It is amazing the hateful, bigoted comments directed at Jews these days. It seems as though they are coming from the very people who promote slogans like, “Hate doesn’t live here.” The rhetoric has escalated in recent days as Israel has defended itself from terrorist attacks originating in Gaza. These comments reflect the terrorists’ strategy of interweaving their operations among civilian organizations and the news media so that when retaliation for their attacks commences, innocents are harmed or killed. Then, instead of blaming terrorists, there is international outrage about how the poor “Palestinians” are being murdered by evil Israelis. The evil actions of the terrorists are then essentially justified.
The terrorists hit the jackpot of their strategy when Israel flattened the building that housed Associated Press, al Jazeera and other news reporting organizations. On cue, the media is shaping the narrative that the terrible Israelis bombed the building and journalists were running for their lives because of it. Al Jazeera called the action a “war crime” and called on the “international community to condemn such barbaric actions and targeting of journalists” and demanded that Israel be held accountable for deliberately targeting journalists and media institutions. AP’s story claimed total innocence of any knowledge that the building was used as a headquarters for terrorist organizations like Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said in a statement: “For 15 years, the AP’s top-floor office and roof terrace were a prime location for covering Israel’s conflicts with Gaza’s Hamas rulers, including wars in 2009, 2012 and 2014. The news agency’s camera offered 24-hour live shots as militants’ rockets arched toward Israel and Israeli airstrikes hammered the city and its surrounding area this week. We have had no indication Hamas was in the building or active in the building. This is something we actively check to the best of our ability. We would never knowingly put our journalists at risk.” Pruitt said AP was “shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organizations in Gaza.” The stories ignore Israel’s exhaustive efforts warning occupants prior to bombing the building.
AP’s and Al Jazeera’s responses condemning Israel for the bombing rather than Hamas for using media as a shield doesn’t meet the straight face test. Journalists covering these terrorists cannot reasonably claim they didn’t know terrorists were headquartered in the same building. That the media are sharing quarters with Hamas explains the anti-Israel news bias emanating from these news outlets. These terrorists are evil. They use children, women, journalists, whoever, to hide behind while they do their evil deeds. And when someone gets hurt, there is an international outcry while the terrorists get little criticism from the media. Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.” That includes the media.
