Der Sturmer in the UK?
June 13, 2012 15:13 by Simon PloskerThe following by HR’s Managing Editor Simon Plosker appeared originally on The Times of Israel.
What would Israel do if a journalist from Der Sturmer was filing reports from inside the country? Despite the fact that there is remarkable press freedom in Israel, extending to and including Arab media such as Al-Jazeera, it’s a safe bet that Israel would find it extremely hard to swallow.
Yet there is such a foreign media outlet represented in Israel, publishing propaganda and openly supporting Israel’s worst enemies. It’s called The Guardian.
While I wouldn’t begin to credit The Guardian’s reporter on the ground as being the ultimate evil, perhaps Harriet Sherwood might like to reflect on the twisted ideologues at work in The Guardian’s London office.
The latest example sees The Guardian focusing on five years since Hamas won Palestinian elections and took over the Gaza Strip. Cue a sickening piece of propaganda by Gaza’s Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh:
We as a people want to live in our homeland, the land of our ancestors, in freedom, dignity and democracy, and with a just peace that restores our rights. We do not want to attack anyone and do not accept anyone attacking us. As we have said on more than one occasion, the key to security is the end of occupation. As a people we have been historically wronged and subjected to dozens of massacres; tens of thousands of us have lost our children for no other reason than that we demand our rights as clearly stipulated under international laws.
Less than five months ago, Haniyeh celebrated Hamas’s 24thanniversary by boasting of the numbers of Israelis the terror group had murdered (civilians as well as soldiers) and the amount of rockets fired from Gaza aimed at Israeli civilian targets.
Does this sound like a man who does not want to attack anyone? As for “dozens of massacres” and “tens of thousands” having lost their children, this sort of language is straight out of the Joseph Goebbels playbook – tell a big enough lie and it will be believed.
I shouldn’t need to deconstruct Hamas propaganda but I can ask why The Guardian feels the need to give a platform to terrorism. Granted, the New York Times and LA Times have done the same in the past. But neither publication has demonstrated a consistent and obsessive hatred towards Israel to the point of open activism against the country.
Otherwise, how to explain The Guardian’s open criticism of the Palestinian Authority’s apparent willingness to compromise with Israel as outlined in leaked documents relating to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations? Referring to the so-called “Palileaks,” The Guardian hauled the PA over the coals for daring to contemplate possible concessions in exchange for peace, taking a similar line to Hamas.
The Guardian was also the paper of choice for anti-Semitic Sheikh Raed Salah to spread his vicious hatred of Israel during his ultimately successful effort to challenge his deportation from the UK.
The Guardian even went as far as to publish an op-ed in January 2001 titled, “Israel simply has no right to exist.” This, in a nutshell seems to typify The Guardian’s attitude towards Israel. The paper can no longer be regarded as a mainstream left-wing progressive media outlet. It has, instead, allied itself with the worst reactionary, illiberal and, dare I say, Islamofacist forces, legitimizing radical anti-Israel and sometimes anti-Semitic discourse.
And what of the outrage generated in October 2011 when Guardian columnist Deborah Orr resorted to anti-Semitic tropes concerning the “chosen people,” twisting Israel’s desire to pay such a high price for the life of one soldier, Gilad Shalit?
That particular article led to The Guardian’s readers’ editor acknowledging that the paper needed to be more careful about the language used when writing about Jews or Israel.
There’s very little evidence that anything has been taken on board in the months since, with Ismail Haniyeh’s offering just the latest example of The Guardian’s utter disdain for Israel.
Why should we care? The Guardian is still the paper of choice of the liberal “chattering class” in the UK, influencing politicians, academia, the BBC and the elites. And the poison is spreading across the Atlantic through The Guardian’s popular website and Comment is Free blog site.
Despite seeing many unpalatable things in the media over the years working for HonestReporting, I’ve always tried to err on the side of caution before branding any media outlet as an avowed enemy of Israel.
When it comes to The Guardian, however, the paper deserves to be treated as a modern-day Der Sturmer.
Der Sturmer in the UK? | The Conservative Papers
7:32 am
Jun 14, 2012
[...] it comes to The Guardian, however, the paper deserves to be treated as a modern-day Der Sturmer. VN:F [1.9.17_1161]calculating…Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)topsyWidgetPreload({ "url": [...]
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Reb Mordechai
1:01 pm
Jun 14, 2012
There is no doubt that there are many anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic reporters and journalists in the British press. They are not on the fringes of British media or given a forum simply for counter opinion sake. They are mainstream writers in mainstream media outlets.
There can be no doubt by any objective criteria that The Guardian as well as other British media outles have crossed the line between legitimate criticism and Israel and Jew hatred (and I don’t mean a small incursion over the line but a full blown invasion).
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
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Reb Mordechai
1:03 pm
Jun 14, 2012
One has to ask oneself, why have the so called politically and racially sensitive media watchdogs been either silent or totally dismissive of complaints of Anti-Semitism and allowed these hate publications to continue with impunity?
Why don’t other mainstream media outlets openly condemn these articles and treat them with the disgust they deserve? Silence in the face of hatred amounts to complicity in the crime.
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Reb Mordechai
1:04 pm
Jun 14, 2012
I believe Honest Reporting is doing a fine job in exposing these hate articles but haven’t we got to the stage where there are simply too many of them? In fact, it is rear to find a balanced, let alone pro-Israel article in the British press today and when there is one then the writer is considered at the fringes of acceptable opinion.
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Reb Mordechai
1:05 pm
Jun 14, 2012
At the heart of this issue is the inescapable conclusion that it is not simply one or two British media outlets which express these opinions but indeed the majority. This is a nation which views these hate filled articles as perfectly acceptable and sees nothing wrong with it. In fact, many in Britain would say that it is their moral obligation to spread Israel and Jew hatred wherever possible.
There have always been Jew haters but Britain today is a country which allows them to flourish in mainstream media. One can only conclude that Britain is a morally corrupt and evil society.
Please, someone, anyone, convince me that I am wrong or at least cast doubt on my conclusions.
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Sharon Andrews
10:33 pm
Jun 19, 2012
Yes, a lot of what you say is right, but I want to encourage and assure you that I am a British Bible-believing Christian and I love the Jewish People and Israel and support them financially, prayerfully and also by writing letters to the Government, the Media etc. There are lots of people who support Israel & the Jewish People in Britain, and I along with many others, always challenge people who I hear criticise or tell untruths about Israel and shall continue to do so and encourage others to do the same. Our Church is organising for the first time a tour to Israel next year staying in a Jewish hotel and a Jewish Tour Guide. Support for you is growing all the time.
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sander postol
5:33 am
Jul 22, 2012
Is Sharon Andrews anywhere in the UK majority? I hope so. May Hashem continue to provide her with wisdom and courage.
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Motti
3:51 pm
Aug 28, 2012
Sharon, I worked with a young lady whose mother belonged to a West Indian church and visits Israel 4 times a year, staying in Jewish hotles etc. This puts many Jewish people to shame!!
However, although there is support individually by many Christians and their church, usually, they are not mainstream.
The World Council of Churches is extremely anti Israel, along with the various mainstream churches, among them are, sadly, the Quakers. It has become so bad now that even the Chief Rabbi Lord Sachs has pulled out of the ecumenical committees.
I respect and love those who support Israel, better a decent minority than an unprincipled majority. That;s why you are special.
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Barbara Stone
7:54 am
Jun 17, 2012
If it’s possible to do so, Honest Reporting does Der Sturmer a disservice. It was never anything other than a vile, racist Nazi rag, spewing out Jew hatred by the bucket-load.
On the other hand, the haughty Guardian hides its anti-Zionist-cum-anti-Semitic stance, biased coverage and utter lack of objectivity on the Middle East behind the pretension of being a high-minded, serious newspaper, pandering to Britain’s liberal, far-Left, purblind chatterati – including many self-hating Jews – whose loathing for Israel is all-consuming.
The best than can be said of The Guardian is that it is soft, absorbent and the print doesn’t come off when you use it to wipe your backside.
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Ed Frias
3:06 pm
Jun 20, 2012
Thank You Simon Plosker for showing what Islamo fascists the Guardian supports.
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2012/03/hamas-celebrates-10th-anniversary-of.html
Hamas celebrates 10th anniversary of Netanya Passover massacre
March 27, 2012
Maybe I missed it, but I don’t recall seeing any Arabs protesting against this attack, or writing anguished op-eds about how a fellow Muslim could have done such a thing. No Arab groups popped up on college campuses calling for solidarity with Jews against terror. There were no UN resolutions condemning the massacre.
But there was a PA-sponsored soccer tournament in Tulkarem named after the suicide bomber.
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Ed Frias
3:07 pm
Jun 20, 2012
More on the Palestinian mass murderers the Guardian supports.
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2012/04/hamas-celebrates-anniversary-of-haifa.html#disqus_thread
April 01, 2012
Hamas celebrates anniversary of Haifa restaurant bombing
Hamas newspaper Palestine Times has a featured article celebrating the ten year anniversary of the bombing of the Arab-owned Matza restaurant in Haifa, that killed 16 Israeli civilians. The article includes photos of the bomber as well as of the devastation to the restaurant, whose roof collapsed from the force of the explosion.
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Ed Frias
3:09 pm
Jun 20, 2012
It was Israel and the Jewish people who were attacked in the past and threatened with annihilation today. We reject the savage, Islamic propaganda – which is stirred up by their Leftist shill worldwide.
The news is awash with Islamist atrocities the world over: no day passes without bloodshed committed by the radical Muslims.
Islam is a pure, totalitarian fascist ideology encompassing stoning, genital mutilating, honor killing and the list is endless.
Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan, Somalia… those are the true satanic places:
Israel is a peaceful oasis by comparison.
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Ed Frias
3:12 pm
Jun 20, 2012
Hamas parliamentary Deputy Speaker Ahmad Bahr said that Jews were “apes and pigs” and should all be killed. “O Allah, vanquish the Jews and their supporters,” he cried out. “O Allah, vanquish the Americans and their supporters. O Allah, count their numbers, and kill them all, down to the very last one.” But weeks ago, Bahr moderated his position and now calls Jews the “siblings of monkeys and pigs.” He hasn’t called for genocide against Jews in months and now simply urges his brethren to “sweep them out of our land, which means all of Israel.
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Ed Frias
3:12 pm
Jun 20, 2012
When Hamas Culture Minister Atallah Abu al-Subh was a radical back in 2008, he spoke of the “evil of the Jews, their deceit, their cunning, their war-mongering, their control of the world, and their contempt and scorn for all the peoples of the world …” Today, Subh, too, has moderated his message. “The Jews are the most despicable and contemptible nation to crawl upon the face of the Earth,” he said in April on Al Aqsa TV. “Allah will kill the Jews in the hell of the world to come …”
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Steve Bronfman
2:15 pm
Jul 26, 2012
Israel needs to hire you guys, camera, Daniel pipes, elder of ziyon, Melanie Phillips etc and produce a scholarly report on The Guardian’s bias. They then need to present it to Fox News and immediately ban the paper Nd any associated reporters from Israel for 10 years. Next do the same with the BBC before giving them a 6 months to prove they can bs neutral without such things as posting a photo of an Israeli soldier shouting at a palistinian as their image for Israel on Israels olympic profile page.
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Frank Adam
4:34 pm
Aug 23, 2012
There is a lot wrong with the Guardian on Israel – but it is not as far down as Der Sturmer crudities – which in some ways makes its effects worse for being carefully sugared in half truths.
The problem is that a lot of what it writes and questions about other things is well done.
Essentially what needs researching is to what extent the Arab sovereign funds such as “Q8″ have bought into the Scott Trust which owns the G, and the Observer which is more measured.
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Motti
3:57 pm
Aug 28, 2012
The difference between Der Stuermmer and the Guardian (the Observer, Daily Mirrot and Independent, of course the BBC) is the former was viewed with utmost distaste by decent people.
Today’s rabid Jew/Israel haters are supposed to be the decent lot. Unfortunately the difference between the far right National Socialists Jew hating and the far left International Socialists Jew/Israel hating is very small. It all centres on the title Inter. In London, it was uncommon to see both sides together hatefully demonstrating against Israel. Bed partners, they certainly are.
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