The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) published an article called, “Musicians raise their voices in song to help children in Gaza.”
Aside from describing a musical project, the CSM misrepresented the nature of Gaza and Israel in a way that puts professional journalism to shame.
First, the CSM got basic geography wrong, by stating that Israel controls Gaza’s border. In fact Gaza has 2 borders: one adjacent to Israel and the other adjacent to Egypt. The Egyptian border is even more restricted than the Israeli one, due to constant attacks from Gaza against Egyptians. CSM also made no mention of the constant attacks from Gaza against Israelis.
CSM misstated key facts, stating that Israel restricts imports into Gaza. In fact, Israel restricts the movement of weapons into Gaza but moves in millions of tons of food, supplies and water annually, as well as supplying electricity. The weapons that Israel restricts are used by terror organizations to attack Israeli civilians.
Then CSM practically defied imagination by discussing Gaza while making absolutely no mention of its most important context: that the Hamas terror group actually controls Gaza.
Hamas oppresses Palestinians and actively works for the destruction of Israel and the murder of all Jews. (Hamas states this publicly and frequently, in fact it is a part of its basic charter).
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Hamas is designated as a terror organization by: Australia, Canada, Egypt, the European Union , Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The terror group’s ongoing war against Israel and Jews is the reason why Israel’s security measures are necessary in the first place, and it is the root cause of suffering endured by both Palestinians and Israelis. CSM makes no mention of any of this information at all.
CSM does not even mention the word “Hamas” except for one passing reference toward the end of the article. By contrast, CSM blames Israel for the situation in Gaza five separate times throughout the article.
Finally, CSM mentioned death statistics from the most recent war between Israel and Hamas. The numbers CSM used were themselves outdated and incorrect, but even more importantly, CSM made no mention that most of the deaths in Gaza were actually military fighters or else civilians who had been used by Hamas as human shields to protect military equipment and personnel.
Israel’s actions in war with Hamas were entirely defensive in nature and Israeli civilians live under constant rocket barrages from Gaza, which is what made the war necessary in the first place. CSM, once again, mentioned none of this.
Briefly in passing, CSM mentions that one of the participants in this music project is Roger Waters, but continuing its parade of missing context, CSM makes no mention of Waters’ dramatic anti-Semitism, including his public displays of hatred and ridicule toward both Israel and the Jewish people.
To speak about suffering in Gaza and yet omit any mention at all of Hamas is like speaking of the attacks in San Bernardino, California, Paris or Brussels without mentioning Islamic State (ISIS), or to talk about 9/11 without mentioning Al Qaeda: not only is it a gross distortion of reality, but it is an embarrassment to the very profession of journalism.
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Gaza Map: Public domain image from CIA World Factbook
Graph of attacks from” IDFBLOG.com
Feature image by: Abed Rahim Khatib /Flash90
