In the context of a story laying out Israeli-Arab grievances and warning of a third intifada, The Guardian twists one particular key fact. Judging from reporter David Hearst's description, what kind of outcry do you think he's describing?
When a policeman who shot a Palestinian car thief dead was this month given a three-year sentence there was such a public backlash the court took the unprecedented step of issuing a press release defending its decision.
An example of injustice against Israeli-Arabs, with the court troubling itself to whitewash a lax sentence with a press release?
What Hearst doesn't report is that officer Shahar Mizrahi's three-year prison sentence was doubled from 15-months. The press release was to explain the new sentence to Mizrahi's supporters, who claim the officer killed Mahmoud Ganaim in legitimate self-defense.
Haaretz even got this reaction from the Israeli-Arab community:
Meanwhile, Jaffar Farakh, director general of Musawa Center for Arab Rights in Israel welcomed the decision and said that Mizrahi should have been relieved of his duties the day of the incident.
Raising the specter of an intifada among Israeli-Arabs is playing with fire. Hearst's twisted facts only makes the situation more volatile.
