“Racist” Quote Mistranslated by Ha’aretz
June 25, 2012 15:14 by Simon Plosker
The issue of African immigrants in Israel is a sensitive one that hasn’t portrayed Israel in a positive light by any stretch. While some Israeli politicians have disgraced themselves with utterly inappropriate language, others appear to have been deliberately misquoted to exacerbate the overall negative effect.
Take Interior Minister Eli Yishai, the subject of a blog piece in The Independent titled “Note to refugees from South Sudan: Israel is for the white man”. According to the writer Richard Sudan:
These were the astonishing words uttered by Israel’s interior minister Eli Yishai in an interview recently in which he outlined the Israeli government’s view of African migrants.
Cue some research by CIF Watch and The Jewish Press who both traced the source of the quote to a Ha’aretz report which indeed said:
Israeli daily Maariv published an interview with Interior Minister Eli Yishai, in which he stated that most of the “Muslims that arrive here do not even believe that this country belongs to us, to the white man.”
As The Jewish Press notes, that sentence is better translated as:
“Most of the people coming here are Moslems who think the land doesn’t belong to us at all, to the white man.”
With the more accurate translation above, you can see that there is room to wonder who is thinking that about the ‘white man’.
But here is is the excised sentence that comes next and is missing in the Ha’aretz translation:
“A number of them have said that openly on television.”
In short, Eli Yishai is not quoting his own thoughts or beliefs.
Eli Yishai is not saying Israel belongs to the ‘white man’.
Eli Yishai is quoting the infiltrators, and it is the infiltrators who have said that Israel doesn’t belong to the “white man”.
Ha’aretz left out one little sentence. But that sentence determines if Yishai is a racist or not.
The real question is, did Ha’aretz leave it out on purpose or accidentally?
Mohammed Morsi’s Rude Welcome to the Media Spotlight | Blogs about Israel aggregation
10:36 pm
Jun 25, 2012
[...] Media (most notably, The Independent) saying that “Israel belongs to the white man.” HonestReporting rounded up the links tracing what Eli Yishai really [...]
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
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Jack A Serber
11:05 pm
Jun 25, 2012
Ha’aretz has a reputation of being a far left-leaning Israeli newspaper.
Now has it become anti-Israel?
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
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Joan Stuchner
11:09 pm
Jun 25, 2012
I’m sorry, but it does still have an air of racism to it. Race issues rear their ugly heads in all countries, even Israel, We Jews need to expect better from ourselves and each other. There is no pure race anywhere. And who cares whether or not we have Polish, African or Chinese genes? I don’t. Yishai needs to clarify what he meant.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Bill Kelly
11:24 pm
Jun 25, 2012
Seeing how some publications love controversial statements, even if it unfairly characterizes some people, and antagonizes an already bad situation, I would not be surpised if it is not a mistake. But those of you who actually read Ha’aretz, and know it’s reputation, would probably be a better judge of that. Perhaps I am only being cynical. I have seen a misquote here in the USA fairly recently that made a great deal of difference on how a public figure actually felt about something. And it also was a matter of not giving the full quote, basically taking it out of context. Politics within the USA, or within Israel, then, may be a part of it.
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Peter
3:52 am
Jun 26, 2012
I recall how 10 years ago or so an editor from Ha’aretz told the UN in Geneva or Brussels that Israel was like a woman who needed to be raped and later referred to Israel as an apartheid nation. That’s Ha’aretz for you — as anti-Israel as the Guardian and BBC.
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steve mann
3:38 pm
Jun 26, 2012
What the Ha`aretz journalists fail to admit to- Is that whilst they can print more or less any article which might suit their political agenda in a democratic state such as Israel- The same type of article in countries such as Gaza or Iran or any communistic country such as China would meet with serious consequences.
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elihu
7:30 pm
Jun 26, 2012
Yes, I’m afraid it’s only too often that Haaretz takes an anti-Israeli stance, and I’m not a bit surprised at their mis-translation. It may well have been done on purpose too. They won’t admit it either.
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Jerry
1:51 pm
Jun 27, 2012
It has long been accepted, that the worst anti-semites are Jews themselves. Theoretically, if Israel did not exist, what would these Haaretz losers do? Perhaps the Muslim Brotherhood could use their expertise!
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Rachel Wilson
12:36 pm
Aug 11, 2012
The fact is: Israel is now preparing to intern 30,000 black people, including children, in barb-wired concentration camps in the desert. Xenophobia and racism don’t get any worse than that.
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steve mann
3:21 pm
Aug 11, 2012
Unlike the UK Israel does not have ever open doors-
These people traveled through Islamic countries to get to Israel. Not one of those countries would house them- their own brethren. In fact they beat them and shot at them to move them on-
Even if they have to go into camps as illegal immigrants – they will be fed and a roof over their head until their plight can be sorted.
That is not racism, thats common sense.
Just look at the Ethiopians, Bedouins and Druse Israelis- Look at the 1.5 million Israeli Muslims- Look at the other 13 religions all in Israel- All living and working in harmony- Then think again.
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Johhny
2:57 pm
Jan 11, 2013
Does that make a difference. The Minster is responsible for so many racist words, specially about foreigners. And you are trying to defend the “white man” issue. this is fucking insane. I live in Germany, and we consider it to be our responsiblities to fight any antisemetic statement in public life. And you guys are trying to define racism to one country´s borders (Isreal). As far as I am concrned your Minister has absolutely qualified himself to be “Truelly racist.”
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