Palestine: perpetuating propaganda plagues peace process
McGraw Hill’s decision to trash copies of its textbook Global Politics: Engaging a Complex World –has been subjected to intense criticism on web sites propagating the “Palestinian Narrative” of the 100 years old Arab-Jewish conflict.
The “Palestinian Narrative” is a concoction of lies and half-truths based on the 1964 PLO National Charter – as amended in 1968 – and the 1988 Hamas Covenant.
Catherine Mathis – a spokeswoman for McGraw-Hill – explained the Company’s reasons for destroying the textbook – which contained four misleading and inaccurate maps of “Palestine”:
“As soon as we learned about the concerns with it, we placed sales of the book on hold and immediately initiated an academic review. The review determined that the map did not meet our academic standards. We have informed the authors and we are no longer selling the book. All existing inventory will be destroyed. We apologize and will refund payment to anyone who returns the book.”
McGraw-Hill’s action follows similar criticism of MSNBC which aired the same series of maps last year on “MSNBC Live”. Host Kate Snow and her then guest Middle East expert Martin Fletcher made a return appearance to acknowledge that they realized after they went off the air that the maps were not factually accurate and they regretted using them.
Now Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) has published a letter signed by 35 “prominent academics” attacking McGraw Hill’s “shocking and outrageous act of censorship of the Palestinian narrative from US schoolbooks”.
The fact that JVP openly acknowledges the offending maps are part of the “Palestinian narrative” is surely more than sufficient justification for trashing the text book – because no disclosure was made by the contributing editors that the maps they used were partisan in nature.
But the academics letter goes even further in claiming:
1. “The maps in question are historically accurate” – but gives no evidence to back up that claim.
2. “If there were in fact any minor errors with the maps they should have been corrected rather than removed altogether”- but fails to list such minor errors.
I contacted JVP requesting to know what those “minor errors” were.
Rather than listing those “minor errors” – JVP referred me to the factsheet of another web site propagating the same maps and claiming they were accurate.
I then sent JVP my detailed reasons for questioning the accuracy of these four maps – adding:
“I know it would be very difficult to withdraw your letter signed by so many distinguished people but it needs to be qualified if their integrity and yours is to be maintained.
McGraw Publishing had the intellectual strength to remove the offending text book from sale when inaccuracies in the maps were brought to its attention.
I believe you now need to issue an appropriately worded supplementary letter that:
• errors appearing in the published maps drawn to your attention after your letter was published were regrettably incapable of being corrected thereby necessitating their withdrawal and the textbook from sale.
• McGraw Hill’s decision to do so was justified.
Please give this letter your serious consideration and let me know what you intend doing.”
No response has been received to this and two subsequent e mails.
Misleading maps – like misleading statements – allowed to go unchallenged – soon become accepted as gospel truth if repeated often enough in text books and in the media.
Anti-Israel websites peddling the “Palestinian narrative” and refusing to publish comments seeking to correct unsubstantiated and untrue statements are increasing.
Jewish Voice For Peace does itself no credit in aligning with these insidious web sites by maintaining its deafening silence and knowingly propagating these totally discredited maps.
David Singer is a Sydney Lawyer and Foundation Member of the International Analysts Network
UPDATE
Jewish Voice for Peace continues to fail to respond to this article.
Perhaps after reading the following article you may understand why the deafening silence.
http://www.algemeiner.com/2016…
Don’t care how ‘prominent’ the academics are who signed the JVP letter – what absolute idiots they all are, really. Such good work you’ve done, David; your response is terrific, albeit perhaps a mite too respectful. No doubt you won’t get a response to your letter, as those concerned have a very definite agenda. You’re absolutely right, this kind of thing can be lethal if left unchallenged. McGraw Hill have upheld their good reputation as publishers, although should examine what went wrong to allow the maps to be published in the first place.
Sorry this is a late response. I’m behind with J-Wire reading and much else due to circumstances not permitting. Just in the throes now of catching up.
Liat
Jewish Voice for Peace has still failed to respond.
They obviously think their silence will result in the issue going away.
They are mistaken.
David, your headline refers to “peace process.”
I was under the impression that the only process that has been proceeding is the one where nice-guy Israel hands over autonomy to Arabs in Judea and Samaria , as well as Gaza; the Arab beneficiaries of these Israeli “goodwill gestures”(to use the terminology of “friends” such as the execrable John Kerry) promptly reciprocate by intensifying their war of aggression to the applause of ‘the international community.”
That seems to be an unorthodox description of ‘peace.”
Leon
The “peace process” is that process which began:
1. in 1993 with the Oslo Accords and
2. embraced the 2002 Bush Roadmap to which Israel agreed with 14 reservations and
3. was further expressed in 2008 at Annapolis to continue on the basis of the letter from President Bush to Prime Minister Sharon dated 14 April 2004.
The fact that the peace process has gone nowhere is attributable to the kind of misleading propaganda represented by the four inaccurate maps that have been trashed by McGraw Hill and repudiated by MSNBC.
Until the Arabs stop living in a dreamworld – the peace process will go nowhere.
David, my comment was not meant to be critical of you.
Its purpose was to highlight the irony in the situation.
As for the Oslo Accords, Yasser Arafat confessed that his people’s intention in paying lip service to them was to plant an “Arab Trojan Horse” in Israel’s heartland; the horse has been doing its job tirelessly and effectually.
Hence it was never a true peace process.
A good example of a genuine peace process is the one that led to the utter unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and fascist Japan: the aggressors made war. The Allies broke them. Peace broke out.
The use of the words “Jewish” and “peace” in the group’s title is also a misleading propaganda device.
This group’s actual agenda is to demand Israel’s capitulation to Arab demands for it to relinquish its legal rights and facilitate the Arab plan to commit genocide against the Jews of Israel.
The title “academics” in the reference to JVP’s 35 accomplices should also not fool any one: Associate-Professor Lynch of the institution that refers to itself as a university is also deemed to be an academic, and we know what he and others like him, such as the academic, Dr Riemer, are capable of.