Boston Globe

Lies, Damn Lies, and Polls

Hamas EmblemA number of authors have claimed that Israelis support negotiating with Hamas. But the poll they cite is both deeply flawed and contradicted by a much more extensive and credible poll published at the same time.

Boston Globe Column: Death and Destruction Are Hezbollah’s Goals

Sometimes basic facts get blurred in a fierce, image-filled conflict such as the one spawned by Hezbollah's July 12 cross-border attack in which Israeli soldiers were killed and others kidnapped while a rain of rockets descended on homes and fields. What does Hezbollah, with some 10,000 katyushas and other long-range missiles, really want?

Update on Media Coverage of Prisoners’ Document

Even while Hamas officials unequivocally stress the signing of prisoners' document does not mean the group accepts Israel's legitimacy, some news organizations continue to wrongly claim that by signing the document, Hamas leaders "effectively endorse a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Other news organizations, however, have significantly improved their reporting on the document.

Maligning Sharon

In the wake of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's serious medical problems, Op-Ed writers and reporters have published numerous retrospective pieces trying to sum-up the Israeli leader's career. Some are nothing but anti-Sharon screeds, while others, though somewhat more responsible, repeat many of the same discredited allegations that have long been used by polemicists to unfairly malign the Israeli leader.

Key Context Missing in Globe article about Saudi donor to Harvard and Georgetown

On December 13th, the Boston Globe reported that Saudi Arabian prince Alwaleed bin Talal is giving $20 million to Harvard University to establish a university-wide program in Islamic studies. He is also donating another $20 million gift to Georgetown University for a similar program. What the Globe failed to mention, however, is that the prince had previously pledged $27 million during a 2002 telethon for the Support of the al-Quds Intifada.