CBS 60 Minutes: An Unholy Attack on Israel
April 24, 2012 11:04 by Simon PloskerThe status of Christians in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza has been featured in the media on numerous occasions. The April 22 edition of CBS’s 60 Minutes, however, presented an unbalanced picture blaming Israel for virtually every difficulty experienced by Palestinian Christians.
After watching the segment, one is left with the impression that Christians are being deliberately targeted by malevolent Israeli policies when nothing could be further from the truth. Undoubtedly, Palestinian Christians are affected by Israeli security measures such as the West Bank security barrier, referred to by Bob Simon as a “wall” despite the majority of the structure consisting of chain-link fencing.
According to Simon:
Palestinian Christians, once a powerful minority, are becoming the invisible people, squeezed between a growing Muslim majority and burgeoning Israeli settlements.
Could Israeli settlements really be responsible for the plight of Palestinian Christians? Or is it due to issues that Bob Simon fails to fully investigate?
Related Content: Ignoring the Real Causes of Christian Exodus
Simon refers to settlements to explain the plight of Palestinian Christians. But his analysis is naive and demonstrates a weak grasp of the issues he’s presenting.
Reporters with more experience reporting on the region repeatedly point to the suppression of voices critical of the Muslim majority in Palestinian cities.
The Associated Press reports:
The number of Christians in the West Bank is on the decline. While some leave for economic reasons, many speak of persecution by the Muslim majority, but always anonymously, fearing retribution.
Justus Reid Weiner has researched the plight of Christians in the Palestinian territories extensively. According to Weiner, Arab Christians rarely speak about their situation in public:
The human rights crimes against the Christian Arabs in the disputed territories are committed by Muslims. Yet many Palestinian Christian leaders accuse Israel of these crimes rather than the actual perpetrators. This motif has been adopted by a variety of Christian leaders in the Western world. Others who are aware of the human rights crimes choose to remain silent about them.
Ha’aretz looks at Israeli reaction to the broadcast even before it was aired:
“We conducted a thorough examination and we found out that no official Israeli source was asked to comment on the assertions in the report,” an Israeli diplomat said.
Israel’s embassy in Washington met with “60 Minutes” several times and found that the report was almost ready for broadcast. In one of the meetings with the investigative reporters, an Israeli diplomat presented an issue of Newsweek with a cover story about the persecution of Christian communities in Arab states.
“The ’60 Minutes’ reporters said that this was not the subject of their article so it was not relevant,” said an Israeli diplomat.
How could Muslim persecution of Christians not be relevant to the subject matter? And how could a supposedly credible media outlet initially fail to consider asking Israeli officials for their views?
For more information on the status of Christians in the Holy Land, read Michael Oren’s article in the Wall St Journal.
Max
4:04 am
Apr 25, 2012
opinion: Bob Simon is trying to be like Mike Wallace.
fact: Bob Simon is no Mike Wallace.
Poor guy chose the wrong one with which to be arrogant and condescending (opinion but kind of a fact).
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r sharp
4:11 am
Apr 25, 2012
What an innacurate one sides hatchet job. CBS for ahame for shame!!!!!!
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Jerry
4:35 am
Apr 25, 2012
Once again, the media has shown how easy it is to massage the truth for the benefit of its audience. Between editing and splicing what is real becomes a distorted picture.
Unfortunately, the media knows its audience.
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Alice
5:03 am
Apr 25, 2012
For shame, 60 Minutes!
You know that Muslims are harassing the Christians in Judea and Samaria.
You also know that they teach horrible things to their children about the Israelis.
(see MEMRI and palwatch)
You know the real history of the area, all the way back to the Exodus.
You know about the connection of the Grand Mufti and Hitler.
You know about the 1929 Hevron Massacre and that he incited it.
You know about dhimmitude and how the non-Muslims have to cower before the Muslims.
You know about taqiyyah (lying to make Islam look good).
If you don’t, then you are an F-rated news organization.
If you do, you are F- since you perpetuate the lie.
My questions are:
–Who is threatening you?
–If no one is, then why lie?
–And how can you betray not only Israel, but also your fellow countrymen by acquiescing to this extortion?
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I. Barr
5:36 am
Apr 25, 2012
Your comment is correct. Simon may not know that there is Islam in West Bank and Gaza. Simon does not want to know that while the Christian population is dwindling in ALL arab and Muslim country the Christian population is increasing. Simon does not know that after the second Lebanon war Israel absorbed 160.000 Christians who fled from Lebanon. I am not watching 60 minutes any more. Try Fox.
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Tony
5:29 am
Apr 25, 2012
Fred, you have some wicked hatred that detracts from what you write – even truth comes up short when there is that much hatred.
You want someone to dispute your history? Would you want to dispute that whatever happened in 1948 was the result of five Arab countries declaring war following the U.N. vote to establish Israel and Israel’s declaration? Had they agreed to set up their own state, your ancestors would not have been caught up in war, along with the Israelis. You blame the Israelis for ethnic cleansing when the five Arab armies vowed to drive every Israeli into the sea. When 800,000 Jews were forced from all of the surrounding Arab lands over the years? There’s lots of guilt to go around. You can choose the hatred, or you can choose a path forward.
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Grantman
5:32 am
Apr 25, 2012
Bias? What media bias?
/sarcasm off.
William S. Paley, who built CBS, was Jewish. Was he afraid to “be Jewish” like the Hollywood moguls or did he stand up for and with his co-religionists? What would be his thoughts as to this hatchet job today?
Good heavens. How the mighty have fallen.
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BUTSeriously
6:53 am
Apr 25, 2012
Such fostering of Arabs by 60 Minutes stains otherwise good Christians and Christianity per se. When such blatant falsehoods are legitimized today, it will come attacking Christians tomorrow. It is why Eurabia is happening. There is a numbness to the crimes perpetrated by Muslims throughout the world, yet the world is obsessed with Israel, arguably one of the greatest nations around.
I ask myself, how can a Pope be silent when Muslims deny the Jerusalem temple or that Hebron is the birthplace of Judaism, not an illegal occupied settlement? One sound byte by the Pope would have placed media outlets like 60 minutes on thin ice. But there is a horrific silence.
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Christian
10:38 am
Apr 25, 2012
The poep is a German. Former Hitler Youth soldier.
He is no better that Pius.
both Jew haters.
This video shows a batch of lies. Bethlehem has a wall protecting the Tomb of Rachel (Mother of the Nation) so that Jews can pray there. before that, they were shot at by the Muslims.
The border between Jerusalem and Bethlehem is a wire fence.
Maybe this 9O minutes broadcaster, should have first visited Israel, before his lies, attacking Israel. The Chrstians are being massacred by the Muslims. The only place in the ME where Christians have full freedom, and are protected by law is in Israel. The Christian population in Bethlehem is dwindling, and the Muslim population is growing.
Of course, the Christians in Bethlehem have to be careful as to what they say, for fear of retribution
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Grantman
12:49 pm
Apr 25, 2012
Actually, Pope Benedict is not a Jew-hater. That is a mischaracterization of him and very unfair. He may not be as warm to Jews as his predecessor, John Paul II, but he is no Pius.
He was conscripted into the Hitler Youth as all 14 year olds, conscripted into the anti-aircraft corps, and eventually deserted.
As a Jew, I wish he would be more forthcoming like JPII but he’s the Pope, not the Chief Rabbi. your characterization of him is off target.
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BUTSeriously
2:26 pm
Apr 25, 2012
The post-W.W.II Popes erred greatly by their silence of the Balfour corruption, the accounting of a three state as a 2-state, and the anointing of an Egyptian born terrorist as a Palestinian. These are genocidal decrees and a contradiction of history, legality and morality. After all the Pope is not a diplomatic but a Godly figurehead.
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David Shaffer
6:42 am
Apr 25, 2012
Having heard what the Palestinian Christian representatives explained about the beginnings of Christianity one must conclude that the Palestinians killed Jesus.
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David Shaffer
6:56 am
Apr 25, 2012
Pay attention to Bob Simon’s body language: he knows he is indeed attempting a hatchet job.
At 7:40 he is discussing the true cause of the Christians’ suffering. “And this duress is coming from Muslims, not from the Israeli occupation?” he asks – and FOLDS HIS ARMS ACROSS HIS CHEST IN THE CLASSIC DEFENSIVE POSTURE – clearly because he knows this is where his anti-Israel thesis is most vulnerable.
(Later, when he is discussing Oren’s preemptive complaint, he folds his arms again, recalling being attacked for his journalistic conduct: “I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve received lots of reactions…”)
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steve mann
10:19 am
Apr 25, 2012
“”By: Nicole Jansezian
While the world focused on Hamas militants launching rockets from Gaza at southern Israel, the terrorist organization also voted quietly to implement Islamic law in the Gaza Strip, including crucifixion of Christians, according to reports in the Arabic press.
The traditional Muslim criminal code, known as Sharia law, includes penalties such as amputation of limbs for stealing and the death penalty, including crucifixion, for actions Hamas deems detrimental to “Palestinian interests,” including collaborating with Israel.
The new law was reported on the Al-Arabiya Web site and in the London-based Saudi-owned newspaper Al-Hayat, which wrote that the implementation of Sharia law has “brought criticism and concern from human rights organizations in the Gaza Strip.”
So- Fred and others- Is that preferable to the way you (I doubt you) are treated by the Israelis?
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Daniel Cohen
2:35 pm
Apr 25, 2012
Bob Simon pointed out that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, lived in Nazareth and preached in Jerusalem (today referred to by 60 Minutes and others as “east” Jerusalem.. He forgot to mention that the reason why this Jewish lad was in those places was because they were Jewish places, in the land of the Jews. They still are. They always will be.
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BUTSeriously
2:51 pm
Apr 25, 2012
There was never an East Jerusalem in history. This is a fictitious premise created when Jordan illegally occupied parts of Jerusalem. Jordan also invented the fictitious name of WEST BANK to Samaria and Judea. It is astounding how Europe and all Christians remained silent of these acts.
Its time Christians voiced their protests here and give the climate pollution issue a break: who wants to live in a clean climate with such falsehoods? In the same manner that Newt Gingrich calld Musim Palestinians an invented people, it calls for Christians to speak out against the Balfour, a 3-state and calling Muslims Palestinians – it will be a winning protest for both Christianity and Judaism – and some long due truth.
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Daniel Cohen
11:08 pm
Apr 26, 2012
It’s OK to call Muslim Arabs Palestinians, as long as we can also give the name “Palestinian” to any person living anywhere in what was formerly the Turkish province of Palestine. That would include all Israelis, Lebanese, Syrians and most importantly Jordanians.
It is odd that the one country that was created for the express purpose of avoiding this issue by creating a state for the Arabs of Palestine which deliberately excluded its Jews,namely Jordan, now calls its population “Jordanians” and refuses to recognize the original purpose of its creation nor the Arab Palestinians who should be its citizens.
As for Jewish Palestinian the build a wonderful country where all, not just some, Jews are welcome. This should be praised by all as an example to the Arab world, not berated by the likes of Bob Simon.
A final historic note: The British who administered the area from 1917 until 1948 did not like using the word “Jew” when discussing demographics. The Arabs were simply called Arabs, but the Jews were called by another name: Palestinians.
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CBS 60 Minutes Unbalanced: An Unholy Attack on Israel (VIDEO) | The Conservative Papers
3:05 pm
Apr 25, 2012
[...] Continued on Page 2 VN:F [1.9.17_1161]calculating…Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)Source material can be found at this site.topsyWidgetPreload({ "url": "http%3A%2F%2Fconservativepapers.com%2Fnews%2F2012%2F04%2F25%2Fcbs-60-minutes-unbalanced-an-unholy-attack-on-israel-video%2F", "style": "big", "title": "CBS 60 Minutes Unbalanced: An Unholy Attack on Israel (VIDEO) #Freedom #HonestReporting #Islam #Israel #Jihad #Palestinians #Terrorism" }); Take Action Related posts: [...]
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Backlash Over “60 Minutes” Israel Report « Commentary Magazine
4:10 pm
Apr 25, 2012
[...] Honest Reporting notes, Palestinian Christians have blamed Muslim persecution for their migration in numerous media [...]
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Samir
5:52 pm
Apr 25, 2012
Thank you Simon for not blaming Israel for masacres of Christians in Baghdad, Egypt and other M.E. states. May I suggest that you conduct a similar interview with the new leaders of Egypt and other extremists and see you blaming them for killing Christians. No guts for that!
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Daniel Cohen
6:43 pm
Apr 25, 2012
One the third day of what became known as the Six Day war (the blockade by Egypt and the resisting of Egypt’s invasion of Israel), Jordan attacked Israel in an all-out war. This attack stared by firing right in the middle of Jerusalem.
In the battles that ensued, in which Jerusalem became united under Israel rule, the Israel military had a problem, not in defeating Jordan, but in doing so in a manner that would leave in tact the holy places of Christendom. In that effort it is estimated that approximately five hundred Israeli soldiers – young Jewish boys – died protecting Christian holy places.
The Israel government should release exact figures of those deaths that could have been averted had the military focused exclusively on repulsing the Jordanian invasion and defeating the enemy.
The Israel Foreign Ministry should instruct its diplomats to have these facts at their fingertips for the next Bob Simon or similar perpetrators.
Historians should compare this behavior to that of previous battles on the same spot, noting how many Jews died when the Crusaders entered Jerusalem, or how Jewish holy places were treated over the millennia, all the years up to June 5, 1967.
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Daniel Cohen
6:48 pm
Apr 25, 2012
Bob Simon pointed out that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, lived in Nazareth and preached in Jerusalem (today referred to by 60 Minutes and others as “east” Jerusalem.. He forgot to mention that the reason why this Jewish lad was in those places was because they were Jewish places, in the land of the Jews. They still are. They always will be. Dan.
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Daniel Cohen
7:12 pm
Apr 25, 2012
Perhaps some of the joy and endless international exuberant celebrations that accompanied the re-unification of Berlin could be siphoned off and applied to the re-unification of Jerusalem, and the new-born freedom for people of all faiths to access their holy places.
Berlin was the launching pad for two wars in which fifty million people were killed. about twenty-seven million of those were Russians. I am not advocating a division of Berlin, but there was very good reason for dividing Germany and Berlin. There was even an Allied agreement at Yalta in 1944 to return Germany to an agrarian economy, to de-industrialize it. All with good reason.
By contrast, Jerusalem was divided by an armistice line, the place of cease-fire, in a war of “total annihilation” (Jordan’s words) by Trans-Jordan in 1948. It was never an international border. There never was a city called “East Jerusalem”. However the word was silent. Britain even recognized “East” Jerusalem as part of Jordan, the country Britain invented 28 years earlier on the east bank of the River Jordan. No-one else did.
Where is the unbridled international joy at the re-unification of the birth-place of most od Western culture and the rule of law. Now all we hear is the howls of the media at how unfair all this re-unification is. The Arabs can no longer bar Jews from their capital, their holy places. The agressors have lost there reward.
Never mind Bob Simon, the Germans still have theirs.
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Larry C Maslow
10:14 pm
Apr 25, 2012
It looks like the mass media is taking up the “Hate the Jews ” cry. This should make obomber happy since he is solidly on tyhe side of the muzlims
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talia greenberg
10:16 pm
Apr 25, 2012
bob simon is disgustingly and obviously anti zionist/semite. it’s not the first time that he so blatantly blames Israel for certain ‘crimes’. one would think that as he so ‘humbly’ stated, that he’s being doing journalism work for so long that he would be doing some kind of soul searching by telling the truth about Israel instead of his incessant bullshitting. how high is your i.q. simon, when you claim that because of Israeli settlement expansion, the Christians are being persecuted? What is the connection? i truly wonder how you sleep at night knowing that your articles are so biased and one sided and bloody lies. and i take my hat off to the Ambassador for ‘checking’ on your article even before it was aired, as most Israeli’s or Jews that care about Israel, probably have some inkling as to your very low standard of mis-reporting.
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Eli C
10:28 pm
Apr 25, 2012
Considering Bob Simon’s long history of anti-Israel reporting, why is anyone surprised at the biased 60 minutes story of April 22, 2012. Is this not the same Bob Simon that called Israel an ‘apartheid state? The Bob Simon that described Jewish settlements as ‘crusader fortresses’? Are we therefore surprised that a report on this very real problem of Christian persecution in the Arab world is distorted and blamed on Israel?
This is not the first time I’ve been disappointed with 60 Minute reports, but hey, I’ve actually spoken with real Palestinian Christians. People who have immigrated to the U.S. and those still living in places like Bethlehem. It is not the Israelis they complain about but the radicalized Palistinian Muslims. They say this very quietly however in cities like Bethlehem so that they do not become targets by the guys hanging out across the street. Palestinian Christians migrate all right. The migrate from the West Bank to American and to Israel if they are able to.
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Irv
11:05 pm
Apr 25, 2012
Simon’s biases against Israel are fully established. The remaining issues are the passivity of Christian reactions and those of uninformed Jews. Chrlistians must try to over come centuries of antagonism by their churches. Unenlightened Jews must surmount their need to submerge a natural tendency to avoid public attention as a smalll but significant minority population in the world. I’ll continue to bet that TIkun Olam wins out in the long run !!
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BUTSeriously
4:07 am
Apr 26, 2012
Simon, 60 Minutes, the BBC, The Guardian, The EU, the UN and the Islamic world – all get away with their crimes against the Jews because of Christian silence to the truth. Even the most pro-Israel group is silent of a 3-state atrocity in Palestine – the land which mandated only ONE JEWISH STATE.
Bill Clinton does highly paid conferences ‘BOASTING’ how he almost convinced a terrorist named Arafat to accept cutting Jerusalem asunder. Hillary has been made as an Eva Braun by the current U.S. Admin – screaming at Israel not to – AHEM! occupy parts of Israel’s Capital. Christians have been supporting Israel’s demise with Heil Hitler salutes at the UN the past 60 years. HMAS loves Jordan – Israel worst enemy and the cause of today’s so-called PALESTINIAN CONFLICT, created by Britain’s Judas who sold out the Jews for 30 barrels of oil when the Jews were totally helpless.
I say this not to further damage or aggravate the Christians but to wake them up – heaven is not stupid! The Christian Lord will surely take them up on all their crimes and silence of grotesque falsehoods. Eurabia is happening because of Christian post-W.W.II crimes towards the Jews and Israel. Please wake up and restore the Balfour even if Israel never demands it – for your own sake – a use-by date applies. The God of Israel has check-mated you – while also saving you: but for Israel all your lands will be taken by the same force you use to destroy Israel. Mighty Rome was greater than Christianity and Islam combined.
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Rafi
11:23 pm
Apr 26, 2012
It’s simple than that. The people who are doing wrong know they are doing wrong. They should just stop.
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