A grossly misleading Newsweek headline (“Israel Bombs Syria to Stop Refugees Fleeing to Europe, Netanyahu Says,” June 14) falsely suggests that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is bombing Syria in order to stop refugees from fleeing to Europe.

He did not. According to Haaretz, he did cast Israeli attacks on Syria — meant to prevent the flow of Iranian weapons to Hezbollah and to curb Iranian entrenchment in Syria — “as potentially helping to stem a Syrian Sunni Muslim refugee exodus to Europe.” In other words, Israel’s attacks, meant to curb Iran in Syria, also may have the by-product of slowing the tide of refugees, he reportedly stated.

Haaretz elaborated:

Netanyahu accused Iran, which has been helping Damascus beat back a seven-year-old rebellion, of bringing in 80,000 Shi’ite fighters from countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan to mount attacks against Israel and “convert” Syria’s Sunni majority.

“That is a recipe for a re-inflammation of another civil war – I should say a theological war, a religious war – and the sparks of that could be millions more that go into Europe and so on … And that would cause endless upheaval and terrorism in many, many countries,” Netanyahu told an international security forum.

“Obviously we are not going to let them do it. We’ll fight them. By preventing that – and we have bombed the bases of this, these Shi’ite militias – by preventing that, we are also offering, helping the security of your countries, the security of the world.”

CAMERA has contacted Newsweek to request clarification of the headline. Stay tuned for an update.

June 19 Update: Amended Headline is No Improvement

Newsweek yesterday amended the flawed headline, but unfortunately the newer version is neither more clear nor more accurate. It states: “Israel Bombs Syria, Stopping Refugees Fleeing to Europe, Netanyahu Says.”

CAMERA notes Haaretz‘s straight-forward and accurate headline on the very same subject: “Israeli Strikes on Iranian Targets in Syria Slowed Refugee Flow to Europe, Claims Netanyahu.” Haaretz‘s reference to “strikes on Iranian targets” makes clear that Iran was the target of the Israeli strikes. In contrast, both the original and the amended Newsweek headlines mislead, falsely suggesting that Israeli bombings of Syria were directed at refugees, or at stopping them from fleeing to Europe.

CAMERA continues to call on Newsweek to clarify its headline.

A June 15 Los Angeles Times sports article (online here, “Lionel Messi needs a World Cup while Iceland is just happy to be playing in one”), Kevin Baxter errs about the Argentinian team’s cancellation of the game against Israel in Jerusalem:

First the Argentines were routed 6-1 by Spain, then starting goalkeeper Sergio Romero was sidelined because of an injury and then on their way to Russia they caused an international incident by stopping in Jerusalem to play Israel in a friendly.

That didn’t get a friendly greeting from the Palestinians, so the Argentine soccer association canceled the game.

The team never “stopped” in Jerusalem. The trip itself — not just the game — was canceled following Palestinian threats to the team. Moreover, the euphemistic statement that the Argentinians “didn’t get a friendly greeting from the Palestinians” covers up the fact that players and their families received death threats which the Argentine foreign minister termed “worse than ISIS” (“Argentine soccer team cancels match in Israel amid death threats against Messi“).

Significantly, FIFA has begun proceedings against the Palestinian Football Association chief. AFP reported June 14 (“FIFA says acting over Palestinian FA chief’s Messi comment”):

FIFA said Thursday it has started disciplinary proceedings against the Palestinian Football Association’s chief, after he called for protest against Lionel Messi and his plan to play with Argentina in Jerusalem.

“The FIFA disciplinary committee has opened disciplinary proceedings against the president of the Palestinian Football Association, Jibril Rajoub,” a spokesman for the world body said in a statement to AFP.

Its decision, he wrote, “came as a result of his statements, widely reported in the media, with respect to the international friendly match that was scheduled to take place on 9 June 2018 between Israel and Argentina.”

He said he could not elaborate while the proceedings were ongoing.

Rajoub had demanded that the Barcelona star not take part in the pre-World Cup friendly against Israel and called on fans to burn shirts bearing his name if he did.

Messi, Rajoub said at a June 3 press conference, “has tens of millions of fans in the Arab and Muslim countries… we ask everyone to burn their shirts which bear his name and posters (with his image).”

CAMERA has contacted The Los Angeles Times to request a correction. Stay tuned for an update.

See also: “CAMERA Prompts Washington Post Correction On Canceled Jerusalem Soccer Match“

June 21 Update: Stealth Correction

The Los Angeles Times has issued a stealth correction to the online article, quietly changing the false reference to the Argentinians “stopping in Jerusalem” to “planning a trip to Jerusalem.” Contrary to standard journalistic practice, The Los Angeles Times has not informed readers of the change. Also, as of this writing, the article was not corrected in print. Finally, the article still does not explain that the Palestinian’s less than “friendly greeting” included death threats.

In a June 7 broadcast and online here, Ben Wedeman incorrectly reported that in the course of the ongoing “March of Return” violence at the Gaza border, “No Israeli soldiers were killed or injured during the protests.”

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit has confirmed to CAMERA that in the course of the “March of Return” clashes, between March 30 and June 12, 11 soldiers have been injured in the violent events at the border. This figure does not include soldiers injured by rocket and mortar attacks during this time period.

CAMERA has relayed the information to CNN and urges the network to correct. Stay tuned for an update.

According to The Jerusalem Post (“Heavy Turnout at Al-Quds Rally in Berlin Calls for Israel’s Destruction“), participants at the June 9 anti-Israel Al Quds march in Berlin chanted “Zionists are the perpetrators” and “Zionists anywhere, you will lose everywhere.” The Jerusalem Post detailed:

A photograph of the protest showed a sign comparing Zionism to Nazis. Lebanese flags were also on display. Many of the marchers were Hezbollah supporters and members. Berlin’s domestic intelligence agency said in 2017 that 250 Hezbollah members operate in the capital city. The US, Israel, the Arab League, Canada and the Netherlands designated all of Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Germany refuses to outlaw all of Hezbollah.

A pro-boycott Israel sign was also shown at the rally, with the words: “Boycott Israel, Free Palestine.” Berlin’s total population is roughly 3.7 million.

“The law entitles the radical Muslim organization, with conditions, to assemble. A demonstration against the existence of Israel on the streets of Berlin is still intolerable,” BZ journalist Kai Ritzmann wrote on Saturday.

BILD journalist Antje Schippmann tweeted, “Also again at today’s antisemitic al-Quds march in Berlin: Ayatollah Hamidreza Torabi.”

Torabi, who heads the Islamic Academy of Germany – part of the Iranian regime owned Islamic Center of Hamburg, is a key organizer of the al-Quds. The Islamic Center buses pro-Hezbollah and pro-Iranian regime members and activists to the annual event.

Yet Agence France Presse captions about the march maintained that participants were “against the presence of Jewish settlements in Israeli-occupied territories,” ignoring that they actually oppose Zionism, and thus the existence of the Jewish state in any borders, not just in the West Bank.

A sampling of AFP’s erroneous captions falsely alleging that the protesters merely oppose Israeli settlements follows. (Note the sign calling for the boycott of Israel, not just the settlements. Note also the presence of the anti-Israel Jewish sect Neturai Karta with signs stating “Zionism and Judaism are extreme opposites.” There is zero indication that the marchers are simply opposed to Jewish settlements in the West Bank.)

A protester holds a sign reading “Boycott Israel, free Palestine” during a Quds-day Demonstration on the occasion of the so-called “Al-Quds day” in Berlin, on June 9, 2018. The “Quds day” (the day of Jerusalem), a commemoration first initiated by Iran in 1979 to fall on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan expresses support for displaced Palestinians and against the presence of Jewish settlements in Israeli-occupied territories.
Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP

Protesters hold signs reading “Zionism and Judaism are extreme opposites” during a Quds-day Demonstration on the occasion of the so-called “Al-Quds day” in Berlin, on June 9, 2018. The “Quds day” (the day of Jerusalem), a commemoration first initiated by Iran in 1979 to fall on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan expresses support for displaced Palestinians and against the presence of Jewish settlements in Israeli-occupied territories. Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP

Protesters take part in a Quds-day Demonstration on the occasion of the so-called “Al-Quds day” in Berlin, on June 9, 2018. The “Quds day” (the day of Jerusalem), a commemoration first initiated by Iran in 1979 to fall on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan expresses support for displaced Palestinians and against the presence of Jewish settlements in Israeli-occupied territories. Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP

CAMERA has contacted AFP to request corrections of these captions. As of this writing, AFP has yet to set the record straight.

See also: “AFP Last to Correct Its Own Arabic Mistranslation“

Steps leading to the Temple Mount entrance on the southern side, one of several above ground remains of the Temple complex

A Reuters feature yesterday meant to explain and unpack the complexities of Jerusalem misleads on the city’s holy sites (“The U.S. is opening an embassy in Jerusalem. Why is there a furor?“)

First, about the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, the article states: “Muslims regard the site as the third holiest in Islam, after Mecca and Medina.” While noting that the site is the third holiest in Islam, the article fails to note that the very same site is the most sacred in Judaism. In the past, Reuters has commendably fixed this egregious oversight.

In addition, the same article errs that the Temple Mount “was home to the Jewish temples of antiquity but all that remains above ground is a restraining wall for the foundations built by Herod the Great.” In fact, there are several surviving above ground remains in addition to the western, southern, eastern and northern retaining walls. Extant features abutting the southern wall include a broad stairway leading up to the Temple Mount’s entrance and two gates, known as Huldah Gates, which provided access to the Temple Mount (Hershel Shanks: Jerusalem: An Archeological Biography, p. 143). Some of the interior part of the Herodian Double Gate (which is one of the Huldah Gates) is also still intact. In addition, an area called “Robinson’s Arch,” in the south-western corner of the Temple complex, still remains. In his book, Shanks provides details concerning numerous other remnants.

CAMERA has contacted Reuters editors to request a correction. Stay tuned for an update.

Numerous Agence France-Presse photo captions generalized all participants in Sunday’s Jerusalem Flag Parade as “settlers,” despite the fact that the crowd hailed from across Israel, within the Green Line, as well as outside. A sampling of the misleading captions follows:

Isreali [sic] nationalist settlers wave their national flags in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City on May 13, 2018, as they celebrate the Jerusalem Day with the dome of the Rock in the background. For Israelis, Sunday is Jerusalem Day, an annual celebration of the “reunification” of the city following the 1967 Six-Day War. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP

Israeli youths hold their national flags in Jerusalem on May 13, 2018, as Israeli nationalist settlers celebrate the Jerusalem Day in the Old City. For Israelis, Sunday is Jerusalem Day, an annual celebration of the “reunification” of the city following the 1967 Six-Day War. Thomas COEX/AFP

An Israeli man confronts a Palestinian woman at Damascus gate in Jerusalem on May 13, 2018, as Israeli nationalist settlers celebrate the Jerusalem Day in the Old City. For Israelis, Sunday is Jerusalem Day, an annual celebration of the “reunification” of the city following the 1967 Six-Day War. Menahem Kahana/AFP

CAMERA yesterday contacted AFP to request a correction. The wire agency has yet to clarify.

May 16 Update: CAMERA Arabic Prompts CNN Arabic Correction on ‘Al Buraq’ Wall

Jack Ma visits the Western Wall May 2018 (Photo from Western Wall Heritage Foundation)

Early this month, Alibaba CEO Jack Ma visited the Western Wall, donning a kippah and honoring the holy Jewish site, a remnant of the Jewish Temple compound. On what basis, then, did CNN Arabic refer to the site using its Muslim name, “Al Buraq wall”?

As CAMERA Arabic earlier noted, a CNN Arabic story seems to violate CNN practice by referring to the Western Wall, one of Judaism’s holiest sites, by a Muslim name, “Al Buraq Wall.” The May 2 article (“Founder of the ‘Ali Baba’ group to visit Israel and meet Netanyahu“), says of Ma’s visit to the Jewish holy site: “Activists on social networking photographed Ma, standing by the Wall of Al-Buraq in Jerusalem during his visit to Israel.”

Use of an Islamic name in context of a visit intended to honor the site’s special status in Judaism is clearly inappropriate and misleading. Furthermore, not only does CNN in English not use the term “Al-Buraq” wall to refer to the Western Wall, but CAMERA Arabic has confirmed that CNN Arabic has not used this misleading term in the past.

CAMERA has contacted CNN to request modification of the terminology. Stay tuned for an update.

After half a dozen corrections in over a decade, The Los Angeles Times again uses the term “Palestine” to refer to Palestinian Authority areas. In an April 19 movie review about the first female sharia jurist (“The Judge“), Kenneth Turan writes:

Al-Faqih’s research revealed that that lack was caused only by custom and convention, not the tenets of the Hanafi school of Islamic thought followed in Palestine.

The most recent Los Angeles Times correction on this issue, from last June, also concerned a calendar item. The June 28 correction states:

Roger Waters: An article in the June 22 Calendar section about Roger Waters’ new album said Waters supports Palestinians’ rights but incorrectly referred to tensions between Israel and Palestine. It should have said tensions between the Israeli government and the Palestinians.

The influential news agency Agence France Presse has taken it upon itself to redraw the map, placing eastern Jerusalem in the Palestinian territories. In the April 22 article (“No boycott fear, say organisers of ‘Giro’ in Israel“), AFP errs:

In a bid to avoid political tensions, the routes [of the Giro d’Italia cycling contest] carefully avoid the Palestinian territories, namely east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Eastern Jerusalem is not and never was Palestinian territory. Since 1967, eastern Jerusalem has fully been under Israeli control. From 1948 to 1967, it was occupied by Jordan. Before, that it was part of the British Mandate. The Nov. 29, 1947 partition plan had called for Jerusalem to be a corpus separatum, an international city administered by the UN for 10 years, at which point the city’s status was to be decided in a referendum. Before the British Mandate, the city was under Ottoman control, and so on. Going back through history, at no point was any part of the city “Palestinian territory.”

The Associated Press corrected the very same error this past February. The February 21 correction stated:

In a story Feb. 21, The Associated Press reported that east Jerusalem is Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967. The story should have made clear that this was quoting a speech by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the U.N. Security Council. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, a position backed by most of the international community. Israel considers the entire city, including the eastern sector, to be its undivided capital.

“Hamas vows revenge for key member killed in Malaysia,” was the perfectly accurate and straightforward Associated Press headline (reproduced here in The Washington Post) about the killing Saturday of key Hamas member Fadi Batsh in Malaysia.

But The Los Angeles Times, which published the AP story in the April 22 print edition on page 4, replaced AP’s solid headline with the following biased and misleading headline: “Hamas says Israel killed scholar; Militant group vows revenge over what it calls an assassination in Malaysian capital.”

Readers who glance only headlines, as so many so often do, would reasonably conclude that the man killed was a quiet intellectual, immersed, perhaps, in the intricacies of Islam. The Times’ skewed headline does not even specify that the “scholar” was a Hamas member, never mind an important Hamas member.

The accompanying article begins:

The Gaza Strip’s ruling Hamas militant group said Saturday that a man who was gunned down in Malaysia was an important member of the organization, accusing Israel of being behind the brazen killing.

Hamas said Palestinian engineer Fabi Batsch was a “loyal” member and a “scientist of Palestine’s youth scholars.” It gave no further details on his scientific accomplishments but said he had made “important contributions” and participated in international forums in the field of energy.

Nine paragraphs later, the most intrepid readers learn: “However, Israeli media reported that he was also deeply involved in the Hamas drone development program.”

Thus, while the original AP headline commendably stuck to the important facts about which all agree — that Fadi Batsh was a key member of Hamas — The Los Angeles Times headline whitewashes the star engineer of the designated terror organization as no more than a “scholar,” not even one linked to the group.