The self-described “anti-Zionist not antisemitic” crowd is now openly viewing their enemy not as a perceived evil state in the Middle East, but as a distinct group here at home in America.
Instead of centering the actual story – a stabbing attack – the headline centers the attacker, framing her as a victim for facing “eviction” and being “held.” No evidence is provided that the property dispute actually motivated the attack. The article's lede about "long-running tensions in the neighborhood" similarly turns the story into the justification of a violent attack by a Palestinian teen girl on a Jewish mother in front of her young children.
The event instead turned into an exposé of the dangerous and violent bigotry of anti-Israel extremists on campuses. Featuring university professors, students, and alumni – and even representatives of terrorist-linked groups – the virtual event illustrated a growing trend of academics attempting to normalize antisemitism and even terrorism.
What do you do when you’re a journalist or the United Nations and you want to talk about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the thought of giving representative Israelis a voice makes you gag? Simple: find a fringe token Israeli or, if you’re feeling extra bold, just invent an “Israeli” and speak for him!
This isn’t just a campaign to turn the JNF or Israel into pariahs. They also aim to turn American Jewry — the overwhelming majority of whom are proud Zionists — into pariahs.
Sometimes, all it takes is a catchy phrase to perfectly capture the moral absurdity or obscenity of a moment — and help people understand the danger. The titles of two recent books — “People Love Dead Jews” by Dara Horn and “Jews Don’t Count” by David Baddiel — seem to fit the bill. I propose a slight revision of these two sayings. I make this proposal after analyzing a six-part CNN series purportedly covering the history of Jerusalem, entitled “Jerusalem: City of Faith and Fury.” My new phrase: “CNN loves when dead Jews don’t count.”
There is, of course, no inherent problem in including the commentary of partisans or activists. They can provide viewers with context, giving them competing viewpoints on contentious issues. However, CNN’s failure to properly identify activists or to provide counterbalancing voices goes well beyond the line of objective storytelling.
CNN has a problem with Jerusalem’s history. The network apparently views the utter destruction of the city, including the Second Temple – a historic event of great significance to all three Abrahamic religions – as just not as important to the story of Jerusalem as…Cleopatra.
In addressing the Six-Day War, CNN accentuated even further its habit throughout the series of distorting events to portray Arabs as powerless victims. In some cases, this narrative is laid absurdly bare, such as when the narrator tells viewers “[t]he [Jordanian] shelling is meant to target Jews in West Jerusalem, but it’s the Palestinian Arabs living in the area that are left defenseless.” Yes – CNN suggested that when Arabs were trying to kill Jews, it was really Arabs who were the victims.
Beginning on July 18, CNN has been airing each Sunday a new, six-part series entitled “Jerusalem: City of Faith and Fury.” As of this writing, Parts 1-5 have been broadcast and have been seriously marred by factual inaccuracies and one-sided narratives omitting vital information. Many of the “experts” featured in the series have clear histories of anti-Israel activism and partisanship. A preliminary sample of how disconnected the CNN series is from reality and objectivity follows.
