Amnesty International’s recent scandalous report accusing Israel of “apartheid,” as well as a similar report from Human Rights Watch a year ago, are unsurprisingly overflowing with falsehoods and bigotry. Many outstanding analysts have already thoroughly debunked each of these reports. What also must be addressed, however, is the surrounding context of this slander. Why are they being released now? What purpose are they supposed to serve?
Amnesty is counting on lazy journalists and politicians to pick up the report and wave it around, picking out a random quote a staffer found that suggests Israel is a racist endeavor. They also know too few journalists these days are willing and able to perform serious journalism and ask the tough questions...
The publication Foreign Policy managed to end 2021 on a low note when it comes to accuracy and honest analysis. The magazine managed to pack an impressive amount of falsehoods and distortions in fewer than 600 words in its December 29, 2021 article “10 Conflicts to Watch in 2022.”
Everyone should read and internalize Herzberg and Kern’s report and use it to demand a more reasoned, objective, and accurate conversation on these issues.
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.”
