Amkha Yisrael

Which is more pro-Israel - Israel TV's Channel One, Israel's Yediot Acharonot newspaper or the Los Angeles Times?

Hint: One of them had a long piece September 9th describing how footage from a Netzarim intersection five years ago, purporting to show the shooting death of a boy named Muhammad A-Dura at the hands of the Israelis, was faked. The other two media outlets carried interviews with Muhammad's parents, describing their suffering ever since their son was supposedly killed. In one case, the interviewer even asked two or three times of the mother (called - how could it be otherwise? - Umm Muhammad), "But do you hate the Israelis?"

Give up? Okay, I'll tell you.

The LA Times carried an article on September 9th reviewing the evidence that appears in a Commentary expose by French author Nidra Poller of the A-Dura case, portraying it as a modern-day blood libel.

In contrast, Ynet, the web site of Israel's leading daily newspaper, Yediot Acharonot, carried a sympathetic interview today (September 12) with Jamal A-Dura, Muhammad's father. The article is entitled "God Gave Us the Ability to Forget, I Am Not Able To" and it contains not one word about the extensive evidence that the A-Dura footage was sophisticated PLO-French political theater. Instead, the correspondent, Ali Waked, presents the A-Dura story exactly according to the PLO script, with the exception that he does not claim Israelis shot the boy. Instead, he just says that Muhammad "was killed" during a heavy exchange of gunfire between PLO and Israeli forces. Of course, those images - filmed by an Arab cameraman for a French TV station - became the iconic image of the then-starting Oslo War for the Arab world, with Israel as the executioner.

Similarly, last night (September 11), Israel's public television station, Channel One, carried a teary-eyed video of the whole A-Dura family. They were filmed at Muhammad's grave, in their home, looking at computer "models" of the scene of the gun battle near what was Netzarim, in Gush Katif. Umm Muhammad described - with tears in her eyes, filmed in extreme close-up - how she misses her son and how painful it is, but how "martyrdom" is still the best death. That part of the report, at least, was enlightening, especially when the slain boy's brother is asked if he would also like to die as a "martyr". He answers without hesitating that he definitely would, that "everyone" wants to die as a martyr.

But again, not a word about the evidence that the shooting of Muhammad A-Dura was a staged, Arab-PLO passion play.

So, to all of the loyal philo-Semites who cancelled their subscriptions to the Los Angeles Times over its biased coverage of Israel - I understand. I am considering boycotting much of the Israeli media for the exact same reason.....