Miami Lies: Herald Publishes Apartheid Smear Op-Ed
June 6, 2011 13:19 by Simon Plosker
The Miami Herald has seen fit to publish an op-ed by Samah Sabawi who is described as a policy advisor for Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network. A look at Al-Shabaka’s website reveals the organization:
provides a platform for diverse Palestinian viewpoints within the framework of the vision and principles set out in the July 9, 2005 Palestinian Civil Society Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it complies with international law.
Given that the entire strategy of BDS is designed to delegitimize Israel, it is no surprise that Sabawi’s piece is a litany of anti-Israel falsehoods.
Taking the standard hyperbole of Israel as an “apartheid” state, Sabawi begins by attempting to distort Israeli PM Netanyahu’s recent speech to the US Congress as a plan “to confine the Palestinian population to demilitarized Bantustans with limited self rule.” This, despite Netanyahu’s clear acceptance of a negotiated settlement leading to a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution.
Sabawi attempts to present Netanyahu and Israel as the obstructionist side unwilling to compromise despite invoking Netanyahu’s opposition to a Palestinian “right of return”. This maximalist Palestinian demand is rejected by all Israelis across the political spectrum as its implementation and the flooding of Israel’s borders with millions of the descendants of Palestinian refugees would bring an end to Israel as a Jewish state.
Amidst the deluge of apartheid references in his vicious attack on Israel, Sabawi appears either confused or simply ignorant. He talks of “the inauguration of a Jewish-only colony, Har Hazeetim in Silwan, an Arab village south of Jerusalem“. For Sabawi’s information, Har Hazeitim is the Mount of Olives located to the north east of Jerusalem. Silwan is an Arab village located adjacent to the Old City in the area known as the Holy Basin and not south of Jerusalem. But then, reality is not what guides Sabawi.
Indeed, hard facts are difficult to come by in Sabawi’s piece, which relies on omissions and hyperbole to construct a false picture of Israeli policy. For example, he refers to Ariel Sharon “who was found by the Israeli Kahan Commission Inquiry “to bear personal responsibility” for allowing the massacres of Palestinians in Sabra and Shatilla.” Sabawi conveniently forgets that those massacres were carried out not by Israeli forces but by Christian Phalangists in Lebanon a fact often covered up by those seeking to demonize Sharon and to lead readers into believing that the IDF bears responsibility.
Sabawi refers to Israel’s security barrier:
The route of the wall gave Palestinians a hint of what was to come — the entrenchment of an apartheid system. In 2004, he began plans to disengage from Gaza. The wall and disengagement plan aimed to create the demographic balance needed for Israel to realize its dream of annexing Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Sabawi fails to mention the real reason behind the construction of the security barrier – the vital need to protect Israeli civilians from Palestinian terrorists who had unleashed a wave of suicide bombings on buses, cafes and other public places during the period preceding the barrier’s construction.
Sabawi’s leads the reader into believing that Netanyahu’s speech and Israeli policies are the culmination of some grand plan to impose apartheid on the Palestinians (see here to find out why this accusation is patently false). Instead, Sabawi’s op-ed is simply anti-Israel propaganda designed to delegitimize Israel.
So why then has the Miami Herald considered this to be a credible piece of commentary?
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Jackie Cappiello
5:27 pm
Jun 06, 2011
That people swallow his drivel is no surprise to me. The Arab states have been exceedingly successful in passing on their lies, and ignoring some truths. They deny that they exiled close to 800,000 Jews with no compensation and half of Israel’s present population are descended from those people. They manage to make people forget that every offer Israel has made to conciliate the Arabs has been met with complete denial, or in the case of the Oslo agreements, with total disregard of the provisions of the Accord. They also ignore or do not remember, what I do, that on the floor of the UN at Lake Success, right after partition was approved, Arab delegates were shouting they would never accept the decision of the UN and would drive Jews into the sea.
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Naftali Spector
11:28 pm
Jun 06, 2011
The Arab lies are only successful because there are many in the media who are anti-Israel to begin with and willing spread these lies. One can respond to these lies and hope that your response reached an unbiased audience but you should not hope that your response will convince who are anti-Israel to begin with.
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Nora
6:27 am
Jun 13, 2011
Dear Arab propagandists, let’s cut the crap. What’s all this “homeland” all about? Since when is Israel/Palestine “belonging’ to Arabs? Since their invasion?
If Israel the super humane is willing to give a gift of a ‘Palestine Arab State’ then that’s what it is, nothing more. The Arabs lost as soon as they went against international and the UN partition plan and called to wipe off Israel.
Now, let’s talk about Apartheid, the one in Palestine of course as “moderate’ Abbas declared a Jew-free (Judenrein) Arab-Palestine, ethnic cleansing.
Could one imagine what would have happened if Israel’s Netanyahu would declare the same opposite on Israel vis-a-vis Arabs?
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Roistislav
6:47 pm
Jun 06, 2011
I have no doubts that today we’d have the very same situation with, say, the Russian Kaliningrad district (former German Ost-Preussen) or with the Polish Pomorze (former German Pommern), if Nazi aggressors were permitted after the 1945 defeat to have their own “autonomous territories” around a few settlement of their victors. The Israel’s suicidal decision to create such territories may be quite a noble one, but unfortunately any scum – be them Nazies or their old Arab buddies – have no understanding of noble things: they understand force only, and nothing else, as history clearly shows. Just give ‘em a finger – and they’ll bite off the whole hand, to begin with. As for the lies from Miami, I’d say that there is nothing unusual about them in the liberal media: nowadays all the world, from the U(Arab)N to the State Department is becoming even more anti-semitic than it was in good old times of Antony Eden & Breckinridge Long, who did all in their might to help Hitler with his “final solution”. Now, with Nazies gone, their heirs in Miami Herald and elsewhere are eagerly doing the same service for the Hamas Murder Incorporated. Rostislav, Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
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Nathan Zafran
8:59 pm
Jun 06, 2011
By now we are more than used to the drivelled rubbish poured out by the Western media when it comes to bashing Israel or providing a stage for the present version of Nazism. These scums’ ancestors were mostly Nazi sympathisers or collaborators. Why does the media cooperate with them, you ask? Come on! The name of the game is “dollars” and damn honest reporting and verification of facts. Add to this gluttony the fear of Arab/Muslim reprisal and terrorism and you realise that it’s safer and more prosperous to bash Israel than to tell the truth or deny a stage to primitive bigots.
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David Pinto
6:30 am
Jun 07, 2011
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Nathan Zafran
9:09 am
Jun 07, 2011
Who is David Pinto, this self-loathing Jew, who prefers Israel-bashing to truth in the media? Unfortunately, we have had to bear these depraved and distorted characters for over 40 centuries. (See definition “Kapo”). Anyway, we’ll survive this crap too.
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Frank Adam
1:10 pm
Jun 07, 2011
It is time to start scaring the Arabs especially Egypt with their own population crash.
They are all out of food and water at the national strategic level because they have let their populations quadruple since the end of the 40′s when the French and British left and the Arabs clever clever by half thought they could be bigger than their boots playing off the sides in the super power cold war instead of, “cultivating their gardens.”
We now have a situation in which Egypt and no doubt Saudi and others are importing 2/3rds their staple grain to keep water for drinking and are not too efficient in cutting distribution losses there either. Pro tem they buy grain with aid money but the USA can not keep that up for much longer and certainly will not have reason to once the petroleum and gas gives out.
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Maria Theresa
6:49 pm
Jun 07, 2011
How on earth managed the Arab propagandist (openly working as an “advocate” for Arab-Palestinians) to get on the MiamiHerald? Was it the USUAL ‘Arab lobby money’ tactic like the Arab lobby buys Washington, (or even FIFA by Qatar)?
There should be a wide banning of the slur like it has been suggested in JPost “Treat the A world like the N word,” (http://cgis.jpost.com/Blogs/troy/entry/treat_the_apartheid_slur_the) and suggested by the Canadian GOVT. (http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/02/25/13032061.html) It’s not just unfair to label Israelis’ action motivated by security matters (only) as something associate with “race” or so-called “apartheid” but its dangerous as it provides further rationalization of ‘killing Jews’, and attacking Jews on campus.
THIS ANTI-JEWISH ‘ARAB-ISLAMIC APARTHEID’ MUST BE CONDEMNED!
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ann
4:07 am
Jun 08, 2011
There is no question that Sabawi is ignorant, distorts history, and has no recognition of truth. However, Sabawi is “she”
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macida
2:41 pm
Jun 08, 2011
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Jackie Cappiello
3:28 pm
Jun 08, 2011
So sorry , but I must confess to ignorance. What was the government of your Palestine like? What did the currency look like? What was the language spoken in your country and how did it differ from other languages spoken in the area? I looked at maps of the world prior to World War One and Two and there was no nation of Palestine on either of them and, as I was at the UN when the Mandate was partitioned into two states, Arab and Jewish, I recall all the Arab states rejected the idea of a Jewish state and wanted the Jews driven into the Sea. It is strange that when I was a child in the US,. I was told to go back to the Middle East where I came from and now I am told to leave the Middle East. Please tell me what you really want.
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Steve Mann
9:51 pm
Jun 09, 2011
I am afraid you are full of “Lets Make it up” rhetoric.
First and foremost there is no Palestinian state to recognise- and there never has been.
Maybe in 1947 if the Muslims had accepted UN resolution181 there might have been. They preferred war- Just as they do now.
This red herring of fighting for the rights of the “Palestinian” refugees has to be expelled- If this was so the World including the UN and all the Muslims states would have shouted for the “West Bank” and Gaza to be turned into a state when Jordan and Egypt ruled them for 17 years- But no one said one word-
The truth is that while Israel exists and hence this piece of land is not Islamic they will continue to use these people-who nobody wanted in 1950- as pawns to vilify Israel.
And as far as the Chomsky`s and Finklestiens of this world are concerned they still can not get over the thought that Israel “Took” the USA dollar instead of becoming a Soviet satellite. Especially as it was Stalin who by proxy, assisted Israel with arms in 1948 via Hungry and Czechoslovakia.
So lets cut the “Cr*p” regarding these “Poor Palestinians”- They `aint the issue.
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Al Neuman
4:02 am
Jun 09, 2011
It’s very telling that antiSemitic morons like this “Macida” show their true colors by making huge political fodder out of the Palestinian “refugees” and their ostensible “right of return” (most of whom left because their Arab brethren told them to, so that they could “push the Jews into the sea” and would then be able to return to claim all the terroritory and property) NEVER EVER mention the same number of Jewish refugees driven out of Arab lands after Israel declared independence, had all their property confiscated, and not 1 has been allowed to return.
Why doesn’t that bother you “Macida”? Why don’t people like ever seem concerned about the real threat to peace in the Mideast and indeed worldwide–murderous hateful Islamofascist terrorism. Why aren’t you bothered by all the innocent people these crazy jihadists regularly murder?
Because you’re a dishonest bigot, that’s why.
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Roberta
9:30 am
Jun 10, 2011
The 10 Main Points One Should Bear In Mind When Speaking About Democratic Israel vs. Arabs’ Campaign of Genocide
1) The only country in the Middle East where there’s real freedom, where everyone has equal rights is, Israel. As FreedomHouse reported.
2) There’s not one single Arab [full] democracy in the world [yet].
3) What would have happened if a Jew comes into an area which is considered Arab Palestine, without armed guards? And what do you call such a “regime?”
4) Many, including Prof. S. Plaut and prominent lawyer and author D. Matas point out that there’s favoritism for Arabs in Israel.
5) Do Arab propagandists call all checkpoints around the world (including those in the airports, etc. as “apartheid” and why not?
6) What if not vicious seclusion of Israel, is the anti-Israel campaign under this title of apartheid all about? So who is the apartheid pusher now?
7) [Law of return?] What percentage of Arabs in Israel/Palestine are not descendant of immigration since the 1800s?
9) When Arabs target Jewish kids (in accordance with their usual slogan: “itbach al yahud” in Arabic), either children in kindergartens in Sderot, or babies in Itamar, etc. why is it not racism, apart from jihadi cult of believing in a reward for massacring Jews? [By The Way, ALL Jews have been targeted by Arab terrorists' led massacres, even those that never serve in the army, like the ultra-orthodox in Jerusalem or liberal radical-lefty Jews in Kibbutzim active in "peace now"].
10) No peace will ever be achieved by spinning around the issue: Arab-Islamic hatred (out of ethnic racism and out of Islamic fanaticism, often merged in a double sword sort of fascism, which started by the founder of the conflict: The Mufti, in the 1920s. Imagine this: Would there be a conflict if Israel had been all Arab/Muslim?).
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Norman Martinez
7:15 pm
Jun 10, 2011
There are basically three types that swallow the apartheid lie:
A – Arab racists and Muslim bigots.
B- Anti-Jewish anti-Semitoes (that coul;d care less about Arabs but are anti-Jewish to the core, blindly).
C- Radical liberals who are brainwashed.
D- The gullible.
Last time I visited Israel I had Arab policeman (in Haifa), black-Israeli guards (in Jerusalem) checking my bags for security. What kind of joke is this apartheid slur?
What minority is not oppressed in the Arab world. Show me one!
Norman Martinez, Florida
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Alex
3:07 pm
Jun 21, 2011
Well, for “What minority is not oppressed in the Arab world” – I can name some. The ruling minority. The beduin in Jordan. The alawi in Syria. The Sunni in Bahrein. Quite often, they have no trouble to oppress majority of population. But I believe that even then, the freedom enjoyed by “non-oppressed” population in most Arab states cannot match the status of various minorities here in Israel. And I am speaking about straight male population. I don’t even try to think about the women rights or gay rights…
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Chika
4:49 am
Jun 23, 2011
How come the Miami Herald allows this filthy Arab-Apartheid propaganda against Israel the victim of Arabs, Muslims who seek to wipe it off?
Apartheid you say? Israel (where all races, colors, religions are equal) checks Arabs because of their “race” What a racist lie it is!
Now let’s talk apartheid. Shall we?
Apartheid Arab Palestine is against:
1) Christians, are second class citizens at best. Many are forced to act against Israel, some have been physically attacked.
2) Jews, are being targeted for being Jews (as the PA sermons show). By Apartheid-Palestine law, they are not allowed to live under racist Arab rule.
3) Ahmadi (moderate Muslims) sect, are declared “apostates”, thus stripping them of rights in courts, some have been beaten, etc.
4) Blacks grandchildren of slaves by the Bedouins are still stigmatized.
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Sally
12:31 pm
Jul 04, 2011
I abslotuely doubt if anyone really believes this canard. Though many racists utter the slander. This racism against Israel delegitimizing its will and right to survive against the Arab-Islamic racist genocide campaign for so many years. If this isolating of Israel is not Arab apartheid. Than what is apartheid? And just why is denying Jews’ history to the land not racism but telling the truth of Arab-immigration which makes up the chunk of the roots of the so-called Palestinians is? One more thing: Show me one country in the Arab and Muslim world which is not an apartheid system!
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Charley 6
3:42 am
Jul 06, 2011
This is the same Palestinian propagandist that pushes for anti-Israel boycotts by the Arab aparheid: “greenleft.org.au/node/47298 ‘Boycott Israel’ campaign challenges apart… Sunday, April 10, 2011 By Samah Sabawi”
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