Jan 11, 2010

The Art of the Lie

Jim FletcherBy Jim Fletcher

Saudi Arabia’s “Foreign Minister” Prince Saud al-Faisal says the Arab-Israeli peace process is stuck because of the “preferential treatment” the international community gives Israel.

Come again?

First of all, the Saudis are tribal leaders. They are not international diplomats. They are seventh-century tribal leaders who were handed untold wealth when the Americans found oil there 60 years ago.

Secondly, and most important, al-Faisal knows for sure that his statement is a lie. One of the most outrageous developments of our time is that power players in government and diplomacy tell bald-faced lies about Israel.

And I’ll write more about this later, but there are increasing lies being told about Israel within the Christian community. The one-two punch of Arab/Muslim and Christian propaganda about Israel is a sad commentary on where we are today.

There are other ways to lie, as well. After Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to bring down a Northwest Airlines, ABC’s Diane Sawyer felt it was necessary to claim that Israel “profiles” Muslims during airport security.

This is akin to a London reporter commenting on Scotland Yard’s methods when attempting to apprehend Jack the Ripper.

Israel gets this kind of treatment when the situation is somewhat mild. Imagine what will happen if/when the Jewish state decides to bomb the plans for Auschwitz II in Iran? Michael Freund’s recent, chilling piece about Israel’s dilemma underscore the tortured choices faced by Benjamin Netanyahu.

Were Israel to bomb (or otherwise eliminate) Iran’s nuclear facilities, the international outcry will put the lie to al-Faisal’s contention about Israel. The Israelis would bring down so much condemnation on themselves, one wonders how they’d survive.

(Of course, they will, but that’s a conversation for another time.)

When al-Faisal says that the international community gives Israel preferential treatment…have you ever heard something so comical/diabolical? Since the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinians have perpetrated thousands of terror attacks against Israeli citizens. It seems almost weekly, the United Nations condemns Israel in some way. Foreign diplomats barely disguise their hatred for the Jewish state.

I would argue that the international community hasn’t sided with Israel since…before the state was founded, actually. In late 1947, the U.N. voted to partition Palestine: a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Arabs of course rejected it and have been at war with Israel since then.

I would also argue that the Sawyer piece is dangerous to Israel. I have said for some time that I’ve detected a turning-away from Israel from some surprising quarters. The steady drip-drip of anti-Israel reporting by major American media outlets has the cumulative effect of hardening attitudes. As if people needed more of a reason to hate Jews.

I’ve written about her before, but a decade ago, I had a correspondence with an American reporter who had covered the Middle East for decades. She wrote so many lies about Israel that I was amazed. When Benjamin Netanyahu, in his first stint as prime minister, allowed the opening of a tunnel in the Old City (the tunnel runs away from the Western Wall). This was to allow tourists to be able to exit without turning around in the cramped passageway to exit where they’d entered.

The reporter, parroting Palestinian propaganda, alleged that the tunnel opening threatened the infrastructure of the Al-Aksa Mosque! The tunnel has been there for more than 2,000 years, hundreds of years before the mosque structure was built, and the only construction was to open a space for a doorway.

This type of “reporting”about Israel plays to Arab stereotypes of the Jews. One must ask: why would a few million Jews actively try to enrage a billion Muslims?

It also calls to mind the 2000 visit to the Temple Mount by Ariel Sharon. Surrounded by a seeming legion of police, for protection, Sharon simply toured the Mount. The Palestinians, pushed by Yasser Arafat, alleged that Sharon and the Israelis were defiling what the Arabs call Haram al-Sharif.

We will see these lies increase in frequency and ferocity in the coming years, months, weeks, and days.

We must strengthen our resolve to defend Israel where we can.

Related Links


Saudi FM: Israel spoilt child of intl. lenience - Press TV
Senators won't let Obama freeze aid to Israel - Israel Today
Gaza rocket strikes Negev, as Israel vows to respond - Ha'aretz
Egypt says Israel's border fence "not our concern" - Reuters
Turkey, Lebanon slam Israel, eye partnership - Xinhua
It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine): How to stop worrying and learn to love these End Times - Jim Fletcher (Book)