OxBlog

Tuesday, December 17, 2002

# Posted 9:36 PM by Ariel David Adesnik  

IT ONLY HURTS WHEN YOU LAUGH: Compare this NYT headline: "Israelis kill 3 Men in Gaza" with the story that follows:
JERUSALEM, Dec. 16 — Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip shot and killed three Palestinians early today. Two of the dead men were later found to have been carrying a large bomb and other weapons, the Israeli military said.

An Israeli military spokesman said the latter two were killed as they tried to infiltrate into Israel from the northern Gaza Strip. The spokesman said the men were carrying grenades, rifles, bulletproof vests, night-vision goggles and a large bomb. The militant group Hamas said the men were part of their organization...
This one is just so silly I can't even call it media bias. This may be naive, but I sense that the Times is bending over backwards to show that it isn't a kneejerk pro-Israeli paper. While I find that laughable, I also grew up in Jewish New York and know first-hand just how obsessed influential liberal Jews are with showing that they are not reflexive supporters of Israel.

At least the Post seems to have its head on straight. It asks: "So why is Mr. Sharon winning? One simple reason is that the Palestinians have utterly failed to control the terrorists in their ranks or put forward a leadership that could be a credible negotiating partner for Israel." (Of course, the Post isn't perfect.)

Sometimes it even seems like Arafat is a step ahead of the NYT. As he said, "Why is bin Laden talking about Palestine now? Bin Laden never, not ever, stressed this issue, he never helped us, he was working in another completely different area and against our interests...I'm telling him directly not to hide behind the Palestinian cause." Then again, that strategy has worked for Arafat for thirty years, so bin Laden may as well give it a try.
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