Americans fed stories - not truth -
about Israel - Jim Fletcher - http://www.wnd.com/2014/05/americans-fed-stories-not-truth-about-israel/?cat_orig=world
Jim Fletcher laments when journalists aren't journalists
Some of us who aspire to be serviceable writers wonder about objectivity. Can we be objective? Do we always reach first for truth? Did we shade reality with a carefully crafted headline or even a single descriptive word that mischaracterizes an opponent?
I write quite a bit about the Arab-Israeli conflict, and last year an ideological opponent in that long war accused me of having an agenda. I did chuckle; either he was unaware that every human has an agenda, or he is aware and was trying to throw me off the trail.
I suspect the latter.
Every writer/journalist has an obligation to try and find the truth in a story. If we don't, we do a great disservice to readers.
So it is that I truly lament the efforts of Cameron Strang to subvert the truth by writing and publishing horrifically one-sided versions of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The latest missive illustrates - yet again - his penchant for framing the conflict in wholly Palestinian terms and perspectives.
A story broke recently that was picked up by Strang and published in his Relevant magazine about allegations that Israeli soldiers bulldozed 1,500 fruit trees belonging to the Nassar family, near Bethlehem.
The problem is that the sources for the story are Al Jazeera and Facebook postings by Daoud Nassar, whose family runs the farm.
Hardly credible when it comes to portraying the Israelis in any kind of realistic light.
In fact, three sources told me the uprooting of trees didn't happened at all. One said that no Israel Defense Forces soldiers were seen in the area, and no dozers were heard operating. Further, the only hard, physical evidence seems to be a pile of dirt, under which the trees have allegedly been laid to rest.
So why would Strang publish his article and not cite any Israeli sources, such as an IDF spokesman?
(In writing about this story, I have attempted to get quotes and perspective from three Palestinian sources, including Palestinian evangelical Christian Sami Awad, executive director of the Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem. They don't even answer my calls or emails.)
Strang does what so many of his generation do when writing about controversial subjects.
They use narrative.
Narrative allows one to tell a story, of course. Storytelling isn't so much bothered by facts and documentation, which, we're told, sort of bore people.
No, rather, the heartstrings of passionate Millennials, who long for social justice, are pulled by sad tales of IDF abuse of Palestinians:
*IDF troops shoot Palestinian women and children, several of whom are trying to make peace overtures.
*The Mossad laces chewing gum meant for Arabs with chemicals designed to make them sex-crazed "zombies."
*Israel prevents food, medical aid and electricity from being made available to the oppressed Gazans.
On and on it goes.
Furthermore, well-meaning Americans are given tours of the Palestinian territories in which the PA arranges for interviews/teas/sleepovers with regular Palestinian folk who are eager to read from the script that says the Nazi-like "occupation" is strangling the Palestinians.
One does wonder, though, about the fervor with which Cameron Strang joins in the demonization of Israel. A 2009 piece in Relevant recycled a British piece about Israel harvesting organs of "dead Palestinians." No further context was provided, including the fact that Israel owned up to the practice, had stopped years before and when the harvesting was taking place Israeli organs were being harvested, as well.
Relevant's juicy headline for that one read "Israel's Reprehensible Organ Program."
You see what that does, don't you? It consigns Israel and the Jews to the realm of Middle Ages stereotypes: scheming, bloodthirsty, ruthless.
Strang might deny that is his intent, but who could know? My repeated requests for clarification or follow-up interviews are always rebuffed. In the latest one, the publisher said it would be "pointless" to revisit discussion about his March/April cover story, in which he pushed the "occupation" narrative to new heights.
I think the pushback he received from readers of that piece fostered an attitude of "let's move on, nothing to see here." This includes Tricia Aven's devastating critique of the cover story for CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East reporting.
Which raises the question: Why does Cameron Strang have a beef with Israel and the Jews?
There is indeed a sinister side to this overall story.
And it's not the "occupation."
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