I thought Chris Matthews, a Catholic, would betray a hint of compassion for the persecuted people of Gaza. But tonight he was shockingly callous re the flotilla raid:
What is the main criticism of Israel? Matthews asks Janine Zacharia of the Washington Post, and what does she say– she says Israel could have gone about stopping the ships in a better way. Neither mentions the core issue here that has alarmed the world and that animated the flotilla: the siege, the collective punishment of 1.5 million people because of who they voted for, their isolation and humiliation, and the stripping of all human dignity. No mention of the fact that these people are compelled to live in an open-air prison, cannot get cement to rebuild, their factories were all destroyed, and their scholarship students can’t get out to better their lives, their children lack medical care.
Matthews pipes the Israeli line. The flotilla members "all" had knives and clubs. A "lynch," Zacharia echoes Israeli statements. The Israelis commandos were shot and knifed, she says.
Matthews, who exulted over all the "ethnic names" in the Pennsylvania primary last week, has never covered the Israel lobby though he knows it undergirds our politics. "I think this one is an unfair shot at Israel, very unfair," he concludes.
