Monday, March 12, 2007
The LA Times prints a remarkably honest op-ed by radical UCLA professor Saree Makdisi that takes the press to task for adopting biased Israeli terminology -- that the country has a right to exist. Yes, you read that right. This is the same tack taken in a recent Christian Science Monitor piece by John Whitbeck (in fact, Whitbeck is referred to in the piece).
Why honest? Because the fact is that this is the position of the mainstream of Palestinian Arab thought, usually couched in other terms but here candidly presented. This is actually good stuff if people would pay attention. It explains why there's an "occupation," why there are checkpoints, why there's an ongoing conflict...because Arab goals are and always have been annihilationist, and that's why the Israelis have to do what they do.
In the war of words, The Times is Israel's ally
No issue better illustrates Orwell's point than coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the United States. Consider, for example, the editorial in The Times on Feb. 9 demanding that the Palestinians "recognize Israel" and its "right to exist." This is a common enough sentiment — even a cliche. Yet many observers (most recently the international lawyer John Whitbeck) have pointed out that this proposition, assiduously propagated by Israel's advocates and uncritically reiterated by American politicians and journalists, is — at best — utterly nonsensical...
[h/t: isirota1965]
Update: Honest Reporting is one step ahead of me with plenty of background.
