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Haterats AKA "Haaretz" - racist, promoting hatred against JewsReader comment on item: Surprising Support for Israel, not Hamas Submitted by Liat Mor (Israel), Aug 10, 2021 at 12:18 Haaretz accused of maligning Haredim in COVID cartoon The controversial cartoon from Monday, drawn by Amos Biderman, showed the crowded Western Wall plaza and two police officers discussing the threat of COVID-19 community spread. By Hanan Greenwood Haaretz refuses to apologize for the antisemitic cartoon - Actualik. DOSS POLITE (@dosspolitte) Tweeted: MK Y. Margi @yakmargi (Jun 24, 2021): ___ Haaretz won't let the facts get in the way A cartoon in the Haaretz newspaper that appears to blame a sector that has nothing to do with the recent outbreak of the pandemic for the spike in infections is shameful, insolent, and dangerous incitement. By Hanan Greenwood Haredim are upset, and rightfully so. A cartoon by Amos Biderman that appeared in Haaretz on Thursday, depicts Shas party leader Aryeh Deri and United Torah Judaism party head Moshe Gafni and his fellow party member Moshe Litzman under a banner reading: "The coronavirus is back." In the cartoon, a speech bubble has Litzman saying: "We have to organize a festive meal." The insinuation is clear: It makes no difference that there are no Haredim in Binyamina and Modiin – the centers of Israel's most recent outbreak, and that the variants making their way into the country are being imported by Israelis, a majority of whom are not religious, passing through Ben-Gurion Airport. As far as Biderman and his emissaries at the radical left-wing newspaper are concerned, the Haredim are to blame. The ultra-Orthodox may not have caused the infections, yet even with the tiniest percentage of infections in the sector, it seems there are those who would blame them for the outbreak, an act any newspaper would be forced to describe as antisemitic had it happened overseas. Antisemitism is the hatred of Jews without regard to what they have done or are guilty of in practice. Here, it seems, a clear, red line has been crossed in such a way that is reminiscent of the kind of antisemitic posters that have been displayed around the world over the last few centuries.. ____ Haaretz believes in freedom of expression, until it clashes with the landlord's political positions Amos Schocken has no problem with his writers comparing Netanyahu to Hitler and supporting the terrorists, but when the publicist Neve Daromi dared to express support for the right-wing organization "Ad Kan (Up to Here)" on the social network, he decided to stop him from writing for the paper. ____ Haaretz publisher Riklin's surprising response: "Do not hide" _____ Secular Intifada: An appeal to the ombudsman to open a criminal investigation against the Haaretz newspaper Last weekend, senior journalist Uri Misgav published an article saturated with incitement and racism against the ultra-Orthodox public in the Haaretz newspaper, B'Tselmo decided that they are no longer silent in the face of clear media incitement against the ultra-Orthodox public. Aharon Miller, 11th Shvat, 5781 - Jan 24, 2021 [Bechadrei]. Words can kill: Last weekend, senior journalist Uri Misgav published an article full of incitement and racism against the ultra-Orthodox public in the Haaretz newspaper, B'Tsalmo decided that they are no longer silent in the face of clear media incitement against the ultra-Orthodox public. Avichai Mandelblit. The appeal quoted the "pearls" that Misgav wrote against the ultra-Orthodox public, "The ultra-Orthodox are hard hit, the ultra-Orthodox are more dangerous than the missiles of Hezbollah and the Iranian nucleus," and the call for a secular intifada against the ultra-Orthodox was expressed. . ___ Storm: The antisemitic cartoon and the answer from Yated - in ultra-Orthodox rooms [BeChadrei] ___ The Protocols of the Elders of Zion published by Schocken Lavie organization, Sep 9, 2018 Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken justifies the antisemitic display in Khan al-Ahmar, and claims that an octopus painting with a Star of David is a poignant description of Israel's actions, "which sends arms everywhere in the world." In recent days, the NGO-MONITOR organization and the journalist Yishai Friedman firsthand have revealed the existence of an exhibition of antisemitic cartoons in the village of Khan al-Ahmar that is to be evacuated. The exhibition, which presented Israel as a formidable octopus, was attended by representatives from European countries and UN organizations such as UNESCO and UNICEF. An antisemitic cartoon in Khan al-Ahmar Despite all this, the exhibition received a recommendation of honesty in the form of the publisher of the Haaretz newspaper, Amos Schocken, who wrote last night - September 8, 18 that "drawing an octopus with a Star of David is a good description of Israel sending arms everywhere in the world." ____ "Haaretz newspaper suffers from auto-anti-Semitism" Channel 7, 5 Elul 5777 - 27/08/17 Bennett wrote on his Facebook page that "this morning the newspaper attacked Miriam Peretz (!) Who lost her two sons (the late Uriel and the late Eliraz) for the existence of the State of Israel and so that we can all live here. Haaretz compares it to the mother of Muslim jihadists, and at the same time despises IDF casualties. "From the point of view of this newspaper, there is no difference between the bereaved mother of an Israeli hero and the mother of a killer-terrorist," Bennett said. The People vs. Haaretz By Shmuel Rosner Still, it is just a newspaper. The story of the people vs. Haaretz — that is, of a great number of Israelis' growing dislike for the paper — is worth telling only because it tells us something about Israel itself: that the country's far left is evolving from a political position into a mental state and that the right-wing majority has not yet evolved into being a mature, self-confident public. Consider an incident from mid-April. Haaretz published an op-ed by one of its columnists. It made a less-than-convincing argument that religious Zionist Israelis are more dangerous to Israel than Hezbollah terrorists. And yet, the response was overwhelming. The prime minister, defense minister, education minister and justice minister all denounced the article and the newspaper. The president condemned the article, too. The leader of the centrist party Yesh Atid called the op-ed "anti-Semitic." Leaders of the left-of-center Labor Party called it hateful. The country was almost unified in condemnation. Of course, not completely unified. On the far left, a few voices supported the article and the newspaper. Some argued that the article was substantively valid. Others argued that whether the article was substantive or not, the onslaught on Haaretz is a cynical ploy to shake another pillar of the left — maybe its most visible remaining pillar. If there is such ploy, it doesn't seem to be working. Last week, on the eve of Israel's Memorial Day, a day of somber reflection, Haaretz was at it again. One article by a leading columnist explained that he could no longer fly the Israeli flag. Another seemed to be calling for a civil war. These are not exceptions; they are the rule for a newspaper that in recent years has come to rely on provocation. Its provocations aim to serve its ideology. Haaretz and its core readership are fiercely opposed to Israel's occupation of the West Bank, to the government's support for settlers there, to the government's recalibration of the High Court, to Israel's state-religion status quo and to other conservative trends. Four factors have converged to make Haaretz more annoying to Israelis today than ever before. First, the country is less receptive to a left-wing agenda as most of its citizens tilt rightward. Second, the country feels it is under an unjustified and hypocritical international siege and so is less forgiving when Israelis are perceived to be providing Israel's critics with ammunition. Just recently, Jewish Israelis ranked "left wingers" as one of the groups contributing least to Israel's success. Third, Israel's left is very small, and also feeling under siege. Fourth, the left's frustration with Israel makes it bitter and antagonistic. It makes it more prone to test the patience of other Israelis by upping the rhetorical ante in its criticism of country, leaders and groups. The result of this increasingly provocative discourse is often pathetic, at times comical and occasionally worrying. Haaretz irks the majority of Israelis by giving voice to preposterous descriptions of what Israel is or does ("fascism," "apartheid"), and the majority and its leaders never fail to take the bait and fly into a rage. It is a childish game and, in the long run, Israel loses. Its quality newspaper of coherent dissent, necessary in a pluralistic society, has become a platform for juvenile contrarianism. Its left-wing opposition, to which Haaretz gives voice, has become synonymous with needless antagonism; public debate has been made blunter and less constructive; the public is angrier and less tolerant of dissent. Tempting as it is, the story of the people vs. Haaretz is not a story of a country whose public is no longer willing to tolerate debate. It is a story about a group within Israel that is losing its ability to communicate with the rest of society and have any chance of influencing its future. It is a story about a group within Israel that finds its relief in provoking the rest of us until we snap. I worked at Haaretz for more than a decade, as features editor, head of the news division and, for three years, chief United States correspondent. My stint in Washington ended in 2008 when my employment was terminated. But I always valued Haaretz's independence from dogma and its professional excellence, even though I wasn't always comfortable with its ideological bent. The fact that I no longer consider it a must-read paper is probably for the same reason most Israelis are uncomfortable with it: Haaretz still employs good journalists, and on some of the issues these writers make strong cases, supported by evidence. But all in all, reading Haaretz in the last couple of decades is increasingly an exercise in anticipating a nearing demise. The paper gets many specific stories right, but it gets the larger arc of Israel's story wrong. It tends to paint a bleak picture of Israel's actions, and it goes overboard in predicting grave consequences for Israel that rarely materialize. It tends not to notice that Israel today is a country more powerful militarily, economically and culturally than it was when the newspaper and its circle of loyal readers began explaining how almost every choice that the country is making is wrong. And maybe that's the source of Haaretz's frustration: It is not that Israel does not listen. It is that Israel does not listen and still succeeds. Shmuel Rosner is the political editor at The Jewish Journal, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute and a contributing opinion writer. [Journalist Haviv Rettig Gur] To my liberal friends abroad who fear Israel is collapsing into fascism because, well, they read Haaretz.... - Haviv Rettig Gur | Facebook [January 28, 2016 at 12:45 PM] To my liberal friends abroad who fear Israel is collapsing into fascism because, well, they read Haaretz, here's the latest evidence that reading Haaretz can be hazardous to your capacity to actually understand (as opposed to just rail hysterically about) Israeli society and politics. But, inasmuch as it is identified with the broader Israeli left, it is hard to think of any single voice or political actor that has done more damage to that left's prospect in the only arena that counts: the mind of Israeli voters. _____ Jeffrey Goldberg causes stir with online jabs at Israeli media In Twitter fight, US journalist says he may stop reading left-leaning Haaretz; calls Jerusalem Post 'nuts' and Times of Israel 'very reliable' By JTA 2 August 2016 "I like a lot of the people at Haaretz, and many of its positions, but the cartoonish anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism can be grating. Jeffrey Goldberg (@jeffreygoldberg) | TweetSave Jeffrey Goldberg: "To read anti-Semitic articles I do not need the 'HAARETZ'" Aug 9, 2016 - In a conversation with Walla Bernja The senior commentator of Atlantic who tweeted last week against the newspaper Not only does he not retract, but even basing them with additional arguments... ____ Haviv Rettig Gur Continuing yesterday's saga, Haaretz's world news editor literally declares himself an anti-Zionist. Progressive friends, critics of Israel who nevertheless respect and love this nation, Haaretz is not your newspaper. Keep reading it, certainly, but don't make the mistake of thinking what you're reading is filtered through editorial judgment that deserves your trust or agrees with your ideals. Something dishonest is happening at Haaretz, and it's a damn shame. We need a progressive voice in this country that doesn't let itself turn into a fawning parrot for the latest anti-Zionist fashion abroad, but speaks to us Israelis, to our experience and concerns, and tries to convince us its vision is better. That's not Haaretz, at least not anymore. If all you know about Israel is filtered through Haaretz, then alas, despite some wonderful and indispensable journalists who work there, your view of Israel is being shaped by a disdainful elitism that has largely given up on this country and is uninterested in explaining it beyond the bounds of its narrow ideology. Haviv Rettig Gur (@havivrettiggur) Tweeted: Judean Peoples Front (@JudeanPF) Tweeted [July 17, 2017]: ____ Are Beatles to Blame for the Occupation? By Liel Leibovitz If Sgt. Pepper symbolizes anything," Shor wrote, "it symbolizes the Israeli culture of uniformity and its absolute normative sense, not to say hetero-normative, of hegemonic groups within the mainstream that seek to defend their values in an ever-changing reality in which nothing is obvious." ____ Is Haaretz hated by Israelis? [2017 Haaretz enjoys the freedom of the press, a fundamental right guaranteed in Israel. A lot of people criticize Ha'aretz for basically abandoning the Israeli left and becoming a paper that no longer represents those like myself who want democracy, and a two state solution, and freedom of speech. It's basically a paper that is the Israeli version of Electronic Intifada. "Stop living in denial, Israel is an evil state." Without Googling, which one was a feature in an Israeli newspaper of Haaretz and which one was written in a foreign press by the counsel for Hamas? ____ Haaretz plumbs 'new low' after calling terror victim a 'racist' 12 Apr 2016 Deputy Defense Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan (Jewish Home) harshly criticized Haaretz Tuesday, after television and film critic Rogel Alpher called a film shown in memory of terror victim Dafna Meir "racist." "It seems that there's no limit to the lows Haaretz can reach," Ben-Dahan stated. "Haaretz stopped being Zionist a long time ago." "As is typical of leftists, Rogel Alpher — instead of dealing with the unique character of Dafna Meir — threw around the usual leftist accusations, 'racism' and 'occupation'," he added. A Palestinian teenager stabbed Meir, a mother of six, to death in Othniel in January, in front of her children. "Dafna Meir was an icon for the Jewish people, and she will continue to be." ... ____ Haaretz Smears American Terrorism Expert with Political Hit Job While Haaretz attacked Emerson for being a Republican who is friends with Sheldon Adelson, the sources it relied upon did not actually refute that the U.S. pulled the plug on assisting Israel locate a kidnapped soldier. To be sure, the information provided by Steve Emerson regarding a decision by the U.S. government to stand down on an ongoing attempt to provide the Israeli government with critical information regarding an Israeli soldier whom Hamas claimed it had in its custody during this summer's conflict was shocking. But perhaps just as shocking – or it should be – was a politically driven smear by Haaretz of Emerson's credentials and his alleged political friendships, suggesting that was all that was driving Emerson's claims. Although the Haaretz article claimed Emerson was wrong about the facts that he alleged, its portrayal of the U.S. government's refutation was misleading and its focus ugly – that Emerson, a "right-wing Republican" is a "personal friend" of Sheldon Adelson, who is a "formidable patron of the Republican party and Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu." The Haaretz article stated as fact that Emerson "is a controversial figure in the United States" about whom "members of the Muslim community and the left in the United States" (no names, no numbers, just members) "say he is islamophobic." ____ Israeli leftist newspaper's political cartoon sparks outrage over 9/11 imagery - Ed Hornick October 31, 2014 An editorial cartoon in Israel's Haaretz newspaper is drawing criticism for using Sept. 11 imagery to depict U.S.-Israel relations under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In it, a character resembling Netanyahu is seen flying a small plane into a building that resembles a World Trade Center tower. An American flag flies atop the skyscraper. The cartoon, which appeared Thursday, comes after the Israeli leader was reportedly criticized by an Obama administration official as being a "chickensh**"... ___ Israeli 'Peace Conference' Marred by Violence, Support for IDF Israeli official defended A "peace conference" sponsored by the leftist Israeli newspaper Haaretz devolved into violence on Tuesday when an Israeli government official was heckled and then punched in the back by an attendee, according to reports. Attendees at the Israel Conference on Peace—which was kicked off with an endorsement by President Barack Obama and features a who's who of liberal speakers—began shouting hateful slogans and then accosted Knesset member Naftali Bennett after he defended the government's military action, which was undertaken to stop Hamas terrorists from bombarding civilians with rockets. Left-leaning government officials who spoke at the conference condemned Hamas' aggression and said that Israel must take action to defend itself from these attacks, a message not necessarily shared by many in the audience. Haaretz officials—who publish a paper known for its hostility to Israeli military action, sympathy to the Palestinians, and opposition to the current Israeli government—may have been surprised to see their "peace conference" become a platform for condemnations of Hamas and endorsements of Israeli military strikes on Gaza. The conference opened as Israeli air raid sirens went off, signaling a Hamas attack on Tel Aviv. This followed the launch by Israel of Operation Protective Edge, a narrowly targeted military campaign that comes in response to weeks of rocket attacks by Hamas... ___ Naftali Bennett Physically Attacked at 'Peace Conference' July 8, 2014 Uzi Baruch, Gil Ronen The Minister of Economics, Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett, was verbally and physically assaulted Tuesday in the course of the Peace Conference sponsored by ultra-leftist newspaper Haaretz. Bennett was one of the few speakers invited to the conference from outside of the political left. When he walked up on the stage, boos and catcalls of "fascist" and "murderer" were heard from the audience. Additionally, cries of "Mohammed Abu Khder's blood is on your hands" were heard, a reference to the 16-year-old Arab youth found murdered last Wednesday... The Jewish Home leader used a phrase familiar to smartphone GPS users when he asked rhetorically if it was not time for the left wing to "recalculate its route." He insisted that he, too, wants "to present a vision of peace" – on the condition that it be a true peace. "The Jewish people and the state of Israel do not want war," he explained. "Someone here said, with chutzpah, 'you do.' To my regret, I fought in the first intifada, the second one and the Second Lebanon War. No one in this room can moralize to me about wanting peace. No one in the state of Israel wants peace more than I do." At the end of the speech, as Bennett got down off the stage, a group of roughly 20 to 30 youths tried to physically attack him. One of them succeeded in reaching him and punching him in the back. Bennett no sooner spun around and said "who hit me?" than he was whisked away from the scene by security.... ____ Haaretz 'Fabricated' Story About 'Settler Attack' in Hevron - May 19, 2014 Far-left Israeli newspaper Haaretz has been accused of fabricating an "attack" by Jews celebrating Lag Ba'omer against one of its journalists in Hevron, in an attempt to incite against Jewish residents of the ancient city. The article claimed that "settlers" celebrating Lag Ba'omer on Saturday night chose to light their customary bonfire in the middle of a "Palestinian olive grove", and alleged that a group of Jewish celebrants then "assaulted" a Haaretz journalist who was at the scene as he tried to film it. [...] But Arutz Sheva blogger and Canadian indigenous rights activist Ryan Bellerose, who was visiting Hevron as part of a solidarity and fact-finding mission—and happened to be present at the bonfire—expressed his shock at the story, which he said simply never happened. The event did not take place in an olive orchard of any description—either Jewish or Arab—but rather in a park close to a Jewish-owned house, and officials including police and firemen were present throughout the celebration, Bellerose told Arutz Sheva. ... ____ Demonstration at Ha'aretz Against Amira Hass Apr 7, 2013 Activists from the Petach Tikva headquarters of the Samaria (Shomron) and Binyamin Residents' Councils demonstrated, Sunday, at the Tel Aviv offices of the Ha'aretz daily in response to a column by the newspaper's Amira Hass, in which she called stone throwing "the right and the duty of anyone living under foreign rule". The demonstrators hung a giant banner on the building which included pictures of infants Yehonatan Palmer, who was killed with his father, when terrorists smashed the windshield of their car in the Kiryat Arba' area of Judea, and Adelle Biton, who has been sedated and on artificial respiration... ____ Haaretz 'Apartheid' Survey is False and Biased October 30, 2012 Analysis: Haaretz 'Apartheid' Survey is False and Biased Oct. 30, 2012.- A recent survey presented by "Haaretz" newspaper claimed that the majority of Jews in Israel advocate the establishment of an apartheid ... http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/10/30/analysis-haaretz-apartheid-survey-is-false-and-biased/ ____ Journalist Blau gets 4 months community service 'Haaretz' reporter sentenced for aggravated espionage, after pleading guilty to obtaining classified information from Anat Kamm. By YONAH JEREMY BOB SEPTEMBER 3, 2012 ___ Haaretz' could not be more wrong – or misleading In its attempts to portray IDF soldiers as violators of judicial rulings and war criminals, the newspaper would not let itself be distracted by the actual facts. By BEN-DROR YEMINI APRIL 20, 2010 In its attempts to portray IDF soldiers as violators of judicial rulings and war criminals, the newspaper would not let itself be distracted by the actual facts. Many in the media say that what Anat Kamm uncovered was an important revelation. The IDF, they claim, violated High Court of Justice orders, and conducted targeted killings while violating judicial guidelines. The IDF, they continue to assert, committed war crimes, and there is no journalist out there who would have remained silent, were he or she to receive documented proof of this. Let us put aside the thousands of documents that have nothing to do with the leaks she gave to Haaretz journalist Uri Blau and which contain military information with no journalistic value. And let us put aside the fact that the IDF was forced to alter its military plans due to the stolen information. And the fact that the possession of such material constitutes a criminal offense, which an Israeli paper is aiding. Let us deal with the heart of the matter this time. Were the documents revealed and brought before the public indeed proof that the IDF violated judicial orders? The headline, at the time, was "The chief-of-staff and IDF leadership authorized killings of wanted and innocent men." The word "innocent" appears almost 20 times in the article in which the documents were published. The impression is that the IDF has been committing war crimes, an impression Haaretz intentionally attempted to create. ____ 'Haaretz fiddled with Obama poll' Pollster says paper used figures misleadingly to make Obama look good. By Gil Stern Stern HOFFMAN MARCH 22, 2010 Haaretz misled readers to give the impression that an overwhelming majority of Israelis see US President Barack Obama as "fair and friendly" toward the country, the newspaper's pollster, Tel Aviv University professor Camil Fuchs, said on Sunday. Both the English and Hebrew editions of Friday's Haaretz led with the headline "Poll: Most Israelis see Obama as fair, friendly toward Israel." The English edition elaborated near a picture of Obama that "69% say Obama is fair and friendly." The story itself gives no numbers, but the lead says "A sweeping majority of Israelis think his treatment of this country is friendly and fair." The English edition contains no graphic distributing the actual numbers, either online or in print. The print and online versions of the newspaper's Hebrew edition included a graphic indicating that just 18 percent of respondents considered Obama "friendly" toward Israel, 3 percentage points fewer than the 21% who called the president "hostile" to the Jewish state. ___ Police investigating Ha'aretz reporter Hammerman described illegally helping Palestinian teens into Israel. By LAHAV HARKOV JUNE 18, 2010 Israel Police is investigating Ha'aretz reporter Ilana Hammerman for helping three Palestinian girls illegally enter Israel and disturbing a police officer, The Jerusalem Post learned on Friday. Hammerman wrote an article entitled "If there is a heaven" in which she described how she brought 18-year-old Palestinian girl Aya and her two cousins into Israel without permits, for "a day of fun" in Tel Aviv, during which she lied to an undercover police officer. ____ Shame on 'Haaretz' Many policies promoted by paper are supportive of Israel's adversaries. We frequently boast that notwithstanding its limitations, the Israeli media is unfettered by government intervention and could serve as a role model for a free press in any democracy. As in most Western countries, Israeli journalists are inclined to the Left and substantially outnumber the more conservative-minded. In fact, one constantly hears complaints that to hold right-wing views is a major stumbling block in obtaining promotion in the media world. But that is not unique to Israel. The majority of Israelis who read a newspaper on a daily basis read one of the tabloids. In that sense, the broadsheet Haaretz stands alone. It presents as a serious liberal newspaper and aspires to assume the mantle of a Hebrew-language counterpart to The New York Times. Despite a limited circulation, it is extraordinarily influential and read by most opinion makers. Its news coverage and access to inside information exceeds that of the tabloids. However, whereas it carries superb pieces on culture and society, with especially insightful articles on religious issues, its frequent endorsement of radical policies does tend to increasingly link Haaretz with fringe rather than mainstream opinion. Indeed, many would even argue that a considerable proportion of Haaretz editorials and op-ed columns are politically off the wall. Its op-ed and magazine articles demonizing Israel and inclined toward post-Zionism are increasingly being quoted by Arabs and anti-Israeli propagandists. In fact, a man from Mars observing the level of the newspaper's frequent vitriolic condemnations of Israeli governments could understandably be misled into believing that some Haaretz writers are consciously acting as propagandists for the Palestinian cause. CURRENT EDITOR David Landau .. NEEDLESS to say, this casts an ugly shadow on a daily newspaper purporting to represent the highest levels of journalistic integrity. It is now widely accepted that many policies promoted by Haaretz are effectively supportive of Israel's adversaries. In fact, Nahum Barnea, the distinguished Yediot Aharonot columnist, went so far as to describe senior Haaretz journalists Gideon Levy, Amira Haas and Akiva Eldar as failing to pass the "lynch test" - i.e., even failing to condemn Palestinians when they murdered two Israelis in a lynch mob in Ramallah at the onset of the second intifada. More recently, consistent with frequent Haaretz depictions of Israel as a racist entity, the paper's chief Arab affairs expert, Danny Rubinstein, told a UN body that Israel was indeed an apartheid state. Of course, behind this torrid situation stands the publisher of Haaretz, Amos Schocken, who is personally convinced that Israel does indeed practice apartheid. BUT IT was only recently that Landau threw away all semblance of journalistic integrity and publicly confessed to crossing the ultimate red line that distinguishes reputable journalism from propaganda. According to The Jerusalem Post, at the recent Russian Limmud Conference in Moscow, Landau, one of the few non-Russian-speaking participants, dropped a bombshell. He stunned those present by boasting that his newspaper had "wittingly soft-pedalled" alleged corruption by Israeli political leaders including prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert, when, in the opinion of Haaretz, the policies of those leaders were advancing the peace process. When participants challenged him concerning the morality of such an approach, Landau responded with the extraordinary assertion that "more immorality happens every day at a single roadblock [in Judea and Samaria] than in all the scandals put together." He then unashamedly assured those present that Haaretz was ready to repeat the process in order "to ensure that Olmert goes to Annapolis." Even former Bolsheviks in the audience must have gasped at such views, openly stated, which incorporated all the hallmarks of the Stalinist era. It is surely scandalous for the top editor of what purports to be a reputable and prestigious daily newspaper to publicly proclaim - and take pride in - having deliberately "soft-pedalled" and possibly even covered up acts of corruption by senior political leaders in order to promote his own political agenda, and, moreover, boast that his paper would continue to do so in the future. Could one, for instance, visualize The New York Times suppressing information about an American president involved in corruption out of a desire to promote the administration's foreign policy objectives? No newspaper of integrity in the world would tolerate an editor making such an outrageous statement. THE ISRAELI Press Council code of ethics contains clauses explicitly condemning such practices. Article 40 (and 16a): "A newspaper or a journalist shall not refrain from publishing information where there is a public interest in its publication, including for reasons of political, economic or other pressures." Article 7: "Mistakes, omissions or inaccuracies which are in the publication of facts must be corrected speedily…." If in the face of such violations of their charter by the editor of one of their most prestigious newspapers the Press Council fails to publicly condemn such behavior, it should be dissolved and the public must demand an accounting. Exploiting a newspaper as a propaganda vehicle for a clique of leftist ideologues willing to do anything, including suppressing or "soft-pedalling" information about potentially criminal actions in order to pursue a private agenda must not be tolerated in a country which purports to adhere to ethical and democratic norms of conduct. Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments". Reader comments (39) on this item
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