Haaretz Salman Masalha 'Arab racism' & apartheid slur

Submitted by Farid (United States), Oct 27, 2022 at 09:37

Racism in the name of anti-racism

By David Bernstein, June 5, 2014

You can't make this stuff up. Ha'aretz published an essay by one Salman Masalha, an Arab citizen of Israel who is a prominent poet, who vehemently objects to the fact that he was subject to additional security questioning at Ben-Gurion Airport. Israel, unlike the United States, openly engages in ethnic profiling for security purposes. But this post isn't about whether or to what extent this is justified.

Rather, it's about an article so thick with irony you can cut it with a knife. In between denouncing brutal Israeli racism and pronouncing that it has no right to exist (so brutal is the racism that he writes this column without apparent fear of repercussion, but that's the secondary irony), Masalha describes the airport security official who questions him:

'Soon, they reappeared, this time with the reinforcement of a muscular man who carried himself like a senior security figure.The muscle, named Ophir, must have thought that the leader of some terror organization had fallen into his hands and that maybe he'd get to expose him and rise in the ranks of nagging and hassling, the sacred "Jewish-democratic" work from the school of Zionism's (sic) racists.

How long have you been living in Jerusalem? Where did you live before that? and Where are you from originally?" he asked, along with other questions.

Ophir was a young, darkish security man, perhaps a descendant of converts from the Arabian Peninsula, perhaps from the Atlas Mountains. But one thing was clear, his black color looked very shabby, tattered and stained with evil.'

Like I said, you can't make this stuff up.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/06/05/racism-in-the-name-of-anti-racism/

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When responding to imaginary racism in real racism

Salman Masalha wrote in Haaretz that the state of "Z.....t evil" "has no right to exist", all because of some questions he was asked at Ben Gurion Airport. And also: why was it important for him to emphasize the "black color" of the security guard?

Yishai Goldflam - 06/11/14

In other words, according to Masalha's testimony, he was received at the gates of Ben Gurion Airport kindly, approached with one technical question while waiting in line for check-in, and again, a few moments later, while several other questions were of an informative technical nature. On this minor incident, Masalha was so furious that he came out in a froth against the "racists of Z.....m" from the "rotten kingdom of I....l," the same "men" whose "little heads" brazenly ask him the "usual stupid questions." The same "Ophir." Who seemed to him to be of Oriental descent, described as follows:

Ophir is a young and black security man. Perhaps a descendant of converts from the southern Arabian Peninsula, and perhaps from the Atlas Mountains. But one thing was clear as sun, its black color looked very faded, tattered and stained with evil.

The effluent that he poured on the State of Israel was wiped out by Masalha in a statement that "there is no right to exist" for the state of "Z... evil", which deserves, a Nazi like her, to come next time at the gates of its airport with a yellow badge. And Haaretz found all this worthy of publication.

When the newspaper's publisher, Amos Schocken, was asked on Twitter if he did not think Masalha's tongue was racist ("his black color looks very faded"), he initially said no, as "indistinguishable from the context", but eventually agreed and admitted that it might make sense. Of Masalha, who interpreted his experience in the field as racism towards him, was "to respond in racist language to show that racism can be two-way." In other words, the Haaretz publisher admits that his newspaper gave rise to a racist remark by one of his writers.

Zero kidnappings since 1968

If we extend the discussion beyond the author's racist and extremist language, then Foam goes against the "profiling" method - the selective inspection method used at Ben-Gurion Airport, which concentrates the security check on people whose profile, consisting of their religion, national affiliation or origin, May pose a danger in some data. Since Haaretz has sharply chosen to categorize the method, it is worthwhile to understand what the profiling method is, what its advantages and disadvantages are and what has been done over the years to improve and reduce as much as possible the discomfort and humiliation it may cause Israeli Arabs ...
https://presspectiva.org.il/%D7%9B%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%9C%D7%92%D7%96%D7%A2%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%9E%D7%93%D7%95%D7%9E%D7%94-%D7%91%D7%92%D7%96%D7%A2%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%AA%D7%99/
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Arab racism? Rats!

By Yisrael Medad, June 7, 2014

For decades, Arabs claimed they cannot be anti-Semites.

Why?
Because they are Semites themselves. And there are many who are taken in by that.

The caption reads, "the rats are coming". And one comment reads: "isn"t it time for a cat?"
Rats [Nazi Propaganda Film] is a classic anti-Semitic frame.

There is also Salman Masalha's racism defended by Amos Schocken published by his Haaretz. Including this:

'The muscle, named Ophir, must have thought that the leader of some terror organization had fallen into his hands and that maybe he'd get to expose him and rise in the ranks of nagging and hassling, the sacred "Jewish-democratic" work from the school of Zionism's (sic) racists.

'...Ophir was a young, darkish security man, perhaps a descendant of converts from the Arabian Peninsula, perhaps from the Atlas Mountains. But one thing was clear, his black color looked very shabby, tattered and stained with evil.'

So, there is racism in Arab/Muslim society (and Amos S. supports it).

At least we are all clear now about that.
https://www.jpost.com/blogs/green-lined/green-lined/arab-racism-rats-363738

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Promoting Hate Speech: Haaretz Plumbs New Depths

Simon Plosker, June 5, 2014

Haaretz's publisher Amos Schocken recently made clear in an open call for subscribers that he sees his newspaper as a tool to advance a particular politicized agenda. But just how far is Haaretz willing to go? Judging by an opinion piece, Haaretz has crossed the line from legitimate criticism into outright hatred towards the state of Israel.
In his piece... Salman Masalha, an Israeli Arab...

While Masalha accuses Israel of being a racist state,... he may wish to reflect on his own choice of words when describing the senior Israeli security officer whom is the object of his rage:

'Ophir was a young, darkish security man, perhaps a descendant of converts from the Arabian Peninsula, perhaps from the Atlas Mountains. But one thing was clear, his black color looked very shabby, tattered and stained with evil.'

It is astonishing that a newspaper that promotes its "liberal" sensitivities could allow a sentence such as this to get past the editorial process. It does however, reveal that Masalha is driven by the same racism he claims to be a victim of.
Ultimately, were the language of hate in this Haaretz opinion piece to appear in a foreign media outlet, it would provoke outrage. That it appears in an Israeli news source considered by foreign journalists to be the Israeli paper of record gives legitimacy to the language of delegitimization.
Haaretz has a right to criticize Israel but it also has a responsibility not to publish hate speech and the open questioning of Israel's very right to exist. Is it any surprise that some foreign media outlets have few qualms about publishing similar screeds if they can find them in Haaretz?
https://honestreporting.com/promoting-hate-speech-haaretz-plumbs-new-depths

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