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UC Berkeley Police practice their torture techniques on Non-violent protesters 4/9
9 small photos of police violence against non-violent demonstrators protesting the Israeli occupation of Palestine...
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On the subject of cops and pressure, nice display of information gathering techniques with the photos of police work/tax dollars in action! See the looks on their superior cop faces? You think they're any more merciful with their own children? "My dad did this to me, and now it's your turn!"
Anyway, I'm among the useless-of-the-day who wasn't able to get to the demonstrations at Sproul Plaza yesterday. I'd just like to deeply thank the people who did demonstrate and offer regrets for those who had to suffer at the hands of folks who joined the academy so someday they could get paid to legally beat people up. You were there to stand up for what you know in your heart is right, so don't listen to the RIGHT when they attack you for supporting the oppressed and not the formerly-oppressed-now-oppressor-supreme. End US Aid to Israel. Food and medicine; not helicopters, tanks and F-16s. thankyouverymuch
We expect journalists to maintain independence and objectivity -- and certainly not pledge "cooperation" with one side of an armed struggle. But when a representative of Italian state television issued an apology in Arabic over the filming of a brutal lynching of two Israelis in Ramallah, and promised to cooperate more fully with the Palestinian Authority in the future, Western sensibilities were shaken.
Why is the media biased? It could be they are intimidated by Palestinian strongmen into covering only the "positive" side, while Israeli democracy permits more open coverage of the Israeli position. Or it could be that it's more exciting to root for the underdog. Or it could be that the world applies a double-standard of morality to Israel.
Whatever the reason, if truth is to prevail, we can't just "read" the newspaper. Be discerning and become part of the process. Otherwise, you're just a passive object of someone else's agenda. As Mark Twain once said, "If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed."
Conrad Black is CEO of Hollinger International, and publisher of The Spectator (London), The Jerusalem Post, and other publications. He writes:
"The British media habitually apply a double standard when judging the Israelis and Palestinians. Behind the spurious defence of merely seeking justice for the Palestinians, most of the relevant sections of the BBC, Independent, Guardian, Evening Standard and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are rabidly anti-Israel."
How can readers discern the truth between the lines? Listed here are common methods employed by the media -- intentionally or not -- to influence public opinion. By being aware of these methods, we can avoid becoming a pawn in the media war.
Here are the "7 Violations of Media Objectivity":
1. Misleading definitions and terminology.
2. Imbalanced reporting.
3. Opinions disguised as news.
4. Lack of context.
5. Selective omission.
6. Using true facts to draw false conclusions.
7. Distortion of facts.
See the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists, and additional resource material on media ethics,- courtesy of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Violation #1
Misleading Definitions and Terminology
By using terminology and definitions in a way that implies accepted fact, the media injects bias under the guise of objectivity.
EXAMPLE: In March 2001, two separate acts of terrorism occurred a few days apart, providing the opportunity to compare the media's selective use of terminology. The BBC's article on an IRA car bomb in London carries the headline "BBC bomb prompts terror warning," and the word "terror" (or its derivatives) is used 5 other times in the article. The IRA alerted police ahead of time, and one man was slightly injured in the blast.
But after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed three Israeli civilians (without prior warning) in Netanya, the BBC purposely avoided the label "terrorist," and instead used the far milder term "militants."
EXAMPLE: The New York Times subtly altered its reference to the Temple Mount, which unbiased historians have always acknowledged was the site of two Holy Jewish Temples. In apparent deference to Palestinian leaders who claim that no Jewish Temple ever stood on the Jerusalem hill toward which Jews have prayed for millennia, The Times began appending the phrase to include "which the Arabs call the Haram al Sharif."
Then, a few weeks later, The Times referred to "the Temple Mount, which Israel claims to have been the site of the First and Second Temple." It was no longer established historical fact -- but a mere "claim." Then, in a subsequent article, The Times described Israeli troops as having "stormed the Haram, holiest Muslim site in Jerusalem, where hundreds of people were at worship." No mention whatsoever of its status as the "Temple Mount" or the single holiest Jewish site.
EXAMPLE: Ariel Sharon, the democratically-elected leader of the State of Israel, is consistently referred to by derogatory monikers like "hard-liner" and even "war criminal." Curiously, no such appellations are attached to Yasser Arafat.
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Violation #2
Imbalanced Reporting
Media reports frequently skew the picture by presenting only one side of the story.
EXAMPLE: In February 2001, Deborah Sontag of the New York Times and Suzanne Goldenberg of the Guardian (UK) both reported on the opening of a new exhibit in the West Bank town of Ramallah dedicated to the memories of 100 Palestinian "martyrs."
Curiously, both reporters use nearly identical language in their reports:
SONTAG: "Israeli critics would say that the exhibit, '100 Martyrs - 100 Lives,' glorifies death and encourages the cult of the shaheed, or martyr."
GOLDENBERG: "Israeli critics would argue that the exhibit glorifies violent death, and promotes a cult of martyrdom."
Issues of plagiarism aside, what is most disturbing is the way both Sontag and Goldenberg assume what Israelis critics "would say" -- had the reporter bothered to ask. Media watchdog smartertimes.com, wrote about the Sontag piece: "Israeli critics 'would say' that, if they had actually been called or quoted by the Times, rather than having their criticisms assumed. Funny how the Arabs in the article are interviewed and allowed to speak for themselves, rather than having their views summarized by a reporter estimating what they 'would say' had the reporter bothered go to the effort to ask."
EXAMPLE: A related violation, yet particularly insidious, is where the media presents a speaker from one side of the conflict who merely ratifies the opposing viewpoint. For example, under the guise of "balanced reporting," the media is fond of quoting Michael Lerner, a California rabbi who called Prime Minister Barak's policies "racist" and "oppressive," refered to the IDF as "barbarous" and "brutal," and accused Israeli citizens of perpetrating "classic Russian pogroms on Palestinian civilians."
EXAMPLE: CNN.com offers a list of web sites relating to the Middle East. Under the heading of "General Information Sites," all 12 sites are Arab-related, including one specific Palestinian site. There are no Jewish or Israel-related sites listed in this category.
The same CNN page recommends web sites within each Middle Eastern country. For example, five sites are listed for the tiny under-developed country Yemen, and five sites are listed for Palestine. The Israel category lists four sites.
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Violation #3
Opinions Disguised as News
An objective reporter should not use adjectives or adverbs, unless they are part of a quotation. Also, the source for any facts and opinions should be clear from the report, or alternatively it should be stated that source is intentionally undisclosed.
Even so-called "opinion pieces" must bear a modicum of objectivity. James Hill, the managing editor of the Washington Post Writers Group, writes:
"You have to hold columnists to the same standard as anyone at the newspaper. If a column writer is making egregious errors in the process of stating his or her opinion, eventually it's not the columnist who's doing that, it's the paper that's doing that."
EXAMPLE: On February 7, 2001, "The Early Show" co-host Bryant Gumbel interviewed former Middle East envoy Dennis Ross about what Ariel Sharon's election victory meant for the peace process. Gumbel abdicated his role of objective journalist by repeatedly asking Ross leading questions, loaded with venomous descriptions of Sharon. Gumbel said:
"But does he [Arafat] even have a chance with -- with Sharon, when many objective observers view him as -- as not only a racist, a terrorist, a murderous war criminal?"
EXAMPLE: Even photos are subject to editorializing. A "news" photo from Reuters depicts Palestinians youths throwing stones. Poetically surreal, the Palestinian attackers are heroically silhouetted on a mountaintop, their stones floating triumphantly through the majestic clouds.
EXAMPLE: A Los Angeles Times editorial cartoon depicted an Orthodox Jew praying at the Western Wall, with the stones of the wall forming the word "hate." The caption read: "Worshipping their God."
In defense, L.A. Times artist Michael Ramirez pointed out that that a second man in the cartoon (who was sprawled on the ground and much less noticeable) was actually a Moslem praying. Unfortunately, the keffiah which would identify him as a Moslem is practically invisible. Furthermore, Ramirez was unable to explain why the chosen venue of "hate" was the Western Wall, a site sacred only to Jews, which has never been a place of Moslem prayer. (Following reader protest, the Los Angeles Times altered its cartoon, deleting the unique Herodian frame around the Western Wall stones, to make it look more like a generic wall.)
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Violation #4
Lack of Context
By failing to provide proper context and full background information, journalists can dramatically distort the true picture.
EXAMPLE: A BBC photo depicts two Palestinians, hands tied behind their backs, and kneeling on the ground. Standing over them is an Israeli soldier with a rifle pointed at their heads.
There is no context identifying this photo, just the benign caption "Tension has been high around the Jewish settlements." But who are the Arabs in this photo? Did they just murder Jews in cold blood? Or were they innocently buying bread at the local market? BBC does not say. And why is the soldier pointing the gun? Is he guarding dangerous prisoners until reinforcements can arrive? Or is he about to blow off their heads at point-blank range? BBC lets the implication stand for itself.
EXAMPLE: In February 2001, when a Palestinian killed eight Israelis by ramming his bus into a crowd, the front page of the Los Angeles Times carried an Associated Press photo which shows the damaged bus, and the Palestinian driver still behind the wheel, laid back with a sad face. The caption reads:
"Palestinian bus driver Khalil abu Olbeh, 35, sits wounded after leading police on a 19-mile chase. Family members said that he was distraught over financial problem and upset by current unrest."
The caption and photo sympathetically suggest that this mass murderer is somehow a victim of "Israeli aggression."
Meanwhile, the Guardian (UK) defended the bus driver as "a sort of Palestinian everyman who finally snapped because of the combined pressure of the four-month uprising and Israel's economic blockade." Despite his having admitted to carefully planning the attack, the Guardian said the attack was "far from being the calculated aim of a dedicated terrorist," and claimed that the killer was merely drowsy from medication.
EXAMPLE: The October 23 edition of Teen Newsweek, a magazine distributed to middle school students across America, features is a prominent photo of three Palestinians, with the man in the middle holding up his blood-covered hands. The caption reads: "In the West Bank city of Ramallah, bloodied Palestinian protestors express their rage."
The implication is that the Palestinians are bloody because they are victims of Israeli aggression. There is no mention whatsoever that these Palestinians are bloody because they just got finished beating, stabbing, burning and disemboweling two innocent Israelis. And how does Teen Newsweek's photo caption refer to these heinous murderers? As benign "protestors."
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Violation #5
Selective Omission
By choosing to report certain events over others, the media controls access to information and manipulates public sentiment.
EXAMPLE: Ever since the violence began, media outlets routinely refer to the Intifada as being "sparked by Ariel Sharon's provocative visit to the Temple Mount." This is despite the admission by Palestinian Minister of Communications Imad el-Falouji that the Palestinian Authority pre-planned the outbreak of violence. As reported in the semi-governmental Beirut "Daily Star" (March 3, 2001):
"A Palestinian Cabinet minister said on Friday that the five-month-old uprising against Israel had been planned since the Camp David peace talks failed in July, contradicting past contentions of a spontaneous outburst from Palestinians on the street. Imad Faluji, the Palestinian National Authority's Communications Minister, said during a PLO rally in Ain al-Hilweh refutifada, in which more than 400 people have been killed, was planned."
However, a search of the entire CNN website for the name of the PA minister, Imad Falouji, reveals one lone reference, buried in three short paragraphs near the end of an article. Was the PA minister's assertion that the Intifada was planned not newsy enough for CNN? And shouldn't CNN stop referring to Sharon's visit as "sparking the Intifada"?
EXAMPLE: On October 24, 2000, The New York Times referred to a case of Palestinian incitement:
"Israelis cite as one egregious example a televised sermon that defended the killing of the two [lynched] soldiers. 'Whether Likud or Labor, Jews are Jews,' proclaimed Sheik Ahmad Abu Halabaya in a live broadcast from a Gaza city mosque the day after the killings."
But The Times utterly failed to convey the main message of the inflammatory sermon. In fact, The Times appears to go out of his way to choose a one-sentence quotation that could be seen as innocuous when taken out of context. The salient point of the Gaza mosque sermon, broadcast live on Palestinian Authority TV, is as follows:
"Even if an agreement for Gaza is signed, we shall not forget Haifa, and Acre, and the Galilee, and Jaffa, and the Triangle and the Negev, and the rest of our cities and villages. It is only a matter of time... Have no mercy on the Jews, no matter where they are, in any country. Fight them, wherever you are. Wherever you meet them, kill them."
EXAMPLE: MSNBC nominated a series of photos for "Pictures of the Year 2000," ( including one entitled "A Death in Gaza," which depicts 12-year-old Mohammed Aldura huddled behind his father moments before being shot to death. Of the 49 photos up for consideration, most are of nature scenes. The only two politically-related photos both carry an anti-Israel message: the Gaza photo, and a photo of a young (presumably Arab) boy in a damaged West Bank home. A more obvious choice, the photo of the Palestinian's bloody hands at the Ramallah lynching, was not nominated by MSNBC.
The Gaza photo is used as a demonstration of the cruelty of Israeli soldiers, but does not provide any context, leading to the false conclusion that the boy was directly fired upon in full view of Israeli soldiers. Although been Israeli crossfire may have caused the boy's accidental death, there is serious doubt whether Israeli soldiers were positioned to do so.
The media fails to bring crucial background information: Palestinian children are encouraged onto the front lines, used as intentional sacrifices to garner world sympathy. Furthermore, there is considerable evidence that the boy was killed by a Palestinian gunman standing near the Palestinian cameraman -- all staged by Palestinians at the beginning of the intifada to garner world sympathy (which it did).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Violation #6
Using True Facts To Draw False Conclusions
Media reports frequently use true facts to draw erroneous conclusions.
EXAMPLE: In February 2001, when Ariel Sharon was elected Israeli Prime Minister, the Christian Science Monitor tried to delegitimize the voters' choice by claiming that voter turnout "was an unprecedentedly low 60 percent," and claiming that "at least 62 percent of eligible Israeli voters did not vote for Sharon."
In reality, only despotic countries like North Korea or Syria report 99 percent voter turnout. Truly free elections mean that citizens are also free not to vote. In the United States, only 51 percent of eligible voters participated in the 2000 presidential elections. This means that President George W. Bush received fewer than 25 percent of the eligible votes; additionally he did not even win the popular vote. To paraphrase Cobban's calculation, "At least 75 percent of eligible American voters did not vote for Bush." In years when only congressional elections are held, American voter turnout drops to 36-38 percent. But no one makes such charges undermining the American president's authority or legitimacy.
EXAMPLE: Many articles report that "hundreds of people have been killed, the vast majority Palestinians." This is an indisputable fact, yet without qualifying these figures, the reader is led to the false conclusion that Israeli soldiers are the aggressors and have used excessive force.
However, if Israeli forces were actually doing what they are accused of -- shooting indiscriminately into crowds with automatic weapons. If that were the case, many thousands of Palestinians would be dead. In reality, the ratio of deaths is less than one per riot.
EXAMPLE: Teen Newsweek, a magazine distributed to middle school students across America, published a chart illustrating the number of Palestinian and Israeli children killed since 1987. The Palestinian numbers, represented in bright red, many times exceed Israeli losses, shown in a less visible yellow. There is no explanation of circumstances how these children died. The implication is that there is equivalency -- even though the Palestinian children were killed while attempting martyrdom in the context of violent attacks on Israeli forces, while the Israeli children were killed while sitting on a public bus or in a cafe, blown up by a Palestinian suicide bomber.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Violation #7
Distortion of Facts
In today's competitive media world, reporters frequently do not have the time, inclination or resources to properly verify information before submitting a story for publication.
EXAMPLE: In reporting on violence of Joseph's Tomb, CNN writes:
Meanwhile, at least 77 people, mostly Palestinians have died during several fierce clashes at Joseph's Tomb during the past week. The lone Israeli soldier to die during the clashes bled to death in the tomb as rescuers tried for hours to reach him.
CNN's claim that 77 people died in one week of clashes at Joseph's Tomb is a gross factual inaccuracy. Since one Israeli was killed, 76 were obviously Palestinian. Yet in truth, six Palestinians and one Israeli soldier had died during that week of clashes at Joseph's Tomb. In other words, CNN cited the total number of Palestinian casualties in all clashes, and juxtaposed that figure with the Israeli casualty of one isolated event.
EXAMPLE: The New York Times, Associated Press and other major media outlets published a photo of a young man -- bloodied and battered -- crouching beneath a club-wielding Israeli policeman. The caption identified him as a Palestinian victim of the recent riots -- with the clear implication that the Israeli soldier is the one who beat him.
In fact, the bloodied "Palestinian" depicted in the photograph was Tuvia Grossman, a 20-year-old Jewish student from Chicago, studying in Jerusalem. And the assailants were not Israelis, but members of a Palestinian mob who beat and stabbed Grossman mercilessly for 10 minutes. And the infuriated Israeli policeman with a baton was deterring the Palestinians from finishing their lynching.
Media bias assumes that if there's a victim, it must be a Palestinian. Yet who are the real victims and who are the aggressors? The truth is often the opposite of how it appears.
By being astute media observers, we can make a difference. In response to public pressure, The New York Times reprinted Tuvia Grossman's picture -- this time with the proper caption -- along with a full article detailing his near-lynching at the hands of Palestinians rioters.
I have an uncontrollable urge to run up all 102 floors of the Empire State building, shimmy my way up the TV antenna and start screaming, begging, pleading as loud as I can: "Wake up, world! The war in Israel is not just about land! It's also about hatred of the Jewish people!"
Most American Jews will probably think I'm paranoid, a person who finds a pogrom coming out of every closet. But if we look at the words and deeds of Islamic activists -- in the Mideast and beyond -- we see virulent ant-Semitic messages being distributed regularly to a broad audience.
A few hours of Internet research came up with hundreds of examples of Arab leaders and official press attacking Jews. They don't attack Israel on how it deals with Palestinian issues; this state-sponsored anti-Semitism drudges up ancient stereotyping and blood libel. And this rhetoric has expanded into Europe, the U.S., and the UN.
For starters, the Palestinian media has called for the killing of all Jews. In October 2000, after two Israeli solders were lynched in Ramallah, Dr. Ahmad Abu Halabiya gave a sermon on official Palestinian Authority television:
Have no mercy on the Jews no matter where they are, in any country. Fight them, wherever you are. Wherever you meet them, kill them. Wherever you are, kill those Jews and those Americans who are like them - and those who stand by them... (translation by memri.org)
The betrayed Jesus Christ in the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad.
Doesn't sound like purely a land battle to me. Let's look at Israel's neighbors. During the Pope's trip to Syria last year, President Assad said,
They (the Jews) tried to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ in the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad. (ADL, October 2001)
Maybe the moderate Saudis are a little more reasonable? In December 2001, the Saudi government-controlled newspaper, Al-Watan, published a report entitled, "The Jewish organizations are implementing their strategic and hellish plan to take over the world":
The Jews act by means of the control of the media, politics and the economy in order to weaken the non-Jewish groups and bring about their disintegration." (translation by memri.org)
In the Saudi government daily Al-Riyadh, columnist Dr. Umayma Ahmad Al-Jalahma of King Faysal University in Al-Dammam, wrote last week (March 10, 2002) on "The Jewish Holiday of Purim." The following are excerpts of the article:
Special Ingredient For Jewish Holidays is Human Blood From Non-Jewish Youth:
For this holiday, the Jewish people must obtain human blood so that their clerics can prepare the holiday pastries. In other words, the practice cannot be carried out as required if human blood is not spilled!!
The Jews' spilling human blood to prepare pastry for their holidays is a well-established fact, historically and legally, all throughout history. This was one of the main reasons for the persecution and exile that were their lot in Europe and Asia at various times.
How the Jews Drain the Blood From Their Young Victims:
I would like to tell you how human blood is spilled so it can be used for their holiday pastries. The blood is spilled in a special way. How is it done? For this holiday, the victim must be a mature adolescent who is, of course, a non-Jew -- that is, a Christian or a Muslim. His blood is taken and dried into granules. The cleric blends these granules into the pastry dough; they can also be saved for the next holiday. In contrast, for the Passover slaughtering, about which I intend to write one of these days, the blood of Christian and Muslim children under the age of 10 must be used, and the cleric can mix the blood [into the dough] before or after dehydration. The Actions of the Jewish Vampires Cause Them Pleasure:
Let us now examine how the victims' blood is spilled. For this, a needle-studded barrel is used; this is a kind of barrel, about the size of the human body, with extremely sharp needles set in it on all sides. [These needles] pierce the victim's body, from the moment he is placed in the barrel.
These needles do the job, and the victim's blood drips from him very slowly. Thus, the victim suffers dreadful torment -- torment that affords the Jewish vampires great delight as they carefully monitor every detail of the blood-shedding with pleasure and love that are difficult to comprehend. (translation by memri.org)
Egypt, the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, recently ran a TV series called "Horseman Without a Horse," a 30-part series based on the anti-Semitic forgery, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion."
Sheikh Muhammed Abd Al Hadi La'afi, responsible for Religious Teaching and Instruction in the Office of the Wakf, wrote in the official P.A. newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (May 18, 2001):
The battle with the Jews will surely come... the decisive Muslim victory is coming without a doubt, and the prophet spoke about in more than one Hadith and the Day of resurrection will not come without the victory of the believers [the Muslims] over the descendents of the monkeys and pigs [the Jews] and with their annihilation.
These hate-filled teachings proliferate even in America. The Washington Post reported (March 2002) on Muslim elementary and high schools in the U.S.:
[One] 11th-grade textbook, for example, says one sign of the Day of Judgment will be that Muslims will fight and kill Jews, who will hide behind trees that say: 'Oh Muslim, Oh servant of God, here is a Jew hiding behind me. Come here and kill him.' Several students of different ages, all of whom asked not to be identified, said that in Islamic studies, they are taught that it is better to shun and even to dislike Christians, Jews and Shi'ite Muslims... [In addition,] maps of the Middle East hang on classroom walls, but Israel is missing.
CONSPIRACY THEORIES
Beyond the traditional anti-Semitic slurs, there is a new strategy that strikes at the heart of our Jewish heritage, seeking to deny our history. Remember the dismantling of Joseph's Tomb, the attack on Rachel's Tomb, and the ancient Jericho synagogue that was destroyed by the Palestinians? Their purpose was to turn Jewish history into a myth. The Mufti of Jerusalem has said of the Temple Mount:
"There is not the smallest indication of the existence of a Jewish temple on this place in the past." (Boston Globe, April 2001)
The Mufti's comments have been echoed by Arafat's cabinet, and much of the official press of the Arab world. In some sort of kow-tow, even The New York Times described the Temple Mount as what "Israel claims to have been the site of the first and second Temples." The Temple is mentioned in the Jewish Bible, the Christian Bible, the Koran, and every history book of the past 3,000 years. But it is now just a claim. A poll found that 71 percent of Pakistanis believed there was a September 11 Jewish conspiracy.
And let's not forget how, throughout the Arab world, the World Trade Center attack was reported as a Jewish-led conspiracy.
At a meeting in Damascus in October 2001 with a delegation from the British Royal College of Defense Studies, Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass said the Mossad planned the ramming of two hijacked airliners into the WTC towers. He also told the British visitors that the Mossad had given thousands of Jewish employees at the towers advance warning not to go to work on September 11. (Jerusalem Post, October 19, 2001)
The slander took hold. Paknews.com, a sophisticated English-language news site based in Pakistan, found that 71 percent of its readers believed the report of a September 11 "Jewish conspiracy."The Mufti of Jerusalem personally recruited 20,000 Muslims in Bosnia to serve in the Waffen SS.
The Holocaust is another point to examine. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, lived in Berlin from 1941-45. He was in charge of supervising Axis propaganda to Muslims all over the world. When Jews fleeing Hitler's ovens were able to obtain emigration visas to Palestine, the Mufti was instrumental in getting those visa cancelled. He met several times with Hitler, and personally recruited 20,000 Muslims in Bosnia to serve in the Waffen SS. (See: http://notendur.centrum.is/~snorrigb/muftism.htm)
This tradition continues today. "Mein Kampf," previously banned by Israel, has been allowed by the PA and was sixth on the Palestinian best-seller list. A senior commander in Arafat's personal bodyguard is Fawzi Salem al-Mahdi (known as "Abu Hitler"), whose two sons bear the first names Hitler and Eichmann.
The official Arab mouthpieces are among the ranks of the most stubborn Holocaust deniers. And American neo-Nazi and white supremacist parties have found in Muslims a new audience to advance theories discredited in the west for more than 50 years.
BEYOND THE MIDDLE EAST
Anti-Jewish sentiments are spreading far beyond the Middle East. France has one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, and is also one of least hospitable to its Jewish residents. CRIF (an umbrella group of Jewish organizations in France) reported that between September 2000 and November 2001 there were 330 anti-Semitic incidents in metro Paris alone, nearly one per day. The study also reported that the perpetrators are primarily young Arab immigrants. (ADL, January 2002)
Britain's Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, has said that Jews of his country are suffering from the worst anti-Semitism since the Holocaust. The contributing factors of this anti-Semitism have been the rise in Islamic fundamentalists who use the Israeli-Arab conflict as an excuse to create open displays of anti-Semitism. (Simon Weisental Center, February 2002)
In December 2001, the largest neo-Nazi march since World War Two took place in Berlin.
At the world conference on Racism in Durban this past September, literature with hook-nosed Jewish caricatures were distributed inside while thousands of South African Muslims marched outside carrying banners saying that Hitler should have finished the job. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, December 2001)
Copies of the libelous "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" are selling fast in Malaysia and Pakistan. "The Bulawayo Chronicle," which supports the government of Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, recently published a 3,000-word article alleging Jewish responsibility for the ongoing economic problems facing the country. In America, 73 percent of all reported hate crimes on the basis of religion were against Jews, according to FBI figures.
America is not exempt, either. In the year 2000, 73 percent of all reported hate crimes on the basis of religion were against Jews, according to FBI figures.
The spreaders of hate have a strong ally in the press. Organizations such as the BBC, The New York Times and the once-proud CBS News, have subtly manipulated terminology and provided unbalanced reporting. When Israel suffers a terrorist attack and retaliates by targeting the terrorists, it is called the "cycle of violence" -- drawing a moral equivalency between civilians and terrorists, and dehumanizing civilian victims.
Let's not forget how the press uses the word "terrorist." If a military action is targeted toward civilians anywhere in world, it is "terrorism," but somehow when it targets Jewish civilians, it is "militancy," "activism," "freedom fighting," or as The New York Times prefers: "What Israel claims is a terrorist act."
CALL FOR ACTION
Make no mistake about it -- this is a war about much more than land. It is being waged by Islamic zealots who corrupt the name of religion to spread hate. The anti-Zionist rhetoric is just a front for deep anti-Semitism.
During an appearance at Harvard University, a student stood up and asked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to address himself to the issue of Zionism. The question was clearly hostile. King responded, "When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You are talking anti-Semitism." (San Francisco Chronicle, January 21, 2002)
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said: When people criticize Zionists, you're talking anti-Semitism.
We need to wake up before it's too late. Recognize what is going on and take action. Write your government; tell them to take action against anti-Semitism in your county. Take notice of what is being said in the media. Write letters about their inaccuracies and omissions -- not only in letters to the editor, but also to their advertisers. Sign up to http://www.honestreporting.com. Visit Israel or at least buy Israeli products; support the economy of our brethren who are on the front lines.
Prior to coming to power in Germany, Hitler wrote "Mein Kampf" which outlined many of his plans, including a discussion of the "Jewish Problem." His horrible goals were laid out in black and white. Despite the forewarning, most people had their heads in the sand and were surprised when Hitler followed through on his plans.
Seventy years ago, we did not take Hitler at his word. Will we take today's anti-Semites at their word?
Who is in fact exhibiting the "filth" here but our resident invertebrate, JoJo Gunn?
And guess which adherent to passive non-violent resistence equated anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism?
Stumped? The answer is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
And before you go slamming me for generalizations, take a look at the wave of anti-Jewish violence that has swept the world in the last weeks. Anti-Jewish pogroms in France and Eastern Europe, a synagogue bombed in Tunisia, hate crimes here in Berkeley including the assault on two Orthodox men.
Also, what do you think about SJP promising in the Daily Cal that they wouldn't take over a building again -- to diffuse concerns about their having a major anti-Israel event on Yom HaShoah while Jews were solemnly remembering victims of the Holocaust -- only to break that promise by taking over another campus building? That is certainly intellectually dishonest and ethically dishonorable, Isn't it?
This liberal is quite appalled at the level of intolerance and stigmatization of Jewish students on campus that is considered respectable by some people who should know better.
Let he/she who is without sin cast the first stone.
And Our Resident Invetebrate accuses me of providing a "Pavlovian response"! (laughter)
The "context" of Sharon's comments cannot be justified by you or anyone else. They are, in fact, the ravings of a clear lunatic whose army is torturing, burning, raping, shooting, and starving hundreds of "ragheaded scum" as you scribble your desperate and incoherent apologies for the Despicable.
Source: The Guardian of London.
Refugees flee camp with reports of Israeli abuses
Suzanne Goldenberg in Jenin
Friday April 12, 2002
The Guardian
An exodus was under way yesterday from the refugee camp that endured the bloodiest battle of Israel's military offensive, with Palestinians bearing horrifying accounts of a systematic campaign of destruction and abuse.
Hundreds of Palestinians fled the camp yesterday, an empty, smoking ruin resounding to bursts of Israeli machine gun fire. They left behind entire neighbourhoods flattened to make way for Israeli armour.
Some of the wrecking missions were launched while women and children were inside their homes. The operation began with rocketing from helicopter gunships and bulldozers moved in to finish the job.
They also told of the use of human shields for Israeli army patrols, and the random strafing of heavily populated civilian areas, killing elderly women and young boys and girls.
Those fleeing were dirty, exhausted and desperately hungry. Doctors in Jenin say 15 babies were sick after their mothers fed them powdered milk and sewage run-off from streets where bodies were left to rot for days.
A few also claimed to have witnessed a summary execution and the dumping of the dead - at least 150 Palestinians were killed in the camp by the Israeli army count - into mass graves.
The stories of executions and disposal of the dead could not be verified as the Israeli army has encircled the camp with tanks, and shot at, or arrested, journalists approaching the area. The Guardian was among a handful of newspapers whose reporters managed to enter the town yesterday.
But the accounts of the massive destruction of civilian homes, and of the firing on civilians, could be confirmed as they also occurred in the town of Jenin, suggesting a widespread and systematic pattern of human rights abuses that is only now beginning to emerge.
Ali Mustafa Abu Siria, 43, an Arabic teacher, was carried to hospital on a ladder - nursing a gunshot wound to the left knee that had gone untreated for four days. Doctors said it was badly infected.
He was injured while serving as a human shield for an Israeli army patrol, who led him out of his home handcuffed and at gunpoint on Friday. He was forced to walk ahead of the troops - and the army sniffer dogs - as they underwent the perilous business of house-to-house searches, hunting down Palestinian militants and weapons caches.
Mr Abu Siria was shot at the 12th house. "As soon as I knocked on the door, a bullet was fired at me, he said. He believes he was shot by a second Israeli army patrol, which was on the first floor of a neighbouring house. "The two groups of soldiers started screaming at each other," he said. "Then they left me. I started dragging myself on the ground until I reached the house of a neighbour. The army did not do anything for me."
A similar picture of a widespread disregard for civilian casualties by the Israeli army is also emerging in Jenin city. Doctors at al-Razi hospital said a man bled to death on its doorstep after soldiers prevented medics from retrieving his body.
A burst of machine-gun fire from a helicopter gunship in a residential neighbourhood of Jenin on Wednesday killed a young man, who was outside charging up his mobile phone on a car battery, and injured Rina Zaid, 15, in the chest.
All but one ambulance driver from Jenin's general hospital has been arrested by the Israeli army, so her family ripped a door off its hinges and carried her to hospital on foot.
At dusk last night, the refugee camp was hit by 10 explosions in the space of an hour - a parting act of destruction as the Israeli army "mops up" what it calls an infrastructure of terror operating from inside.
A new wave of refugees streamed out of the camp - including many children - scavenging for food. A few hours earlier, Riyad Ghalib Damaj, 28, a produce seller, also smuggled himself out with a group of women and children fleeing the camp, taking advantage of a brief lifting of the curfew in Jenin.
"There are no houses left in the refugee camp; there is only a highway. There are countless numbers of houses destroyed. If you saw them you would go crazy," he said.
"So many rockets were fired on our house from helicopters because three soldiers were killed nearby, and there are only two families left in the neighbourhood."
Casting political allegiance is such a tired old tactic, one used by people who cannot or will not view the facts, let alone think for themselves. Can't you do better than that, little man?
Now here's something from a newspaper you probably admire: The Washington Times. The headline:
"Calls Begin for War Crimes Trial for Israel"
I've added the link for your perusal, Invertebrate.
http://honestreporting.com
You lack even the decency to admit that torturing children is wrong.
You are a disgrace to this country.
A person who feebly tries to "defend" the torture of children doesn't even deserve to be called an American, much less a human being.
Thank god the rest of the world can see the truth. Israel will pay for its genocidal crimes, and people like you will be judged for what you really are:
Complicit.
Zionsists were too chicken shit to fight the Nazis during WWII. They actually collaborated with the Nazis to try and get Jews to move to Palestine. Sad, but true.
Hitler was horrible for many reasons, the attack on the Jews was one of them. Zionsim is terrible for many reasons. The attack on the Arabs is one of them.
What they have in common is the fundamentally anti-democratic belief that states serve one ethnicity only. A "state of the Jewish people" is inherently fascist. A state of the people of Palestine" is not. The latter includes Jews, Muslims and Christians as citizens all deserving of democratic rights. Zionism is allied with Hamas in fundamental racism. They should both be condemned. But democracy and the return of Arab refugees to the lands they hold title to are the only ways to end this conflict. There can be no peace with the Zionist settler state.
Confusing fascism with anti-Semitism is foolish. Do you Zionists somehow think Jews are exempt from the same moral laws as the rest of us? Yes, you do. And that's what makes you a pack of chassah scum.
And since when are most of the Moslem states not racist. Pakistan translates to "pure country" -- referring to guess what? RACE. The notion that Israel can't exist because it represents a religious/ cultural NOT racial group is patently absurd when you look at how many strictly Islamic states there are which absolutely treat dhimmi as second, third or fourth class citizens.
And look at all the land that Islamic states have and compare that to the tiny New Jersey like parcel that constitutes Israel. Moslems can be given a whole region but not an inch for Jews seems to be the battle cry among some on this website. That is rank hypocrisy.
Zionism is not racist. It is the idea, forged amidst the anti-Semitic pogroms of the Russians and Poles, the shrill anti-Jewish harranguing and agitation during the Dreyfus Affair, and reenforced by the programmatic attempt at annihilating world Jewry, that Jews can only be safe when they have a place that they can go where they will not be persecuted for being Jews. This is not racist. If you look at the way the world has treated Jews thru history it realist.
What do all of these countries have in common? If you guessed European, you are correct. Where is Palestine? Not in Europe. Palestine, which had been home to Jews for thousands of years didn't generate the idea for a Jewish state. The main reason was that Jews were less than 5% of the population, a little larger than the Christian population. You see, Palestine has always been home to various religiouns since Saladin recaptured the area from the Crusaders the last time Europeans attempted to support a client state in the region.
Richard the Lion Hearted went home to deal with treachery of his own people after his tyranny abroud came to a crashing end. And so will it be with Palestine.
What gave me the idea that Palestinians support a multi-ethnic state? Because that was always their demand. The PLO, which is the dominent group in terms of both numbers and influence, has only been forced to even talk about this outrageous "2-state" solution because of the settlers' overwhelming military power.
A power, I should add, they didn't build through hard sweat. No, it was given as blood money by the United States govornment so they had a third party to act as ultimate constable of the region. Fuck this.
Those Apache helicopters are provided by the US. Without the US's economic support for not just Israel, but the most odious dictatorships and "kingdoms" in the world. Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey. What a rogues fucking gallery. And that's who keeps the Arab people in check and in poverty.
Because if the Arab people are able to win genuine demcracy, it will be the beginning of the end for US exploitation of the oil reserves.
Imperialism creates monsters on all sides. Pol Pot is inconceivable without years of B-52 saturation bombing throughout Indochina. Suicide bombings, reprehensible as they are, didn't come from some mere pathology amond Arabs to hate Jews. What an absurd idea, and one widely promoted by Sharon and his fetid ilk. Palestinian resistance comes from a profound dignity. They will never surrender to their expulsion.
Palestine will win.
God gave man paridise, Man throws it away.
God gave man this planet, Man destroys it.
God gave man Rational Thought, Man acts irrationally.
God created Abraham, and from him were born his sons, Ishmael and Issac. From Ishmael came the muslims, from Issac, the jews. God could have let Ishmael and his mother die in the desert, instead, he saved their lives. Ismael's decendent married Moses, generations later, and god approved the union.
Both are the children of God, How do they repay him? By warring with each other, each saying they are doing God's will
God Gave Mankind Jesus of Nazareth. From him came the Christians. Jesus taught that man must be compassionate. He paid with his life for his philosophy. Now the so called followers of the Christian faith go against everything Jesus had taught, and doing so in his name! Clinic Bombings, War, biggotry, The false prophets burn books, preach homophobia and the destruction of the few gifts god has graciously given, molest children, and steel money from the poor, all in Jesus' name. How do the christians show their appreciation for Jesus' martyrdom? by following the false Prophets.
God has now abandoned mankind, and chose not to hear his lipservice. That is why everyone's prayers are unanswered. This is why so many children are dying!
Now it is time to finish the job. It is time to drop the bomb, and thus eradicating all human existance, and put an end to God's only mistake. . . mankind.
I'm sick of the Holocaust being used as an excuse to kill anyone who opposes the Israeli occupation (who isn't Jewish). I know many Jews (and family members of survivors) who are disgusted by people using their pain to justify a new genocide.
Theocracy and Democracy cannot co-exist.
HASN'T FRANCE LEARNED ANYTHING FROM THE HOLOCAUST?
FRANCE, 1942
* Synagogues and Schools Fire-Bombed
* Jews attacked on the streets
* Torah scrolls desecrated
* Jews face discrimination
* Chants of "Heil Hitler" and "Death to Jews" heard on the streets
* Government Officials express Anti-Semitism
* French Government is puppet of Nazi Regime
FRANCE, 2002
* Synagogues and Schools Fire-Bombed
* Jews attacked on the streets
* Torah scrolls desecrated
* Mme Cecile Muselet, owner of the French hotel "Le Bastide de la Pave" in
Provence refuses to allow Israeli couple to stay at the hotel because of
their ethnic origin
* Chants of "Vive Bin Laden" and "Death to Jews" heard on the streets
* French Ambassador Daniel Bernard and close confidant of President Chiraq
curses Jews
* French Government is a puppet of Arab leaders
Speak out against French Anti-Semitism!
Proof positive: you don't get it. Anti-Jewish bias has been and remains a problem everywhere!
These long, allegedly scholarly posts are part of an orchestrated anti-propaganda propaganda campaign on the part of the pro-Israel lobby. Israel's star is falling in the polls, and serious divestment from Israel campaigns could show results within the year. Strangling Israel's financial support is crucial to the Palestinian victory.
Israel has enjoyed full support from the most powerful media in the world. No Israeli complains when the balance is tipped in their favor. But now that the press has taken minor steps to humanize and understand the Palestinian plight.... BIAS! INTRIGUE! UNETHICAL!
Israel simply has no right to exist over there. Killing is wrong. But everyone's doing it, no?
The idea that the American media is biased against Israel is patently ludicrous.
You have put it well. It's a well-orchestrated campaign, but the power of the internet is greater than that. And the truth will win out in the end.
None of you have any moral standing unless you speak out against hate crimes wherever they occur and to whomever they occur, not just when it serves your cause du jour. Stop the anti-Semitic bias and incitement, stop the hate!
DD's anti-semitism claims might merit more attention if the definition of an anti-semite were not so elastic. If you speak out against the horrible crimes against humanity perpetrated by the state of Israel, well then you are an A.S. who wants to get the ovens of Poland roaring again.
The Jewish people have suffered, but so has everyone else. This does not entitle them to a theocracy that threatens to ignite a nuclear war. There are many Jews who see the issue of Israel clearly and refuse to support it, and there are others who toss gasoline on you and light a match if you speak against the oppression of the Palestinians. This is a tactic aimed at silencing dissent, like the kind employed by John Ashcroft when he said that people who question the war "help terrorists."
Criticism of a militaristic colonial theocracy with a taste for ethnic slaughter does not equate to Nazism. Pull US economic support for Israel now!
The real enemy is the Illuminati.
Is this good enough or is Berkeley still failing to condemn hatred? you want more than this? Here is their summary:
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/2002citycouncil/agenda/041602A.html
Vandalized Berkeley Hillel and Other Incidents Aimed at the Jewish Community
From: Councilmember Worthington
Recommendation: Follow up on our designation of Berkeley as a hate free zone by bringing together representatives of different groups and individuals that have been the target of hate actions in Berkeley, in a city sponsored public event embracing all the affected communities.
Contact: Kriss Worthington, District 7, 981-7170
Prompt Removal of Hate Graffiti
From: Mayor Dean and Councilmember Olds
Recommendation: Establish and enforce a policy that all hate graffiti reported to any City department by any source will be removed within 24 hours.
Contact: Shirley Dean, Mayor, 981-7100, Betty Olds, District 6, 981-7160
My criticism was never of Berkeley officials and I will be clear about that. But it does apply to many of the protesters from April 9th and to at least some on this website.
Give 'em time. They'll hunt all Jews down wherever they live all over the world and kill them. And people like you will passively sit by and let it happen, just like you are now, just like you did in the 1930's & 40's.
To learn more about logic, click here:
http://www.intrepidsoftware.com/fallacy/toc.htm
debate coach, you can and will be dealt with in ways you can't control. That's an allegation. Let's see if it comes true.
They should visit PRC if they want to see torture. This may be abuse but not torture. These people at Berkley sound a bit self-centered and niave. Going overboard in labelling events cheapens the situation and may be a reason the rest of American seems to be laughing at Berkley.
And why did they have to disrupt a midterm? Did those poor students do something wrong?
Stop repeating the BIG LIE that people are just attacking Israelis and that no one is attacking Jews as Jews.
The Jewis Religion was a good idea untill it was turned into a belief structure.
The Muslim faith was a good idea untill it too was turned into a belief structure.
same with christianity.
Look what happened, wars dating back to the time of the Romans, if not earlier.
It's way better to have ideas. At least you can always change an idea. Changing a belief is harder.
The reason for the violence in Israel, both sides "believe" what they are doing is right, completely disregarding the consequences. (Next time you watch the news and you see palestinian children throwing rocks at isralis, those might be the people who will one day replace Bin Laddin, just as an example.) If those people had ideas instead of beliefs, they could see how much trouble this conflict has caused, and would do a better job in finding a solution.
Both Israel and Palestine have alot to answer for. I just hope it's not too late.
AND NO ONE CARES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND IF THERE IS A HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'LL SEE YOU THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You ignore the basic truths of your faiths, and your beloved Jehova has abandoned you!!!
Now all of you will sit beside me in the inferno!!!
Where is your God Now?
Now everyone can see the TRUE agenda of the right, the same as it was in the 30s.
So, who else can be called a semite? I suppose the morrocans can, and the syrians. And perhaps the Jordanians. And, wait, no could it be? The palestinians. So if anti-semitism is the discrimination based on race against semitic peoples, couldn't the israeli treatment of the palestinians be called anti-semitism.
So dont pretend this is about race. At least, not in the empirical sense of the word. You say "anyone who disagrees with us does it because they hate us as a race". You say, united we stand, together, and everyone else hates us. That is your construct, and that is the only way you will discuss the matter, as a matter of genocidal hate.