Morsi Anti-Semitism: Better Late Than Never For the New York Times
January 15, 2013 12:53 by Simon PloskerIn a story that was reported by Israeli press, including the Jerusalem Post and Times of Israel, a video from 2010 was released by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi opposing peace with “the descendants of apes and pigs.” (See transcript here.)
That the leader of the Arab world’s most powerful and influential state has openly expressed anti-Semitic views and his opposition to peace with Israel was a potentially huge international story. Or was it?
Forbes magazine’s Richard Behar asked the question as to why no American newsrooms deemed Morsi’s comments worthy of attention:
Needless to say, this was HUGE NEWS for American mass media! Only it wasn’t. (Knock, knock, New York Times? Anybody home?) In fact, to be fair to the paper of record, not a single major outlet has covered it. Not AP or Reuters. Not CBS News or CNN. Not Time magazine or U.S. News & World Report. Not the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, or USA Today. Etcetera. And therein lies a story, which this column can only begin to skin open here. …
Undoubtedly, the Cairo and Jerusalem bureaus of the big U.S. media outlets saw the story. But the news only found its way to certain American readers and viewers by getting picked up in Jewish and/or conservative forums over the following days. …
Most would agree that, even in the internet age, the [New York] Times is still the leading agenda-setter for major media. It is, after all, the best paper around, a true wonder-of-the-world. But it does seem to avoid covering Islamist incitement against Jews (and Christians) like the plagues.
Lo and behold, however, today’s New York Times (January 15) covers the Morsi story. While it took the intervention of a respected publication such as Forbes before the New York Times woke up and reported the news that should matter to its readers, credit to the paper for publishing the story while other mainstream media such as CNN, BBC, Washington Post and others have failed to do so.
From the original release of the story on January 4 and Richard Behar’s article on January 11, it has taken some eleven days for the New York Times to file a report.
According to the NY Times report: “Representatives of Mr. Morsi have declined repeated requests over more than three days for comment on his remarks.” This would imply that journalist David Kirkpatrick first cottoned on to the story on the day that Behar called out the NY Times.
While it is concerning that the NY Times initially didn’t consider anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comments from the Egyptian president to be worth covering, at least the paper did eventually publish the story. We wait to see whether others will follow the NY Times’s lead.
Why is this important? That Egypt’s president uttered these statements is newsworthy in its own right. But in the bigger picture, the media tends to concentrate its attention on presenting Israel as the intransigent side, placing issues such as settlements at the heart of the Middle East conflict. Meanwhile, anti-Israel incitement from the Palestinians and the wider Arab world is virtually never covered and is thus rarely factored in as a potential obstacle towards peace.
It’s time that the mainstream media acknowledges that the Mideast conflict might actually be based on more than just a simple territorial dispute.
In this case, thanks to Richard Behar, it’s better late than never.
UPDATE
The Algemeiner reports that Morsi’s anti-Semitic remarks have been condemned by White House Press Secretary Jay Carney at a Tuesday press briefing:
“We strongly condemn the remark that then-Muslim Brotherhood leader Morsi made in 2010. The language that we have seen is deeply offensive. We completely reject these statements, as we do any language that espouses religious hatred. This discourse–this is a broader point–this kind of discourse has been acceptable in the region for far too long and it’s counter to the goal of peace. President Morsi should make clear that he respects people of all faiths, and that this type of rhetoric is not acceptable or productive in a democratic Egypt. Since taking office President Morsi has reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to its peace treaty with Israel in both word and deed, and has proven willing to work with us towards shared objectives including a ceasefire during the crisis in Gaza last year. These commitments are essential to our bi-lateral relations with Egypt as well as for stability in the region.”
Morsi Anti-Semitism: Better Late Than Never For the New York Times | The Conservative Papers
5:24 am
Jan 16, 2013
[...] this case, thanks to Richard Behar, it’s better late than never. VN:F [1.9.22_1171]calculating…Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)topsyWidgetPreload({ "url": [...]
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Dafna Yee
8:48 am
Jan 16, 2013
The White House statement reads more like a whitewash of Morsi’s anti-Jewish, anti-Israel statements than a condemnation of what was actually said!
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buxton
1:38 pm
Jan 16, 2013
he is just quoting from the Q’ran that all Muslims believe was given to Muhammad by Allah
seems to be a different deity to the one who spoke through the Jewish prophets and directly to Abraham and Moses
do they really think we all worship the same God?
do they really think we can have peace with people who believe what Muhammad said?
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BUTSeriously
2:04 pm
Jan 16, 2013
Moses: You shall love the stranger.
Mo: Its a blessing to kill the stranger [infidel].
Moses: Do not lie to the stranger.
Mo: Ok to lie to the stranger [Taqiyah].
Moses: You shall surely rebuke.
Mo: How dare you critisize!
Moses: You shall not bear false witness.
Mo: Jewish temple is a Zionist myth.
Moses: You shall not covet.
Mo: We shall dominate.
Mo: I am the son of Yochabel and Amram, from the tribe of Levi.
Mo: Moses was a Muslim.
Moses: You shall not steal.
Mo: No other religion shall prevail in Arabia.
Moses: Equal rights to the stranger as the inhabitant.
Mo: Jews are born of pigs.
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Budlang
4:22 pm
Jan 16, 2013
Let’s not give Morsi a little slap on the hand for his antisemitic remarks. Let’s quit sending him huge sums of money to continue building his power base for the muslim brotherhood. We have never bought a friend and we never will. Thes guys are our enemies. They laugh all the way to the bank. Keep our money at home where the democrats can continue to buy votes by giving it away here.
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El Antisemitismo de Morsi: Más vale tarde que nunca para el New York Times « Unidos x Israel
8:18 pm
Jan 16, 2013
[...] del 15 de Enero del 2013 Artículo traducido por ReporteHonesto de HonestReporting, escrito por Simon Plosker. En una historia que fue reportada por la prensa [...]
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Oleg
10:57 pm
Jan 16, 2013
We all should read BBC’s article about Morsi’s antisemitism. That is something special even for BBC!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21037606
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Irv Dain
1:55 am
Jan 17, 2013
The USA should cut off financial support to Egypt until he shows much more
respect to Israel and Jews in general.
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Morsi Expresses Anti-Semitism - bobgorelik.com
8:08 pm
Jan 17, 2013
[...] That the leader of the Arab world’s most powerful and influential state has openly expressed anti-Semitic views and his opposition to peace with Israel was a potentially huge international story. Or was it?… (to read the complete article click here.) [...]
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martin
12:09 pm
Jan 20, 2013
Egypt receives as much in US aid as Israel. The only difference is that the latter is in love with the USA and offers in credible support re intelligence etc, while the former hates it and offers nothing in return.
The PLO back in the 1990′s was criticised by the US State Dept for it’s inability to show where the $billions of aid has gone. The charade continues to this day, with this corrupt organsiation eing the wealthiest NGO in the world.
Regarding Morsi’s comments, they are nothing new, and I always question the Muslims about our being descended form pigs and monkets, and always the response is the same = schtum
See below, out of space
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BUTSeriously
12:40 pm
Jan 20, 2013
Muslims and the pre-islamic Arabs have no biological thread connecting them to Ishmael. Its like the Muslim Palestinian hoax. There was no identifiable ethnic group or race of Arabs prior to 700 BCE; they never existed in King Solomon’s time. Ishmael was half Jewish, half Egyptian and ancient Egypt was not Arab. The connection was contrived in the 7th century with the advent of the Quran, 2,600 years later – in all that period Jews were the only monotheists the world. The pro-Islamic people were not monotheistic and never followed the Abrahamic or Mosaic beliefs. The Greeks coined the name Arab after conquering Persia – they were unable to differentiate a newly emerged group from Arabians.
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martin
12:18 pm
Jan 20, 2013
Does the Kuran offer this synopsis that Jews are descended from pigs and apes?
Where did it originate from?
Do you believe it, why, and if not, what do you do to repel this hate?
All the Jewish prophets and many teachings are fundamental in Islamic law, were they descended from the animals, or did it happen afterwards? And when, and by whom?
Abraham, father of Isaac and Ishmael was the first Jew, was he too, descended from pigs and apes? Moses our teacher, was Jewish, is he too, under this category?
Finally, throughout it’s history, Israel has fought and won wars with it’s Islamic neighbours and from further afield.
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martin
12:25 pm
Jan 20, 2013
The mainly Islamic neighbours and thoise from further afield had superiority in infantry, navy, airforce and weaponry, including missiles. Very often the very latest of mainly Soviet weaponry and armour, even before Warsaw Pact countries held them in Europe. Israel had inferior numbers and mainly used western arms which were inferior to the latest Soviet weaponry.
Now we know that some Muslims and their supporters read this site, so my question is quite simple. How do you explain and feel that you have been beaten every time and had to call in the UN, the USA and the Soviet Union to back your calls for a cease fire? When your victors are, as you claim, descended from these animals?
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Dafna Yee
1:04 pm
Jan 20, 2013
This is the first time in over 50 years that I have heard anyone state that Ishmael was not an Arab. While it is true that Muslims date to ~700 BCE, I know that Arabs predate Muslims; I just have no idea as to how far back. By your own statement, the Greeks, who were much earlier than Muhammad, coined the term “Arab.” Please understand that I am not saying you are wrong, but I would like to know your source or sources.
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BUTSeriously
1:40 pm
Jan 20, 2013
The Arabs invaded Egypt in the 7th C. There were no Arabs in Egypt before this. Copts are older & closer to ancient Egypt. Ishmael’s mother was an Egyptian hand maiden, his father Abraham a Jew/Hebrew/Israelite – but not an Arab. The oldest claimed Arab origin is with: SHALMANESER III° (Shulm?nu-asharid (“Shulmanu is leader”) III), ruler of Assyria 859–824 B.C.E. Still before K Solomon, this too is disputed and derived from a word that sounds like Arab. There is no refrence of Arab from any source pre-700 BCE, nor of an Arab king, war, nation, city or relic. Unlike the Jews under constant exiles, the Arabs were never displaced from Arabia, allowing no excuse for the absence of any imprints.
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Dafna Yee
5:11 pm
Jan 20, 2013
Thank you. That information is fascinating. I have two more questions if you don’t mind. Who were the people (or peoples) who inhabited the Middle East that the Arabs from Saudi Arabia conquered around the same time that they conquered Egypt? Also, is there a book or website that has this information? I would like to be able to use this information in a paper and if I can’t cite it, I won’t write it.
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martin
6:28 pm
Jan 20, 2013
Dafna,
If I may add to BUT seriuos;y, the only arabs are or were thos from Arabia. Other nations like Berbers in north Africa etc were never classified as Arabs, unlike today. and theta is quite wrong.
The Fakestinians are a mix of people from neighbouring countries that entered Turkish/Ottoman territory because the Jews, early Zionists gave them work. If you read Mark Twain’s Innocents Abroad, it will give you an insight as to how ridiculous and untrue the statements about the poor palestinians are. Even Abdullah of Jordan is a Hashemite king originally from Arabian Bedouin tribe. His great grandfather of the same name was given “Transjordan” by the British.
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BUTSeriously
12:56 am
Jan 21, 2013
Saudi Arabia is a fictional regime created by Britain 110 years ago. Unlike Israel which was a sovereign state 3000 years ago, its a fictional oil borders state that never existed before. Britain illegally created 23 new Islamic states, in secret [none voted for at the UN] all handed to one Muslim family, with no conditions attached. It was done for 30 barrels of oil. It is the sole cause of millions of innocent lives lost, both Muslim & non-Muslims, while Britain walks free whistling.
Britain then illegally & immorally handed 80% of Palestne to the same family [Jordan], corrupting the Balfour Mandate & issued its White Paper, the substantial cause of the Holocaust. Same was done to India.
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martin
6:36 pm
Jan 20, 2013
after they renamed the whole territory as Palestinian. This alos was due to Abdullah’s cousin being made a king of Iraq. Both those countries were controlled by the British, their armed forces were supplied and led by the Britisah including during the War of Independence.
The term Palestinian was coined by the paedophilic murderer Arafat to counter Zionism. all the historical evidence points to statements fromtheir leaders that Palestine is not real, as they are all arabs. The PLO is the largest and most profitable corrupt regime in the world, bar none. In the 1990′s the US Statew Dept was concerned at all the moissing unaccounted for $billions. The monetary aid continues to this day
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Dafna Yee
7:23 pm
Jan 20, 2013
Martin, I am very aware of Israel’s history for the 19th and 20th centuries. That includes the “history” of the so-called “Palestinians” who were created by Arafat — an Egyptian — in 1964 and first recognized by the Arab leaders at the Rabat Conference in 1974. I have written many papers on this subject. (If you’re interested, you can read many of them on the internet.) What I don’t know is what I asked: Who were the people who lived on the Middle East in the 8th century CE that are considered Arabs today?
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Dafna Yee
2:54 am
Jan 21, 2013
Are you saying that in 700 CE, Arabia encompassed all of the Middle East like the Ottoman Empire (from which the British created all of those countries) did later? Otherwise, I STILL want to know who the people were that the Arabs conquered in the Middle East around the same time as they conquered Egypt in the 8th century CE! And please give me a source or sources.
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BUTSeriously
3:52 am
Jan 21, 2013
Ottoman empire emerged in the 15th century, displacing Christian Constantinople. In the 7th century the emerging Islam conquered the then existing nations like Moab, Egypt, Judea, Persia, Bulgaria, etc. In Jeruslem, they destroyed a Church which was built on the Jewish temple site and dumped the Al Aqsa in its place. Much later, the Muslims intentionally mis-construed a Quran verse of ‘distant mosque’ to justify the robbery of the most sacred site of the Jews. Mohammed never stepped in Jerusalem nor is this city mentioned in the Quran.
No religion can justify robbery and false witnessing, as seen with Jerusalem and Hebron, Israel’s 3000 year Capital & the birthplace of Judaism respectively.
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Dafna Yee
11:11 am
Jan 21, 2013
You seem to be trying to convince me that the Jews, not the Arabs, are the true owners of Israel. Since I already agree with that wholeheartedly, there is no need to keep bringing up proofs that I already know very well. The reason that I want sources of the origins of the Arabs in the Middle East is to support my own arguments AGAINST their ownership! Since you’ve repeatedly ignored my requests for sources, I found an excellent essay on the origins of the Arabs which you should check out. It is: http://www.imninalu.net/myths-Arabs.htm. Since the author of the essay does not list HIS sources, I intend to contact him directly.
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BUTSeriously
11:36 am
Jan 21, 2013
I commented on items from other posts. Thanks for that fine article: it states the Arab group is the most recent one in Arabia; the same applies to it as a non-original plagerised religion. I’m afraid you are looking for things which do not exist. The Arabs do not own lands they now occupy; the Ottomans were not Arab.
It will not make much difference if one proves anything concerning Arab fake claims, as seen in the syndrome with the term Palestinian, West Bank for Samaria & 3-state for 2-state: who does not know this is fake and why are they still accepting it? The blame lies on Britain & Europe, who are silent even of the Arab denial of the temple – a clear negation of the Gospels.
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Sanych
5:46 am
Jan 22, 2013
Dafna,
1. Welcome to the echo chamber. There are zealot trolls who post and re-post the same old over and over again. Asking them for information or having a conversation with them is useless. I agree with you that it is important to have SERIOUS (not butt serious) information to be able to contradict statements from the other side.
2. Thanks for the article. From a some of its language (like “Semitic stock”) it seems to be written long time ago or a copy of something that was written long ago.
3. The basic question that needs to be answered is – who are the Arabs? You link as well as others claim that Arabs are people that speak Arabic and share Arabic culture.
See below ..
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Sanych
6:03 am
Jan 22, 2013
4. There is no question that today’s Arabs are not just members of the original tribes. Unquestionably many ethnic Jews were “Arabisized”. There was even a video not long ago about one Palestinian clan members of which are being called “Jews” by Arabs themselves because they converted to Islam from Judaism fairly recently.
Thus, the argument from the Palestinian side is that they are the people who lived in what is known as Palestine during the Arab conquest and they are the true owners of the land.
The question is how many of the people who call themselves Palestinians are really native to the Land of Israel.
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martin
8:42 pm
Jan 21, 2013
Dafna, BUTseriously has certainly answerred your question. Before the Ottoman empire, other countries really hardly existed in north Africa. We all know of ancient history of Assyria, Persia (non Arab) etc. They were hardly countries. People lived in huge family enclaves, particularly the Bedouin
Yes BUT seriously, you hit the target head on with Britain’s insidious history and to a lesser extent France, too. Let us not forget that the Balfour Declaration was confirmed by the San Remo Declaration in 1920 (?) which guaranteed the Jewish people a homeland in the former Ottoman empire, that encompassed both sides of the Jordan.
There is already a two state solution, three is one too many
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BUTSeriously
2:06 am
Jan 22, 2013
I must be the only lone quark in the universe who thinks so, yet I do: Britain’s corruption of the Balfour Mandate and the White Paper was the substantial cause of the holocaust. It becomes affirmed by Britain’s Heil salutes at the UN the past 60 years demanding serial 2-states in the same tiny land [shamelessly accountng it as a 2-state again] and fostering the transfer of the name Palestinian from Jews to those panting for another holocaust. I mean, who’s kidding whom! And by subsequence, Britain’s deeds account for all of today’s conflicts: 23 Islamic states – why? Who won the war!?
Britain, sadly, lost the prefix of ‘Great’ the day the Balfour was corrupted – for 30 barrels of oil.
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