Slater: ‘Times’ self-censorship on Israeli ‘catastrophe’ recalls mum on Holocaust

by on February 13, 2010 5

Jerry Slater:

The Bronner affair is but one example of the many ways in which in its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Times fails to meet its most basic responsibilities as the world’s most influential newspaper: to fully and truthfully report on issues of the highest importance.

During World War II–as Times officials now apologetically acknowledge–the newspaper chose not to publish or downplayed a number of articles about the emerging Holocaust, presumably because it did not want to appear to be excessively concerned with Jewish issues. Today Israel and indeed the United States itself cannot afford continued inadequate coverage, inaccurate analysis, and biased commentary on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel is descending deeper and deeper into catastrophe, perhaps in the end an unimaginable one: if the conflict continues, it is hard to see how nuclear or biological terrorism can be indefinitely avoided. Moreover, it is not just Israeli survival that is at stake; although other issues play a role, thee is not the slightest doubt that rage at U.S. policies towards Israel are a major factor, perhaps the major factor, in the rage of Muslim fanatics towards our country. 

The collapse of the Obama administration’s initial efforts to bring about a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict demonstrates–once again–that there is no chance for serious changes in the continuing U.S. policy of near-unconditional support of Israel without a reeducation of American officials, congressmen, and political elites. A crucial place to begin such a reeducation process would be in the pages of the New York Times.

Tragically, as the Bronner issue and the response of the Times both illustrate and symbolize, the prospects that this will occur are scant. Thirty or forty years from now, once again far too late, will the Times again apologize for its continued failures of truthful and responsible journalism?

About Philip Weiss

Philip Weiss is Founder and Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.
Posted in Beyondoweiss, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine

{ 5 comments... read them below or add one }

  1. Sin Nombre says:
    February 13, 2010 at 11:04 am

    Seems to me that on occasion the Times’ ME coverage is even worse and might be compared to its reporting (or non-reporting) of the famine in the Ukraine under Stalin.

    I don’t know for sure but I don’t think that with the Holocaust the Times went so far as to denigrate or misrepresent those who were saying it was happening. Not so for Walter Duranty’s coverage of the Ukraine. (And indeed for his coverage essentially trying to validate Stalin’s show trials, and otherwise whitewashing just about the entire constellation of the Bolshevik’s crimes while he was in Moscow, which was quite a constellation.)

    It’s one thing to ignore something, quite another to actively contribute to hiding it, lying about it and etc. And even in terms of the pure ugly numbers, the numbers who were murdered or wrecked in the Ukrainian famine and, essentially, the Gulag too that Duranty “missed” has got to be several multiples of the number of jews who died in the Holocaust, as hard as that is to believe.

    Duranty’s criminality—any other word simply seems insufficient—is in fact so clearly established now that you have to wonder how the Times didn’t learn its lesson then about letting politics color its work. Or Mr. Bronner.

    • Donald says:
      February 13, 2010 at 1:14 pm

      “the numbers who were murdered or wrecked in the Ukrainian famine and, essentially, the Gulag too that Duranty “missed” has got to be several multiples of the number of jews who died in the Holocaust, as hard as that is to believe.”

      There’s a wider range of legitimate disagreement over the number of people Stalin killed than there is with the Holocaust, though everyone puts the figure in the multiple millions. For instance, for the Ukrainian famine there was a NYT story last year quoting a Ukrainian historian (who said that Stalin was guilty of deliberate genocide in the Ukraineas opposed to a catastrophic policy mistake), but he went on to say that the death toll was 3.5 million and not ten million. link

      There’s a similar debate about the Gulag–wikipedia has a decent summary of the numbers debate in their Stalin article

      link

  2. Avi says:
    February 13, 2010 at 11:09 am

    …thee[sic] is not the slightest doubt that rage at U.S. policies towards Israel are a major factor, perhaps the major factor, in the rage of Muslim fanatics towards our country.

    Right. Because as we all know, the moderate ones are thankful that the US is bombing them with drones from the air.

  3. Citizen says:
    February 13, 2010 at 4:38 pm

    Say a small prayer for out bounty, and send in the drones. USA thanksgiving day is everyday.

    Even dumb goys learn a little how the game is played in the new century.

  4. Julian says:
    February 15, 2010 at 10:01 am

    We can send American officials to “reeducation” camps to learn the truth from Chairman Slater.
    Sorry jerry I don’t buy your “truth”. You are just another progressive wacko who knows it all. Fortunately the only people who buy into your spin is other progressive wackos.

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