This week began as the last one ended – with more Palestinian stabbing attacks against Israeli Jews, and more dead. And yet, this information might surprise readers of The New York Times.
On Sunday, a 20-year-old Israeli woman was stabbed to death, another Israeli was rammed by a car and attacked with a knife and a third was assaulted by a knife-wielding teen affiliated with the Islamic Jihad terror group.
All three assailants were killed in the course of their attacks.
But the headline to the Times’ story about Sunday’s attacks did away with cause and effect, muddled victim and aggressor: “1 Israeli, 3 Palestinians Killed in Attacks in West Bank.” The online headline was later changed, but the print headline Monday morning was equally obtuse: “West Bank Faces Spate of Assaults That Kill 4.” The “West Bank” faced nothing. It was Israelis who faced assaults.
This was par for the course – and in some ways, even mild – for how the Times has covered the so-called “stabbing intifada,” the recent spate of Arab-on-Jewish murder.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recently called on his people to protect Jerusalem holy sites from the “filthy feet” of Israeli Jews, and terrorists have heeded the call, taking to the streets to thrust knives into any Israeli they encounter – other recent stabbing victims include an 80-year-old woman and a 13-year-old boy on a bike.
But even this incitement, and even this terror, is no match for the creativity of The New York Times. When a Palestinian assailant was caught on film last month wielding a knife and rushing at Israelis, before quickly being neutralized by Israeli security personnel, Times reporters simply avoided telling readers about the video.
And instead of mentioning this incriminating piece of evidence, they repeatedly cited false Palestinian allegations that Israelis planted the knife next to the “innocent” attacker. Creatively, and unethically, they turned an empirical fact into an unknowable case of police vs. “witness.”
When Israel released a photo of the butterfly knife held by the attacker, the Times’ bureau chief in Jerusalem absurdly called it a “Boy Scout” knife. Again, it was a masterstroke of creativity. Butterfly knives are infamous for being flipped back and forth by ’80s movie villains, and are illegal in several US states and in countries around the world. To confuse a butterfly knife with a Boy Scout knife is to confuse nunchucks with a nun’s ruler.
Similarly, after Palestinians stoned a Jewish car, resulting in the death of the driver, a reporter insisted they weren’t attacking the Israeli but merely pelting “the road he was driving on.” The death, reporters insisted, was an “accident.” Attacking the asphalt? A Boy Scout knife? Such verbal ingenuity might be commendable in creative writing. In journalism, it’s an embarrassment.
And so was the newspaper’s recent suggestion that there might never have been a temple on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, despite unanimity among serious scholars to the contrary. The timing of this attack on Jewish history was no coincidence. Palestinians have explained that the wave of violence is fueled by rumors that Israel plans to change the status quo on the Mount, and by continued Jewish visits to the site.
Instead of explaining the historical connection between the Jewish people and their holiest site, the newspaper chose to rewrite history to better fit with a Palestinian narrative that Jews are foreign to the Temple Mount. (This article and the one about the Boy Scout knife were eventually corrected.)
The newspaper has long been criticized for its obsessive scrutiny of Israeli flaws, real and imagined, coupled with soft-glove treatment of Palestinians. Even its own public editor has urged reporters to strengthen coverage of Palestinians because, she incredibly had to remind colleagues, “They are more than just victims.” Clearly, the message hasn’t been heeded.
This journalism-gone-wild isn’t good for Israel, of course. But it’s also bad for the newspaper’s readers, who want an honest account of what’s happening across the world. It’s bad for students, who risk harassment and ostracism on campus if they come out in support for the Jewish state. And if our democracy, and by extension our foreign policy, depends on a well-informed electorate, it’s bad for us all.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post.
(12) Mr. Cohen, February 23, 2017 5:50 PM
pro-Palestinian reporter changed his view of Israel
How a pro-Palestinian American reporter
changed his views on Israel and the conflict:
by Hunter Stuart, 2017 February 15
www.jpost.com/Jerusalem-Report/A-view-from-the-frontlines-480829
(11) Nancy, July 25, 2016 10:26 AM
Money talks and nothing else matters
If the NYT lost enough readers because of their anti Israel bias, I am sure they would change their tune quickly. Sadly, the mainstream media in general does a terrible job when it comes to accurate reporting of events in Israel.
(10) sc, November 26, 2015 5:01 AM
I am with you Ira
OUR Creator will have the last say. STOOPING TO their level won't change anything, it will only hurt us in the end.
(9) reggie, November 24, 2015 10:09 PM
Needs to be said!
Every word of this article is true. PR counts! Lies and distortions against Israel are effective, G-d protect us. Spread the word that the Times is deeply biased against Israel. And keep standing up for the real story: Israel wants 2 states to live in peace and unfortunately the Palestinians don't.
(8) Will Mann, November 24, 2015 9:53 PM
Continuing example of why the N.Y. Times is not credible
What should one expect from the N.Y. Times? It has been going on for years which is why so many, myself included, have cancelled our subscription to this rag. Too bad they never learned anything from the Society of Professional Journalism, which does an excellent job in laying out how a news outlet can and should be credible, fair and balanced. Seems as though the scum at the Times just cannot read/understand excellent guidelines on how to function as a reputable news outlet, which DEFINITELY, the N.Y. SLIMES is NOT.
(7) alex, November 24, 2015 8:38 PM
NYT is disgusting garbage
The NYT staff must be a unique combination of disgusting, ugly anti-Semitic pigs and self-hating Jews. I think the latter are more deplorable.
(6) Arthur Cohn, November 24, 2015 8:28 PM
I agree fully.
I agree fully. I used to read the Times daily and sundays starting in 1944. I was not aware of their inadequate Holocaust reporting. But in the 1970's I became fully aware of their false Israel reporting. I stopped buying the paper and advised my brothers and friends to also stop. With Jodi Rudoran in charge of the Times' Israel bureau, it has gotten even worse!.
(5) Mindy Lee, November 24, 2015 5:47 PM
Why on earth are the Jews & others in the US not doing more to combat these viscious lies? Why are they letting the New York Times & their so-called reporters get away with it? They should be sued & made to prove their assertions.
(4) herb isaacson, November 24, 2015 5:45 PM
i quit reading the nyt years ago.they are no better than the enquierer
(3) Anonymous, November 24, 2015 4:46 PM
NYT has a long history of cover-ups for anti-Semitism
Greetings,
The New York Times has a long history of covering up anti-Semitism, going back at least to when articles on the ongoing Holocaust were buried in the back pages of the paper, as its owners were afraid of being labeled as "too Jewish." I'll stop here to avoid getting into lashon hora, except to say that we need an ongoing communal effort to counter NYT's distortions.
Anonymous, November 24, 2015 11:24 PM
Not Lashon Harah
Dissing the New York Times and its publishers, is not Lashon Harah, because we need to prevent those out there, who are uneducated about Israel and Jews, to not read lies. That just deepens the anti-Semitism and it is our obligation first to prevent harm to ourselves and our brethern. It would be as if you are saying let's not talk about Hitler because it is Lashon Harah. We need to educate people, not to read or believe the hate and garbage that is spewed forth from the NYT.
(2) Markus Elaana Brajtman, November 24, 2015 4:31 PM
Close down that rubbish used toilet paper
I would not even use NYT as toilet paper.
The owners are Jews. But, buiness is business.
Who are the biggest buyers of NYT? Muslims and anti Semitic Christians
Those owners of NYT should be ex ciommunicated by every Rabbi in USA. not that they would worry. They are Jews by accident of birth.
But certainly not practising Jews,
How many Jews are there? Sure there a few muillion Jews, but thet are outnumbered by the Jew haters.
Jews and supporters of Israel, should cancel NYT and never advertise in that filthy used toilet paper
Bubbelove, November 24, 2015 9:00 PM
Start with kicking Jodi Wilgoren Rudoren out of Israel & NYT
I agree, The Jewish community should totally shun the Jewish owners. They certainly are Jewish by accident of birth. And shun that piece of drek Jodi Wilgoren Rudoren. She should be kicked out of Israel!!
(1) Stan Klaff, November 24, 2015 4:08 PM
Jews are laughing at Europe
So, droves of refugees are arriving in Europe! How soon will Europe realise that their new neighbours are in the process of invading Europe and will soon take over. Sharia law is on your doorstep..... wake up America! wake up Europe!