On Israel it’s lies, damned lies and then really, really stupid lies
It is hard to be shocked these days at reading blatantly one-sided, distorted or outright deceptive reportage on Israel in the European press. But for sheer stupidity at least, today’s offering on the Guardian website from Matt Kennard and Wilson Dizard takes the biscuit. Writing about the West Bank village of Bil’in and the struggle of its beleaguered Palestinian residents against the evil Israeli oppressor, the authors can’t even be bothered to make the centre piece of their argument internally consistent.
Consider the contradictory mess which emerges from the following two paragraphs describing confrontations between the Israeli military and Palestinians at regular demonstrations. First, we are told:
“Last month a beloved activist from the village, Bassem Ibrahim Abu Rammah, was killed by a high-velocity tear-gas canister, and one 16-year-old child we spoke to survived a live round to the head. These are definitely not “mistakes”, when you shoot a high-velocity tear-gas canister horizontally and not up in the air you only have one goal. They managed to murder Bassem with a shot to the heart.”
And later we are told:
“The brutal behavior of the IDF at the demonstration has motivated a broad contingent of activists from around the world and Israel to descend on Bil’in every Friday – as they know the IDF will be less inclined to murder at will if they have passports belonging to countries that sell them the guns.”
But hold on, if the peace activists only drop in once a week and the Israelis are so inclined to “murder at will” why have the authors only been able to quote one death since April? Additionally, the image of a well practiced Israeli killing machine is hardly supported by the authors’ own description of the use of tear-gas, even if on one occasion it did result in an accidental death. If they’re the cold blooded killers they’re made out to be, why don’t they just use machine guns when the foreigners have left town?
Dear, oh, dear. This is what happens when people become overwhelmed by an emotional need to demonise rather than to actually think about what they are saying.
For the full article, click here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/27/palestinian-west-bank-bilin
January 30th, 2010 at 12:47 am
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