News events this week demonstrate a lack of integrity in mainstream media when it comes to Israel. Fueled by Arab distortions and outright lies, fingers still point at the Jews.
It is no secret that throughout the centuries, Jews are often blamed – and subsequently abused – when things go wrong, such as, for example, the economy. According to historical documentation, an anti-Jewish press and public opinion are highly influential in perpetuating this phenomenon, which continues to this day with regard to Israel, the Jew among nations.
One of the most famous examples of this phenomenon was the Dreyfus affair in France, which began in the late 19th century when Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jew, was imprisoned for allegedly communicating secret military information to the Germans. After 12 years, it was finally concluded that the allegations against Dreyfus were completely unfounded.
News of the anti-Semitic military court’s framing of Dreyfus and suppression of significant information eventually surfaced, largely due to an open letter published in the French press by eminent author Emile Zola. Titled J’accuse, the letter accused the authorities of blatant anti-Semitism.
This traditional Jew-baiting and stifling of relevant news did not stop with the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
Recently, on November 5, an Arab terrorist purposely drove his car into innocent pedestrians in Jerusalem, killing one and wounding 13. Yet the BBC, for example (see below), reported the event using the title: “Driver Hits Pedestrians in East Jerusalem” – as if it could have been a road accident.
This week alone, two events occurred in which Israelis were portrayed as guilty – in one case as murderers and in the other as vandals – although it was later discovered, and barely reported, that the initial reports were erroneous.
Arabs Report Suicide as Murder by Jews
On Sunday night in east Jerusalem, at approximately 10 o’clock, the body of Yusuf Hassan Ramouni, an Arab bus driver, was discovered by his supervisor inside a vehicle, hanging on a rope. As a result, riots broke out in reaction to an alleged murder by “Jewish extremists.”
Fierce fighting broke out that night between Arabs and Israeli security forces in the east Jerusalem neighborhoods of A-Tur, Issawiya, Abu Dis and Ras al-Amud.
An east Jerusalem Arab stated, according to Ynet news: “We’ll know how to respond to this incident. We’ve warned a thousand times that incidents like this could cause a lot of terrorist attacks.”
The rioting continued Monday morning with rock-throwing at Israeli vehicles in east Jerusalem’s Shimon Hatzadik neighborhood as well as near the Old City. Three Arabs were arrested.
Police at the scene where a Jewish man was stabbed by an Arab terrorist on Nov. 16, 2014. (Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Arab violence throughout the country, most notably in Jerusalem, has increased dramatically over the past several weeks. The disturbances on Sunday and Monday are a continuation of anti-Israel rioting fueled by Palestinian incitement against the Jewish state, including lies and false allegations, such as the absurd claim that the Israeli government was planning to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount.
Equally unfounded, it has been discovered, was the widespread claim that Jews had murdered Ramouni, 32, who was employed as a driver for the Israeli Egged bus company. His body was found hanging on a rope inside a vehicle half an hour after he had been scheduled to leave on a regular bus route. Paramedics failed to revive him. He was transported to Hadassah hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
His body showed no indication of a struggle. “We know the guy committed suicide,” Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld declared. “There are no signs that this is criminal, and the autopsy report will show that.”
An investigation was launched and, following an autopsy at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv, in the presence of a Ramouni family member, it was determined that the father of two had committed suicide.
“At this point, there is no suspicion of foul play,” the Israel Police announced Monday morning. “In contrast to various foreign media reports, there were no signs of violence on the body.”
The incident occurred several hours after a Jewish man was stabbed by an Arab with a screwdriver near the Old City – the latest terror attack in the current wave. Ramouni’s relatives were denying that his death was a suicide, instead insisting that the alleged murder was an act of revenge for the terror attack against the Jew earlier in the day.
Accidental Fire Exploited to Vilify Jews
Last Wednesday, fingers immediately were pointed at Jews as the culprits after a mosque in the village of Al-Mughayir, near Ramallah, had been set on fire in the wee hours of the morning. Mainstream media reported the incident as an anti-Arab hate crime by “extremist” Jews, although there was no credible indication of a nationalistically motivated crime.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon (L) and Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in Ramallah in July 2014. (Photo: Issam Rimawi/Flash90)
Samaria Regional Council head Gershon Mesika suggested that the fire could have been set in order to frame “settlers” – Israelis living in the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria – as had been done in the past, he noted.
In this case, it was not a framing attempt; rather, it was an accident. Nevertheless, there was no Jewish involvement
On Friday, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, who continually incites against Israel, announced that the PA would bear the cost of rebuilding the mosque, Israel National News reports. “Although at first the PA assigned the blame as being the result of a ‘price tag’ action, the conclusion was brought into question after it was revealed that the fuse box had most likely shorted out, causing the fire,” INN states.
One would be hard-pressed to find Hamdallah’s acknowledgement of an electrical accident in the international mainstream media.
As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
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Author: United with Israel Staff