Jerusalem Post Whitewashes Murderous Arab Terrorism
The Jerusalem Post’s front-page coverage of the recent deadly terrorist attack on hikers in the Shomron was outrageous. That week saw a spate of terrorist attacks against Jews in the Shomron, culminating with the murder of two Jews on Friday. Sunday morning (July 26), the front page of the Jerusalem Post had an article that began with: “Palestinian terror is terror, and murder is murder.” If it had stopped there it would have been fine, but it continued by saying: “What happened on Friday was different….”. The article portrayed an equivalence between the Jews and Arabs in the incident, implicitly blaming the Jews and explaining away the Arabs’ behavior. I thought I was reading Al Jazeera. Yonah Jeremy Bob was again peddling, as he often does, the blood-libel of the concept of “settler violence,” although this time without explicitly using that loaded phrase.
A group of 60 Jewish hikers in the Shomron had come under attack by stone-throwing, club-wielding Arabs. The hikers did not engage the attackers, but rather moved on to another area. About an hour later, a horde of Arab attackers approached from three sides. Military and civilian security arrived but hesitated to fire at the attacking mob. At some point, the mufti of the nearby Arab village wrested a rifle from one of the security personnel, at which point an Israeli security person finally opened fire neutralizing the threat and saving lives. Before the shooting ended, two Jews were dead.
The one fact that was beyond dispute, that a group of Israeli civilians was violently attacked by Palestinian terrorists, was quickly overshadowed in this biased article by repeated speculation that somehow the Jewish hikers themselves may have borne responsibility for what happened. Remarkably, an article that used the word “unclear” four times to describe key events, insinuated multiple times that the Jewish settlers were equally (or more) guilty. Bob (and by extension, the Jerusalem Post), is (again) acting as the mouthpiece for our worst enemies. What was unclear to him was clear to anyone who watched the many videos with an open mind or who is familiar with the group that organized the hike. If there were so many main points that were “unclear,” did the “reporter” attempt to speak to the organizers or any of the hikers? It appears not.
The hike was run by Tiyulei David v’Achikam, a long-established hiking group whose participants include children, families, and pensioners from across Israel (often not from Judea and Samaria). It often includes people from across the political spectrum, who are united in their love of the Land. Their hikes are legal, coordinated, and attended by people who simply love exploring the length and breadth of Israel, not by those seeking confrontation. Indeed, usually when passing near Arab villages there are no incidents, although there have been prior incidents when the group was assaulted.
Unlike what the article said, they are not trespassers, they are not part of a movement to illegally seize land, and they certainly are not looking to stir up the hornets’ nest of murderers. It borders on libelous to state: “From similar prior incidents in recent years, this was not merely an innocent hike, …. but an intentional ploy to try to drum up some kind of an incident and an altercation.” Absurd! This was not a “ploy”. This was law-abiding hikers who were viciously attacked. The organization may believe that Jews are entitled to live in Judea and Samaria, and that hiking and knowing the Land plays a role in that goal, but that is vastly different than looking to pick a fight or intending to illegally seize land.
This was not balanced reporting. It is conjecture by someone who admits he is clouded about the facts and yet presented in a way that lends credibility to a narrative that has become all too familiar. This matters because accusations of “settler violence” have become one of the most potent weapons in the campaign to delegitimize Israel. Journalists have a responsibility not to amplify insinuations that will inevitably be seized upon by those eager to portray Jewish presence in our ancestral homeland as inherently provocative or illegitimate. Two heroes, one civilian and one soldier, are dead. To paraphrase the author, the price of these libelous articles will be more Jewish victims and more bleeding of support for Israel. Jerusalem Post, it is not clear if your ongoing publishing of such articles is malicious or naivete, but please stop publishing these types of articles; your readers, innocent Jews, and the State of Israel deserve better.
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An earlier, shorter version of this was submitted as a letter to the Jerusalem Post but never published.
