"THE TIMES' TOY AIRPLANE"

Following a torrent of complaints from HonestReporting members in response to last week's op-ed by the International Solidarity Movement, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has published an 800-word rebuttal piece, "Israeli Checkpoints Protect Lives." Read the new op-ed by Mark Smilowitz of Seattle: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/108570_place14.shtml

Read HonestReporting's critique of the original pro-Palestinian op-ed: http://honestreporting.com/articles/critiques/Bingo_in_Seattle.asp

Write to the Post-Intelligencer and compliment them for giving rebuttal space: editpage@seattlepi.com

In an egregious distortion of Palestinian terrorist activity, The New York Times' James Bennet filed a report entitled, "Hamas Says Israel Killed at Least 6 in Gaza Blast" (Feb. 17, 2003)

Straight from the headline, The Times gives the Hamas side of the story, and it only gets worse from there. The article states:

"Hamas blamed Israel for the blast today, suggesting that the men were killed by a booby-trapped toy plane."

Yet as it turns out, this was not an Israeli plane that exploded, but rather -- as Hamas admitted -- "the men had been working on a small remote-controlled plane, which they evidently planned to use in an attack."

Shockingly, the reader must travel 400 words into this article to reach this crucial fact!

So let us understand: Either a) the Hamas men were killed in the act of preparing a new and deadly deployment method for the ongoing terrorist assault upon Israeli citizens, or b) IDF intelligence learned of this effort, and successfully thwarted it by booby-trapping the plane, thereby striking only those directly involved in its assembly. In either case, known terrorists were eliminated red-handed.

The absurdity of the Times' headline is matched only by its audacity: Israel is blamed for killing terrorists in the act of preparing an airborne terrorist bomb! This makes as much sense as a homeowner accused of inflicting ear damage upon the burglar who trips his alarm.

Further, Bennet is quick to mention (in the first paragraph) that the explosion occurred "hours after Israel's defense minister vowed retaliation for a Hamas bombing in Gaza." In other words, The Times twists this latest scheme in Hamas' gruesome campaign of terror to portray the dead -- not as terrorists, but rather as victims of a tit-for-tat cycle of violence.

The article ends with Bennet's parting shot, framing Israel's anti-terror actions as "a dangerous violation of all signed agreements and an attack on Palestinian legitimacy."

Incredibly, through the lens of The Times, Israel's attempts to reign in the grandfathers of terror -- following two years of massacres, lynchings, bombings and shootings -- is protested as a "violation of agreements," as if the Oslo Accords were still being faithfully adhered to by the Palestinians!? (Never mind that the Accords grant Israel the right to pursue its security needs.)

Finally, Bennet's last line also highlights "Palestinian legitimacy," as if the legitimacy of this violent movement who was never an independent national entity, somehow supercedes the legitimacy of the world's oldest surviving people whose New Jersey-sized homeland was legitimized by the U.N., and which was forced to win territory in successful wars of self-defense.

In this article, we observe several of the classic maneuvers that have characterized biased reporting of the recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including:

1) The moral equivalence assigned to anti-terrorist efforts and terrorist attacks. Israeli strikes against terrorist targets are presented as brute, knee-jerk reactions lacking strategic significance in the larger Western struggle to quell terrorism.

2) The acceptance of Hamas statements as the lone source of facts, as if this terrorist group -- whose spokesmen have been thoroughly repudiated -- still maintains some modicum of credibility.

3) Creating a false impression in the headline and lead paragraphs, while burying the most relevant information -- that exonerates Israel -- far down in the text.

Read the article at: http://nytimes.com/2003/02/17/international/middleeast/17MIDE.htm

HonestReporting encourages members to monitor your local media to see how they report this event.

"For anyone who thinks that the Middle East conflict is a 'cycle of violence,' a new documentary, 'Relentless: The Struggle for Peace in Israel,' places the blame for the past two and a half years of violence squarely on the Palestinian Authority. Produced by the media watch group HonestReporting.com, the 56-minute film attempts to refute the common wisdom found in the media, on campus, and among intellectuals that paints Israel as the aggressor in the Middle East conflict." (Jerusalem Post, Feb. 14, 2003)

"RELENTLESS" is now in pre-release. Last week's showing in Manhattan sold out, and hundreds had to be turned away. HonestReporting members are invited to attend a special screening on Wednesday, February 19 @ 7 p.m., at Loews Cineplex 34th St. (316 W. 34th St. between 8th and 9th Avenues in Manhattan). Call 212.921.9090 for tickets ($10), or purchase online at http://www.discoveryproduction.com. RELENTLESS is followed by a 30 minute moderated discussion. Ages 18 and over due to graphic footage.

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Ah, the Times. Holding Hitler's coat-tails and keeping his dream alive.
And one of the most Anti-Semitic Liberal rags out there.

Wish they'd close their doors forever.

They will be closing their doors shortly. The Times is trying to dump the Joint Operating Agreement, and talks are in the works as we speak. The PI is a rotten, vile rag, and I'm proud to say, I have not let a copy in my house since 1967.

3 posted on 02/17/2003 4:08:18 PM PST by holyscroller (Why are Liberal female media types always ugly to boot?)

4 posted on 02/17/2003 4:09:36 PM PST by holyscroller (Why are Liberal female media types always ugly to boot?)

"For anyone who thinks that the Middle East conflict is a 'cycle of violence,'

I want a Motorcycle of violence.

6 posted on 02/17/2003 4:14:39 PM PST by tet68 (Jeremiah 51:24 ..."..Before your eyes I will repay Babylon for all the wrong they have done in Zion")

This is insane! I've been following this in the Israeli press, and I can't believe the NY Times would distort it so badly. Of course, after their gushing article today about the anti-US, anti-Semitic "protestors" of this weekend, I guess anything's possible.

Palestinians want their demands met (crushing the Israelis and taking everything they've got).

False memories are easily implanted. It seems that either the Palestinians are very manipulative liars, or the reporters are malipulative liars. I would tend to think they both are!

What ever happened to reporters who actually thought about a situation logically before putting their foot in their mouth, or was there ever such a thing?

Glad to see that honestreporting is offering a different view, so I signed up!

It will take awhile, while the lawyers spend lots of both paper's money, but the Times has already announced they want a "divorce" from the PI. Let's hope it's a bloody parting of the presses, and they both come out of it broke. (I read one article that said the Times would have to continue to pay the PI something like 70% of what they would have earned for 75 years!) That should run the Times broke. That's pretty still alimony. Another little cost of Lib papers sleeping together. Ha!

9 posted on 02/17/2003 9:13:11 PM PST by holyscroller (Why are Liberal female media types always ugly to boot?)

10 posted on 02/17/2003 9:14:18 PM PST by holyscroller (Why are Liberal female media types always ugly to boot?)

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