Why It’s Not Just Media Bias
I believe.
I believe we inherently want to do good. I believe it’s in our nature to be decent. I believe we have a genuine desire to treat each other equally.
Unfortunately, there are those out there who do not believe as I do; especially when it comes to Israel.
These “non-believers” continue to espouse the view of Israel as a human rights violator. They shout from the rooftops about Israel killing thousands of innocent Palestinians for no reason. They spread lies about Israel restricting the freedoms of all Palestinians.
We could blame the Palestinian Authority, or we could blame Hamas, or we could blame the Palestinian people — but I choose to blame the media. I choose to blame the media for circulating the propaganda that the Palestinian authority, Hamas, and the Palestinians have brought forth. I choose to blame the media for causing people across the world to loathe every move Israel makes.
Last year the “Knife Intifada” arose and resulted in the deaths of 38 Israelis and the injuries of over 550 more Israelis. While the rest of the world heard about 235 Palestinians killed and just under 4,000 injured, I saw the media dig a deeper grave for the State of Israel.
I envision myself walking in the streets of Jerusalem talking with my father on the phone. Shabbat is close to arriving, the beautiful city of Jerusalem is glimmering, and I’m running to the grocery store to pick up some last-minute items. I then hear a noise, a screech. I turn to my right and see a car roaring down the street at an abnormal speed. I rotate my body and see a seven-year old girl on her bicycle, crossing the road. It takes less than ten seconds for me to witness the brutal death of young girl as the car rams into her. But the horrific scene doesn’t stop there. The driver of the car runs out with a butcher knife and proceeds to stab people, to attack people, to murder people. Ten seconds later Israeli security personnel arrive on the scene screaming “halt, stop, don’t move or we’ll shoot” but the terrorist does not stop. He runs towards the personnel prompting them to do the one thing they can do; shoot.
I come home from the grocery store completely stunned by what just occurred. I quickly check American news websites and I am shocked to see three different headlines about the brutal attack that I witnessed hours ago:
“Israeli security personnel shoot Palestinian”
“Jerusalem attack ends in death; Palestinian freedom fighter killed”
“Palestinian man killed by Israeli forces in Jerusalem attack”
While this scene is fictional, there are hundreds similar to it. While these newspaper headline are fictional, there are hundreds similar to it. This is not reporting, this is not news. This is anti-Israel propaganda fueled by the PA, by Hamas, and by the Palestinians. Because of this propaganda, Israel is labeled as one of the biggest human rights violators in the Middle East. Not Iran, not Bahrain, not Saudi Arabia but Israel. Because of this propaganda, Israel is also labeled one of the biggest women’s rights violators in the Middle East. Not Iran, not Bahrain, not Saudi Arabia but Israel.
The media manipulates a story to make us believe that Israel kills innocent men, women, and children. This manipulation just fuels Hamas and Hezbollah, who have in fact used human shields and purposely placed their own people in harm’s way in an attempt to kill ours.
While I do believe that we inherently want to do good and be decent and treat each other equally, it is apparent to me that others do not.
The enemy is winning and it’s not just media bias. It’s real life.