out of Israel, which trump far more significant stories from other parts of the globe, both near and far.<br />
<br />
In RTE’s favour, the news report did acknowledge that Hamas neither confirmed nor denied that they were responsible for the kidnapping of three Jewish Israeli teens on June 12<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> 2014, after the state broadcaster had falsely stated in the previous reports that Hamas denied any involvement in the kidnapping.<br />
<br />
However, RTE failed to include any response from Israel, after featuring a lengthy comment from the son’s mother. Whilst displaying the video of the beating, it failed to give anything but passing reference to the <a href="http://anneinpt.wordpress.com/2014/07/06/israel-burns-and-bibi-dithers/">days of violence</a> visited by <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07/02/palestinians-clash-with-israeli-police-after-body-is-found/">masked “protesters”</a>, upon Israeli citizens, of which Tariq Khdeir was likely one such rioter.<br />
<br />
RTE consistently favours <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/rte-s-error-laden-coverage-of-ariel-sharon-s-death/israel/2014/">Arab-Palestinian narratives</a> in its news reports. Regrettably, there seems little prospect of improvement.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpAGLcqGnHJWVLfCZitvQfLyZaw9qFp9qjLIAJGSmTraudSB7_Ix4iwThJ1KEqMuoz8Z2yPa0ZAniocLvjSx4_ZFVLfYRZoMdmd2BQsPZE2NY7LzQg_u8yEhEd0AnT2xbz4K6W1yTCjs2/s1600/Masked+Arab-Palestinian+rioters+with+catapult+hjk7268192374564738234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpAGLcqGnHJWVLfCZitvQfLyZaw9qFp9qjLIAJGSmTraudSB7_Ix4iwThJ1KEqMuoz8Z2yPa0ZAniocLvjSx4_ZFVLfYRZoMdmd2BQsPZE2NY7LzQg_u8yEhEd0AnT2xbz4K6W1yTCjs2/s1600/Masked+Arab-Palestinian+rioters+with+catapult+hjk7268192374564738234.jpg" height="193" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Masked Arab-Palestinian rioters with catapult</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Double standards</b></div>
<br />
With RTE, and other news outlets, there has been a very notable trend in featuring almost generic reports of Arab rioting, since it gathered pace with the killing of Muhammad Abu Khdeir on July 2<span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span>.<br />
<br />
The conflict is presented, by the media, as constituting “running battles” between Israeli security forces and Arab rioters. Absent is <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/israelis-attacked-car-set-on-fire-during-riots-in-arab-israeli-towns">any proper mention</a> of Israeli civilian casualties, further <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/arab-attacks-expand-to-jewish-neighborhoods-kidnapping-averted/2014/07/06/">attempted Jewish kidnappings</a>, and <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/arabs-again-torch-josephs-tomb/2014/07/06/">attacks on numerous religious sites</a>. Even the United Nations has not escaped the <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/arabs-torch-un-car-try-to-blow-up-building/2014/07/06/">ire of rioters</a>, despite its long-standing support for Palestinianism.<br />
<br />
Remarkably, the murder of Arab-Palestinian youth, Mohammed Abu Khdeir, has been <a href="http://elderofziyon.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/we-dont-know-anything-but-heres-what-we.html">baselessly blamed</a> on the Israeli state by some elements in the mainstream media. It perhaps stands as an implicit justification for the missile attacks from Gaza, and remorseless rioting directed against the Israeli security services.<br />
<br />
The mainstream media has comprehensively ignored <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2014/06/wheres_the_coverage_official_p.html">mass Arab-Palestinian support</a> for the kidnapping of the three Jewish teens: Eyal Yifrach, Gil-ad Shaar and Naftali Fraenkel. The overt <a href="http://pamelageller.com/2014/06/obamas-peace-partner-fatah-posts-cartoon-mocking-kidnapped-teens-rats.html/">racial motifs of Palestinian Authority support</a> was also ignored. Likewise, the media <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/181891#.U7l7cZRdWSo">minimised Hamas’ praise</a> of the abduction, after falsely reporting that Hamas had <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Mashaal-applauds-kidnapping-of-Israelis-but-says-Hamas-has-no-information-360320">denied involvement</a> in the kidnapping.<br />
<br />
Further subtle justification could be found in the not infrequent media claims that the kidnap victims <a href="http://cifwatch.com/2014/06/15/guardian-refers-to-israelis-kidnapped-by-terrorists-as-teenage-settlers/">were all settlers</a> when in fact only one lived in a Jewish settlement.<br />
<br />
As <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/arrest.html">news emerges of the arrest</a> of six Jewish youths for the murder of Abu Khdeir, news has simultaneously surfaced that an <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/182564#.U7lrm5RdWSp">Arab-Palestinian taxi driver has confessed to the murder of a 19 year old woman</a>, Jewish Israeli national Shelly Dadon, for what is believed to be nationalistic reasons. This confession has received little or no coverage outside of Israel itself.<br />
<br />
Similarly, there has been no noticeable mainstream media coverage of the <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/jewish-woman-found-murdered/2014/07/04/">murder of a 60 year old Jewish woman</a>. Her body was found in a parking lot in Pisgat Ze’ev, a Jerusalem neighbourhood, after a violent Arab riot occurred in the area, where chants of “kill the Jews” were reported.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>With friends like these…</b></div>
<br />
Unfortunately, Israel’s ally, the United States has also contributed to this double standard. When reports of the alleged beating of US national Tariq Khdeir emerged, US State Department spokeswoman <a href="http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Justice-Ministry-opening-probe-into-alleged-police-beating-of-Arab-American-teen-361597">Jen Psaki stated</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We are profoundly troubled by reports that he was severely beaten while in police custody and strongly condemn any excessive use of force. We are calling for a speedy, transparent and credible investigation and full accountability for any excessive use of force.”</blockquote>
The statement stands in rather stark contrast to the United States’ oddly <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/181908#.U7lEiJRdWSo">weak response</a> to the kidnapping one of the three Israeli’ teens, Naftali Frenkel, who also happened to be a US citizen. Rather than speak up clearly and loudly for this victim, who faced a considerably graver circumstance than Tariq Khdeir, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki instead chose to call for “restraint” on both sides:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We recognize this is an incredibly sensitive and difficult circumstance on the ground, and we feel all sides should exercise restraint”</blockquote>
Such commentary echoes the attempts by news outlets, such as the New York Times, to <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/new-york-times-israeli-rescue-attempts-destabilize-relations-with-palestinians/">place blame</a> on Israel for attempting to rescue the kidnapped teens, since efforts to do so might destabilise relations with the Palestinian Authority and worsen conflict with Hamas.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Endemic racism</b></div>
<br />
The <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/06/30/the-shocking-comment-from-the-mother-of-one-of-the-prime-suspects-in-israeli-teen-abduction-case/">mother of one of the prime suspects</a>, in the kidnapping and murder of the three Jewish teens, denied her son was involved, but nonetheless expressed pride should he have committed the act:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“If he did the kidnapping I’ll be proud of him,” she said. “I raised my children on the knees of the (Islamic) religion, they are religious guys, honest and clean-handed, and their goal is to bring the victory of Islam”</blockquote>
Her statement is redolent of the praise lavished upon the Nazi SS — cleanliness, obedience and duty. It stands as further evidence that the Arab-Israel conflict concerns religion rather than the supposed deprivation of land, constituting the reason Yasser Arafat walked out of the Camp David talks. A peace plan including shared sovereignty of Haram al Sharif/Temple Mount with the Jewish State could not be tolerated, despite the favourable concessions to almost all Arab-Palestinian territorial demands.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, the stark dichotomy, whereby Arab-Palestinians celebrate the kidnap and murder of three Jewish teenagers, whilst using the tragic murder of an Arab-Palestinian youth as an excuse to initiate a Third Intifada, demonstrates starkly the abiding racism of Arab-Palestinian society.<br />
<br />
Humanity is by definition a universal concept, but to Arab-Palestinian society that humanity would seem to exclude the Jewish people. Many within Jewish-Israeli society <a href="https://twitter.com/Yair_Rosenberg/status/484415654083051520/photo/1">rightly protested</a> the probable revenge killing of Muhammad Abu Khdeir whilst Mohammad Zoabi, an Arab-Israeli teen, one of the few to express solidarity with the kidnap victims, was <a href="http://www.thetower.org/0546-israeli-arab-teen-threatened-for-supporting-kidnapped-teens/">gravely threatened</a> by his adult relatives, and mother. Meanwhile, his relative, Knesset member of parliament Hanin Zoabi, sympathised with the kidnappers, and Hamas.<br />
<br />
Regrettably, prejudicial diplomacy, and wholly biased media coverage, continues to reinforce this appalling double-standard. It fuels an ancient genocidal hatred, rather than helping to confront it.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/obsession-exclusion-and-double-standards-prejudice-diplomacy-media-third-intifada/israel/2014/">Crethi Pleth</a>.</i></div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-70571769625790766622014-06-01T01:10:00.001+01:002014-06-01T01:23:45.683+01:00A Betrayal of Both Christians and Jews: Pope Francis’ Visit to the “State of Palestine”<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTjEEw2lAg6a5koDYVOXaz3JxcukMfNWKinB8CWYm4yi77fNghWbFqQdGb_1x1zBZt2zZhnH-6G2lNAMPg7-Q_QvAVhlSBZfIriw8dyd4ZBa3lVPhq4yoHFOR4Xzw1vmV6AHlAc-F6P6NV/s1600/pope_wall_twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTjEEw2lAg6a5koDYVOXaz3JxcukMfNWKinB8CWYm4yi77fNghWbFqQdGb_1x1zBZt2zZhnH-6G2lNAMPg7-Q_QvAVhlSBZfIriw8dyd4ZBa3lVPhq4yoHFOR4Xzw1vmV6AHlAc-F6P6NV/s1600/pope_wall_twitter.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pope Francis at the security barrier in Bethlehem, 25</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">th</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> May 2014 (MaanImages).</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
During Pope Francis’ May 25<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>/26<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> visit to Israel, and the territory administered by the Palestinian Authority (PA), he <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-25/pope-francis-visits-israel-west-bank-amid-heightened-security.html">called for a “state of Palestine”</a> to be fully established.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>A diplomatic shift</b></div>
<br />
In contrast to his predecessors, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John-Paul II, the current pontiff displayed a notable degree of support for the Arab-Palestinian cause, with a number of significant gestures.<br />
<br />
Last month, Pope Francis broke with tradition by announcing the decision to hold the principle prayer service of the visit in the PA administered town of Bethlehem, rather than that of Jerusalem, and, notably, in the presence of President Mahmoud Abbas. Likewise, travelling to Bethlehem from Jordan was deemed a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/pope-lands-in-bethlehem-nod-to-palestinian-state/2014/05/25/f622f9f6-e3d2-11e3-9442-54189bf1a809_story.html">diplomatic coup for the PA</a>.<br />
<br />
Pope Francis addressed Mahmoud Abbas, in <a href="http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=63902">his speech</a> at the Palestinian Authority’s ‘presidential palace’ in Bethlehem:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: left;">
"Mr President, you are known as a man of peace and a peacemaker. Our recent meeting in the Vatican and my presence today in Palestine attest to the good relations existing between the Holy See and the State of Palestine. I trust that these relations can further develop for the good of all."</blockquote>
Pope Francis’ description of Abbas as a “man of peace” was notable, in view of the Palestinian Authority’s problematic role in the peace-process, in which they appear to have planned a series of <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-official-palestinians-purposely-stymied-talks/">unilateral moves</a>, with the intention of undermining the negotiation frameworks, and having reconciled with <a href="http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/62788">Hamas</a>, an entity still dedicated to Israel’s <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4324/hamas-unity-terrorism-west-bank">annihilation</a> by means of terrorism.<br />
<br />
If the pontiff’s speech can be interpreted in diplomatic terms, his use of conciliatory language toward the Palestinian Authority, contrasts with a degree of criticism aimed at Israel. He may lay blame at the door of Israel for the failure of the recent US-sponsored peace process. He repeated his support for “the right of the Palestinian people to a sovereign homeland,” when he met Israeli President Shimon Peres, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, during the subsequent Israeli leg of his journey.<br />
<br />
Pope Francis did not direct demands of a similar nature at Mahmoud Abbas. For example, an equivalent request for Arab-Palestinians to afford recognition of Israel as a principally Jewish state, as per the established approach of "two states for two peoples," was not forthcoming.<br />
<br />
Whilst Pope Francis acknowledged the need for Israel to live in security, he described this desirable condition as necessarily being “within internationally recognised borders,” a diplomatic code for a call on Israel to retreat to its 1949-67 Armistice Lines, known as the “Auschwitz Borders,” a term <a href="http://www.mefacts.com/outgoing.asp?x_id=10191">coined by Abba Eban</a>, due to their near-indefensibly.<br />
<br />
Pope Francis went further by inviting both Abbas and Shimon Peres to the Vatican for a meeting. Such a move was surprising, since Peres’ role as president is largely ceremonial, having little to do with the peace process. It would have been more meaningful to invite Netanyahu but Abbas would have likely refused, given his notable reluctance to talk peace. In view of Peres’ <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Fundamentally-Fruend-Shimons-balderdash-314553">softer stance on Palestinianism</a>, extending an invite to this politician could possibly serve as a useful propaganda initiative for Abbas.<br />
<br />
In what was a carefully choreographed visit, an invite excluding Netanyahu may also be construed as a sharp diplomatic snub to both the politician himself and the government that he leads.<br />
<br />
Pope Francis’ diplomatic moves lend substantive credence to a report from December 2013, in which it was <a href="http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/15214/popes-upcoming-visit-israeli-security-high-alert">stated</a> that Abbas requested the Pope show diplomatic favour to the Arab-Palestinian cause during his visit. Clearly the Vatican’s promise of a religious politically non-partisan visit was never a realistic prospect.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>A soft stance on terrorism</b></div>
<br />
Pope Francis’ reputedly <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-25/pope-francis-visits-israel-west-bank-amid-heightened-security.html">unscheduled visit</a> to the walled area of the barrier fence in Bethlehem, which divides much of Judea and Samaria (AKA the ‘West Bank’) from the rest of Israel, drew substantive international attention. To quote the Bloomberg news agency:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The pontiff leaned his head against a section of the barrier, which had “Free Palestine” and “Apartheid Wall” spray-painted on it and was located near an Israeli military watchtower."</blockquote>
In a carefully planned visit, this prayer at such a politically photogenic location was a surprisingly strong signal of the Vatican’s support for the Arab-Palestinian cause. The Security Barrier is a widely used anti-Israel <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4117/st-james-church-bethlehem-unwrapped">propaganda motif</a>, one that is commonly directed at Christian audiences.<br />
<br />
Arutz Sheva <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/181001#.U4NP43JdWSp">reported</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
'The pope also paused for several moments in front of a graffiti on the security wall in Bethlehem, bowing his head in prayer in front of a message proclaiming, "Pope we need to see someone to speak about justice. Bethlehem look like Warsaw ghetto. Free Palestine."'</blockquote>
Although one representative claimed the Pope’s prayer at the wall was an unplanned “personal decision,” the move was very much in keeping with the intentionally strong pro-Palestinian tone of the visit. The charged political significance of the act was likely known to both the Pope and the Vatican.<br />
<br />
Despite the Pope’s subsequent criticism of the Holocaust, during his visit to the Yad Vashem Museum, his willingness to pray beside a propagandistically lucrative message, equivocating Bethlehem with the <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/05/25/pope-prays-before-slogan-comparing-bethlehem-to-warsaw-ghetto-jewish-group-calls-for-reflection-at-yad-vashem/">Warsaw Ghetto</a>, is deeply troubling.<br />
<br />
Israel's security barrier was largely responsible for stopping the Second Intifada, in which terrorists used areas, such as Bethlehem, to cross into Israel. The Intifada led to the death of <a href="http://jcpa.org/article/the-strategic-logic-of-israels-security-barrier/">1,148 Israelis</a> the great majority of which were Jewish civilians, along with many thousands of other less fatal casualties, including 6,000 wounded in nearby Jerusalem. The rate of killing decreased dramatically after the erection of the security barrier – <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/fence.html">a fact even terrorists themselves conceded</a>.<br />
<br />
Thus, such a gesture was particularly insensitive, coming just a day after two Israeli civilians were gunned down in an anti-Semitic <a href="http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_direct_link.cfm/blog_id/54165">terrorist incident in Belgium</a>.<br />
<br />
In retrospect, the portents leading to the <a href="http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/131773-vatican-defends-palestinian-sovereignty-ahead-of-papal-visit">Pope’s gesture</a> were significant. Ahead of the Papal visit, Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, argued that:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"On the one hand, Israel's right to exist in peace and security within internationally recognized boundaries. And the Palestinian people's right to have a homeland, sovereign and independent, the right to move around freely, the right to live in dignity."</blockquote>
The strength of this stance, with its emphasis on Arab-Palestinian rights, is notable. Parolin criticised Israel even within his assertion of the Jewish State’s right to a secure existence. It would seem Israel only has a right to a peaceful existence within some normative concept of “internationally recognized boundaries.” This can be construed as an indirect legitimisation of terrorism, both past and present.<br />
<br />
Thus, the Vatican’s position was not one of balance, as presented, but rather a hierarchy of rights. One right (Palestinian statehood) is more important than that of the opposing need (safety of Jewish civilians). Ahead of the visit, the Vatican’s programme <a href="http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/131773-vatican-defends-palestinian-sovereignty-ahead-of-papal-visit">described Mahmoud Abbas as the president</a> of the “State of Palestine,” thereby demonstrating what little regard the Vatican has toward the negotiation of statehood in exchange for an authentic peace.<br />
<br />
During his visit, the Pope condemned vandalism reputedly caused by Jewish settlers, while making no reference to <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=35&x_article=2132">the more lethal violence</a> visited upon these people. A close friend of the Pontiff asserted that he wished to cast himself as the “<a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/177110#.U4i0tHJdWSo">Che Guevera of the Palestinians</a>,” and would support their “struggle” during his visit. Che Guevera was <a href="http://terrorism.about.com/od/groupsleader1/ig/Terrorists-in-their-Own-Words/Ernesto--Che--Guevara.htm">a noted terrorist</a>, who sought a nuclear confrontation at the Bay of Pigs.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Opportunities for incitement</b></div>
<br />
Notably, the papal visit was used to illicit very familiar hate motifs. According to Arutz Sheva, Abbas <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/181001#.U4Ncg3JdWSo">accused Israel</a> of:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"… systematically acting to change [Jerusalem's] identity and character, and strangling the Palestinians, both Christians and Muslims, with the aim of pushing them out."</blockquote>
Such a charge <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/abbas-arab-mks-incite-against-israel-in-qatar/2012/02/26/0/?print">constitutes incitement</a>, its theme associated with common allegations that Israel is trying to take over the Temple Mount, an accusation which is often met with lethal violence.<br />
<br />
The Pope was also <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/05/25/outcry-as-palestinians-present-doctored-christianpaintings-on-papal-route/">presented with reproductions</a> of great European works of art, largely with Christian themes, albeit crassly modified for the purposes of Arab-Palestinian propaganda. Christian themed incitement featured, with Jesus yet again <a href="http://elderofziyon.blogspot.ie/2012/11/pa-tv-jesus-was-palestinian-first-shahid.html">being presented</a> as an Arab-Palestinian Shahid or martyr, with its overt terrorist connotations. One of the <a href="http://cifwatch.com/2014/05/25/jesus-as-a-suffering-palestinian-guardian-yawns-at-pas-evocation-of-antisemitic-theme/">works at the exhibit</a>, based upon Raphael’s The Deposition (1507), evoked the old Christian belief that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus, a notion that was used historically to justify genocidal anti-Semitic violence. However, the dead Jesus being carried to his tomb was substituted with that of the corpse of an Arab-Palestinian.<br />
<br />
Likewise, Abbas asserted, in the Pontiff’s presence, that the murder of Israeli citizens by Arab-Palestinians <a href="http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=63902">should not be deemed a punishable crime</a>, a remarkable statement that he has made on <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/04/moderate-abbas-palestinians-who-murder-jews-cannot-be-punished">previous occasions</a>.<br />
<br />
In such a context, the Pope’s vocal support for Abbas at the very same platform, and his dramatic, and potentially historic, gesture at the security barrier, could well develop into a deep diplomatic wedge between Israel and the Vatican, after the improvements brought about with Pope John-Paul II’s <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/jp.html">historic visit</a> in 2000. The following day, an unscheduled visit at a<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0526/619652-pope-jerusalem-visit/">memorial for Israeli civilians murdered</a> by terrorists, was seen as a placatory gesture aimed at the Israeli government.<br />
<br />
However, the final day of the Pontiff’s visit was also <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/05/22/u-k-silent-on-popes-meeting-with-mufti-who-wants-to-kill-jews/">tainted by his meeting</a> with Grand Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, on the Temple Mount. Two years ago, the Mufti preached that Muslims are destined to kill Jews. He also said that the souls of suicide bombers “tell us to follow in their path.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Arab-Palestinian Christians</b></div>
<br />
President Mahmoud Abbas took the opportunity to use the visit to criticise Israel for the plight of Arab-Palestinian Christians, blaming the Jewish State for their emigration from the area in more recent times.<br />
<br />
As would be expected, Abbas made no mention of religious persecution being a substantive cause for the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-423126/O-Muslim-town-Bethlehem-.html">exodus of Christians</a> from Bethlehem, and other areas administered by the Palestinian Authority. Conditions for Christians <a href="http://www.sullivan-county.com/id4/christian_arabs.htm">worsened</a> soon after the PA gained control of the region, under the 1995 Oslo II Accords. In 1997 the PLO evicted monks and nuns from a noted monastery in Hebron, intimidated Christian converts, and opened fire on a group in the Christian town of Beit Sahur. Most recently, on the 6th of May 2014, a Muslim mob <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/05/bethlehem-one-stabbed-as-muslim-mob-storms-and-stones-church">stoned Christians at a church</a> in Bethlehem, during their annual celebration of the feast of St. George, their patron saint.<br />
<br />
Perhaps the violent occupation and desecration of Bethlehem’s famous Church of the Nativity, by over a hundred PLO/PA terrorists <a href="http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp490.htm">during the Second Intifada</a>, represents the most infamous incident to date, for these aggressors <a href="http://www.wnd.com/2007/10/43794/">used the site</a> to defame Israel internationally. Up to sixty monks, nuns and priests were held hostage by the PLO but Yasser Arafat, the then leader of the PA and PLO, successfully presented the Jewish State as an aggressor against the Christian community, when the IDF made efforts to extract the terrorists from the site. It was an example of the PLO’s use of Christian areas to aggress against Israeli civilians, <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/1059#.U4SeqnJdWSo">full in the knowledge</a> that IDF military operations would have to be conducted in these areas to suppress insurgent activity.<br />
<br />
The security barrier put an end to the use of Bethlehem as a base for terrorist strikes. Beit Jalla, a neighbouring Christian enclave, was also used for sniper attacks upon civilian residents of the Jewish neighbourhood of Gilo. Yet Pope Francis attacked the very presence of a structure that played a vital role in creating a safer environment for Christians. Thus, his move was a betrayal of Christian interests.<br />
<br />
Pope Francis, not only remained silent about the persecution of Christians, he inverted reality <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/180978#.U4NIG3JdWSo">by stating</a> their contribution was “significant and valued” despite being a religious minority in the region. The statement may be deemed troublingly uninformed, in view of substantive Christian oppression in the Islamic Middle East today.<br />
<br />
Pope Francis’ Bethlehem wall of prayer conduct sharply counteracts the controversial widely discussed <a href="http://http//www.algemeiner.com/2014/05/04/bethlehem-native-christy-anastas-voices-strong-support-for-israels-security-barrier-video/">views of Christy Anastas</a>, a Christian native of Bethlehem, who spoke out strongly in favour of Israel’s security barrier. Her expressed opinions led to an intensive <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2014/04/emmaus_group_responds_to_intim.html">campaign of intimidation</a> and boycott against her family, who are still living in the area. The irony of this intimidation is stark, in view of the fact that her parents have long campaigned against Israel at international forums.<br />
<br />
The treatment of the Anastas family is representative of the <a href="http://jcpa.org/article/palestinian-crimes-against-christian-arabs-and-their-manipulation-against-israel/">deteriorating conditions for Christians</a> in the region, where there is considerable pressure for them to toe-the-line politically, against Zionism. Such discriminatory pressure is often exerted by officials within the Palestinian Authority itself.<br />
<br />
If the plight of the Christians of the region has a substantive moral lesson, it would likely be that they cannot appease their present-day Islamist neighbours sufficiently. Attacking Israel, whilst staying silent on their own ill-treatment, is ultimately not enough to obtain peaceable co-existence in the Middle East.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, Pope Francis’ actions will likely serve to undermine the importance of <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=118&x_article=2224">independent voices</a>, like Anastas and other Arab-Palestinian Christians. It stands as a double-wrong to not only maintain silence on an issue that needs to be addressed desperately, but to actively assist those who are involved in perpetuating an almost universally accepted narrative that fabricates the major cause of the deteriorating conditions of the people he represents, in spirit if not always in actuality due to the great diversity of Christian denominations. Moreover, the very actors he assists are also substantively responsible for directly causing the very conditions of intolerance that so harms those the Pontiff purports to represent. These actions serve the propagandistic efforts of those that not only care little for the welfare of this struggling community, they benefit greatly from a news black-out on its oppression.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Also published at the <a href="http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/162252/sec_id/162252">New English Review</a>.</i></div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-73449399460908232472014-05-10T13:51:00.000+01:002014-05-10T16:13:30.049+01:00Revisiting Jewish and Islamic Oppression during the Spanish Inquisition<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcybNzQ0X_fPMO_jFXGiYnKHnxJ6oCpdXNwTZ03stj9uCAWkEM9shNZlZbFRUvW58CfRTNALJUU1Z3Mfev24tj8ixCRSpklkF2BRCxwKQhGd4Xe6ae2PBlZo2VmvA-Bqcp9QhJJqoqPsB/s1600/spanish_Inquisition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcybNzQ0X_fPMO_jFXGiYnKHnxJ6oCpdXNwTZ03stj9uCAWkEM9shNZlZbFRUvW58CfRTNALJUU1Z3Mfev24tj8ixCRSpklkF2BRCxwKQhGd4Xe6ae2PBlZo2VmvA-Bqcp9QhJJqoqPsB/s1600/spanish_Inquisition.jpg" height="252" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Spanish Inquisition, source: Jewishcurrents.com</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div>
The Spanish Inquisition was a time when <a href="http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/secrets-of-the-spanish-inquisition-revealed">considerable horror</a> was visited upon the Jewish people of Spain, which subsequently spread to Portugal, one for which the <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/sephardic-jews-charmed-by-spanish-citizenship-offer/">authorities of both nations wish to make amends</a>, even if in a belatedly tokenistic fashion.<br />
<br />
Commentators, such as <a href="http://anneinpt.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/fisking-fisk-why-spain-didnt-invite-the-muslims-back-too/">Robert Fisk</a>, have taken issue with this offer of citizenship. Rather than welcoming the development, and using it to recommend that this legislation be extended to Muslims, it is framed as a pretext to suggest that lack of inclusion for Muslims is in some respect Islamophobic.<br />
<br />
Likewise, when word of the plan spread a decade ago, Islamic groups began to demand Spanish citizenship for millions of the Muslim descendants, of the 325,000 expelled by the Spanish authorities in the early 17<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> Century, despite the fact that expulsion played a central role in the rapid expansion of the Islamic world itself.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>"Fisking" history</b></div>
<br />
Notably, Fisk white-washes the <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2010/08/23/CNN-Falsifies-History-of-Muslim-Domination-of-Spain--Shills-for-Islam">Moorish “Golden Age”</a>, in which Jews, Muslims and Christians supposedly lived in a tolerant environment. Fisk states:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: left;">
“The year of darkness, of course, was 1492, when the Moorish kingdom of Granada surrendered to Ferdinand and Isabella. Christian power was restored to the lands in which Muslims and Jews had lived together for hundreds of years and had rescued some of the great works of classical literature — by way of Baghdad — for us to study. Save for those who converted to Christianity or died at the stake — at least 1,000 Jews, perhaps as many as 10,000, among them — the entire Muslim and Jewish communities were thrown out of Spain and Portugal by the early 17th century. They scattered, to Morocco, Algeria, Bosnia, Greece and Turkey.”</blockquote>
Such an astoundingly simplistic account of the history of the region usefully presents religious persecution as being instigated purely by Christian elements, and conflates the divergent treatment of the Jewish and Muslim communities. Whilst Christians were responsible for the acts of religious intolerance leading up to 1492, what, for example, of the straight-forward murder of four thousand Jews, in the <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/spain1.html">1066 Granada massacre</a>, by Islamic hordes?<br />
<br />
There are two narratives on the treatment of Christians and Jews under Moorish Spain. The stronger, and more popular, narrative praises the Moorish era as an exemplar of religious tolerance, whilst damning the successive Christian leaderships as barbaric. The opposing narrative criticises such a stance as a politically motivated whitewash, motivated by a propensity to apologise for Islamic extremism. In reality, there were some times of <a href="http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1494-andalusia">reasonable tolerance</a>, by the relatively basic standards of the day, and some very bad times indeed.<br />
<br />
Some of this tolerance continued well into the early Christian kingdoms, as Henry Kamen noted, when he forcefully <a href="http://yalepress.yale.edu/bookprinter.asp?isbn=9780300078800">argued</a> that the Christian Spanish of the era were far from a group of uniformly fanatical Bible thumpers, but views <a href="http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Spanish+Inquisition%3a+A+Historical+Revision.-a057815658">rigidified latterly</a>. Moreover, most Moorish territory was re-conquered over very long periods before the final defeat of the Moors in 1492.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Apologies and motivations</b></div>
<br />
Fisk asserts that Spain has not made an apology for the Inquisition. Although far from sufficient, there was an <a href="http://www.jta.org/2011/05/06/news-opinion/world/spanish-official-offers-apology-for-inquisition">apology by an official in 2011</a>, and more <a href="http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/4479821-spain-fulsomely-apologizes-to-sephardic-jewish-community/">recently Spanish Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón stated</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“In Spain, a clear majority realize we have committed a historical error and have an opportunity to repair it”</blockquote>
Fisk goes on to suggest that the Jewish citizenship law was passed for financial reasons, to inflate the weakened Spanish and Portuguese economies, even though he accepts few Jewish people are likely to take Spain and Portugal up on the offer. Does Fisk really believe that economies suffering from severe debt burdens, accrued over decades, could wheel in some Jewish folks, to generate the sort of cash that could reverse their immense fiscal problems? Perhaps Fisk believes the ‘Jews are good with money’ caricature is acceptable when he is speaking (from his perspective) in their favour. This is a startlingly absurd notion, even if he is only ascribing the belief to the Spanish and Portuguese authorities.<br />
<br />
It is more likely that the Spanish announcement of the citizenship law, in 2012, was designed to deflect Israeli criticism, at a time <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4168/spain-citizenship-sephardic-jews">when Spain had been upgrading</a> its ties with the Palestinian Authority.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJap2Kp_CsOdUxDjBW9OUumc6szWkzWLsFZv8wj2mw275vG9FiD8_PYYbwBkfHCUx8dmLmHZGFDF0dFlmPcVxhAXufpbc-yByYQHeN62YywfpBxlthlA73dnnzXJfWpUDwDjy4Mdr4lQa/s1600/spanish_inquisition+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJap2Kp_CsOdUxDjBW9OUumc6szWkzWLsFZv8wj2mw275vG9FiD8_PYYbwBkfHCUx8dmLmHZGFDF0dFlmPcVxhAXufpbc-yByYQHeN62YywfpBxlthlA73dnnzXJfWpUDwDjy4Mdr4lQa/s1600/spanish_inquisition+(1).jpg" height="320" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A historic representation of the Spanish Inquisition</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><b>The focus of the Spanish Inquisition</b></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: left;">On the lack of a citizenship law for Muslims that equates with the provision for Jewish people, </span><a href="http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-Features/Following-Spanish-law-for-Jewish-return-Muslims-demand-equal-terms-341982" style="text-align: left;">Jose Ribeiro e Castro</a><span style="text-align: left;">, who drafted similar Portuguese legislation, notes</span></div>
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Persecution of Jews was just that, while what happened with the Arabs was part of a conflict. There’s no basis for comparison.”</blockquote>
Some commentators ask why the treatment of Spanish Jews is highlighted more so than that of Spanish Muslims, since the Spanish <i>Moriscos</i> (Moorish Christian converts) were also tried by the Inquisition and expelled from Spain. The treatment of the <i>Moriscos</i> is indeed problematic but there would appear to be less interest in this issue for several reasons. The animus directed at the <i>Moriscos</i> evolved out of the savagery of several hundred years of barbaric warring, between the Moors and the Christians. Christians were persecuted to a notable extent, even by the poor standards of Medieval Europe.<br />
<br />
Nonetheless, a historic oddity emerged. One would think the Moors would be the focus of hostility in emerging Spanish nationalism. Yet the violence and oppression visited by the Inquisition upon Jews was more substantive, and cruel in its torturous punishments. Jewish–Christian converts or 'conversos' were the <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html">focal point of these “investigations”</a> from 1481/2, this being a time when the Christian <a href="http://www.spanish-fiestas.com/history/reconquest/">re-conquest of Spain</a>, from the Moors, was nearing the end of a lengthy process.<br />
<br />
These Jewish <i>conversos</i> had been forced to convert to Christianity in the aftermath of numerous <a href="http://www.zionism-israel.com/dic/Spanish_Pogroms.htm">anti-Jewish massacres</a> from the previous two centuries. In 1321, the Jews of Castile were forced to wear identifying yellow badges. In 1348 a large number of Jews were burned alive. Six years later thousands were slaughtered in Castille. More was to come in 1358, 1370, 1377 etc. ‘1391’, however, stands out in the historical record. 4,000 of Seville’s Jews were murdered and tens of thousands were sold as slaves. The rest of Spain rose up, leading to estimates of between <a href="http://www.bethimmanuel.org/articles/litany-jewish-suffering">fifty and one hundred thousand</a> Jews being killed, one to two hundred thousand being forced to covert, and similar figures to have fled Spain.<br />
<br />
This violence was <a href="http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-perednik-f03.htm">driven</a> by a multitude of uniquely Spanish anti-Semitic blood libels, such as the <i>Martyr Boy</i>, supposedly murdered ritualistically by Jews, who drank his blood. Some Church leaders still appear to advance this libel today.<br />
<br />
1411 brought highly oppressive legislation against Jews. In 1435 there was the massacre, and forced conversion of Jews in Majorca. In 1449, Jewish <i>Conversos</i> were executed for defending themselves from mobs, and leading up to the Inquisition, there were a succession of pogroms and massacres, also largely aimed at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marrano#Spain">Jewish <i>Conversos</i></a>, in 1467, 1468, 1474 and especially 1473. These violent uprisings suggest not only a growing climate of anti-Semitism, but a connection with the Inquisition’s near-exclusive focus on Jewish <i>Conversos</i>, just a few years later.<br />
<br />
The Inquisition would be at its most active between 1480 and 1530. Between 91.6% and 99.3% of its victims <a href="http://mormonsandjews.com/206/spain-establishes-law-of-return-for-expelled-jews#sthash.i2COePAv.dpuf">were Jewish</a> in the Spanish regions, whilst the number of brutal executions in this period is thought to be at least 2,000, with some estimates suggesting up to 10,000. These figures attest that the greatest harm was not visited upon the Jews by a political elite leading the Inquisition, but an endemic religiously themed anti-Semitism so savage that massacre was welcomed, one of its most nototious proponents, the Archdeacon of Ecija, being commended for his piety, and subsequently sanctified by the Church.<br />
<br />
Sometimes the Jewish populace was caught in the middle of the wars between Christians and Muslims. Many Christians would subsequently justify their oppression of the Jewish populace by suggesting the Jews played a treacherous role in the defeat of Christian forces. However, many Jewish people fought on the side of the Christians, for example in the 1086 battle of Zalaca, and in such situations <a href="http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1494-andalusia">the Jews of the defeated side</a> paid dearly.<br />
<br />
Fisk references the year of 1492. However, he neglects to mention that some 200,000 Jews were ordered to leave Spain within a few months. The Battle of Grenada brought the defeat of the last Islamic kingdom in Spain. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Granada_(1491)">1491 Treaty of Granada</a>, guaranteed the religious freedoms of Muslims and Jews. However, the <a href="http://www.sephardicstudies.org/decree.html">Edict of Alhambra</a> would soon rescind this ruling for Jews, compelling them to convert or be expelled. There followed a second Inquisitional wave from 1530, which targeted later Jewish <i>Conversos</i>, those who had subsequently opted to convert to Christianity.<br />
<br />
By contrast, the Spanish authorities in some regions put a more unofficial pressure on the Muslims of the defeated Moorish kingdoms to convert. It led to an Islamic revolt from 1499 to 1501, causing the authorities to issue a decree demanding their conversion or expulsion. This policy was not uniform however, as the Kingdom of Aragon showed a greater degree of tolerance toward its Muslim subjects.<br />
<br />
When the genuine nature of these conversions was suspected, some decades later, the Spanish authorities typically did not contend with the <i>Moriscos</i> in a fashion akin to the violence visited upon the Jewish victims of the Inquisition. Initially, <i>Moriscos</i> suspected of not being Christian, in their stated beliefs, were to be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition#Repression_of_Moriscos">evangelised in a non-violent fashion</a>. However, several events led to a worsening of the political climate.<br />
<br />
The <i>Moriscos</i> were suspected of aiding the frequent raids by North African Islamic Barbary pirates, which led to the enslavement of a very considerable number of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/white_slaves_01.shtml#two">Spanish Christians</a>. These acts of piracy appear to have been assisted by Spain’s great foe of the era, the Ottoman Empire.<br />
<br />
A variety of intrigues, suspected by the Spanish Authorities, including the notion of <i>Morisco</i> involvement in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Malta_(1565)">Ottoman Siege of Malta</a>, at a time when there were considerable fears that Islamic combatants would return to Spain, would lead to the claim by some historians that <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4183/muslim-right-of-return-spain">expulsion</a> was motivated by a desire to decolonise the region.<br />
<br />
From a more domestic perspective, the <i>Moriscos</i> were behind two major revolts, particularly the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morisco_Revolt#The_second_rebellion.2C_1568-71">Arabist 1568-71 Rebellion</a>, the “Alpujarras Uprising”, which was the source of widespread violence against the Christian populace. The rebellion was driven by the banning of the Arabic language, due to fears over the veracity of <i>Morisco </i>conversions. The revolt was severely suppressed, and would lead to increasing <a href="http://en.cyclopaedia.net/wiki/War-of-Las-Alpujarras">prosecution under the Inquisition</a>, and the eventual expulsion of the <i>Moriscos</i>, in waves, from 1609 to 1614.<br />
<br />
<i>Morisco </i>prosecutions became a predominant feature of the Inquisition from 1570. However, according to Henry Kamen, the most <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Kamen">renowned historian</a> on the Spanish Inquisition, relatively fewer were tried by the Inquisition, and they did not have an equivalent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spanish_Inquisition#cite_note-20">harshness of punishment</a> visited upon them, compared to that of Jewish populace, and the few Protestants living in Spain at that time. Thus, the level of Islamic persecution, under the Inquisition, would seem to have been rather limited. The reluctance on the part of the authorities to prosecute the Moors lay with their value in the trades.<br />
<br />
Today there <a href="http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/the_expulsion_of_the_moors.html">seems to be a consensus</a> that Islamic conversions to Christianity were in name only, whilst in a supremely <a href="http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Spanish+Inquisition%3a+A+Historical+Revision.-a057815658">sad irony</a> there appears to be little evidence that Jewish <i>Conversos</i> were typically insincere in their stated beliefs.<br />
<br />
Both groups suffered significantly, during the phases of expulsion, but many Jews when fleeing were murdered in particularly barbaric circumstances, by Christians driven by a bizarre belief that fleeing Jews <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/expulsion.html">swallowed</a> their most valuable possessions. This feature paralleled the conduct toward Jewish people during the Holocaust, where bodies were disembowelled in search of swallowed jewellery.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Sephardic = Spanish</b></div>
<br />
From whence the Jews were expelled, a great number were persecuted elsewhere, including Italy, and especially Portugal. Some Jews went back to Spain, only to be subjected to further persecution. By contrast, the Muslim expulsions were sent to North Africa (sometimes by way of France) where they would settle with considerably less molestation by the surrounding populaces.<br />
<br />
Spanish Jews, termed <a href="http://www.jewishgen.org/SefardSIG/SEPH_who.HTM">Sephardic</a>, which translates as “Spanish”, are said to have emerged as a presence in Spain going back to the era of Christ, although other accounts argue that there was a Jewish presence in Spain going back some three thousand years. Sephardic culture emerged as a very distinctive cultural ethnicity, with its own language, a derivation of Old Spanish called <i>Ladino</i>.<br />
<br />
Remarkably, the great majority of European Jewish people lived in Spain, estimated as being as high as 800,000, until the expulsions. For many of the less fortunate, this event would only herald a long history of further bloody persecution, and expulsion, in various parts of Europe and the Middle-East. Sephardic culture went into a long decline, a rehabilitation of which is only emerging. Yet, despite the bitterness of the past, Sephardic culture still possesses very distinctive <a href="http://www.sephardifolklit.org/">Spanish aspects</a>.<br />
<br />
It is also worth noting that Spain has experienced a very substantive influx of Muslims of <a href="http://muslimstatistics.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/islam-in-spain-800-population-increase-in-mere-13-years/">Moroccan origin</a>, while its Jewish populace remains a shadow of its former scale. The Islamic population of Spain <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/2744/andalusia-spring">exceeds 1.3 million</a> whilst the <a href="http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2011/12/02/visualizza_new.html_11094191.html">Jewish populace</a>, continuing to be subject to anti-Semitism during more recent eras, remains very small. It is often described as being under 50,000 but it may be little as 12,000 according to a <a href="http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/AJYB727.CV.pdf">2007 <i>American Jewish Committee </i>report</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Conclusion</b></div>
<br />
Political commentators, such as Robert Fisk, appears unable to muster any genuine understanding for the plight of Jewish people in Medieval Spain, in which the widely divergent treatment of the Islamic and Jewish populaces are unduly conflated. In Fisk's case, he also uses the occasion to attack his pet hates: any hostility toward Islam, the <a href="http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=26988">Jewish State</a> etc. Many ordinary Christians also suffered under the Inquisition but are not deserving of mention, let alone query as to why they don't deserve inclusion as well. Little wonder since Fisk has gone out of his way to <a href="http://www.frontpagemag.com/2012/raymond-ibrahim/robert-fisk-demonizes-mideast%E2%80%99s-persecuted-christians/">demonise the much-persecuted Christians</a> of the Middle East today.<br />
<br />
The persecution of the Jewish populace, not only during the Inquisition, but especially during the events preceding it, stands out in European history, because these people were not belligerents against Spanish Christianity. In fact, they often suffered under the Moors as much as Christians. Yet, from a Christian perspective, this did not lead to a sense of solidarity. The treatment of Spanish Muslims was indeed punitive but the principle focus of the Inquisition was driven by a deep abiding hatred of the Jewish populace, which persisted long after all were killed or driven from Spain. Under Franco, Spain would continue to tolerate <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/2678/spain-jew-hating">open anti-Semitism</a> — a link which clearly informs Spanish elements <a href="http://juniperinthedesert.blogspot.com/2011/07/marie-jose-lera-conspiracy-theories.html">hostile to Israel’s existence today</a>.<br />
<br />
There were many horrors visited on peoples during the European Dark Age and Medieval Era. Is this particular Spanish period remembered due to expulsions, or the behaviour of the Inquisition? Both are of course linked but infamy stems from the intolerance of the Inquisition, since expulsions were not uncommon in that era. This oppression was unprovoked, and manifestly harsher than equivalent treatment of Spanish Muslims, until they too were expelled, in part due to a level of subsequent belligerent activity, a not uncommon prospect in the Medieval Europe, when any groups took up arms against a given ruler.<br />
<br />
Nonetheless, the treatment of the <i>Moriscos</i> should be regarded as one of the darkest episodes of predatory Christian proselytization, where the Spanish authorities soon reneged upon their promises.<br />
<br />
On one hand there was a very aggressive intolerant intent to proselytize, which, when unsuccessful, led to expulsions, while on the other hand, there was a demented manifestly genocidal blood lust, where it is easy to envisage the entire Jewish populace being wiped out in a century, if it was not first expelled.<br />
<br />
Thus, the Spanish Inquisition should ultimately be viewed as in essence an officious state-sanctioned expression of the very sentiments that motivated prior anti-Jewish pogroms, its stark depravity rightly constituting the very reason Spain’s treatment of her Jewish subjects stands out in the annals of infamy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Robert Fisk’s article is <a href="http://anneinpt.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/fisking-fisk-why-spain-didnt-invite-the-muslims-back-too/">analysed in more depth</a>, and reproduced in part, by AnneinPT.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>Article also published by <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/revisiting-jewish-and-islamic-oppression-robert-fisk-s-inquisition-of-the-spanish/global-islam/2014/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i></div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-4034536906228126422014-05-03T02:36:00.000+01:002014-05-03T02:51:19.822+01:00Jewish Settlements Do Not Impede Peace<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Many Western narratives on the Israel-Arab/Palestinian conflict, assert that Arab-Palestinian grievances are fundamentally based upon a supposed dispossession of territory, and so peace would be obtained by returning lands gained by Israel in the defensive <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/13413#.UrRM5NJdXp8">Six Day War</a>.<br />
<br />
Today this argument relates principally to <i>Judea and Samaria</i>, more widely known as the ‘West Bank’, a <a href="http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4227/european-boycott-west-bank">recent moniker</a> the Jordanians applied to the area, after the Arab State’s invasion of Israel in 1948.<br />
<br />
The existence of Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, and formerly Gaza prior to the unilateral 2005 Israeli withdrawal, are central to the claim that the Jewish State has instituted a 'land grab' since 1967. Settlements are the focal point of boycott campaigns, and other efforts to deligitimise Israel.<br />
<br />
However, commentators less hostile to Israel also assert Jewish settlements are a deeply problematic phenomenon. Whilst accepting Israel is surrounded, in a hostile Arab-Islamic neighbourhood, they nonetheless advance a somewhat similar stance to anti-Israel critics, by portraying the settlement issue as one of the great obstacles of the peace process. Indeed, some act as if it is the greatest challenge, as per John Kerry’s <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/kerry-warns-of-3rd-intifada-isolation-of-israel-if-talks-fail/">intensive criticism</a> of Israeli settlement policy, suggesting it will undermine a two-state solution.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Inconvenient facts</b></div>
<br />
Whilst Jewish settlements are seen across the world as the bottleneck that stops any peace process in its tracks, a cursory glance at some fundamental facts will suggest that that this claim is a propagandistic red-herring of monumental proportions.<br />
<br />
Israel is regularly demonised, with the very worst of motives ascribed to its behaviour. For example, many in the Arab world suggest the Jewish State seeks to territorially dominate the Middle East. Thus, one might ask to what extent has Israel held onto the territory it gained during the Six-Day War, which constitutes the Nation’s greatest victory? Startlingly, 90% of these gains <a href="http://www.whyisrael.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/res-242-blast.jpg">have been returned</a> to Israel’s <a href="http://www.varimail.com/asp/broadcast/ILIST/israel-fulfilled-242.pdf">Arab neighbours</a>: the Sinai, and part of the Golan Heights, with Gaza becoming a <i>de facto</i> independent state.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-kSnn0gAgui8O9GB3oeDOa1pHumIJsbyeNgrqdAe5XCrziZWoGSUlznaIV_8Jj3dm6JTYx0nbSNqQKylPan1mvOc6I2ESdiO4iQIsP77v68dgh8tLT5rawwJ5wUgLb0s8nx-7ejlt1Kf/s1600/map-eli-580%5B1%5D+(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-kSnn0gAgui8O9GB3oeDOa1pHumIJsbyeNgrqdAe5XCrziZWoGSUlznaIV_8Jj3dm6JTYx0nbSNqQKylPan1mvOc6I2ESdiO4iQIsP77v68dgh8tLT5rawwJ5wUgLb0s8nx-7ejlt1Kf/s1600/map-eli-580%5B1%5D+(2).jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="356" /></a></div>
<br />
More particularly, what of Judea and Samaria itself? To what extent has Israel 'grabbed' or 'thieved' the 'West Bank'? A survey, commissioned by anti-Israel NGO B’Tselem, found that <a href="http://www.jewishjournal.com/david_suissa/article/opinion_beinarts_1_crisis_20120523">0.99% of the territory</a> features constructed settlements, with applicable roads taking further space. Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) prime negotiator, similarly asserted that <a href="http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/11/17/settlements-obstacle-to-peace/">settlements constitute 1.1%</a> of the region.<br />
<br />
Processes have not been instigated, by Israel, to recognise new Jewish settlements, since the Oslo II process of the mid to late 1990s. Dutch anti-Israel activist and mapmaker, Jan de Jong, produced a sequence of distorted maps to suggest Israel was instituting a 'land grab'. De Jong rather absurdly claimed that 60% of Judea and Samaria is taken by settlements but his maps, as reproduced by the Wall Street Journal, Feb 4<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> 2010, note that Israel did not begin further processes of settlement recognition after 1995. Subsequent land activity, according to the map, relates to unrecognised 'Settler outposts', which the Israeli authorities <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/tracking1.html">dismantle</a> with some regularity.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTHDcEHt1NrzAkZbG7sYRTXthyphenhyphenlPKQx1iQ-0dGLb8Ma6nEikURmRX-WRyazifPucVKLWrIoHtAD3-tQUiTveK2Fs3kYvaR1edLGNgpMp7AomdUOtJZIAYu6QXAOHH2y5XaHWZRM7yGnvj/s1600/Outposts+2001.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTHDcEHt1NrzAkZbG7sYRTXthyphenhyphenlPKQx1iQ-0dGLb8Ma6nEikURmRX-WRyazifPucVKLWrIoHtAD3-tQUiTveK2Fs3kYvaR1edLGNgpMp7AomdUOtJZIAYu6QXAOHH2y5XaHWZRM7yGnvj/s1600/Outposts+2001.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">De Jong Map, suggesting a 'land grab', Wall Street Journal, Feb 4t</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">h</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> 2010</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Anti-Israel commentators claim that the proposed E1 development would drive a wedge from East Jerusalem to the Jordan River Valley, and thus the site would divide any potential Arab-Palestinian state. This is a complete untruth. The narrowest point between the E1 and the Dead Sea is <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=10&x_article=2358">fifteen kilometres</a>, as wide as the narrowest points within Israel’s pre-1967 borders, the very borders those who condemn the Jewish State demand that it to return to.<br />
<br />
Whilst settler violence is rightly an issue worthy of attention, it is wildly exaggerated in contrast to the far more prevalent, and deadly, Arab-Palestinian equivalent. According to B’Tselem’s own figures, some seventeen Arab-Palestinians were <a href="http://blog.camera.org/archives/2012/05/how_many_palestinians_fataliti.html">killed by settlers</a> from 2000 to 2012, often in contexts of self-defence. By contrast, according to B’Tselem, over two hundred settlers were <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=55&x_article=2132">killed during the same period</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Negligible impact upon peace processes</b></div>
<br />
One might think that Arab-Palestinians are desperate for an independent state, given the abhorrent conditions so many activists claim they are subjected to. Thus, it is curious that the Millennial ‘Camp David’ talks, which offered the PA 91% of their territorial demands, fell apart due to Yasser Arafat’s rejection of joint sovereignty over the Temple Mount, which Muslims call <i>al Haram al Sharif</i>. Land concessions were even more <a href="http://www.mideastweb.org/taba.htm">generous at Taba</a> in 2001.<br />
<br />
The 2007-08 Abbas-Olmert talks proposed territorial concessions of over 98%, with some <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/ehud-olmert-still-dreams-of-peace/story-e6frg76f-1225804745744">land swaps</a>. Abbas suddenly dropped out of the final stage of the talks in September 2008.<br />
<br />
The brief 2010 talks with Benjamin Netanyahu collapsed because the PA demonstrated bad faith by only attending for the final few weeks of a ten month settlement freeze, having previously dismissed this substantive concession. Former US Peace envoy George Mitchell <a href="http://freepressonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=52&SubSectionID=78&ArticleID=16257">stated soon afterward</a> that the PA made the freeze an absolute condition, after it having previously been 'less than worthless'. Mitchell described the freeze as less than the US requested but 'more than anyone else had done.'<br />
<br />
Latterly, Netanyahu made several <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Column-One-Fool-me-twice">attempts</a> to get Abbas to the negotiating table. Abbas finally <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-agrees-to-release-24-israeli-arab-pre-oslo-prisoners/">succumbed</a> when the demand to release all pre-Oslo prisoners was met, indicating that settlement freezes are not a pre-eminent requirement for negotiations. Rather, a tangible political victory is the <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/10/31/abbas-calls-murderers-%E2%80%98heroes%E2%80%99-at-prisoner-release-celebration/">incentivising</a><a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/10/31/abbas-calls-murderers-%E2%80%98heroes%E2%80%99-at-prisoner-release-celebration/"> element</a> to bring an ever-reluctant Palestinian Authority to direct peace talks.<br />
<br />
Likewise, anti-Israel commentators use the growth of settlements as a pre-text to claim that the two-state solution is dead, and thereby advocate for a <a href="http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/118802/the-end-of-the-two-state-solution">one-state bi-national</a> 'Rwandan solution'.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=118&x_article=2194">intent of such one-staters</a> is evident by their prejudicial actions. In reality, settlement growth is not a major issue because the <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths3/MFsettlements.html#6">substantive majority</a> of Jewish Settlers live in five settlements near the 1949 Armistice Lines, and it was envisaged, in peace talks, that Israel would keep a majority of settlements, in exchange for some land swaps. The PA has long accepted the principle of <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-gaps-remain-in-land-swap-deal-with-israel-1.291562">land swaps</a>. Thus, intense international condemnation, in which it is claimed that settlement expansion makes a just two-state solution impossible, is <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Wash-Post-Settlements-not-main-peace-obstacle">completely incorrect</a>.<br />
<br />
It could be argued that settlement activity is the sole stimulus toward achieving peace, given that the international community is unwilling to hold the PA to account for any wrongdoing. Former Bethlehem Mayor <a href="http://www.frontpagemag.com/2009/mitchellgbard/palestinians-aggression-fuels-settlement-growth-by-mitchell-g-bard/">Elias Freij said</a>: 'The Palestinians now realize, that time is now on the side of Israel… and that the only way out of this dilemma is face-to-face negotiations'. It does seem Israel <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Israel-okays-building-of-3000-units-in-Jlem-W-Bank">gives the green light</a> to further construction when the PA seeks to bypass a negotiated peace process.<br />
<br />
However, if such a strategy has been adopted, it has been enacted in a half-hearted fashion. Despite the popular portrayal of Benjamin Netanyahu as a ‘hawkish’ supporter of settlements, official figures by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics demonstrate that there has been <a href="http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2014/03/04/obamas-settlement-construction-lie-netanyahu/">less settlement construction</a> during Netanyahu’s five years of governance. An average of 1,443 new housing units have been built in the contested territory during each year of his tenure, despite house prices being at a <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4440867,00.html">premium</a> within the State itself.<br />
<br />
In a similar manner, the most significant move on settlements occurred in April 2012, when an Israeli government committee was established to complete legal recognition of settlements Bruchin, Rechalim and Sansana, which already possessed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_facto"><i>de facto</i> recognition</a>. Previously, Negahot was the <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Features/Front-Lines/Frontlines-Is-settlement-growth-booming">last settlement</a> to have its recognition process legally finalised, in 1999, so this further de jure process was a diplomatic about-turn. The international media claimed Bruchin, Rechalim and Sansana were illegal settler outposts. However, State recognition had been initiated in the 1980’s and 90’s. The completion of the process was frustrated for years by Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon, due to <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/155059#.UzgYb6hdXIc">political considerations</a>. <br />
<br />
Final recognition was likely intended to place pressure on the Palestinian Authority. Negotiators for the two sides held talks in Amman during January 2012, but the PA decided to withdraw after only <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/152274#.UzglqKhdXIc">five meetings</a>, thus failing to get Abbas to agree to meet Netanyahu. Talks recommenced, but PA negotiators again walked away in April, after Israeli proposals were submitted. Ron Prosor, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, noted that the PA quit the talks <a href="http://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/86772/israel-ambassador-ron-prosors-speech-united-nations">without response</a>. Netanyahu would initiate the move toward full recognition soon after.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>A conclusion - racism</b></div>
<br />
This article addressed the pragmatic and <i>realpolitic</i> issues surrounding Jewish Settlements. The subject also has a substantive moral and legal dimension, for which the continued existence of settlements can be forcefully argued. For example, Article Six of the League of Nations/British Mandate <a href="http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/palmanda.asp#art6">charter</a> explicitly allows for Jewish settlements.<br />
<br />
Likewise, Jewish history and culture has not only been embedded in Judea and Samaria since ancient times, but to arguably an even <a href="http://unitedwithisrael.org/the-jewish-connection-to-judea-samaria/">greater extent</a> than the rest of Israel, with of course the notable exception of East Jerusalem.<br />
<br />
Yet we see an overt denial of any rights of residence for Jewish people in Judea and Samaria.<br />
<br />
The frequent pronouncements, by a variety of Palestinian Authority officials, that Jewish people <a href="http://www.jewishjournal.com/israel/article/no_jews_in_future_palestinian_state_abbas_says">will not</a> be allowed live in a future Arab-Palestinian state, are met with disinterest. More broadly speaking, there is no substantive expectation that Jewish people will or should be allowed stay in the region, with a decades-long acquiescence to the Palestinian Authority’s racist land-law, making it a <a href="http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/April/PA-Official-Sentenced-to-Death-for-Home-Sale-to-Jews/">capital offence</a> for Arab-Palestinians to sell land to people of a Jewish identity. Rather, there is unrelenting hostility to their presence. This popular anti-Israel Western position subscribes to overtly racial argumentation, for not only does it echo the NAZI concept of <i>Judenrein</i> living spaces, it goes further by extending the claim to a region where Jewish people possess an indigenous tie to the land.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, a narrative focusing on settlement issues confuses a disturbing reality, in which hostility toward settlers is merely symptomatic of a broader malaise. This conflict is motivated by Israel’s very existence, as a principally Jewish State in <i>Dar al-Islam</i>, be it existing behind or beyond its <a href="http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/time-to-end-palestinian-incitement">Armistice Lines</a>. <br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>First published at the <a href="http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/160386/sec_id/160386">New English Review</a>.</i></div>
</div>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-vDfFDA16WmA%2FU2RAAgzjE4I%2FAAAAAAAAAOM%2FKDRt-3tSvzw%2Fs1600%2Fmap-eli-580%255B1%255D%2B" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-kSnn0gAgui8O9GB3oeDOa1pHumIJsbyeNgrqdAe5XCrziZWoGSUlznaIV_8Jj3dm6JTYx0nbSNqQKylPan1mvOc6I2ESdiO4iQIsP77v68dgh8tLT5rawwJ5wUgLb0s8nx-7ejlt1Kf/s1600/map-eli-580%5B1%5D+" --><!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-holkWevCRr4%2FU2RAQZffMMI%2FAAAAAAAAAOU%2FCj7qK8nJy0E%2Fs1600%2FOutposts%2B2001.PNG&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTHDcEHt1NrzAkZbG7sYRTXthyphenhyphenlPKQx1iQ-0dGLb8Ma6nEikURmRX-WRyazifPucVKLWrIoHtAD3-tQUiTveK2Fs3kYvaR1edLGNgpMp7AomdUOtJZIAYu6QXAOHH2y5XaHWZRM7yGnvj/s1600/Outposts+2001.PNG" -->Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4528246176614662587.post-49250673952253438082014-05-01T22:53:00.000+01:002014-05-01T22:53:13.742+01:00RTE: On the Origins of Ukrainian-Crisis Propaganda, is the Western World Anti-Russian?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimaHxDD0H1yQsB-8HUmADT9DDVDQrR28Rf10H29PVExYBXYlPKUJFSSF2I-klWK0V_wUivpBSl9RjaodqIPdv5WX5dkm4BwecaH-O_6RWHpLSEKa8AAMdYZsWDAYwZMnCjnyAK9zpa2wtr/s1600/Carole+Coleman,+Dmitri+Tsiskarashvili,+pro-Russian+report+17-4-14+RTE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimaHxDD0H1yQsB-8HUmADT9DDVDQrR28Rf10H29PVExYBXYlPKUJFSSF2I-klWK0V_wUivpBSl9RjaodqIPdv5WX5dkm4BwecaH-O_6RWHpLSEKa8AAMdYZsWDAYwZMnCjnyAK9zpa2wtr/s1600/Carole+Coleman,+Dmitri+Tsiskarashvili,+pro-Russian+report+17-4-14+RTE.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Carole Coleman with Dmitri Tsiskarashvili, April 17 2014, RTE-Player screen-grab</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />RTE’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT%C3%89_News:_Six_One"><i>6.1 News</i></a>, the prime TV news show of Ireland’s public service broadcaster, featured a special report on the Ukrainian crisis on the 17<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> April, by Carole Coleman, one of the broadcaster’s principle reporters covering foreign news stories.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Transcript</b></div>
<br />During the report in question, ‘<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2014/0417/20565062-russia-and-the-us-accuse-each-other-of-exaggeration/">Russia and the US accuse each other of exaggeration</a>’, Coleman narrates:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The air is thick with warnings and accusations. Not just on the ground in Ukraine, but in Washington, Kiev, Moscow and, by extension, the mass media. It’s called ‘The Propaganda War’, and Dmitri Tsiskarashvili from Trinity College Dublin, thinks Vladimir Putin is winning it.” […]</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The most effective propaganda is disinformation. Take Russia’s claim that uniformed men in Crimea were not its troops. Today Vladimir Putin admitted he had special units in Crimea. The US paints Russia as a power-hungry player bent on destabilisation, an accusation repeated so many times that NATO is stepping up its presence in the Baltic region.” [Cue footage of a Russia Today interviewer asking how NATO is advocating a peaceful solution whilst increasing its troop presence]</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“So what is real in the fog of war and what is bluster?”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Tsiskarashvili: “During [the] Soviet time, it was straightforward naïve and stupid propaganda. But now I think the Russians became very [much] more skilful, more educated because they [are] learning from the United States, how to do a proper propaganda [campaign], especially during a time of war or some kind of financial crisis.”</blockquote>
Coleman’s narration continues:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The mainstream media has adopted its own biases too. Last winter we described those on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maidan_Nezalezhnosti">Maidan [Square]</a> in Kiev as ‘pro-European protestors’. Now we are more likely to call the pro-Russians in the East, ‘militants’ and ‘separatists’.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“As in all wars, the words are almost as dangerous as the weapons.”</blockquote>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjynlk3EEDO-p1sPoIKE0ZPG8HkVfCqCBpMbfeIii0Ffb3htyXXT43cdPwnc7Roa-gsbkuP7rK-0rDt-AwG2okGvjOZlnVTDGT_z94iL3lfZi9NVvQVBQKy30up3lNQgyPuWPNAW2KnjF5/s1600/Carole+Coleman,+Russia+Today,+pro-Russian+report+17-4-14+RTE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjynlk3EEDO-p1sPoIKE0ZPG8HkVfCqCBpMbfeIii0Ffb3htyXXT43cdPwnc7Roa-gsbkuP7rK-0rDt-AwG2okGvjOZlnVTDGT_z94iL3lfZi9NVvQVBQKy30up3lNQgyPuWPNAW2KnjF5/s1600/Carole+Coleman,+Russia+Today,+pro-Russian+report+17-4-14+RTE.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Carole Coleman report citing 'Russia Today' (RT), <span style="font-size: x-small;">April 17 2014, RTE-Player screen-grab</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Media Bias?</b></div>
<br />Carole Coleman’s report is remarkable for equating, with respect to the Ukrainian crisis, the propaganda coming from the Kremlin, with similar content broadly emanating from United States.<br /><br />Coleman takes issue with the word ‘militant’, as used by the media. To do so suggests she believes it is a misnomer, but it is surely an uncontroversial use of English, to describe well-armed groups as such.<br /><br />As a parallel, Coleman criticised the use of the words ‘pro-European protestors’, used by the international media to describe those protesters who took to the streets of Kiev late last year, after the government pulled out of an EU trade deal. The Ukrainian government of the time opted instead for an arrangement with Russia. Whilst many protestors likely opposed the government on a variety of issues, such as corruption, they were nonetheless protestors that favoured closer economic ties with the European Union. Why then would Coleman take issue with such unproblematic terminology?<br /><br />Whilst presenting the report in seemingly balanced terms, Coleman’s examples are revealing of a pro-Russian sympathy, for she criticised a positive descriptor of one group, and a negative descriptor of their political opponents. Her criticism was surprising, since her colleagues used these terms as well.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<b>An unfortunate relativism</b></div>
<br />Carole Coleman’s report featured Dr. Dmitri Tsiskarashvili, supposedly an expert on media matters, stating that Russian propaganda had become more sophisticated, more akin to that of the US media.<br /><br />Whilst few governments do not attempt to influence their media to some extent, the <a href="http://www.freedomhouse.org/country/united-states#.U2FvLIFdWSo">US possesses a level of press freedom</a> that is diametrically opposed to that of the <a href="http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2013/russia#.U2Fv1YFdWSo">Russian State</a>. Thus, it is an absurdity to present these nations as on a par.<br /><br />Rather than having expertise in media analysis, Coleman’s source, Dr. Tsiskarashvili, is an <a href="http://www.tcd.ie/Russian/contact">assistant professor in Russian Studies</a> at Trinity College Dublin, who, of course, focuses on academically-themed Russian pursuits. His roles include ‘<a href="http://ie.linkedin.com/pub/dmitri-tsiskarashvili/83/412/6aa">Business Studies and Russian Language Programme Coordinator</a>’.<br /><br />Likewise, in <a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2014/0412/20561814-unrest-grows-in-east-ukraine/#page=21">another report</a> on April 12<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>, entitled “Unrest grows in east Ukraine”, Coleman interviews Sergei Tarutin, a Russian newspaper editor, who criticised the Ukrainian government for a perceived weakness, and for failure to communicate with its Russian speaking populace. Coleman failed to provide any space for a Ukrainian counterpoint.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<b>A propaganda war of two sides?</b></div>
<br />In reality, there certainly appears to have been a considerable effort to feed disinformation into the Russian media. A <a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/here-s-how-the-russian-media-is-covering-ukraine/">significant amount of this content has been debunked</a> although such information is unlikely to undermine the force of the initial propagandistic stories.<br /><br />The Russian authorities have long been claiming the government in Kiev is controlled by fascists, and accusations of <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/24/us-ukraine-crisis-israel-idUSBREA3N1CN20140424">Ukranian anti-Semitism</a> appear to be coming from Russian govermental sources. Russian Jewish leaders have made <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-jews-of-russia-and-ukraine-at-war/">similar claims</a> which have been stoutly rejected by Jewish leaders in Ukrane itself.<br /><br />In early April, a <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/04/09/pro-kremlin-viral-video-seeks-to-portray-fictious-tale-war-with-ukraine/">Russian propaganda video</a> came to the international media’s attention, because it inverted reality to an extraordinary extent. The video showed a poorly organised array of Russian fighters defending Russian soil from a fascistic Ukrainian Army invasion! Thus, there is good reason to doubt Dr. Tsiskarashvili’s account of a growing sophistication in Russian propaganda.<br /><br />John Lough, a Eurasian specialist at the <i>Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House)</i>, argued, on RTE’s <i>Drivetime</i> (April 15<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>), that <a href="http://www.rte.ie/radio/utils/radioplayer/rteradioweb.html#!rii=9%3A20563927%3A0%3A%3A">fear is motivating Russian-Ukrainian separatism</a>:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Russian propaganda has been carrying a very simple message over recent weeks… you would be astounded at the level of disinformation, and the impression being cultivated by the Russian media, which are successful in those border areas of Ukraine, that a group of people have come to power in Kiev who are predominately fascists, anti-Semites, anti-Russian individuals, who are going to discriminate against Russian speakers in Ukraine. They used this argument in Crimea, and it’s now being transported to the South-East regions of Ukraine… to get the population frightened, and fearful of what might happen next in Ukraine. You’ve got 40,000 troops on the border, you’ve got indications Russia, publicly, is very concerned about the security situation, so I think in those circumstances its not hard to find supporters for a particular cause, which is to say it’s important to federalise Ukraine…”</blockquote>
Meanwhile, in the face of a resolute and rather combatitive Russian State, many commentators and politicians are pointing to US president Barack Obama’s rather <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/28/obama-admits-uncertainty-on-russian-sanctions-but-/">uncertain foreign policy stance</a> over the issue, a view Obama has himself acknowledged to some extent. Thus, it is wholly out of kilter to suggest the US is being as hawkish as Russia, in any fair-minded understanding of the conflict.<br /><br />Moreover, it is quite absurd for Coleman to blame NATO’s increasing mobilisation in the region on the US’ rhetoric, rather than on Russia’s incursion in the Crimea, and mobilisation at Ukraine’s border.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Conclusion</b></div>
<br />Whether or not the aims of Russian speaking separatists are legitimate, for in truth few in Western Europe can claim to be particularly knowledgeable on the political climate in Ukraine, it nonetheless seems that a powerful Russian media-orchestrated fear campaign is motivating a desire by these people to separate, or at least distance themselves, from the government in Kiev.<br /><br />Carole Coleman’s coverage of the Ukrainian crisis presents as subtly pro-Russian, a rather rich irony considering her accusations of Western media bias. Coleman doubles-down on her irony quotient, by using footage from <i>Russia Today</i>, a <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/putin-fights-war-of-images-and-propaganda-with-russia-today-channel-a-916162.html">satellite channel widely known to be a highly successful propaganda arm</a> of the Kremlin.<br /><br />Coleman has <a href="http://eirael.blogspot.ie/2014/01/rtes-error-laden-coverage-of-ariel.html">long been noted</a> for possessing stridently anti-American views, and, in this instance, she unjustly equates an evidentially apparent Russian media campaign, with relatively strong rhetoric emanating from the White House. Such a stance seems indicative of a rather odd paranoia of the US, NATO, and the Western media.<br /><br /><div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Also published at <a href="http://www.crethiplethi.com/rte-on-the-origins-of-ukrainian-crisis-propaganda-is-the-western-world-anti-russian/usa/2014/">Crethi Plethi</a>.</i></div>
Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161685434804636265noreply@blogger.com0