Dear Honest Reporting Member,
The news is filled with Israel-related topics, as President Bush works to forge an anti-terror coalition, and as the one-year anniversary of Palestinian violence draws near. HonestReporting presents a collection of current news items.
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SBARRO, AGAIN
Palestinians at Al-Najah University in Nablus opened an exhibition this week that included a grisly re-enactment of the Sbarro suicide bombing in Jerusalem. Wearing a military uniform and a black mask, a Palestinian set off a fake explosion in a replica of the pizzeria in Jerusalem, replete with body parts, pizza slices strewn around the room, and a “kosher” sign hanging at the entrance.
In another part of the exhibit, visitors looked through dark windows to see mannequins dressed as suicide bombers. Each had a copy of the Koran in one hand, and an automatic rifle in the other.
The exhibit also includes a large rock in front of a mannequin dressed as an Orthodox Jew. A recording from inside the rock calls out: “O believer, there is a Jewish man behind me. Come and kill him.”
HonestReporting asks: Did your local TV and newspaper report about this gruesome exhibit? We encourage you to contact local editors and producers, and ask that they report the story and publish the photographs.
View photos of the exhibit at:
http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?p=Palestinian&c=news_photos&n=10
As a side-note, HonestReporting commends the Associated Press for reporting this story. As you recall, it was the AP which capitulated to Palestinian intimidation two weeks ago and refused to broadcast video footage of Palestinians celebrating the WTC terror attacks. Perhaps the AP is trying to repent in time for Yom Kippur.
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ONLINE VIDEO?
In the meantime, rumors are flying around the web that video of Palestinians celebrating was actually not a reaction to the WTC attack, but instead was 10-year-old file footage of Palestinians celebrating the Iraqi missile attacks against Israel in 1991. CNN and other news agencies have vehemently denied the rumor, which appears to be just another attempt by pro-Arab activists to conceal the truth. See CNN’s statement at:
http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/09/20/cnn.statement/
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48 HOURS OF QUIET
American officials, looking to build their international coalition against terror, urged Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to resuscitate the peace process. Ariel Sharon agreed — on condition that there be 48 hours free of Palestinian attacks.
But, as Arafat pledged a ceasefire, Palestinian gunmen continued their attacks, including the murder of two young women. The first, the mother of three toddlers, died in a hail of bullets on Sept. 20; the second was murdered Sept. 24 — effectively canceling the scheduled negotiations.
In a Sept. 20 editorial, the Sacramento Bee applied “evenhandedness” to the current fighting and demanded that Israel begin talks with Arafat, come what may. The Bee declared:
“…Sharon still refuses to allow Foreign Minister Shimon Peres to hold even preliminary talks with Arafat until at least 48 hours go by without a single violent incident. That insistence is both unreasonable and unrealistic, and reinforces the Arab world’s suspicion that this Israeli government will never agree to negotiate an end to its occupation…”
Here is a sample letter of complaint:
To the Editor of The Sacramento Bee – [email protected]
Your editorial, “U.S. must press Arafat, Sharon to talk” unfairly blames Israel for the current deadlock by charging that Ariel Sharon’s insistence on a 48 hour ceasefire “is both unreasonable and unrealistic.”
Yasser Arafat has supposedly accepted a ceasefire, but two young Israeli women were murdered by Palestinian gunmen in separate attacks this week. Israel knew the identity of one of the terrorists and passed it on to Arafat’s forces. The man was picked up and promptly released. Arafat’s ceasefire pledge — like five previous ones — appeared to go up in smoke.
The Bee also forgets that at the start of the Oslo process, Arafat pledged to resolve all disputes through negotiations, not violence. Arafat, the granddaddy of international terrorism and skyjacking, must be held firmly to his commitments.
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BBC TERROR UPDATE
In March 2001, two separate acts of terrorism occurred in succession — an IRA car bombing in London, and a Palestinian suicide bombing in Netanya. BBC used the word “terror” to describe the IRA bomber, but described the Palestinian suicide bomber by the far milder term “militant.”
When HonestReporting questioned BBC about this inequity, here’s how they responded:
“It has long been the policy of the [BBC] domestic service to refer to terrorists in Northern Ireland of any religious persuasion as [terrorists], but the policy of the [BBC] World Service is not to refer to anyone in those terms.”
Well, you guessed it. Last week, BBC World Service had no compunctions applying the term “terrorist” to the perpetrators of the attack on New York City. Write to BBC and ask for an explanation of the double standard:
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LATEST SUCCESS
> From: Sean Lille –
[email protected]
Just wanted to let you know that I had an article published in the editorial section of USA Today on 9/7/01 regarding Mike Kelly’s article on Israeli extremists. Thanks to your education over the past six months, I was able to communicate in an effective way.
