LA Times Selectively Quotes Obama Statement
In a statement yesterday President Obama strongly condemned the bombing in Jerusalem and rocket attacks originating from Gaza and offered condolences for the casualties. He also reaffirmed Israel’s right to self-defense and offered condolences for the death of four Palestinian civilians in Gaza, killed as Israel was attacking a nearby rocket-launching crew. Here is the President’s complete statement:
I condemn in the strongest possible terms the bombing in Jerusalem today, as well as the rockets and mortars fired from Gaza in recent days. Together with the American people, I offer my deepest condolences for those injured or killed. There is never any possible justification for terrorism. The United States calls on the groups responsible to end these attacks at once and we underscore that Israel, like all nations, has a right to self-defense. We also express our deepest condolences for the deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza yesterday. We stress the importance of calm and urge all parties to do everything in their power to prevent further violence and civilian casualties.
But the Los Angeles Times entirely ignores the President’s condemnation of the anti-Israel terrorist attacks as well as his affirmation of Israel’s right to self-defense, which were the first and second (and thus most important) points of his statement. The Times selectively quotes:
In a statement issued Wednesday from the White House, President Obama offered condolences to Israeli and Palestinian victims of violence. “We stress the importance of calm and urge all parties to do everything in their power to prevent further violence and civilian casualties,” the statement said.
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