NPR, last month aired a flawed report by Sheera Frenkel concerning vandalism of Arab sites in Israel, including a Jaffa cemetery. At the time, CAMERA observed that

it is inexcusable that a report specifically dealing with Arab-Jewish tensions in Jaffa ignored the molotov cocktail attack on the Rabbi Meir Ba’al Hanes synagogue which took place just one day after the cemetery vandalism. If vandalism of one sacred place in Jaffa is worthy of news coverage, then surely a violent attack of another sacred site in the very same city is also newsworthy. And, finally, it is worth noting, the attack on the Jaffa synagogue was not the only religious Jewish site targeted in Israel in recent months. On Nov. 6, several tombstones were smashed at the ancient Jewish cemetery at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

And now more information has come to light about additional vandalism at the ancient Jewish cemetery, including a video tape catching an Arab vandal in the act on Nov. 29 (hat tip: IMRA).

According to the Jerusalem Post, the man was paid 1000 shekels to carry out the desecration. Edward Schumacher-Matos, please explain why the vandalism of an Arab cemetery in Jaffa is worthy of NPR coverage but the ongoing vandalism of the largest, most ancient Jewish cemetery is not.

On Point host Tom Ashbrook and Rami Khouri

Rami Khouri, editor-at-large of Lebanon’s Daily Star, appeared December 22 on the National Public Radio (NPR) syndicated program On Point (click here to listen) hosted by Tom Ashbrook. Mr. Khouri has appeared previously on the program. Khouri, quasi journalist, quasi anti-Israel propagandist, is a frequent NPR guest. The discussion, “The Arab Spring In Winter,” also included panelists Shadi Hamid (Middle East specialist at the Brookings Institution) and Anthony Shadid (New York Times foreign correspondent). in this broadcast, Mr. Hamid and Mr. Shadid took neutral stances on Israel.

About half-way through the broadcast, Mr. Hamid frankly observed, “Let’s be honest about it. Arabs hate Israel. They would rather it not be there if they had the choice. That said, I think you have to distinguish between what people want in theory and what they’re willing to accept in reality.”

Ashbrook asked Khouri, “What makes you so sure that the Arab world is committed to a negotiated, peaceful path [with Israel]?” Khouri observed, repeating much of what he said earlier in this broadcast,

I think we see this from [Arab] public opinion polling, we’ve seen it from government positions but governments don’t always reflect the people. We’ve seen it from – you know I’ve lived here for the last 45 years around the region – people are willing to live with an Israeli state that is willing to live with a Palestinian state and resolve the Palestinian issue on the basis of equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians. I think the question is not about the Arabs, the question is about the Israelis. They are the ones who are colonizing land and building settlements and imprisoning Palestinians. So, we really need to know from the Israelis, are they prepared to respond constructively.

But specifically, what Arab public opinion polling? Khouri is not asked.
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Ha’aretz‘s Creative Headline Writer (HCHW) has a sidekick friend — Ha’aretz‘s Sloppy Headline Writer (HSHW). HSHW was busy yesterday, leaving a paper trail on page 3.

First, there was the headline:

Court: Palestinians hurt on job in Israel to be recognized as work-accident victims

In fact, the accompanying story said the court ruling applied to Palestinian laborers injured “outside Israel,” specifically in the now nonexistent Gaza settlement of Ganei Tal. The article reads:

In June 2005, three workers, one of them Chinese, were killed and four were wounded when a Qassam rocket slammed into a packing shed in the Ganei Tal settlement in the Gaza Strip. Unlike their Chinese colleague, the Palestinians were not recognized by the National Insurance Institute as victims of an act of hostility, as the law prevents recognizing them as such if they are working outside Israel.

The Palestinians’ request to be recognized as work-accident victims, submitted immediately after the attack, was also rejected by the NII, again because they were hurt outside Israel. This law, however, was amended three months later, and laborers hurt while working outside Israel can now be recognized as work-accident victims.

The Regional Labor Court also rejected the Palestinians’ claim for compensation because the Qassam attack occurred before the amendment came into effect. Two months ago, the three Palestinians appealed to the National Labor Court, which suggested in a hearing two weeks that they be recognized as work-accident victims for humanitarian reasons. . . .

The Regional Labor Court ruled that the Palestinians who moved from Gaza to Ganei Tal had not entered Israel, so the law did not apply to them. Adalah said in the appeal that this interpretation leads to discrimination against the Palestinian workers in relation to other laborers.

National Labor Court President Nili Arad realized this absurdity and suggested a lenient approach under which the NII would recognize the Palestinians as work-accident victims.

Inside. Outside. What’s the difference.

Another page 3 story yesterday was headlined:

Prosecutors file indictments against MK Said Naffaa and 17 Druze sheikhs

But the first paragraph reads:

Northern District prosecutors have submitted in Nazareth Magistrate’s Court two indictments against MK Said Naffaa (Balad ) and 16 Druze sheikhs, who are accused of illegally visiting Syria and Lebanon in past years.

16, 17, Who’s counting?

Ha’aretz‘s creative headline writer is at it again. While headlines are meant to convey the essence of the article as faithfully as possible, Ha’aretz‘s creative headline writer (HCHW) tends to craft headlines which best convey his/her political agenda. At times, the actual content of the article is at odds with said agenda, but our stalwart headline writer finds creative solutions to this problem.

And thus a page-one headline today reads (in the print edition):

With IDF’s blessing, right-wing American group holds Hanukkah party at Anatot army base.

While Anshel Pfeffer’s article says just that, it’s not the main point of the article. The main point of the news story can be gleaned from its very first paragraph. (Note to Ha’aretz headline writer: As is taught in Journalism 101, the most important part of the story generally appears at the top of the article. Less important information appears further down. In professional lingo, this is called the inverted pyramid.) Anshel’s first paragraph, ignored by HCHW, reads:

Organizations from all shades of the political spectrum are holding Hanukkah events this week at various army bases, with or without military authorization. (Emphasis added.)

And, about those left-wing groups, ignored by the politically-blinded HCHW, Anshel writes further along:

The other side of the political map [ie, the left] is also getting into the act. This week, the United Kibbutz Movement’s Special Assignments Division is bringing high-school seniors to an infantry training base in the Negev, where they will meet with GOC Southern Command Tal Russo. The head of the division, Yoel Marshak, openly admits the political character of the event.

“We’re encouraging our students to join regular combat units, like the Kfir Brigade, which serves in the territories, and not only the elite units,” Marshak said, adding – “as a counterweight to the influence of the settlers.”

For whatever reason, this article did not appear in Ha’aretz’s Hebrew edition.

Karsh: Tom Segev (pictured here) distorted the significance and contents of a key historical document

Professor Efraim Karsh discusses a recent incident with Ha’aretz, sometimes considered “the paper for thinking paper.”

Somebody needs to tell the editors of the Palestinian newspaper Al Quds to stay on message.

International human rights organizations routinely condemn Israel for imprisoning Palestinian “children” for rock throwing. And Palestinian protests are regularly described as “peaceful.”

The Dec. 24, 2011 issue of Al Quds undermines these messages quite badly. In the photo displayed above a Palestinian “youth” wearing a shirt with the UNICEF logo is shown launching a rock with a sling. The caption to the photo reads as follows: ““Nabi Salih – A youth hurls stones toward Israeli soldiers during the weekly demonstration against settlements yesterday in the village. Picture from A.F.P.”

(Snapshots would like to thank one if its readers, who shall remain anonymous, for alerting us to this image and for providing the translation of the caption.)

Update: One of our commenters alerts us to the fact that the jersey being worn by the Palestinian attacker is that of a soccer team from Barcelona. The UNICEF logo is part of a sponsorship agreement used to raise funds to help people affected by HIV/AIDS in Swaziland. The main text incorrectly referred to the shirt in question as a “UNICEF shirt” and the caption previously incorrectly suggested that the shirt worn by the the stone-throwing “youth” was paid for by donations collected by Halloween trick-or-treaters in the U.S.

The Israel Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church USA is an organization created by the PC(USA)’s 2004 General Assembly to educate Presbyterians about the Arab-Israeli conflict. Under the cover of this mission, the IPMN traffics in anti-Zionist and in some instances, anti-Semitic, propaganda which it broadcasts not only to members of the PC(USA), but to the general public.

This propaganda can be regularly seen on IPMN’s Facebook page. One example of this type of propaganda can be seen in the cartoon posted above. The cartoon, posted on IPMN’s Facebook page on Christmas Eve, shows two Israeli soldiers harassing Santa Claus. One soldier rummages through Santa’s bag of gifts, another searches Santa for weapons. Santa himself has his hands up against a concrete section of the security barrier. A church steeple can be seen off in the distance. [And as one commenter below observes, the soldier rummaging through Santa’s toys has a hooked nose, giving the image an obviously anti-Semitic touch.]

The image itself was posted by an administrator from the Israel Palestine Mission Network, for which the Presbyterian Church (USA) provides fundraising assistance. Whoever posted the cartoon opined “At first, this cartoon seems a bit much, then it sinks in that unfortunately, it’s spot on!”

The failure of the PC(USA) to hold the IPMN accountable for images like this has been an ongoing problem.

A few days ago, there was a disturbance in both the Blogosphere and the Twitterverse. (It was pretty bad, Ben Kenobi was nearly doubled over in agony.)

The disturbance began when that pillar of the journalistic community, The Electronic Intifada, published an article by Ben White (another pillar of said community), assailing a piece written by CAMERA’s Alex Safian, who in turn was calling the New York Times to account for a factual error made by its stalwart, Ethan Bronner. Safian’s piece by the way, prompted a correction from the New York Times.

Safian has tried twice to post a response in the comments section underneath White’s article. The first (unsuccessful) attempt triggered Electronic Intifada‘s spam filter, prompting Safian to post again, this time using a verizon email account. That response has yet to appear on EI’s website.

Has Electronic Intifada included CAMERA’s domain in its spam filter? And is Electronic Intifada sitting on Safian’s response? The answer to the first question seems to be yes. Another CAMERA researcher attempted to post on EI’s website only to find his comment blocked by the spam filter. (See the image at the top of this entry.)

For the record, a slightly edited version of Safian’s response is posted below.
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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is one of the more intellectually robust mainline churches in the United States.

This is not to say the denomination’s witness about the Arab-Israeli conflict is perfect.

The denomination’s “Peace Not Walls” campaign routinely draws attention to alleged Israeli misdeeds while downplaying the bad acts of Israel’s adversaries.

Still, Snapshots is obligated to give credit where credit is due.

ELCA’s “Peace Not Walls” blog posted an entry publicizing The Bethlehem Call, the deeply hostile and incendiary statement issued by the same people who issued the Kairos Palestinian Document in 2009.

It also, however, posted links to two articles critical of the statement, one issued by the B’Nai Brith and the other by the American Jewish Committee.
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Crowds commemorate the death of Vaclav Havel

At a time when anti-Israel activists are broadening their assault on Israel to also target not only the country but also its foreign supporters, it’s worth noting the principled pro-Israel stand taken by Vaclav Havel.

Havel, the celebrated Czech intellectual, dissident and politician who died last Sunday, was a founding member of the Friends of Israel Initiative, founded “out of a sense of deep concern about the unprecedented campaign of delegitimization against Israel waged by the enemies of the Jewish State and, perversely, supported by numerous international institutions.”

John Mearsheimer would slur Havel as a “New Afrikaner.” Other haters would opt for calling him an “Israel Firster.” Considering his support for the first clause of the Friends of Israel statement, he’d surely be slurred by some radicals as a sort of “Pinkwasher.”

But to most of the world he was a hero of the Velvet Revolution, “a friend to … all who strive for freedom and dignity” and “an inspiration.” And though it was not his most notable achievement, it is notable nonetheless: He was also a Friend of Israel.