Israeli troops and tanks entered Gaza after nightfall on Saturday in what spokesmen expected to be a lengthy operation. Its purpose is not, according to Israeli spokesmen, to reoccupy Gaza, but rather to continue the destruction of Hamas’ infrastructure, weapons and personnel that has been carried out so far by aerial attack.
Hamas responded by announcing that “the Zionists started approaching the trap which our fighters prepared for them.” While that represents wishful thinking, at best, ground combat does have the potential to become bloody. Let’s pray for successful completion of the troops’ mission.
UPDATE: The anti-Israel bias shown by the world’s news agencies would be almost funny if it weren’t so dangerous. Here, a group of Israelis show their support for their government’s efforts in Gaza:
Seems like an innocuous enough thing to do. So how does Reuters describe these Israeli demonstrators? “Israeli right-wing activists take part in a demonstration in Tel Aviv supporting Israel’s military operation in Gaza.” The poll data I’ve seen indicate that over 80 percent of Israelis support their government’s attack on Hamas. So what makes these people “right-wing activists”? Apparently Reuters believes that only right-wing activists are pro-Israel.
So how does Reuters describe people in the Middle East and around the world who demonstrate against Israel’s efforts in Gaza? Are they “left-wing activists,” or “pro-Hamas activists,” or “pro-terrorist activists?” Not so much.
Here is how Reuters described anti-Israel protesters in the first fifteen photo-stories I got with the search “gaza reuters demonstrate” on Yahoo News Photos:
1) “Peruvians.” These people are shown wearing masks and shaking their fists in the air, but they apparently aren’t “activists.”
2) “Palestinians in Panama.” These Palestinians in Panama are displaying an Israeli flag with a swastika drawn on it, but that isn’t enough to make them “left-wing.”
3) “Young Palestinians living in Panama.” The “young Palestinians” are holding a sign that says “assassin.”
4) “Protesters…in Kuwait City.”
5) “Protesters…in Sanaa.” They’re wearing Hamas headbands, but that isn’t enough to make them “pro-Hamas protesters.”
6) “Protesters…on the streets of Khartoum.”
7) “Protesters…in Dubai.”
8) “Protesters…in Damascus.” These protesters are waving Hamas flags, but are not described as “pro-Hamas.”
9) “Protesters…in Vienna.” Not activists, let alone “left-wing activists.”
10) More “Protesters…in Vienna,” but still no left-wing activists.
11) More “Protesters…in Sanaa,” with a banner that reads: “Stop the brutal aggression on our brothers in Gaza. Arab leaders have to stop the Israeli massacre.”
12) More “Protesters…in Sanaa,” with a banner that says “Death to Bush, death to Ehud Barak, death to Houssni ‘Barak’.” But these protesters aren’t left-wing, radical, pro-Hamas or pro-terrorist. Not even “activists,” for that matter.
13) “Sudanese and Palestinians living in Sudan.” They’re carrying Hamas flags, but are described neither as “pro-Hamas” nor as “activists.”
14) “Protesters from the Muslim Brotherhood” in Cairo. They’re burning an Israeli flag, but still no “activists,” let alone “left-wing” or “pro-terrorist” activists, in sight.
15) More “Protesters from the Muslim Brotherhood.”
Examples could be multiplied endlessly, but you get the point. Only extremists support Israel, while those who burn Israeli and American flags, accuse Israel of committing another holocaust, call for the assassination of Bush and Barak, etc., are just “demonstrators” expressing the natural rage that anyone would feel at Israeli aggression. That’s the world according to Reuters.
FURTHER UPDATE: Here’s one more, admittedly by AFP rather than Reuters, but the same point applies to the French news service. AFP captions this photo, “Protesters shout anti-Israeli slogans during a demonstration in front of the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles, California, on January 2, 2009.”
These particular protesters are from the Los Angeles branch of ANSWER, a Communist organization. One might think that would merit a description like, say, “left-wing activists.” But no: anyone who opposes Israel, no matter how far to the left (or downright crazy) is just a “protester.” Only among Israel’s beleaguered supporters can one find “right-wing activists.”
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