Killing Israelis – Music to the ears of NYT and CNN

Jack Engelhard

Jack Engelhard’s classic international bestselling novel Indecent Proposal, which later became a worldwide hit movie, has been republished to meet readers’ demands. His other major works include Compulsive: A Novel, his award-winning post-Holocaust Montreal memoir Escape from Mount Moriah, plus Slot Attendant: A Novel About A Novelist. His website: www.jackengelhard.com

It keeps getting better for The New York Times and for killers everywhere.

This morning’s paper offers a cheerful report about Palestinians who’ve put their “anger” to music – soundtracks to harmonize their knifing spree.

The Times, always in tune with the Palestinians and their “anger,” sings along with what it calls “political songs as a way to make the Palestinian people get up and resist.” Plainly, killing Jews is music to the ears of Palestinian “teenagers” and to the reporters and editors ofThe New York Times.

A group of these Palestinian “teenagers” – burly men of rock-throwing age – have compiled a list of their top 10 knifings accompanied by bloodcurdling lyrics, so let’s dance, says the Times…let’s rock, says the Times, let’s roll, says the Times, let’s glorify the knifing, the stabbing, the firebombing of any and all Israelis, says the Times.

Clap hands with Times’ reporters Jodi Rudoren and Rami Nazzal who call it “inspirational,” namely, say, such hits as “Stab, Stab,” not to mention the ever popular “Stab the Zionist and say god is great.” Not quite Gershwin.

Other melodies like that have the full support of the Times, which quotes this satisfied Palestinian customer:

“The thrumming score has helped PUMP HIM UP for near-daily demonstrations where he hurls rocks at Israeli soldiers.”

Beautiful, in the eyes of The New York Times.

Wonderful, in the eyes of The New York Times.

Good going, says the Times.

More, more Jewish blood, says the Times.

That is the way to bring up kids. Rocks,knives, guns, stab, hate, kill – terrific way to inspire the next generation.

This is “the paper of record,” my son, read by millions, so do not be astonished that the world is going to hell in a handbasket.

Do not be amazed that no Jew, or Christian, can feel safe anywhere and that no Arab can be trusted any place.

The news media have turned the world upside down, yes, sweet is bitter, bitter is sweet, day is night, night is day.

Lest we forget CNN, “The Most Trusted Name In News.” 

Okay, now TRUST this headline from last night:

“Palestinians Shot Boarding Kids’ Bus.”

Oh those poor Palestinians…oh but wait, because here’s the real story. These were Hamas terrorists preparing to shoot up Jewish kids on the bus.

Truth? Honesty? Integrity? Are you kidding?

Guess what? He’s right. Hamas warlord Ismail Haniyeh says that the Palestinian Arabs have won the media war as to the current Palestinian Arab temper tantrum. He says so sneeringly, menacingly and pridefully. He’s got the proof. He’s got the evidence. He’s got the news media in his pocket.

His pride. Our shame.

In the newsroom thriller “The Bathsheba Deadline” the question arises as to whether to use the courtesy title Mr. for Mahmoud Abbas, hence Mr. Abbas. Everybody else says yes. Editor Jay Garfield says no. Garfield says that the minute you give even the slightest honor to such evil men you dishonor the entire world and launch chaos.

“But,” someone says, “The Times used Mr. for Arafat and even for Adolph Hitler.”

“Precisely my point.”

New York-based author and bestselling novelist Jack Engelhard writes a regular column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author of the international classic “Indecent Proposal” now followed by the newsroom thriller “The Bathsheba Deadline.” Engelhard is the recipient of the Ben Hecht Award for Excellence in Journalism. Website: www.jackengelhard.com

CNN Lies about the Palestinian Olive Trees ...Don Melvin of CNN a liar,

News or propaganda? CNN publishes outlandish claim of 'settlers' uprooting hundreds of olive trees - without bothering to fact-check.

CNN has faced an online backlash after issuing a report claiming that "settlers" had uprooted 800 Palestinian-owned olive trees near Hevron - based purely on unverified allegations by PA-based outlets with questionable records on fact-checking themselves.

CNN London-based "digital news desk editor" Don Melvin wrote the piece, entitled: "Israeli settlers reportedly chop down 800 Palestinian olive trees" on Sunday.

The report which follows is a truly bizarre patchwork of unverified claims:

The official Palestianian (sic) news agency is reporting that Israeli settlers have chopped down and seized about 800 Palestinian-owned olive trees near the town of Shuyukh, east of Hebron.

The report, by WAFA, the Palestine News & Information Agency, cited "a local source," whom it did not identify. Israel has yet to comment on the report.

The source, described by WAFA as "a local activist," told the agency that residents of the Israeli settlements of Bani Kadim and Asfar broke into an olive orchard near the town and chopped down the trees, which belonged to people who lived in the area.

PA-based outlets regularly report such alleged instances of Jewish "settlers" uprooting astonishingly large quantities of olive trees within an impossibly short period of time. 

One such report earlier this year by Bethlehem-based Maan News Agency - which claimed that  5,000 trees had been uprooted in one night near Shiloh in Samaria - nearly ended up provoking a major incident between armed US Consulate guards and an Israeli security team from the village of Adei Ad. 

Interestingly, the outlandish figure of 5,000 was later revised to 500 - but no evidence was provided and locals (including this reporter) were unable to identify any trace of such an incident of any scale.

But aside from the lack of fact-checking dubious sources, and the absence of any pictorial evidence or documentation of such an extensive alleged attack, several online responses pointed to the unlikelihood of an incident of such a mammoth scale taking place at all (let alone undocumented) - including the pro-Israel Elder of Ziyon blog:

What does “chopped down and seized” mean? 400 chopped down and 400 seized? Or did they chop down 800 olive trees and then put them onto a convoy of trucks to cart them away?

It takes a long time to chop down a mature olive tree. New saplings, which are often planted by Palestinians in order to steal public land, are relatively easy to uproot, but this says “chopped down and seized.”

No photos. No videos. No named sources. No corroboration. WAFA reports a story that matches none of the normal standards of journalism- and CNN parrots it under the guise of only reporting what anti-Israel Arab media is saying.

But there was more - with a healthy dose of "said" and "reported" to cover his bases - Melvin's appetite for unverified hearsay apparently not satiated:

Israel forces said not to protect Palestinians from violence

The news agency quoted the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem as saying that Israeli security forces do not always deploy in advance to protect Palestinians from settler violence, even when such violence can be anticipated.

"In some cases, rather than restricting violent settlers, Israeli security forces impose restrictions on the Palestinians," the news report quoted the human rights group as saying.
There are over 500,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Many international leaders say the settlements hinder the chances of achieving a stable peace with two states, one Palestinian and the other Israeli, living side by side.

Incident at Aqsa Mosque also reported

Also Sunday, more than 175 right-wing Jewish extremists entered the Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, escorted by Israel police and security personnel, according to sources inside the mosque. The sources cannot be named for security reasons

Indeed, hundreds of Jewish visitors did legally tour the Temple Mount on Jerusalem Day - abiding by strict draconian laws forbidding non-Muslims to pray there - but why they are characterized quite so menacingly is a mystery.

As media Watchdog Honest Reporting asked:

So where’s the “incident” that CNN refers to? On the basis that Jews as well as tourists are allowed to visit the Temple Mount compound at set hours, is this really an “incident?” And who are these unnamed “sources inside the mosque?”
175 people is a far larger group than would normally be allowed on to the Temple Mount and there are no other media reports in the foreign or Israeli press to suggest anything unusual took place on the Temple Mount on Sunday. Has it occurred to CNN’s reporter that the Palestinians consider any Jew who visits the Temple Mount to be an “extremist?” Was it a group of 175 people or was that merely the total number of visitors to enter the compound on Sunday?

For all the unverified claims by Palestinian or far-left sources, the best Melvin could offer in the way of "the other side" was to state that "CNN is working to get Israeli comment on the assertion" - and apparently still working on it two days later.

Melvin has yet to respond to an offer by Arutz Sheva to provide him with regular updates on Arab attacks - on Jewish civilians, property and agriculture - in Judea and Samaria, which frequently go unreported in CNN.

CNN has lots of eggs on its face!

by Breitbart

All day long yesterday, CNN was relentlessly beating the drum and practically celebrating the forgone conclusion that sitting Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu was about to lose the elections. Every move Netanyahu made over the past few weeks that outraged Obama and his media allies was framed by CNN today as a blunder - from the speech he made before Congress to sounding the alarm today about Israeli Leftists busing Arabs to the polls.

CNN was quite obviously setting up a Narrative to explain and gloat over what polls said was almost certain to be a Netanyahu defeat.

A funny thing happened at 4 pm ET when the exit polls from Israel came in. Netanyahu was tied or slightly ahead. An hour later news reports suggested Netanyahu had already cobbled together enough allies from other parties to form a governing coalition. This means he will remain Prime Minister. This is why he took to Twitter to declare victory.

By 6pm, the biggest story in the world, and one of the biggest electoral upsets in recent memory, was no longer the biggest story on CNN. Despite all the domestic and international ramifications of Netanyahu’s almost certain victory, despite all the backfilling CNN had done all day to “explain” Netanyahu’s defeat, Netanyahu’s upset did not lead CNN’s 6 pm hour with Wolf Blitzer. Netanyahu giving his victory speech did not lead the 7 pm hour with Erin Burnett.

At 6 pm and 7pm, CNN decided that the story of the night was … a single Air Force veteran trying to join ISIS.

At around 7:10 pm, Burnett finally decided it was time to talk about the Israeli elections, and when she did she read a chyron that read, “Is Netanyahu About to Lose?” Not “Too Close to Call.” Not “Bibi Upset Victory?” Nope. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, CNN stuck to its “about to lose” narrative.-

Things got much worse.

An obviously rattled Burnett came back from commercial and then went on to prove she knows absolutely nothing about how the Israeli government works. For some ignorant reason she is under the impression that a tie or something close to it means Netanyahu is weakened and will - this is a direct quote - “have to share a significant amount of power with Isaac Herzog.”

Apparently you can become a primetime CNN anchor without knowing anything about Israel’s coalition government system.

Does anyone have any more questions about why Fox News is now the most trusted name in news?

CNN isn’t alone. But CNN was the news outlet that had gone further out on a limb than any other in gambling big on a Netanyahu loss.

As far as the rest of our unbiased, objective media, let me put it this way: All the planned and hotly anticipated “Did Bibi’s Speech to Congress Backfire?” narratives and thought pieces will not be replaced with “Did Obama’s Meddling In the Israeli Elections Backfire?” narratives and thought pieces.

The media likely lost this one, which can only mean one thing: the world will be a better and safer place.

Now read:

read Commentary’s Jonathan Tobin:

Within moments of the announcement of the exit polls, some of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s critics were claiming his likely win in today’s Knesset election was the result of a crude, racist appeal to voters. 

The justification for this charge was a speech made by Netanyahu and released only on social media because of restrictions on campaign appeals in the media, telling the country that left-wing groups funded by foreign money were busing Arab voters to the polls in order to elect a left-wing government led by his Zionist Union rival Isaac Herzog. Netanyahu’s opponents interpreted this as an appeal to racism. The statement was unfortunate because it made it seem as if the prime minister viewed Arab voters as somehow illegitimate. But the voters likely saw it in a different light. The prospect of a left-wing government that depended on the Joint Arab List was always unlikely. But a critical mass of voters viewed the prospect with alarm not because they’re racists but because a government that relied on the votes of anti-Zionists that favor Israel’s dissolution was something they considered a danger to the future of their country…Though Western journalists mocked Netanyahu’s comments about wanting to prevent a “Hamasistan” in the West Bank, the voters in Israel largely agreed. That doesn’t make them racist or extreme. It means they are, like most Americans, realists. They may not like Netanyahu but today’s results demonstrates that there is little support for a government that would make the sort of concessions to the Palestinians that President Obama would like. They rightly believe that even if Israel did make more concessions it would only lead to more violence, not peace. Israel’s foreign critics and friends need to understand that in the end, it was those convictions have, for all intents and purposes, re-elected Netanyahu.