On its news pages the Wall Street Journal’s more or less marches in lockstep with the rest of the braindead media on Israel’s response to the Hamas massacres. Yaroslav Trofimov is the chief foreign-affairs correspondent of The Wall Street Journal. He wrote the Review section’s featured essay “Does the West Have a Double Standard for Ukraine and Gaza?” Beyond the ambit of the news section, it reflects some of the same problems apparent there. Here are the opening four paragraphs:
Carrying pets and dragging suitcases over blown-up bridges, millions of Ukrainians fled Russian tank columns last year, in scenes similar to the recent exodus of Palestinians from northern Gaza in response to Israel’s military thrust. In the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Russian warplanes pounded into rubble hospitals, schools and a theater packed with children.
The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have become intertwined in the global debate and in American politics. Contrasting reactions to them have widened the chasm between Western democracies and much of the rest of the planet, as mutual accusations of double standards inflame passions.
The two wars, to be sure, have major differences in their roots and dynamics. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was unprovoked, while Israel sent troops into Gaza because of a mass slaughter of Israeli civilians by the Islamist movement Hamas on Oct. 7.
But the two conflicts also have essential similarities. One is the staggering level of civilian suffering, with many tens of thousands of dead and injured in each region. Another is the shared predicament of millions of Ukrainians and Palestinians living under the indignities of military occupation.
Is it harsh to observe that this is pretty, pretty lame? I defer to John Podhoretz, who thinks it’s worse than lame.
This piece by the WSJ’s chief foreign correspondent is a repellent scandal. It accuses Israel of behaving like Putin. Congratulations, everybody at 1211. You have covered your heads in moral feces. https://t.co/LAB2XWprLJ
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) December 2, 2023
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