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December 11, 2013

Inaugurations That Weren't

Dec. 17 Update: NY Times Corrects: Israel Didn't Block Installation of Scanner

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The New York Times incorrectly reported that Israel blocked the installation of a scanner donated by the Netherlands

In The New York Times yesterday, Jodi Rudoren reports:

. . . Israel on Sunday blocked the installation of a high-tech cargo scanner donated by the Netherlands at the commercial crossing from Gaza into Israel, citing security concerns. The scanner was intended to increase Gaza exports to the West Bank.

According to Ha'aretz coverage on this issue, Israel did not block the installation of the scanner. Rather Israel refused to let the machine be used to scan Gaza exports to the West Bank, and the Dutch had hoped it would be used for this purpose. As a result, the Dutch were angry and cancelled the inaugural gala for the scanner.

Moreover, in a conversation with CAMERA, Guy Inbar, the spokesman of COGAT (Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories) reported that the scanner has been installed for the last three weeks and that for the last week or two it has been used for strawberries and flowers exports to Europe.

CAMERA has contacted The New York Times to request a correction.

Separately, Ha'aretz's English edition runs a page-one article on an inauguration that did not actually happen.

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The article begins:

Under gray and rainy skies, without fanfare, history was made in Israel on Tuesday with the inauguration in Tel Aviv of the country’s first memorial to victims of the Nazis that commemorates not only their suffering as Jews.

According to a press release distributed by the Government Press Office yesterday:

Due to weather conditions, the inauguration of the new commemorative monument for LGBT victims of the Nazi Regime (planned for this upcoming Friday) will be postponed.

The new date for the ceremony is Friday, January 3rd 2014 at 12:00 noon.

For more details, please contact Shirly Keret of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality's Spokesperson's Office at 03-5218108.

Keret told CAMERA that while construction of the memorial was completed yesterday, the official inauguration, in which the mayor will be present, will be held Jan. 3.

Posted by TS at December 11, 2013 05:41 AM

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