Journalists Stir Faux Controversy

In a farcical sequel to the Mavi Marmara episode, journalists are complaining that Israel’s government is using videos they left behind on the ship to prove that the violence was started by pro-terrorist thugs. The Associated Press is somehow able to keep a straight face:

Israel’s military is using video confiscated from people on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla to justify opening fire during its deadly raid on the ships, drawing sharp criticism Thursday from foreign correspondents who say some of the footage was shot by journalists. …
The military allowed some journalists to board vessels used in the raid, and several dozen reporters were on board the flotilla’s six ships as well.

It would be interesting to know more about those several dozen reporters.

The Foreign Press Association, which represents hundreds of journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories, demanded Thursday that the military stop using the captured material without permission and identify the source of the video already released.
“The Foreign Press Association strongly condemns the use of photos and video material shot by foreign journalists, now being put out by the (military) spokesman’s office as ‘captured material’,” the FPA said in a statement. It said the military was selectively using footage to back its claims that commandos opened fire only after being attacked.

The FPA didn’t explain, of course, in what way the IDF was being selective, or what footage may exist that shows the soldiers fired their weapons before they were attacked with knives, clubs, slingshots, etc. It is somewhat ironic that the only reason the journalists’ video is seeing the light of day is that the journalists are no longer in possession of it. I think it is safe to say that video showing the pro-terrorists for what they really are would otherwise have been suppressed.
Actually, it isn’t clear that any of the footage the IDF has released was shot by journalists. There are only a couple of possibilities; this one is the most dramatic. It shows the pro-terrorists attacking Israeli soldiers as they try to board the ship:

This one shows the pro-terrorists assembling their weapons in anticipation of the Israelis’ effort to board the ship. It was filmed by a couple of security cameras:

This is just one more instance, I guess, of journalists’ never-ending quest for truth.

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