Down the Memory Hole:Israeli contribution to conflict forgotten by Papers

[leftchick]

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2928

In the wake of the most serious outbreak of Israeli/Arab violence in years, three leading U.S. papers—the Washington Post, New York Times and Los Angeles Times—have each strongly editorialized that Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon were solely responsible for sparking violence, and that the Israeli military response was predictable and unavoidable. These editorials ignored recent events that indicate a much more complicated situation.

<snip>

As FAIR noted in a recent Action Alert (7/19/06), the portrayal of Israel as the innocent victim in the Gaza conflict is hard to square with the death toll in the months leading up to the current crisis; between September 2005 and June 2006, 144 Palestinians in Gaza were killed by Israeli forces, according to a list compiled by the Israeli human rights group B'tselem; 29 of those killed were children. During the same period, no Israelis were killed as a result of violence from Gaza.

In a July 21 CounterPunch column, Alexander Cockburn highlighted some of the violent incidents that have dropped out of the media’s collective memory:

<snip>

The situation in Lebanon is also more complicated than its portrayal in U.S. media, with the roots of the current crisis extending well before the July 12 capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah. A major incident fueling the latest cycle of violence was a May 26, 2006 car bombing in Sidon, Lebanon, that killed a senior official of Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian group allied with Hezbollah. Lebanon later arrested a suspect, Mahmoud Rafeh, whom Lebanese authorities claimed had confessed to carrying out the assassination on behalf of Mossad (London Times, 6/17/06).

Israel denied involvement with the bombing, but even some Israelis are skeptical. "If it turns out this operation was effectively carried out by Mossad or another Israeli secret service," wrote Yediot Aharonot, Israel’s top-selling daily (6/16/06; cited in AFP, 6/16/06), "an outsider from the intelligence world should be appointed to know whether it was worth it and whether it lays groups open to risk."


.....much more

[MisoWeaver]

1. I've got no horse in this race, but...

I like to know how many Israelis were killed during the same period, between September 2005 and June 2006, by Palestinians.

[scarletwoman]

3. Last sentence of the 2nd paragraph: "During the same period, no Israelis

were killed as a result of violence from Gaza." That means, NO Israelis were killed by Palestinians between September 2005 & June 2006.

sw

[leftchick]

9. I thought that was pretty clear

:shrug:

[scarletwoman]

11. Yeah, me too.

:shrug:

sw

[MisoWeaver]

13. Well, that is not true becase I know of at least 2 kids killed

rememberthechildren.com

how many adults?

[scarletwoman]

15. Then why did you ask? If you want to offer a rebuttal, do so.

Your link, btw, shows no information whatsoever.

sw

[Tom Joad]

18. It's RememberTheseChildren.org One child was killed in

a drive by near an illegal settlement in the West Bank. (NO, Not excusing the shooting, but yes, i am including the information that the settlement is illegal under international law, that specifically forbids transfering of the occupiers population into land occupied by military force)

September 2005 Oz Ben Meir, 15, of Susiya,
Killed in a drive-by shooting by Palestinian gunmen near the Gush Etzion block of Israeli settlements.

Another was killed in 2006.
Khalid Salaam Ziadin, 16
of the western Negev desert
Killed by an unexploded ordinance (it doesn't state where that ordinance came from, but a tragedy in any case) in a field near Nahal Oz.

The total, and very tragic death toll of Israeli children for those dates.

On the other hand. Palestinian children were killed on the average of 3 or 4 for each month.
Understandably, however, it is very difficult for Israel to make sure there is no resistance to its continued desire to take land from Palestinians, so it must be ready to shoot to kill any potential resister.

[OrechDin]

27. Israel gave back more land over the last few years than it took.

But now Hezbollah , which is not a Palestinian org.Fighting for an unkown cause.For unknown reasons.Has forcd Israel to re occupy Lebanon,for security reasons.

[breakaleg]

30. unknown cause, unknown reasons?

They are fighting for a prisoner exchange. They claim there are prisoners that Israel has since the last occupation and they've kidnapped over the years and are holding in Israel.

Many of them without charges being laid.

[wellst0nev0ter]

31. Would You Wish Such "Living Arrangements" For Your Worse Enemy?

At 3 a.m. on a chilly winter day, the tensions at this crossing point were growing.

Shrouded in fog, stuck in a long, unmoving line, several thousand Palestinian laborers with permits to work in Israel were beginning to seethe. Before they could cross into Israel, they had to pass the daily security check, and many of them faced long drives afterward. The morning commute can take four hours or more, every working day — most of it spent in line on the Gaza-Israel frontier.

Frustration grew, until the men suddenly surged past the hapless Palestinian guards and charged down a long, urine-scented tunnel toward the Israeli checkpoint. It was closed, their way blocked by a metal gate. The workers howled in anger, feeling cheated out of a day's pay and cursing Israel before the sun had risen.

A constant source of friction for both sides, the crossings are crucial for Gaza, with its population of 1.4 million crammed into an area barely 6 miles wide and 25 miles long, far too small to be self-sufficient. The Israeli fence along Gaza's perimeter has three crossings: Erez in the north, for those going to and from Israel; Karni to the east, which handles cargo; and Rafah to the south, on the Egyptian border.

A one-day tour of all three offered a snapshot of how they are struggling to function at this moment of uncertainty, with Hamas, the radical Islamic group, poised to lead the Palestinian Authority and Israel warning it could respond with even tighter security controls.

<snip>

During the relatively calm days of the 1990's, tens of thousands of Gazans entered Israel daily, and the Palestinians were even permitted to open an airport in southern Gaza. But after the Palestinian uprising began in 2000, Israel closed the airport and maintained tight restrictions at the crossings.

At present, Israel allows 5,000 workers to cross daily, all at Erez. The jobs in Israel are prized, despite the frustrating and exhausting commute, because they pay up to $40 a day. That is far more than a laborer can earn in Gaza, if he can find work at all.

Yousef al-Masri, 52, a father of 14 and an auto mechanic, rises at 1 a.m. and is at Erez an hour later. He says he feels lucky if he gets to work — less than 40 miles away, near Tel Aviv — by 8 a.m.

He leaves work around 5 p.m., and usually arrives at home around 7 p.m. He has a few free hours to see his family, eat, shower and sleep. Then he starts all over again.

The frequent closings at Erez mean he often cannot make it in. He says his boss is training an Israeli mechanic, possibly to replace him.

"Believe me, if there were jobs in Gaza, we would stay here and never go to Israel again," said Mr. Masri, one of the angry, foiled men stuck at Erez on this day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/04/international/middleeast/04gaza.html?ex=1299128400&en=5ce2d89055b684dc&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

[OrechDin]

33. Thats not Lebanon, cosult a map,Gaza is a different place,

Hezbollah are not even Palestinians.

[wellst0nev0ter]

35. Responding To Your Reply That Israel "Withdrew" From Gaza

I thought that was clear.

[Carl21014]

34. Original post said 0 killen in Gaza!

These are West Bank deaths, which I assume is the reason for conflicting numbers.

[IntiRaymi]

37. Silliness....you did not recieve the memo...

Palestinian and lebanese lives are 1/10th the value of israeli lives.
As soon as you accept this premise, you will find yourself 100% in agreement with the pro-israeli lobby at the Democratic Underground.

[SPKrazy]

4. It's In The Post=0 Israelis Were Killed Between 9/05-6/06 n/t

[mom cat]

19. Bingo ... Who is instigating terror?

[joemurphy]

2. Thanks for the reference, leftchick. Interesting read.

I think the perception one gets from CNN, MSNBC, and, of course, Fox is that Hezbollah just started lobbing rockets into Israel and took the 2 soldiers prisoner in a vacuum -- something they just do because they're terrorists and have this overweaning desire to "destroy Israel". It's always more complicated than that and there's always a history of mutual acts of violence that ultimately escalate.

FAIR is an acronym for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. Thanks for the post.

[JackNewtown]

5. That is the Ministry of Truth line, that's for sure nt

[joemurphy]

8. It's important that we try to sift facts from all the noise. n/t

[leftchick]

7. M$M never does "complicated"

they need sound bites and very little depth. Very little.

[mitchtv]

6. thanks Leftchick

I still remember and I remember the Palestinian Family that was blown up on the beach in Gaza, several weeks ago

[scarletwoman]

10. k&r -- Thanks very much for posting! Fighting the propaganda is

an exhausting job! I wish more people understood how much our perception of these events is the direct result of the manipulation of "news". We are inundated with the Approved Official Narrative from all sides -- which is rarely, if ever, the whole truth.

sw

[leftchick]

12. that is good. The AON!

It certainly fits the shit on our TVs and newspapers!

[TomClash]

32. This is especially true of Middle East coverage

And also economic coverage.

[leftchick]

14. Israeli powerpoint demonstrations to US officials for OVER A YEAR!

<snip>

"Of all of Israel’s wars since 1948, this was the one for which Israel was most prepared," Gerald Steinberg, a political science professor at Israel's Bar-Ilan University, told the San Francisco Chronicle (7/21/05). "By 2004, the military campaign scheduled to last about three weeks that we’re seeing now had already been blocked out and, in the last year or two, it’s been simulated and rehearsed across the board." The Chronicle reported that a "senior Israeli army officer" has been giving PowerPoint presentations for more than a year to "U.S. and other diplomats, journalists and think tanks" outlining the coming war with Lebanon, explaining that a combination of air and ground forces would target Hezbollah and "transportation and communication arteries."

Which raises a question: If journalists have been told by Israel for more than a year that a war was coming, why are they pretending that it all started on July 12? By truncating the cause-and-effect timelines of both the Gaza and Lebanon conflicts, editorial boards at major U.S. dailies gravely oversimplify the decidedly more complex nature of the facts on the ground.

[Mr_Spock]

17. It is fascinating how people play dumb

My parents weren't understanding why what I was telling them (learned mostly on DU) was so different than what they were hearing in the media. I told them that everything they hear in the mainstream media is a lie - and that the lies have to be deliberate since anyone who has any compassion at all and spends a few minutes looking into this can find out all they need to know.

This situation is disgusting - thanks for posting and educating those who are still willing to have an open mind.

[Karmadillo]

16. Thanks for posting. This seems like straight manufacture of consent.

I know the media likes simplification, but this issue gets predictably simplified in the direction desired by the oligarchy.

[Rex]

20. So Israel and Lebanon will keep pointing fingers as if that will make

ALL the people on both sides comeback to life? Is it something sane, no. Who cares who started it, just end the fucking killing already. Sane people don't try and be the most 'vindicated, innocent, honest, etc'. They just end the violence because so many have died. Yeah, keep saying 'the other side started it first' while children die and mothers go to funerals for their dead children. That's not important, gotta point the finger and be 'right'. While people die. Guess being 'right' if far more important then teaching people love and tolerance.

Must suck living in a world where you're always right and the 'other side' is always wrong. How do you ever come to a resolution? 'They' are always wrong, bomb bomb bomb. And you're always right, rocket rocket rocket. Oh no, those fresh corpses? See, they are PROOF that my side is right! Dead people mean it is okay to kill children and orphan babies...see?

Keep killing each other, morans. I'm sure one side will win when everyone is dead and the victor has to swim in the blood of innocents to feel 'good' about killing kids and old ladies. Hey, we have to do this! They started it!!!!

Wash, rinse, repeat.

[Disturbed]

21. The US Corp Media is controlled by RW Moguls.

The details can be figured out.

[Rex]

25. True

All the M$M cares about is what their paymasters tell them.

[mogster]

22. 163 Palestinians were killed in July of 2006 alone, according to B'tselem

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1829032



Palestinian web.

[Kailassa]

23. All I can do is kick this.

Having been hidden down here, the system prevents me recommending it.

Sadly, the Democrats are as sincere in their wish to keep these truths
hidden as any Neocon could be.

[KoKo]

24. another kick....

[WiseButAngrySara]

29. It's not only sad, it's disgusting! Why is that? DU, of all places! n/t

[pelsar]

26. The US and England were the aggressors in WWII

They killed far more germans destroyed far more of the german country, its citizens its infrastructure than amercians or brits were killed (and america was barely touched by the war).

i wont even mention americas aggression towards japan and the way america slaughtered the japanese on iwo jima, okinawa, etc

that is of course if numbers killed define who is the aggressor and who isnt

[MrPrax]

28. Iraq, Mexico, Phillipines...

When is corporate media not slanted to an elite position or the dominant elite opinion in the countries they operate in?

Information about and by Israel is always slanted -- the media goes out of it's way to kill stories that highlight the racism and fanaticism of the settlers especially. It's done in Israel as well.

Israel's motives are always pure...just like the US in Iraq.

[msmcghee]

36. While many Americans think its regrettable that settlements . .

. . have been established on the West Bank, most reasonable people also understand that in a democracy governments are the people.

In Israel many have agreed to negotiated solutions against their better judgment that these would be seen as a weakness by her enemies. Each time their efforts at compromise were met by suicide bombers, intifada and its neighbors attempts to destroy the state of Israel through military aggression.

Eventually, due to this frustration, the RW in Israel gained enough credibility to get the government to stand behind their desire to establish settlements on the West Bank. After all that it is disingenuous to claim that the I/P problems are now the fault of those settlers on the West Bank.

The problems of I/P are the result of one thing - that there are significant numbers of Arabs in the surrounding states and territories who will accept nothing less than the destruction of the state of Israel. That's been their stated goal since 1948 and they have never waivered.

We can argue forever about the justification for their views. However, the bottom line is that one side in this conflict has always been willing to lay down its guns and negotiate as soon as the attacks against it stop. The other has never been willing to do so. Most of the free world recognizes this - as do most American voters who believe strongly that Israel has a right to exist in peace with secure borders.

If a significant number of Americans on the left align with the Jihadists against Israel on this (as many here at DU are doing) - the American left will justifiably come to be seen by many Americans as not capable of defending the legitimate American interests of freedom and democracy in the world. Note that many Americans in the middle already have this opinion. That's one of many reasons that Bush is in the Whitehouse right now.

Right now most Americans, even many Republicans, agree that the neo-cons do not represent American values. But, if the left does not take advantage of Bush's stupidity at this time - by becoming the sane protector of freedom and democracy in the view of average Americans - the far right could quickly gain back what it is currently losing.

Siding with terrorists who purposely target Israeli civilians as part of their "rules of engagement" after attacking Israel across her borders - will cause many Americans to recoil from the left. It is already having that effect to some extent. If this view expands to become generally identified with Dems it could be a big step toward assuring the ascendancy of neo-con views for many years in our future.

Fortunately for now, most Dem pols are not going anywhere near this position. Have you heard Ned Lamont praise Hizbollah recently?

But, the far right at this time only has to encourage this view on the left and associate it with Dems generally to gain back their slipping power politically. Do you ever wonder how many of the really virulent anti-Israeli posts here and at other Dem forums are right-wing plants?

This is our chance to show America that we oppose wars of aggression - and are willing to stand by legitimate democracies throughout the world in their defense against totalitarian warlike regimes.

Based on strong and good American principles we can condemn the neo-con Iraq catastrophe as un-American political opportunism and blatant military aggression - while standing beside Israel. That principle is that wars of aggression are immoral and those who start them should meet severe consequences. Allied free-states that are attacked by totalitarian regimes and terrorist organizations should be defended politically - and militarily if necessary. That's the kind of honorable values and leadership that the world needs to see from America once again - and that's exactly what Americans need to see from Democrats once again.

This is our opening - let's not blow it.