Mystery Deepens II: Why Did Ha’aretz and the New York Times Reach Different Conclusions?
As we indicated in our last Snapshots entry, independent investigations of Yasir Arafat’s medical reports by Ha’aretz and New York Times reached different conclusions. The Times ruled out the rumor that Arafat had AIDS while Ha’aretz continued to give it credence as one of the possible underlying causes of his death. In fact, the medical records neither rule in nor rule out AIDS as a possible cause.
Why such different conclusions? Ha’aretz correspondent Amos Harel discusses the controversy in a follow-up article today.
How did Haaretz and The New York Times come to such different conclusions, based on the same report? A copy of the report was first obtained during research for the book, “The Seventh War,” written by Amos Harel and Avi Isacharoff. The copy was presented by the authors to a Times reporter who was present at the meetings with Israeli experts.
The experts posited three principal causes of death: poison, infection or AIDS, with each doctor assigning a different probability to each option.
The Times, after consulting with its own medical reporters, decided to rule out almost completely the probability of poisoning or AIDS. The Israeli doctors, and Haaretz in their footsteps, thought differently.
As expected, fierce denials were sounded in Jerusalem on Thursday regarding the possibility that Israel might have poisoned Arafat. These can be taken at face value, or it might be asked what interest would it serve to confirm the accusation, were it true. Palestinian spokesmen responded with restraint to the media publicity. It was apparent that they were not going to lose sleep over the thought that Arafat might have been poisoned.
If the story has a bottom line it is this: It is doubtful that the mystery of his death will ever be solved. On the other hand, Arafat’s passing came at a time convenient for all.
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