Will Donald Miller Correct?
Donald Miller
Four months ago, Donald Miller, a Christian writer who has a large following among Evangelical (and post-Evangelical) young adults in the United States, wrote a blog entry about the Arab-Israeli conflict titled “The Painful Truth About the Situation in Israel.”
The entry, which was posted on his blog which promotes his most recent book “Storyline,” began with a reference to the death of Jihad Misharawi’s 11-month-old son Omar and declares that he was killed by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip. To add drama to the entry, Miller posted a photo of Jihad Misharawi holding the body of his dead child and grimacing in agony.
Well, as it turns out, there’s good reason to believe that Omar Misharawi was not killed by an Israeli airstrike, but by a Hamas rocket that fell short during the fighting.
CAMERA researcher Tamar Sternthal provides the detail in a CAMERA analysis published on March 13, 2013:
On March 6, the United Nations’ Human Rights Council issued a report which found that Omar Masharawi and two relatives were likely killed by a Palestinian rocket that fell short. Many media outlets, including the Associated Press, New York Times, and theWashington Post (online) followed up with coverage of the U.N. report, noting its finding that Masharawi was likely killed by an errant Palestinian rocket. On March 11, AP commendably corrected […] its original caption of Jihad and Omar Masharawi, in which the infant’s death was blamed on Israel.
There was doubt about the circumstances surrounding Omar Misharawi’s death soon after it happened. Four months later, it appears that the boy was not killed by Israel, but by Hamas.
Will Miller correct or clarify his entry, or will he ignore the issue?
There are other troubling aspects about Miller’s post. For example, he describes Hamas’ actions as “troubling and unhelpful” but makes no attempt to describe the ideology Hamas uses to justify its violence against Israel.
He also blames the Second Intifada on Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount, when there is substantial testimony from Palestinians themselves that state the uprising was planned long before its started.
Is Miller going to address the facts of the Arab-Israeli conflict? Or is he going to stick to his story line?
More from SNAPSHOTS
Double Standards: Boycotts and Discrimination in MassLive
May 16, 2025
Anti-Israel activists, including Harvard University’s Lara Jirmanus, a clinical instructor, seem to struggle with the concept of “discrimination.” Quoted in a May 14 MassLive article, “Harvard ‘failed to respond’ to 450 discrimination complaints. Staff hand-delivered [...]
Swarthmore Students Are Learning: It Was Never About Palestinian Rights
May 14, 2025
Students at Swarthmore College are so close to understanding the conflict. An article in the Swarthmore Phoenix details the frustrations of student activists with the college’s Students for Justice in Palestine. The gist of their criticism is [...]
AFP Arabic Stops Mislabeling Northern Israeli Communities ‘Settlements”
August 10, 2021
A view of Metulla, northern Israel (Photo by Hadar Sela)After failing to set the record straight last May when Agence France Presse's Arabic service repeatedly referred to Jewish communities in northern Israel as "settlements," the [...]
NY Times Praises Ilhan Omar’s Book While Glossing Over Her Antisemitism
August 19, 2020
A recent New York Times book review boosts Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) autobiography while glossing over her antisemitism. In the paper’s Aug. 16, 2020 edition, NYT reporter Christina Cauterucci writes: The memoir offers breathing room [...]
When TV Interviews of Ilhan Omar Constitute Journalistic Malpractice
August 11, 2020
Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) documented animosity toward Jews and Israel was ignored in recent interviews by MSNBC and C-SPAN. MSNBC’s The Beat for July 23, 2020 included host Ari Melber’s 10-minute conversation at 6:16 [...]
Boston TV Station WCVB Teamed Up With Terrorist Supporter CAIR
July 7, 2020
WCVB-TV (channel 5) (Boston’s ABC network affiliate) recently misled area viewers about a matter involving antisemitic propaganda. This occurred on its local Sunday show Cityline hosted by Karen Holmes Ward who is described by the [...]
Harper’s Magazine Echoed Palestinian Propaganda Condemning Israel And America
June 2, 2020
Writing in Harper's, Kevin Baker condemns the U.S. Middle East peace plan [“The Striking Gesture,” Easy Chair, May 2020], mischaracterizing it as, “Give up all your [Palestinian] hopes and your holiest places, embark on a [...]