David Horowitz, founder of the controversial David Horowitz Freedom Center, purchased ad space in the May 3, 2011 edition of the New York Times to publish an inflammatory “public service” announcement labeling Palestinians as racist, genocidal liars. His argument is based on the premise that Palestine, both as a country and as a name, never existed; that the land’s inhabitants prior to the establishment of a Jewish state were inevitably Turkish; that there has yet to be an “occupation”; and that the suffering of Arabs, who he alleges to be murderous liars, is therefore justified.
Needless to say, David Horowitz chooses to ignore reality and is blinded by his own prejudiced and fundamentally flawed ideology that Palestinians are beneath him. The problem is not just that the New York Times allowed something as vulgar as this to stain its papers but that Horowitz and his Freedom Center lack the dignity necessary to keep them from publishing and disseminating the kind of hatred and bigotry that continues to instigate world conflict on a regular basis.
For those who feel compelled to deconstruct Horowitz’s argument and prove every aspect of it wrong, be assured that he can do that on his own by simply visiting the United Nations’ webpage (or even the website belonging to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and reading the executive summary of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 which explicitly demands the withdrawal of Israeli troops from lands occupied after the Six Day War in 1967. He can also look into the British Mandate of Palestine to learn more about Palestine’s rich cultural and political history prior to the creation of Israel. On the issue of justifying the suffering of Arabs for over sixty years, Horowitz’s irrational and vile approach merits no response. [Read more...]
How does one respond to the new NYT Jerusalem Bureau Chief?
It all started with a simple question.
Earlier today, Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the Jerusalem Fund, published on op-ed in the New York Times, known for its shaky and scandalous coverage of Palestine-Israel over the last few years. His op-ed focuses on a harsh but true reality: institutionalized discrimination in Israel. Munayyer, a Palestinian who holds Israeli citizenship, and his wife, a Palestinian from Nablus, are not equals.
Even if we fly together to Amman, we are forced to take different bridges, two hours apart, and endure often humiliating waiting and questioning just to cross into Israel and the West Bank. The laws conspire to separate us.
Yousef Munayyer, ‘Not All Israeli Citizens Are Equal‘, New York Times
It’s a profound op-ed, an interesting read, and a controversial piece simply because it exposes facts that are so often hidden to everyday readers. So when I asked if Jodi Rudoren, the new Jerusalem Bureau Chief for the New York Times, if she was going to to tweet about this op-ed the way she normally does with other pieces concerning Palestine-Israel, her response stumped me. [Read more...]