All The News Anti-Israel Posters Will Not Read Or Discuss 2

[Sixties Fan]

Linda Sarsour's "MPower Change" uses "Israeli" the way "Jew" used to be used​

MPower Change, the Muslim advocacy group co-founded by Linda Sarsour, just sent out an action alert to its email list with the title "Take Action: No autonomous drones from Israel:"

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) just approved a request by Airobotics, an Israeli government-funded company,¹ to fly “autonomous” drones over U.S. neighborhoods.²

We don’t want unaccountable, autonomous “crime-fighting” drones snooping on us, filling our skies, and making life-or-death decisions.

Tell the FAA: We need safety where we live, not spy drones funded by apartheid Israel.

Airobotics is not funded by the Israeli government. It received a specific grant at the end of August of $540,000 from the Israel Innovation Authority, which is funded by but independent of the Israeli government. The grant has nothing to do with the drone that the FAA approved. The Muslim group is stretching to find any connection, no matter how tenuous, to associate Israel with a myth of drones meant to spy on Muslims and people of color in cities.

But what does Airobotics' Israel connections have to do with what the drone does? The email pretends that it is trying to protect civil rights of people of color who they imagine will be surveilled disproportionately by these autonomous drones - but if that was really MPower Change's concern, what difference does it make whether they were manufactured or even funded by Israel? It is up to the people who actually purchase and deploy the drones to determine how they will be used, whether for good or evil purposes. The source has nothing to do with it.

This is hatemongering, not a concern for human rights. And the implication that a drone company is especially pernicious because it is Israeli is simple bigotry.

Notably, while the email mentions Israel eight times to whip up their subscribers into a frenzy, their auto-email to the FAA doesn't mention Israel once. Telling the FAA not to approve a drone because it is Israeli would be obvious bigotry. The advocacy group only tells that to fellow Muslims. MPower Change knows that Israel has nothing to do with the issue, but they also know that their email list is filled with people who hate Israel and Jews - and they want to leverage that hate to get them to take action (and raise their own profile.)

This email shows that the word "Israel" is now a dog-whistle for modern antisemites. They use "Israel" the way "Jew" used to be used, as a means to make people angry.

Linda Sarsour's "MPower Change" uses "Israeli" the way "Jew" used to be used

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that the African country’s embassy in Israel will soon be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

In return, Israel will open an embassy in Kinshasa, Netanyahu said alongside Tshisekedi after the two met in New York. The Israeli embassy was shuttered in 2003 amidst ongoing warfare in the country.

Hailing the meeting as “very productive,” Netanyahu said the mutual gestures “reflect our joint will to strengthen our relations.”


(full article online)

DR Congo will move its embassy to Jerusalem, leader tells Netanyahu at UN sidelines

Israel to open an embassy in Kinshasa, Israeli leader tells President Félix Tshisekedi in New York, 3 years after ties between nations were renewed

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Six or seven Muslim nations will join Saudi Arabia in making peace with Israel following the conclusion of the long-sought normalization deal with the Saudis, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen revealed in an interview with KAN News on Friday afternoon.

Speaking directly after Netanyahu's speech at the UN General Assembly in which he heralded the dawn of a "new Middle East," Cohen said that "it's important to restate what the prime minister said, peace with Saudi Arabia is also peace between Jews and the Muslim world.

"Six or seven nations from Africa and Asia will join the peace deal with the Saudis," Cohen said.

FM: Six or seven Muslim nations to make peace with Israel after Saudis

Eli Cohen: "It's important to restate what the prime minister said, peace with Saudi Arabia is also peace between Jews and the Muslim world."

www.jpost.com

FM: Six or seven Muslim nations to make peace with Israel after Saudis

Eli Cohen: "It's important to restate what the prime minister said, peace with Saudi Arabia is also peace between Jews and the Muslim world."

www.jpost.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

18-year-old Shahad from Gaza is the first child to be implanted with a new kind of heart pacemaker in Israel. It was also the first time the implantation was done through a catheter in the neck rather than the groin. The procedure was done at Wolfson Medical Center, September 2023. (Courtesy of Save a Child's Heart)

For the first time in Israel, a new kind of pacemaker was implanted in a child using innovative methods. It was the first time the pacemaker — identical to the one Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received in July — was implanted by catheterization through the patient’s neck rather than the groin.

The recipient of the new pacemaker in the unusual procedure performed earlier this month was an 18-year-old from Gaza named Shahad, who was treated at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon through Save A Child’s Heart.

Save a Child’s Heart is an Israeli humanitarian organization working internationally to save the lives of children from countries where access to pediatric cardiac care is limited or nonexistent. Founded at Wolfson in 1995, Save a Child’s Heart has saved the lives of almost 7,000 children from 70 countries and has brought more than 150 healthcare professionals to Israel for training.


(full article online)

In Israeli first, Gazan girl receives new kind of pacemaker in innovative procedure

Teams of doctors from Save A Child's Heart at Wolfson Medical Center implant cardiac device, identical to the one given to Netanyahu, through 18-year-old patient's neck

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Israel “to pay the price through the blood of its soldiers and settlers” - PFLP calls for “escalation everywhere” | PMW Analysis

Israel “to pay the price through the blood of its soldiers and settlers” - PFLP calls for “escalation everywhere”

palwatch.org

 

[rylah]

Israel “to pay the price through the blood of its soldiers and settlers” - PFLP calls for “escalation everywhere” | PMW Analysis

Israel “to pay the price through the blood of its soldiers and settlers” - PFLP calls for “escalation everywhere”

palwatch.org

In other words, thank HaShem these are our enemies.

They attack whenever it seems we fail to synthesize polar narratives,
only to unite at the basic instincts and synthesize with regional monarchies.
Jewish monarchy is an idea Arab imperialists fear more than any Saudi or Jordanian royalty.

 

[Sixties Fan]

Palestinians force Tunisian Muslim woman out of Al Aqsa:"You walk with the Jews!"​

Rabbi Yehuda Glick posted on his Facebook this photo and caption:



On the evening of Yom Kippur we prayed at the Temple Mount together.
Muslim Christian and Jew
We prayed for not one God that peace will come
About us and all mankind
May this place be a house of prayer for all nations.


In practically no time, the story spread and the woman - who is apparently Tunisian but traveling with a European passport - was refused entry to Al Aqsa when she tried to enter the site again on Tuesday.

In this video, a Palestinian man berates the Muslim woman woman who just wanted to pray. He tells her “Go outside, please. Oh, go outside. You walk with the Jews. You walk with Yehuda Glick. I never want to see you here again!"


(video video online)

The woman weakly protests but remains perfectly calm and while being berated.

Some angry Arabic sites identify her as Moroccan, which adds an extra layer of hate since Morocco had normalized relations with Israel.

The woman asked Glick to hide her face in his Facebook post, which he did. But it was too late; the original photo had already been published and spread.

Yet Glick's attempt to minimize the damage shows that he cares more about the welfare of this Muslim woman than Palestinian Muslims do.

Palestinians are cheering the man who forced a Muslim woman to leave the holy site.

Palestinians force Tunisian Muslim woman out of Al Aqsa:"You walk with the Jews!"

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Media Disregard Hamas Affiliation of Palestinian Killed in IDF Raid | Honest Reporting

In the early hours of Sunday September 24, 2023, Israeli forces conducted a counter-terrorism raid in the Nour Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem. During

honestreporting.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

As noted previously, the pinkwashing claim evokes historical antisemitic libels, specifically that anything Jews do that is good or beneficial must be a part of some nefarious ulterior motive.

However, the pinkwashing charge is now being used as more than just a cudgel to attack Israel. Today, the accusation simultaneously serves as a shield to deflect criticism from the widespread homophobia that is prevalent in Palestinian and Arab society.

The latest example of this was in an article in left-wing Canadian outlet Rabble, which published a so-called “analysis” that authoritatively announced: “Israeli pinkwashing: ‘It’s a facade’.”

In the piece, Rabble writer Yara Jamal and the founder of “Free Palestine Halifax,” Katerina Nikas, argue that pinkwashing “paints Palestinians as backward, racist and barbaric in order to justify the oppression and unequal treatment of Palestinians both straight and queer.”

Aside from the segue into a series of unconnected statements intended to demonstrate Israel’s profiting off pinkwashing, such as how the Jerusalem pride parade is supposedly held on land from which Palestinians were displaced, the writers struggle to prove their central hypothesis that gay rights in Israel are a “facade.”

The article continues:

Israel promotes its capital, Tel Aviv, as a gay friendly destination in the Middle East, while at the same time failing to mention that the city is built on top of several villages where Palestinians were expelled from their homes and are banned from entering the capital.
Palestinians queers are also denied asylum in Israel while trying to escape discrimination in their own communities.
In October 2022, a 25-year-old Palestinian gay man, Ahmad Abu Murkhiyeh, was killed in the West Bank after unsuccessfully seeking asylum in Israel two years prior to his murder.”

First, Tel Aviv is not the capital of Israel — Jerusalem is and always has been.

Second, the assertion that Tel Aviv was built atop several Palestinian villages (and how this even relates to pinkwashing) is risible. The city was originally founded on April 11, 1909, and was known as Ahuzat Bayit before its name was changed (a picture of the 60 families standing in the desert land that became the neighborhood can be seen here).

Third, it is manifestly untrue that Palestinians are denied asylum in Israel. Last year, the government announced plans to issue temporary work permits to LGBT+ Palestinians who were claiming asylum.

Fourth, the suggestion that Israel is somehow responsible for the death of Ahmad Abu Murkhiyeh is a disturbing distortion of what occurred. Murkhiyeh had been living as an asylum seeker in Israel for two years before — for unknown reasons — he traveled to Hebron where he was attacked and beheaded by a Palestinian.

Finally — and most importantly — why do Jamal and Nikas and indeed so many Western journalists have such trouble facing up to the simple truth that homophobic attitudes run rampant in Palestinian society and that this is not Israel’s fault?


(full article online)

The 'Pinkwashing' Dilemma: Why Can't The Media Face Up to Palestinian Homophobia? | Honest Reporting

We've heard them all before. From Greenwashing and artwashing to veganwashing and funwashing -- in the minds of Israel's most ardent critics, there is

honestreporting.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Writing in Alaraby, Hulmi al-Asmar writes that normalization maybe isn't so bad - that perhaps if Arab nations act nicely to Israel, Israel will implode from infighting since it is dependent on aggression.

Setting aside his main argument, al-Asmar gives a brief description of how Arab leaders have used the Palestinian issue for their own benefit, and how they have actually hurt the Palestinians with this cynical pretense.

For years, official Arab discourse used to murmur a heavy [Palestinian] "nationalist" sentiment, to the effect that "Palestine is the Arabs' top issue." From this slogan, a series of canned phrases emerged that affirmed standing by the Palestinian people and calling for their victory. Preachers filled the space with resonant speech in forums all over the world, and printed millions of pages with them. Books, poems, and commentaries were written about it, and they pulled their voices and roared their throats with enthusiastic songs. Millions of statements, and thousands of conferences and summits were also held, all of which threatened the enemy, or at least “confirmed its position in support of the Palestinian people, and their right to establish their independent state and defeat the occupation.” More than that, under the heading of “confronting the Zionist threat,” billions were spent on arming their armies, while morsels of bread were withheld from the mouths of the hungry, in preparation for the decisive battle with the “enemy” to build what they called “Arab national security,” and for that purpose legislation, emergency laws, and martial law were enacted. How can it not, when the nation is in a state of war and on constant alert? Therefore, there is no time for the luxury of “democracy,” nor for the “mockery” of elections, social justice, and other rights. This is not the time (!), as the nation is passing through a “delicate circumstance” and a “turning point.” It is a "dangerous time in history" and a "sensitive stage" that requires not paying attention to these "trivialities", and focusing effort on confronting "the enemy's plans" aimed at tearing apart the Arab ranks, and undermining "national dignity and nationalism!", etc., to the end of this series of great lies that may have passed on the minds of the "masses"... So what was the result?

Israel is expanding and strengthening every day, while Palestine is withering, and its nakba has been “Arabized” and reproduced. It was not limited to the Palestinian people, but the Arab regime produced other versions and more and revised versions of the Arab catastrophes, so that almost every Arab country has its own nakba.

This is stuff we've been saying for many years. It is rare indeed to see these words in Arabic:

Arab writer admits that Arab leaders only pretend to care about Palestinians for their own purposes

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[P F Tinmore]

Writing in Alaraby, Hulmi al-Asmar writes that normalization maybe isn't so bad - that perhaps if Arab nations act nicely to Israel, Israel will implode from infighting since it is dependent on aggression.

Setting aside his main argument, al-Asmar gives a brief description of how Arab leaders have used the Palestinian issue for their own benefit, and how they have actually hurt the Palestinians with this cynical pretense.



This is stuff we've been saying for many years. It is rare indeed to see these words in Arabic:

Arab writer admits that Arab leaders only pretend to care about Palestinians for their own purposes

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

Nothing new here. The Arab regimes have been giving little more than lip service to the Palestinians since 1973.

 

[Sixties Fan]

The most important change in the Arab world since the end of colonialism

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

On Thursday, Palestinian websites and social media celebrated the beginning of the second intifada.

Yes, celebrated.

They have twisted the wave of terror into a fiction that the suicide bombers blowing up children in pizza shops is an example of how "the Palestinian people sacrificed thousands of martyrs, wounded and prisoners in sacrifice for Al-Aqsa."

What, in fact, was accomplished?

• About 3,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces
• About 580 Palestinians killed by other Palestinians
  [*]
  

Thousands of Palestinians arrested

How about Al Aqsa? How well was that defended?

Well, in 2000, Jews could not easily visit the Temple Mount at all, and the Israeli police did not go up there to protect them. Now, scores of religious Jews visit and quietly pray there every weekday and the Israeli police go up as needed to preserve order. every year, more Jews visit.

Doesn't sound like much of a victory from the Muslim perspective.

Others say that the intifada was a victory because it united all Palestinians. But Hamas and Fatah split in 2007, and have remained separate since then, so unity is not the reason they are celebrating.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians lost their jobs in Israel as a result of the terror spree. The unemployment rate skyrocketed from about 7% in early 2000 to as high as 35% in 2002 and it has never gone below 20% since.

Moreover, in September 2000, Palestinians were closer to having their own state than at any time in their short history as a people. The intifada helped destroy those chances, and even the Israeli Left that had pushed so hard for peace became disillusioned with their "moderate partners."

So why are the Palestinians celebrating? Their lives are worse by every possible metric.

Here's why:

Because they succeeded in murdering about a thousand Jews, most of them civilians.





That is their "victory."

As long as they manage to kill Jews, all their own deaths and misery and political prices are worth it.

Palestinians are overwhelmingly and institutionally antisemitic. Every poll proves this. Their public celebrations every time a Jew gets killed even now proves it. Antisemitism is not coincidental with their behavior, but a major driver. And their fond memories of the second intifada is merely one more proof of the centrality of Jew-hatred to their very identity - a proof that the West is still reluctant to admit.

Palestinians are actually celebrating the anniversary of the second intifada. Only one reason makes sense.

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

On July 25, Global National broadcast a report covering the ongoing controversy surrounding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned judicial overhaul, following an important piece of the legislation being passed by Israel’s Knesset, or parliament.

The broadcast, filed by Global News’ Europe Bureau Chief, Crystal Goomansingh, also shed light on the widespread demonstrations throughout Israel in protest of the judicial reforms, which have attracted hundreds of thousands of Israelis on a weekly basis in cities across the country.

And while the topic of Israel’s judicial overhaul is worthy of coverage from the Canadian news media, it was a throwaway comment near the end of the broadcast that caught the attention of HonestReporting Canada.

In her report, Goomansingh told viewers that “With Israel’s far-right government, that means Palestinians could suffer even more. Nearly seven million are repressed living under Israeli military occupation in Palestinian territories, including the West Bank.”

Not only was the statement a non sequitur as part of the broadcast, it also spread wildly inaccurate information.

As HonestReporting Canada pointed out in a subsequent alert, the seven million figure presumably counts eastern Jerusalem and Judea & Samaria (often called the “West Bank” by news media outlets), with a population of around 3 million, and even Israeli Arabs, with a population of two million. It also includes the Gaza Strip, with an estimated population of around two million people.

Even aside from the necessary context that Israel possesses extensive legal and historical rights to the land in question, the most notable errors in Goomansingh’s comment were that Israeli Arabs suffer military repression, and that Gaza Strip is under Israeli occupation. In reality, Israel notably withdrew the entirety of its population – nearly 10,000 people, both civilian and military – from the Gaza Strip in 2005 in what became known as the Gaza Disengagement.

As for Arabs living inside Israel, contrary to Goomansingh’s report, they’re not under military occupation in any way, and in fact enjoy full rights as Israeli citizens or residents, with the right to vote, stand for election, and live as full Israelis in any way they choose.

Following HonestReporting Canada’s complaint sent to Global National and the issuance of our action alert, which was published only two days after the broadcast, Global National broadcast an on-air correction acknowledging their error.

In the on-air correction issued on September 22, Global National Anchor Dawna Friesen issued a mea culpa, saying: “A correction on a story we aired on July 25 in our coverage of the mass protests of Israel’s planned judicial reforms. We stated that nearly seven million Palestinians are living under Israeli military occupation in Palestinian territories, including the West Bank. According to data from the UN, that figure is closer to 4.8 million.”

According to recent figures from the United Nations, the population of the Palestinian territories (including both Judea & Samaria and the Gaza Strip) totals 4.8 million, and if this is the figure cited by Global National, then the recent correction, while a step in the right direction by acknowledging that Israeli Arabs do not live under Israeli military occupation, is still incomplete and false, as it suggests that Gaza remains under Israeli occupation.

Beyond the straightforward factual error made in the original broadcast alleging that Israel occupies the Gaza Strip, Goomansingh’s statement claiming that millions of Palestinians “are repressed living under Israeli military occupation” is wildly misleading.

As specified in the 1993 Oslo Accords, signed between Israel and the Palestinian leadership, the vast majority of Palestinians live under the civil and military control of the Palestinian Authority (PA), not Israel. Palestinian population centres including Bethlehem, Jericho, Jenin, Nablus and Ramallah all fall under Area A, meaning they are under full Palestinian civilian and security control.

And as pointed out in HonestReporting Canada’s original alert, Goomansingh’s original statement that Israel is present in Judea & Samaria also lacked any context as to why Israel is situated in those territories, including that had the Palestinian Authority accepted a peace deal with Israel, as it was offered, most famously at Camp David in 2000, then today, instead of Israel in some areas of Judea & Samaria, there would be a full and independent Palestinian state.

https://honestreporting.ca/hrc-prompts-global-national-on-air-correction-after-falsely-accusing-israel-of-occupying-gaza-repressing-israeli-arabs-palestinians/

 

[Sixties Fan]

On July 25, Global National broadcast a report covering the ongoing controversy surrounding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned judicial overhaul, following an important piece of the legislation being passed by Israel’s Knesset, or parliament.

The broadcast, filed by Global News’ Europe Bureau Chief, Crystal Goomansingh, also shed light on the widespread demonstrations throughout Israel in protest of the judicial reforms, which have attracted hundreds of thousands of Israelis on a weekly basis in cities across the country.

And while the topic of Israel’s judicial overhaul is worthy of coverage from the Canadian news media, it was a throwaway comment near the end of the broadcast that caught the attention of HonestReporting Canada.

In her report, Goomansingh told viewers that “With Israel’s far-right government, that means Palestinians could suffer even more. Nearly seven million are repressed living under Israeli military occupation in Palestinian territories, including the West Bank.”

Not only was the statement a non sequitur as part of the broadcast, it also spread wildly inaccurate information.

As HonestReporting Canada pointed out in a subsequent alert, the seven million figure presumably counts eastern Jerusalem and Judea & Samaria (often called the “West Bank” by news media outlets), with a population of around 3 million, and even Israeli Arabs, with a population of two million. It also includes the Gaza Strip, with an estimated population of around two million people.

Even aside from the necessary context that Israel possesses extensive legal and historical rights to the land in question, the most notable errors in Goomansingh’s comment were that Israeli Arabs suffer military repression, and that Gaza Strip is under Israeli occupation. In reality, Israel notably withdrew the entirety of its population – nearly 10,000 people, both civilian and military – from the Gaza Strip in 2005 in what became known as the Gaza Disengagement.

As for Arabs living inside Israel, contrary to Goomansingh’s report, they’re not under military occupation in any way, and in fact enjoy full rights as Israeli citizens or residents, with the right to vote, stand for election, and live as full Israelis in any way they choose.

Following HonestReporting Canada’s complaint sent to Global National and the issuance of our action alert, which was published only two days after the broadcast, Global National broadcast an on-air correction acknowledging their error.

In the on-air correction issued on September 22, Global National Anchor Dawna Friesen issued a mea culpa, saying: “A correction on a story we aired on July 25 in our coverage of the mass protests of Israel’s planned judicial reforms. We stated that nearly seven million Palestinians are living under Israeli military occupation in Palestinian territories, including the West Bank. According to data from the UN, that figure is closer to 4.8 million.”

(full article online)

https://honestreporting.ca/hrc-prompts-global-national-on-air-correction-after-falsely-accusing-israel-of-occupying-gaza-repressing-israeli-arabs-palestinians/?utm_source=Honest+Reporting+Canada&utm_campaign=7763c668b1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_01_01_06_22_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-c2395b4f14-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

 

[Sixties Fan]

Instead of giving its readers an in-depth and accurate understanding of a pressing news issue, Newsweek’s recent piece about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict does exactly the opposite.

But it does so in a subtle manner. By its structure, choice of interviewees, use of terminology and omissions, it blames Israel for everything that is wrong while making excuses for Palestinians – including the terrorism of their late leader Yasser Arafat and the antisemitism of their current President Mahmoud Abbas.

This theme is clear from the fear-mongering headline: “The Palestinian Dream is Dying – and It’s A Nightmare for Israel,” which sounds more like that of an opinion column than an objective reportage.

But opinions aside – the headline is subtly structured in a way that creates an illogical linkage, with its first part referring to passive dreamers and its second part pointing at those responsible for the dream’s failure. When people’s dreams are dying, it’s usually a nightmare primarily for themselves and not others.

The article’s accompanying video is also problematic. Captioned “Damage in Jenin Following Israeli Operation,” it provides no other context for the scenes of destruction — such as the fact that it was a counterterrorism operation.

Writer Tom O’Connor — whom Newsweek’s website describes as an “award-winning Senior Writer of Foreign Policy and Deputy Editor of National Security and Foreign Policy” — has significant previous form, having among others, been responsible for two biased articles that the magazine had to retract and apologize for following HonestReporting’s complaints back in 2017.

Yet he continues writing for Newsweek on Israeli issues and his current piece is littered with many more problems.

When the article delves into much-needed background and some quotes from Palestinian talking heads (one of whom practically justifies terrorism as an act of desperation), O’Connor’s bias really comes to the fore.

For example, the “peaceful” legacy of Palestinian terrorist leader Yasser Arafat and the mysterious “eruption” of the Second Intifada that he masterminded are described as follows:

The PA’s formation under Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) guerilla leader Yasser Arafat marked an inflection point for Palestinians, who, for the first time, could envision a peaceful path to independent statehood. Such hopes were soon shattered, however, as violence resurfaced at the turn of the century with the eruption of the Second Intifada.

(full article online )

Newsweek Ignores Arafat's Terrorism, Excuses Abbas' Antisemitism | Honest Reporting

Instead of giving its readers an in-depth and accurate understanding of a pressing news issue, Newsweek's recent piece about the Israeli-Palestinian

honestreporting.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

The Observer, published on Sundays, is The Guardian’s sister newspaper. While it has a separate editorial policy, it shares many of the same journalists and therefore plenty of the same anti-Israel bias.

So when Bethan McKernan writes for The Observer, you can expect the sort of bias that appears in her and Hazem Balousha’s latest from Gaza:

The dictionary definition of a siege is:

the act or process of surrounding and attacking a fortified place in such a way as to isolate it from help and supplies, for the purpose of lessening the resistance of the defenders and thereby making capture possible.

Israel does not want to capture Gaza. Israel withdrew its soldiers and its civilian population from the Gaza Strip in the 2005 Disengagement. If Israel wished to retake Gaza, it would not need to lay siege to the territory before using its considerable military power to retake it.

Which is why McKernan’s description in the story’s opening paragraph of the Gaza Strip as “occupied” is inaccurate and misleading.


McKernan continues:

The siege, now in its 16th year, has exacted a devastating toll on the strip’s 2.2 million trapped inhabitants; four wars and several smaller battles with Israel since Hamas seized power have devastated the infrastructure and economy of the 17 square miles. Clean water, electricity and adequate medical care are in short supply.

The reality is that it is not the non-existent “siege” that has devastated Gaza but the actions of its Hamas rulers whom McKernan never thinks to attribute any responsibility for the situation. Were Hamas to have focused its attention on the livelihoods and welfare of its people instead of building terror infrastructure, firing thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians, and initiating terrorist activities, the Gaza Strip may be a very different place today.

It’s far easier for McKernan to simply blame Israel and absolve Hamas. But what kind of “siege” allows basic food items, medicine, and other humanitarian goods into Gaza? Since Hamas came to power, trucks pass over the border with Israel almost every day, laden with these supplies. There have been no reports of starvation or health epidemics in Gaza.

McKernan also says:

The restrictions caused by the occupation may limit artistic expression but it remains a lifeline for many.

We’ve already established that Gaza is not “occupied.” But “the occupation” is terminology usually used by Palestinians to describe Israel or the IDF. It is not terminology that should be adopted by a supposedly mainstream media outlet or journalist.

Failure to Differentiate Between Terrorists and Civilians​

McKernan refers to Israel’s five-day Operation Shield and Arrow in May 2023 as “a surprise offensive that left 33 Palestinians and two people in Israel dead” — failing to differentiate between combatants and civilians.

Of the 33 dead Palestinians, 22 of them, a majority, were confirmed as members of terror organizations or involved in violence. The two people killed in Israel were both civilians.

***

We’ve contacted The Observer to ask that the reference to Gaza as “occupied” is corrected as well as registering our complaints about the innate bias in the story.

Gaza 'Occupied and 'Under Siege' According to The Observer | Honest Reporting

The Observer, published on Sundays, is The Guardian's sister newspaper. While it has a separate editorial policy, it shares many of the same journalists

honestreporting.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Israel and Egypt have maintained restrictions on Gaza leading up today’s blockade since Hamas seized control of the Strip in 2007.

Often overlooked, forgotten or taken for granted in media coverage and public discussion is the reason for the blockade: the threat of Hamas weapons smuggling.

Egypt captured Gaza during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. The Strip would remain under Egyptian military occupation until the Six-Day War of 1967. Israel’s administration allowed Jews to settle in the Strip. (The Jewish Virtual Library expands on historical Jewish ties to Gaza). When Israel unilaterally disengaged from Gaza in 2005, 8,000 settlers were evacuated from 21 settlements. The Fatah-led Palestinian Authority managed Gaza’s affairs until 2007, when Hamas violently seized control of the Strip, killing and expelling Fatah personnel.

The Hamas takeover destroyed international agreements between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt over Gaza’s border crossings. PA personnel and European monitors manning the crossings fled the violence.

Since Hamas seized power, Israel has fought three wars in Gaza (Operation Cast Lead in 2008-09, Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, and Operation Protective Edge in 2014). The IDF has foiled a number of attempts to smuggle Iranian arms to Gaza. Egypt has also has also periodically moved against Gaza-Sinai smuggling tunnels. Hamas has an up-and-down relationship with jihadist insurgents in the Sinai fighting the Egyptian military.

(For the sake of brevity, we look forward to addressing the legality of the Gaza blockade separately. For the time being, readers interested to learn more can see International Law and the Fighting in Gaza by Justus Reid Weiner and Avi Bell.)

The Cairo Context​

The Hamas coup set off alarm bells in both Israel and Egypt and the two countries established a blockade of the Strip. Jerusalem was worried because Hamas is sworn to Israel’s destruction.

Cairo’s concerns, however, aren’t as fully understood in the West but are a critical part of the Gaza blockade’s background.

Hamas is an ideological offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. Article II of the Hamas covenant identifies the organization as “one of the wings of Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine.” The Brotherhood, which was founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna, seeks to spread Islamist rule throughout the Middle East. In the years before Israel’s founding, the Brotherhood provided support for Palestinian terror attacks associated with the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini. Egypt’s failure to prevent the establishment of Israel led the Brotherhood to increase its rhetoric against King Farouk and attacks on government officials. Banna’s assassination in 1949 is widely thought to have been carried out by the Egyptian Iron Guard, a royalist movement which Farouk used to settle political and personal vendettas.

Successive Egyptian leaders Gamel Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak suppressed the Brotherhood. But the Egyptian Revolution turned the tables. In 2012 elections, the Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party’s candidate, Mohamed Morsi, was elected president. The FJP also won 47 percent of the Egyptian parliament. The Brotherhood sought to draft a new constitution enshrining Islamic law and authorizing the president wide powers to “protect the revolution.” The power struggle came to a head in 2013, when, in the face of mass anti-government protests, the Egyptian military overthrew Morsi, arrested Brotherhood members and seized the organization’s assets.

Despite being crushed in Egypt, the Brotherhood has affiliates in numerous other Arab countries, Europe and even Israel. (The Islamic Movement in Israel split in 1993 over the Oslo accords. The “Southern Branch” accepted Oslo and eventually ran in Knesset elections. The “Northern Branch” rejected Oslo and was outlawed in 2015 over its ties to Hamas.)

Timeline of Key Events​

To better understand the Gaza blockade’s history, here is a timeline of key events followed by background information on Gaza’s three operational border crossings.


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