Does the conflict between Palestinians and Israel prevent the expansion of democracy (including religious freedom), economic development and social diversity (including minority equality) in the Arab world? Or is that conflict a result of deeply-rooted anti-democratic and socially intolerant beliefs among many in the Arab world?
The Washington Post's Molly Moore is at it again. Her “Watching the War; To Young Palestinians, Images of Suffering Are All Too Familiar,” (April 3) is the latest one-sided portrayal of Palestinians as victims of Israel. She uncritically interviews several West Bankers who claim to identify with televised images of Iraqi civilians frisked at U.S. checkpoints or “children bloodied by shrapnel from missile strikes.” Moore is a Jerusalem-based correspondent for the Post, but at least this offering did not make the hard news “A” section. Editors ran it in “Style,” home to fashion, fads and celebrities.
Syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak alleges that a U.S.-led war against Iraq — if it comes — will be largely on behalf of Israel. He calls it “Sharon's war.” The Washington Post headlined his Dec. 26 Op-Ed “Sharon’s War?” It's Novak's latest effort in a long campaign slandering Israel as a Middle East obstructionist exerting a sinister influence on U.S. policy.
Tom Toles, successor to the legendary Herblock as Washington Post editorial page cartoonist, is known for his simple if not simplistic style; small, "cute" doll-like characters; and droll, topical punch lines often echoed by a miniature secondary drawing in the bottom right corner of his panel. But Toles's formula failed utterly in his Sunday, Dec. 15 effort, undermined by a false moral equivalence apparently based on either ignorance or tendentious disregard of fact.