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(1 of 60)
Jul 27, 2002 10:53 AM
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Obviously the Palestinians and the Isrealis are capable of lies, and bias. Trying to figure it all out, is a little diffcult. I've been trying to explain this for a while, how the differences in the forms of rule, and freedom make a difference in who is more credible. I'd like to post 2 articles that I came across (they were published awhile ago) for your information and I'd be interested in your opinion on them.
Arab Governments No Strangers to Fiction
Wednesday, April 17, 2002
By Ken Adelman
Among the more serious, yet least noticed, casualties in the war on terrorism now raging in Israel is basic truth. Along with attacking civilians, the Palestinians are attacking the truth and creating facts out of whole cloth.
This attack on the truth is clearly documented by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a document called "Lies and Disinformation as a Palestinian Weapon."
Now, skeptics may claim that of course the Israeli ministry would claim that the Palestinians are lying, just as the Palestinians claim about the Israelis. But this moral equivalency omits an important basic point: Israel is a full democracy, whereas the Palestinian Authority — like every single Arab entity or government — is a dictatorship. For example, Israel has a free press which can — and quite doggedly does — question reports from their officials. In contrast, the Arab authorities themselves determine the "facts," and publish them as "facts."
It’s stunning, and depressing, to realize that meetings of the Arab League are the only international meetings — since the Soviets assembled the Warsaw Pact nations — without one single elected government. No other world forum — none meeting in Asia, Latin America, Europe, or elsewhere — lacks at least one government which respects human rights and allows freedom of speech, press, and the other values civilized people hold dear. This sorry state of affairs enables Arab dictatorships to create "truth" which is picked up by the regime-controlled press of Arab nations, and — all too often — the Western press.
Dr. Lynne Cheney, wife of the current vice president, best explained the moral damage done by such distortions seven years ago in her excellent book, Telling the Truth (Simon & Schuster, 1995).
"Without the idea that we live in reality … compassion is impossible and so is any other virtue one could name. Nothing beyond the gratification of the moment matters in such a world, not fairness, not justice, not responsibility, not honor. None of them matters because in such a world none of them exists."
In a world where the "truth" is manufactured and not objectively observed and reported, Dr. Cheney insightfully explains, barbarism is sure to follow. We are witnessing this now as horrid homicide bombings follow horrid distortions of truth.
Among the most outrageous distortions, some of which were subsequently broadcast by the Western press:
— Hassan Asfor, a Palestinian spokesman, told BBC radio that the Israeli Defense Force had broken into Arafat's office and that Arafat’s office was "on the brink of disaster." His office was never broken into.
— The Italian and French media picked up an April 2, Palestinian television report that the Palestinian leadership announced that a priest, Jacques Amathis, had been killed and dozens of monks wounded in an IDF action in Bethlehem. The announcement in the West created outcries of protests in Europe. Yet the very next day, Father Amathis was interviewed and confirmed that he and the monks in the monastery were safe and well.
— On April 3, Chairman Arafat told Al Jazeera, the television network watched across the Arab world, that Israel had "burned the mosque" opposite Santa Maria Church in Bethlehem and "destroyed many churches and mosques." He called upon the Christian and Muslim world to take action. None of it happened. All of this was creating truth.
— In an interview with Abu Dhabi television on March 29, Arafat told of an "incident in Hebron, that insolent and criminal incident; [the IDF] even attacked and killed in the Hebron area three members of the international force: two from Turkey and one of the nurses from Switzerland." The Turkish member of this force said in a later radio interview that the attack had been carried out by a uniformed Palestinian.
The examples of such truth-creation go on and on. The full text can be found here.
Somehow, if the Palestinian and Arab world is to begin taking humane actions, it must begin telling the truth. Dr. Cheney writes of "the moral consequences of insisting that reality is nothing more than what" is created out of thin air. "The idea of responsibility — of being accountable for one’s actions — has no meaning in a world where there is neither truth nor reality."
Kenneth Adelman is a frequent guest commentator on Fox News, was assistant to U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld from 1975 to 1977 and, under President Ronald Reagan, U.N. ambassador and arms-control director. Mr. Adelman is now co-host of TechCentralStation
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(2 of 60)
Lies and Disinformation as a Palestinian Weapon
Jul 27, 2002 10:55 AM
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April 10, 2002
The Palestinian use of lies and disinformation has been well known for many years but, in recent days it has reached new heights, the likes of which we have not seen before. The false reports published in the Palestinian media, or from time to time by their spokespeople in the international media, have a double purpose: on the one hand, to delegitimize Israel and, on the other hand, to distract world attention from the Palestinian Authority's deep involvement in terrorism.
The Palestinian collection of lies is particularly disturbing in light of the well-known phenomenon that when a lie is repeated often enough it becomes the truth, even if it has no basis. Even more disturbing is the willingness of the international media to serve as the instrument for publicizing the Palestinian claims, without checking their veracity and knowing that in many cases they are without foundation. The denials, if they are published later, receive much less publicity; by then, the damage has been done.
Below are a few examples of fabrications disseminated by the Palestinians:
1. One of the most popular themes, arising from the restrictions placed on Arafat, is the fear for the life of the president. On March 31, Yasser Abed Rabo said, in an interview to the Al Jazeera television station, that a warning was received that the IDF would enter the compound in Ramallah, and that this step was planned by Sharon with the intent to kill Yasser Arafat. The same day, Hassan Asfor said to BBC radio that the IDF had broken into Arafat's offices and that the situation was dangerous, "on the brink of disaster". Also on the same day, Saeb Erekat said on Egyptian television that he was unable to make contact with Arafat and that he feared for his life. Erekat repeated this in an interview he gave to CNN on April 6.
These fears were all proven to be unfounded.
2. Jibril Rajoub (March 30, on MAHAD TV, a local television station in Ramallah) accused Israel of carrying out a "massacre," executing 30 Palestinians in Ramallah. The announcement was also broadcast on Al Jazeera and other stations.
The reality, of course, is different: in battles which took place on that day in Ramallah, 9 Palestinians were killed - all of them armed.
3. Palestinian television reported on April 2, on the basis of an official announcement by the Palestinian leadership, that a priest named Jacques Amathis had been killed and dozens of monks wounded in an IDF action in Bethlehem. The announcement was published prominently in the Italian and French media and prompted a storm of protest.
The following day the 'late" priest was interviewed by the MINSA agency and confirmed that he and the monks in the monastery were safe and well.
4. Arafat, in an interview to Al Jazeera television on April 3, claimed that Israel had "burned the mosque" opposite Santa Maria Church in Bethlehem and "destroyed many churches and mosques." He called upon the Christian and Muslim world to take action. MAHAD TV reported that a fire had broken out in the Omar el-Hatib Mosque in Bethlehem and that the IDF was preventing the fire brigade from reaching the site to extinguish the flames.
None of these charges has any factual basis.
5. The WAFA (Palestinian News Agency) Internet site reported on April 2 that the IDF had shelled the new mosque in Tulkarm after the muezzin called people to noon prayers.
In fact, no such incident took place.
6. Jibril Rajoub claimed, in an interview with Syrian television network ANN on March 30, that the only people in the compound of the Preventive Security Services in Betouniya were people working for the service, women and civilians, and that there were no wanted terrorists there.
The truth, of course, is somewhat different. On April 2, a number of wanted terrorists were captured in the building, including senior members of Hamas involved in many terrorist activities.
7. On the WAFA Internet site, it was reported on April 2 by the Palestinian Minister of Health, Riyad Al Zanoun, that the IDF had taken control of five Palestinian ambulances in Ramallah, forced their teams to strip, and taken them to an unknown site, in order to prevent them from treating the wounded.
In reality, ever since an explosive belt was discovered in a Palestinian ambulance underneath a stretcher on which a small child was lying (end of March, at the A-Ram check post), the IDF has been forced to act with extreme caution.
A similar charge, incidentally, was made on April 5 by Al Kuds newspaper, which reported that a Red Crescent ambulance was seized in El Bireh, and that IDF soldiers attacked its driver and the paramedics traveling with him.
No such incident has ever taken place.
8. In an interview with Abu Dhabi television on March 29, Arafat claimed that "there was also that incident in Hebron, that insolent and criminal incident; they even attacked and killed in the Hebron area three members of the international force: two from Turkey and one of the nurses from Switzerland."
In fact, in the incident in question, one of the Turkish members of the force was rescued, and he said, in a radio interview, that the attack was carried out by an uniformed Palestinian.
9. The Al Kuds newspaper reported on April 4 that the IDF refused to permit a patient to be transferred by ambulance from the clinic in the Greek Orthodox Monastery in Beit Sahour to hospital in Beit Jala.
In fact, no such incident took place.
10. The WAFA agency reported on April 5 that the IDF shelled the Um Nasser neighborhood, the Al Udeh towers and the residential areas near the Salah a Din road in the northern Gaza Strip.
The reality was somewhat different - the mortar shells were fired by the Palestinians themselves, but landed in their own territory.
11. The Al Kuds newspaper reported on April 5 that the prisoners in Ofer Camp, near Givat Ze'ev, undergo torture, including breaking their fingers.
This allegation too has no basis.
12. The WAFA news agency reported on April 6 that a person named Ali Mustafa Abu Razek, aged 30, was shot and killed by the IDF close to the Sufa Crossing.
In fact, Abu Razek was a terrorist who was trying to place an explosive device and was blown up together with the device.
13. At the beginning of the events, IDF soldiers were accused of broadcasting pornographic films on Al Watan television in Ramallah.
This claim was thoroughly investigated by the IDF and found to be baseless.
14. On April 5 Nabil Sha'ath claimed in the Saudi 'Okaz' that Israel had forged the document seized from Arafat's office in Ramallah indicating that the Palestinian Authority was funding the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigade.
The document is of course authentic, and in the meantime other documents have been found indicating the involvement of the Palestinian Authority and of Arafat in terrorism and in its funding.
These are just a few examples of the uncontrolled Palestinian disinformation campaign being waged also in the leading world media networks. This campaign creates a picture of Israel as a cruel and inhumane country, which damages holy sites, persecutes first aid agencies in contravention of the Geneva Convention and so on. The reality is different. The ones who are harming innocent civilians are the Palestinians terrorists. The ones who are desecrating holy sites, and not for the first time, are the Palestinians. The ones who are violating the Geneva Convention and using ambulances and hospitals for other than their real purpose - are the Palestinians.
A propos the use of ambulances, there is a famous picture from Bethlehem showing a tank moving aside two ambulances blocking its path. For some reason, no one gave a thought to this use of these ambulances as a barricade - not one of the natural and protected uses of ambulances.
We are publishing these things because we suspect that the Palestinians will claim that a massacre took place in the Jenin refugee camp, in view of the heavy losses that they sustained in the bloody battles that were fought there. The Palestinians are preparing the ground for such a claim. On April 6, they published an urgent call to the international community to intervene immediately in order to save the lives of the residents of the refugee camp, because the camp was under merciless attack and "there are dozens of dead and injured, a situation which could reach the scale of a new Sabra and Shatilla massacre." They do not allow bodies to be evacuated from the site so as to intensify the effect, and the only thing left for us to do is to be prepared and to reject any attempt to draw such a comparison. This is particularly important against the background of the item by Al Jazeera reporter Walid Alamari, who announced on April 8 that, according to information coming from the Jenin refugee camp, all the resistors and fighters are wearing explosive belts. If this is the case, then we are talking about a bloody battle and not a massacre. But the associations that the Palestinians are trying to arouse are stronger than the facts.
Original document in Arabic
Briefing by Maj.Gen. Giora Eiland, IDF Chief of Planning and Col. Miri Eisin, IDF Intelligence Corps - Apr 5, 2002
Operation Defensive Shield: Special Update
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Jul 27, 2002 7:52 PM
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Its why I have never believed the pals. I remember their lies from back in the 70's. Once a liar always a liar. Unfortunately our news media hasn't figured that out yet. They still believe half of what bin laden says.
The first step toward peace in the middle east will be the death of arafat. He's on a par with bin laden. The Israelis will do wrong at times, so do we, but for the most part they are giving the true facts in situations. The pals say anything they can to inflame and use it to recruit. They are murderers, liars and cowards.
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(4 of 60)
Jul 27, 2002 7:58 PM
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Has Israel ever done this sort of thing? Or the USA?
packer
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Jul 27, 2002 8:32 PM
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In the case of the US I would say the biggest lie was the gulf of tonkin. I'm sure Israel has had their share too. But the pals have made a continuous habit of it.
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Jul 28, 2002 12:10 PM
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'what' sort of thing, Packer, dear?
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(7 of 60)
Jul 28, 2002 8:47 PM
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gulf of tonkin! couldve used that in my rant!
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the bigger the institution,
Jul 28, 2002 9:44 PM
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more power it has, the longer it is in place, the less discernable its lies.
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(9 of 60)
Jul 29, 2002 12:20 PM
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imply you don't think the explanation here, of why the dictatorships shouldn't be trusted, has any merit. I would say you seem to think they should be trusted more than democratic government with freedom of the press.
???
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I'm still waiting for you Packer.
Jul 29, 2002 12:21 PM
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BTW, if you read my first post again, you might get your answer.
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(11 of 60)
Jul 29, 2002 3:21 PM
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should be distrusted. the founders knew this. they should be constantly criticised and scrutinized.
i think the lies our gov tells are harder to discern, yes. do you think the arabs dont know their state press is mostly propaganda?
problem is, we dont see the mote in our own eyes.
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(12 of 60)
Jul 29, 2002 3:44 PM
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between a state run press and a free press.
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(13 of 60)
Jul 29, 2002 5:09 PM
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...
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(14 of 60)
Jul 30, 2002 9:53 PM
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incident, caught on video, was very interesting. A 'dead' casualty of the Jenin 'massacre' was dropped off his stretcher, and proceeded to get up! Must have been a miracle!
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(15 of 60)
Jul 30, 2002 10:37 PM
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id be willing to bet the palestinian book of dirty tricks is long and lavishly illustrated indeed! but the israeli book is like a set of encyclopedias : D
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