After a judge convicted an Arab man of "rape by deception" in July, liberal commentators jumped all over Israel.
Andrew Sullivan, in particular, said the ruling was "about racism, religion and the risk of miscegenation." Reader comments on The Lede, and the Daily Kos further browbeat Israel, while The Guardian gave Saber Kushour a soapbox to share with the world how the conviction "ruined his life."
But newly released court documents are turning all the accusations on their head. I'll let Maan News sum up the newest revelations:
The Israeli weekly magazine HaIr on Friday published testimony given in court by the complainant.
Kushur was initially charged with rape by force, and the conviction of "rape by deceit" was a plea bargain formulated and agreed to by the prosecution and defense. According to the report in HaIr, Kushur's lawyers initiated the "rape by deceit" charge.
After the conviction, Israeli press reports on the court's verdict were quickly picked up by the international media, which cited the court's decision as an example of discrimination against Israel’s Arab citizens . . .
According to the report, the initial rape charge was reduced to "rape by deceit" to avoid further traumatizing the woman, who had come under aggressive questioning about her history of being sexual abused, and her former occupation as a sex worker.
Other than the JTA , Maan News, and a Haaretz commentary, I haven't seen any mainstream English papers pick up on the story yet. The MSM needs to update the record. Otherwise, they're partners in a deception that allowed Israel to be raped in the court of public opinion.
(Hat tip: Victor Shikhman)
