“It was as if the media were altogether so eager to find reason to criticize the IDF that they pounced on one discussion by nine soldiers who met after returning from the battlefield to share their experiences and subjective feelings with each other, using that one episode to draw conclusions that felt more like an indictment. Dogma replaced balance and led to a dangerous misunderstanding of the depth and complexity of Israeli reality. The individual accounts were never intended to serve as a basis for broad generalizations and summary conclusions by the media; they were published internally, intended for program graduates and their parents as a tool to be used in the process of educating and guiding the next generation.”
So writes Major Danny Zamir, laying to rest claims that the IDF engaged in planned, coordinated war crimes in Gaza. Emphasis added. In any case, read the rest.
Thanks to Petra for bringing this to our attention.
You are an experienced journalist and you have a column in a major newspaper. You interview a powerful man who talks of his fine moral instincts and how the pain suffered by others in foreign countries affects him. How do you react?
Continue reading ‘Erdoğan, Truth and Power’
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El País carried an article by Juan Miguel Muñoz titled “Gaza after the Massacre” on February 22nd. This article was the subject of a complaint to Milagros López Oliva, the newspaper’s readers’ editor, by Raphael Schutz, Israel’s ambassador to Spain. The readers’ editor today publishes her response, a response which also contains a lengthy statement from Javier Moreno, the editor-in-chief of the flagship of liberal and progressive opinion in Spain.
Continue reading ‘The Livingstone Formulation in Madrid’
So says J Street, commenting on the absurd and antisemitic “Seven Jewish Children.” More from David Hirsh here.
“What we’re missing in the George Galloway story is the George Galloway story,” begins Terry Glavin in this radio interview.” Terry then lists the cold facts which much of the Canadian media failed to pick up on. Have a listen.
“The Israel of the 50s, where European and Middle Eastern culture undoubtedly clashed, is not the Israel of today. Shabi’s claim that ‘Mizrahi ethnic music is banned from public playlists’ strains credulity when Mizrahi artists such as Sarit Haddad, David Broza, Dana International, Avinoam Nini and Ofra Haza are all thoroughly mainstream. Chaqshooka, falafel and mujadera are staples of Israeli food. Mizrahim have reached the highest echelons of political life. Israel has had Mizrahi ministers, a president, and senior military figures.”
More on Israel’s Mizrahim in this Guardian piece by Lyn Julius.
This week, Tel Aviv, the hub of Israel and one of the Mediterranean’s truly great cities, marks its centennial. Michael Handelzalts delves into the etymology of the city’s name.
Continue reading ‘Tel Aviv Marks 100 Years’
Last Saturday morning, I switched on Fox Soccer Channel for the first of a series of World Cup qualifiers which the station, a veritable lifeline for football lovers in America, was broadcasting. A live feed from Tehran appeared on my screen. On the pitch, Iran was battling Saudi Arabia.
Continue reading ‘Next Year in South Africa. Not.’
Did Richard Holbrooke, the US Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, meet the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mohammad Mehdi Akhoondzadeh, on the sidelines of a major international conference on Afghanistan? Holbrooke says he did. The Iranians say he didn’t.
Continue reading ‘Iranxiety Attack’
