Eldar on Who Started the War

By Published On: March 31, 2011

Eldar Arab League.jpg
The August 2001 bombing of Sbarro pizzeria

In his column Monday berating the Israeli leadership for not having accepted the Arab League initiative, veteran Ha’aretz journalist Akiva Eldar provides another example of his selective vision (“Arab peace initiative is another missed opportunity for Israel“). He writes:

Instead of making peace with all the Arab states, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon launched a war against the Palestinians the day after the March 2002 Arab League summit: In response to the murder of 30 Israelis in the Hamas suicide attack at a Passover seder in Netanya’s Park Hotel, he ordered the army to reoccupy the territories (Operation Defensive Shield ).

That is an interesting take on reality. If Eldar considers Operation “Defensive Shield” the launching of a war against the Palestinians, how does he describe the year and a half-long terror offensive directed against Israel which preceded the operation? In Eldar’s mind, was the murder and carnage of Israelis on buses, cafes, and pizzerias, and the firing of rockets at Israeli towns — which first began in the beginning of 2001 — simply the normal course of affairs?

Eldar’s sentence reflects his worldview in which methodical and institutionalized Palestinian violence against Israelis is natural and acceptable. Yet, when Israel responds (after 135 Israelis were murdered in one month alone), and attacks in return in order to defend its citizens, and not to murder innocent civilians indiscriminately, Eldar accuses Israel of “launch[ing] a war.”

— By Yishai Goldflam

For the Hebrew version of this blog post, visit CAMERA’s Israeli site, Presspectiva.

We expose the anti-Israel lies so you don't have to. But we can't do it without your help. Join the fight -- Donate now
CAMERA logo
Tell the World – Share Now!

More from SNAPSHOTS

  • Reuters Arabic Misidentifies Dome of Rock

    June 2, 2020

    The following photo and caption appeared in the Arabic version of an article by Reuters’ Stephen Farrell, published on April 24 and dedicated to the opening Friday of Ramadan in the Old City of Jerusalem: [...]

  • When Palestinians Like Checkpoints

    April 2, 2020

    To some pundits, it goes without saying that checkpoints in the West Bank should be discussed with the bleakest of terms. The checkpoints Israel erected in the West Bank during waves of Palestinian suicide bombings [...]

  • CNN’s Amanpour Condemns “power grab” By Israel’s Prime Minister and Others

    April 1, 2020

    We’ve said it often, but it’s worth repeating: Anyone interested in reasonably unbiased information about Israel (at least) should avoid the broadcasts of CNN’s Chief International Correspondent and Anchor, Christiane Amanpour. In characterizing responses to [...]

  • Italian Artist Posts Image of Jewish Ritual Murder on Facebook Page

    March 25, 2020

    Giovanni Gasparro being interviewed on a news show in Italy at the unveiling of one of his paintings at a basilica in Italy. (YouTube screenshot) Giovanni Gasparro, a popular artist in Italy, has posted images [...]

  • NY Times Shows How Framing Slants Coverage

    March 16, 2020

    A couple of days ago, we highlighted how David Halbfinger, the New York Times bureau chief in Jerusalem, cast Israel's prime minister as a scold for, well, trying to protect vulnerable populations from a pandemic. [...]

  • Seattle Media Oblivious To Imam’s Hateful Indoctrination Condemning Jews

    January 7, 2020

    The Masjid Ar-Rahmah mosque teaching – that Allah transformed Jews into apes and pigs for disobeying him – delivered by Imam (prayer leader) Mohamad Joban – was posted online by mosque personnel. This December 2019 [...]

  • AP Distorts: Bethlehem ‘Almost Completely Surrounded’

    December 10, 2019

    Over two years after improving inaccurate language falsely citing Israel's security "barrier surrounding the biblical city" of Bethlehem, the Associated Press once again misrepresents. AP's Joseph Krauss and Mohammad Daraghmeh wrote yesterday ("Palestinians in Bethlehem [...]

  • Variety Redraws Israel’s Map

    December 10, 2019

    "Variety is the most authoritative and trusted source of entertainment business news," boasts its web site but readers should not have any expectations about the accuracy of its geopolitical coverage. A May 2019 movie review [...]

  • Again, NY Times Silent on Islamic Jihad Terror Designation

    November 13, 2019

    As we noted yesterday, the New York Times chose to remove the word “terror” from its article about fighting between Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Israel. While early versions of the story informed readers that Islamic [...]

  • Reuters Errs on Administrative Detention For ‘Anti-Israel Activity’

    November 5, 2019

    The Ofer Prison, near Ramallah (Photo by Tamar Sternthal) A Reuters article today egregiously misrepresents administrative detention, erroneously asserting that it is mainly applied to "Palestinians suspected of anti-Israeli activities," when in fact the Israeli [...]