NY Times Aid Omissions
Ethan Bronner’s New York Times/International Herald Tribune page-one article Friday begins:
Three years after Israel and Egypt imposed an embargo on this tormented Palestinian strip, shutting down its economy, a consensus has emerged that the attempt to weaken the governing party, Hamas, and drive it from power has failed.
It the days since an Israeli naval takeover of a flotilla trying to break the siege turned deadly, that consensus has taken an added urgency, with world powers, anti-Hamas Palestinians in Gaza and some senior Israeli officials advocating a shift.
Bronner does not mention, however, the position of one major player in this story — the Palestinian Authority — which opposes the lifting the naval blockade.
Also of note is the following IHH boast:
“We only work through Hamas, although we don’t limit our aid to its followers,” [Mehmet Kaya, who runs the I.H.H. office in Gaza] said. “We consider Israel and the United Nations to be the terrorists, not Hamas.”
The I.H.H. cargo is sitting at the border in Israel, which is trying to find a more appealing partner to distribute it.
Let’s take apart the second paragraph. It’s difficult to know which cargo is “I.H.H. cargo” and which came from other sources, given that various organizations contributed money used to purchase goods. In any event, the cargo is sitting in Tzrifin, a base in central Israel, not at the border with Gaza. The humanitarian aid — food, clothes, and medical supplies — have already been approved by Israel for entrance into the Gaza Strip, but Hamas has rejected them — a fact widely reported elsewhere, but not in the New York Times. As for the construction material, including pre-fab houses, the IDF spokesmen’s office tells us that these materials can be transferred without delay to any bona fide international aid organization — such as UNRWA, OCHA, or the Palestinian Red Crescent — which will take responsibility for them.
More from SNAPSHOTS
Reuters Falsely Links Jerusalem Embassy, Two-State Solution
January 9, 2019
The Jerusalem office park which houses Guatemala's embassy Multiple recent Reuters articles incorrectly report that moving the Brazilian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a dramatic move away from the two-state solution. For instance, [...]
American Lutheran In Jerusalem Affirms that IDF Soldiers Are “Stormtroopers,” Backtracks
December 19, 2018
Rev. Carrie Ballenger Smith is a pastor at the Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem. She ministers to the English-speaking congregation that meets at the Lutheran church, which is located in the Old City of [...]
The Washington Post Ignores Antisemitic Attack in Los Angeles
November 29, 2018
The Washington Post has warned about a “rising tide of antisemitism.” But as CAMERA has highlighted, The Post’s coverage of antisemitism has frequently been selective and is often politicized. More recently, the newspaper even ignored [...]
Think Tank: Iran Was Closer to Building a Bomb Than Previously Thought
November 23, 2018
A Nov. 20, 2018 report by a Washington D.C.-based think tank, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) argues that Iran’s illegal nuclear weapons program was “more advanced than Western intelligence agencies and the [...]
AFP Headline Casts Palestinian Assailant as Victim
November 21, 2018
Agence France Presse yesterday published a throwback headline, bringing us back to the period almost two years ago in which media outlets serially produced headlines which depicted Palestinian attackers as the victims. The wire agency's [...]
More Hypocrisy and Anti-Semitism From Linda Sarsour
November 19, 2018
In an earlier CAMERA exposé, we pointed out the self-serving allegiances and disgraceful hypocrisy of Linda Sarsour (of Women's March fame). We demonstrated how she poses as a universal activist who embraces all marginalized people [...]
Small Steps: Improved NY Times Language on Target of Hamas Rockets
November 15, 2018
Earlier this week, we pointed out how a New York Times article about fighting between Israel and Hamas neglected to inform readers that Palestinian rockets were fired indiscriminately toward civilians in Israeli towns and cities. [...]