Take Your Pick
The carnage this week in a synagogue in Jerusalem when Arab terrorists shot and hacked to death worshippers during morning prayers, elicited four responses from media and politicians alike…writes Michael Kuttner.
Michael Kuttner
These were: cynical silence, meaningless mumbles, deliberate distortions and pathetic platitudes. Take your pick from the measly menu on offer.
All those hypocrites on the UN Human Rights Council who pass anti Israel resolutions with clockwork regularity maintained a cynical silence in the face of this latest manifestation of democratic brotherly feelings evinced by our “peace partners”. Mind you, given their own dismal record of human rights and unfettered support for terror groups trying to wipe Israel off the world map, it is not surprising that they failed to condemn this latest outrage.
Rather more puzzling however is the apparent silence of New Zealand which takes up its Security Council seat in January. It may be that somehow and somewhere something was said but it has failed to register on any Google search. One would have thought that in fact New Zealand would be one of the first countries to issue a strong statement but then in retrospect perhaps that is hoping too much at a time when moral truths are subordinated to other considerations.
That leaves us with those who trotted forth meaningless mumbles pathetic platitudes and deliberate distortions. Here is a selection for your consideration:
The American Consulate in Jerusalem issued a warning statement on Tuesday night, in which it was written that the terror attack in Har Nof differed from previous attacks in that it may have been premeditated.
In other words as far as the US Government is concerned previous terror attacks which killed a 3 month old baby and others were “accidents” and not deliberate terror attacks.
The Pope condemned the murders and then went on to urge restraint and dialogue. All nice and dandy except the Pontiff ignores the continued incitement and hate education undertaken by the PA.
The Irish Foreign Minister expresses his horror at the carnage but ignores his own country’s complicity in ignoring ongoing incitement by the very people his Parliament votes to recognize as genuine peace partners.
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister calls it a crime but then goes on to talk about the wrongdoings of the occupiers thereby blaming the victims for their own demise.
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who was the UK’s first female Muslim minister, equated Jews ascending the Temple Mount with the attack, citing a common rationale Arab terrorists make for killing Israelis and Jews.
Various other politicians, too numerous to mention, mumbled about the cycle of violence as though Arab terror and Israel’s actions to protect its citizens are somehow morally equivalent. Missing from most statements was any recognition that it is the ongoing hate and incitement against Jews which fuels the continuing terror.
Now to the media: A CBS anchorwoman on a morning news programme stated that the Synagogue attack took place at a “contested religious site.” That fits in neatly with the lie that all of Jerusalem is a contested site.
CNN reported that the deadly attack took place in a Jerusalem Mosque. References to Palestinians or Arabs were mysteriously missing. Although these gaffs were subsequently corrected, the damage had already been done.
CBC News reported that Jerusalem police fatally shoot 2 people. Guess what was missing?
BBC News headlined their report as “Jerusalem Synagogue attack kills 4 Israelis”. Who carried out the attack? Apparently it could have been deranged Martians as far as the BBC was concerned. To make matters worse when the BBC interviewed Israeli Cabinet Minister,
Naftali Bennett, they demanded that he cease displaying a photo of one of the Jewish victims. Apparently it is alright for the BBC to show bodies of Arab terrorists in Gaza killed by the IDF but when it comes to a photo of a Jewish pogrom victim that is too much.
Reuters, long after the event continued to claim that a “suspected” Palestinian attack had taken place. A strange reluctance to admit Arab terror culpability seems to pervade the media.
These are just a few examples of what passes for accurate, fair and balanced reporting when it comes to Israel these days.
Neither the blathering of politicians nor the unbalanced media should deter us. There can be only one answer to those who wish we would finally disappear. Turning the other cheek is certainly not one of them.
Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.
