Dr. Irving Moskowitz
The European Union recently hosted a three-day conference for Israeli and Arab journalists, on the Greek isle of Rhodes. Given the EU's strongly pro-Arab attitude, perhaps it was no surprise that the event quickly turned into an orgy of Israel-bashing, with a heavy dose of Israeli breast-beating thrown in for good measure.
Miguel Moratinos, the EU's Special Envoy for Middle East issues, took the opportunity to announce to the Rhodes conference that the EU has just allocated $10-million to help facilitate what he called "the role of people and mass media in achieving peace when the governments fail to do so." Unfortunately, "achieving peace" on the EU's terms means Israel surrendering to all Arab demands, so that $10-million will probably go towards finding ways to use the media to further that end.
There are more than a few Israeli journalists
who would be willing to help Moratinos and the EU. Take,
for example, Gideon Levy of the leftwing Israeli
daily Ha'aretz. Levy was one of the featured speakers at
the Rhodes gathering, and here is how the Jerusalem
Times, an Arab newspaper, described his remarks: "Levy
emphasized the importance of making changes in the
Israeli side. He talked about the 'dirty page' in the
history of Israeli journalism, which he said, 'promoted lies
about the Palestinians'. He went on to add, 'Israeli
journalism has, in the past described Palestinian land as
barren--something that Israel turned into a paradise. It used
to describe Palestinians and Hizbullah members in
Lebanon as terrorists, without giving real information on
them and on their motives and convictions.' Levy's argument
was warmly applauded by the Palestinian, foreign,
and some Israeli journalists."
Levy has it all backwards. The previous generation of Israeli journalists were the ones telling the truth, and it is Levy who is promoting lies. The Land of Israel was indeed largely "barren" for centuries, as the testimony of Mark Twain and many other travelers demonstrates. Israel did indeed turn it into a relative paradise --just compare the Jewish State today to its backward Arab neighbors. Both Palestinian Arab killers and Lebanese Hizbullah killers are indeed "terrorists," and the Israeli press of the 1950s and 1960s accurately described their motives as wanting to murder Jews and destroy Israel. No wonder the Arab journalists on hand in Rhodes "warmly applauded." It was a great day for Arab propaganda lies, and a sad day for the historical record.
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continual threats and murderous fulminations against Israel and indifferent to the abandonment of the Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria, which are rapidly becoming indefensible islands in a sea of Arab hatred. They have become gleeful participants in the suicide of Israel.
Which brings us back to the rabbis. In September, as they prepare their sermons for the series of Jewish holidays, will they finally address the issue of Jewish survival? Will they lecture strongly and unequivocally on the sin of abandoning Israel? One may only hope.
Ruth King is a member of the editorial board
of Outpost.
Americans For a Safe Israel
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Outpost - 12 - July-August 1998