It comes as no surprise that a newspaper owned by Mort Zuckerman, an ardent Zionist, would be anti-Palestinian and that it would strongly oppose efforts to break the Israeli naval blockade by sending a flotilla of ships to Gaza. But a recent editorial printed by the Zuckerman-owned New York Daily News is a particularly egregious example of U.S. media's aversion to the facts on Israel/Palestine. The bald-faced lies--which follow recent Israeli pronouncements about the "terrorists" organizing the upcoming international flotilla to break the Israeli blockade--printed would be laughable only if it wasn't going to be read by thousands of people.
The editorial states:
Sponsors of the flotilla are happily playing with fire, as they did a year ago in sailing into the blockade under the guise of delivering medicines and the like to Gaza. In fact, some of those ships carried suicidal fighters instead of useful goods. Nine of the brigands died when Israeli commandos were forced to board and came under assault.
To claim that those aboard the Mavi Marmara were the aggressors is to completely invert reality. The attack was conducted in international waters after Israel cut off all communications from the ships and surrounded the flotilla with over 20 naval vessels and warships, along with multiple helicopters. In addition to the 45 highly-trained and heavily-armed commandos who rappelled onto the largest ship, the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, murdering at least 9 civilians and wounding about 60 more, about 650 other Israeli troops, including surveillance and support troops alongside those who actually boarded the ships, took part in the illegal assault on the flotilla.
And then there's these howlers:
No one of any credibility disputes that Israel's blockade is legal under international law. In coordination with Egypt, Israel barred sea-going shipments into Gaza in 2009 after years of Palestinian mortar and rocket attacks on Jewish soil.
As a board of inquiry put it:
"Israel imposed the naval blockade on the Gaza Strip for military-security reasons, which mainly concerned the need to prevent weapons, terrorists and money" from entering.
The UN has recognized the blockade's legitimacy under international law. Now, it must prevent this perilous propaganda ploy.
First of all, the naval blockade has been in place since 2007, along with the land and air blockade--not 2009 as the editorial claims. The "board of inquiry" the Daily News refers to is the Turkel Commission, the name for the Israeli investigation into the flotilla events--hardly a neutral source of facts about the blockade of Gaza.
And finally, it appears that Zuckerman's newspaper likes to make up facts. The UN has not "recognized the blockade's legitimacy under international law." In fact, various UN reports have labeled the blockade illegal. The UN fact-finding mission on the 2008-09 Gaza conflict, known as the Goldstone report, stated that the blockade was a form of collective punishment and that it was therefore in "violation of the provisions of article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention." The UN report on the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara also clearly states that the blockade is illegal. In 2009, the Associated Press reported that "U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay has accused Israel of violating the rules of war with its blockade stopping people and goods from moving in and out of the Gaza Strip."
Nima Shirazi is a political commentator from New York City. His analysis of United States policy and Middle East issues, particularly with reference to current events in Iran, Israel, and Palestine, can also be found in numerous other online and print publications, as well as his own website, WideAsleepInAmerica.com.
Alex Kane, a freelance journalist based in New York City, blogs on Israel/Palestine and Islamophobia in the United States at alexbkane.wordpress.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexbkane.
“Israeli commandos were forced to board”
Bwahaha, by what?
“Jewish soil”
Who knew Zuckerman was in bed with Nazi thought? The proper term would be “Israeli soil”, since Israel is the name of the country his propagandist talks about. I bet Julius Streicher is happy that his deserved place in hell will be less lonely one day.
Zuckerman is a traitor to the USA. Yet he gets to keep his powerful propaganda media.
‘Nine of the brigands died when Israeli commandos were forced to board and came under assault.’
I laughed out loud at the hokey term ‘brigands,’ which recalls heavy-handed rants against ‘hooligans’ from the Soviet era.
But when you look past the anachronistic boilerplate, one of the nine was an American citizen, Furkan Dogan. Not only does the Daily News fail to mention this, it sides completely with the foreign military commandos who brutally murdered him.
Which goes to show that when it comes to zionists such as Zuckerman, the label of ‘dual loyalty’ is no canard. But I could be wrong — perhaps his sole loyalty is to Israel.
It strikes me that someone would have good grounds for a lawsuit here, involving defamation. Perhaps the Dogan family.
I was thinking exactly the same thing. Seems to me that a good case could be made against the Daily So-Called News on grounds of actionable libel.
Lies? What’s new? It’s hard to find anyone in support of Israel’s illegal activities that isn’t either a blatant liar or completely naive.
“No one with any credibility disputes…”
Because people like President of Switzerland have “no credibility”. Makes me wonder what does the word mean.
Unfortunately, the mountain of non sequitur does not fall of the printed page, so one can claim that black is white and the ink does not change color. Like “suicidal” because they were executed. “Forced to board”, this is interesting. Then the detail like shooting in the face the wounded people who were prone on the deck was in “self defense” because someone else was beaten up an hour earlier sounds almost subtle.
>> The bald-faced lies–which follow recent Israeli pronouncements about the “terrorists” organizing the upcoming international flotilla to break the Israeli blockade–printed would be laughable only if it wasn’t going to be read by thousands of people.
This is what happens when Zio-supremacists apply “common sense” and “nuances” to situations. Next thing you know, the squeamish ones are “holding their noses” while their hardier co-collectivists indulge in “required” evil.
We can always count on the wet-mouthed, rat-faced, mousy-voiced Mort “The Wart” Zuckerman to fleece Americans blind, and when it comes to our personal safety to lie, snooker, and betray us so that Apartheid Israel will be free to keep crucifying the Palestinians.
Big news! The Gaza blockade is ending, at least on its Egyptian end: Ha’aretz: Egypt FM: Gaza border crossing to be permanently opened:
Good riddance. The Palestinians should take all of their business to Egypt.
eee : Good work. Keep up with that ethnic cleansing theme.
eee
Exactly what have the majority of Palestinians ever done to you that you’re so filled with hatred?
They happened to be there already in the “land without people, for a people without land.”
Everyone should take their business to Egypt or anywhere else other than Israel or it’s supporters. Glad you agree.
Finally! I guess eee sees now the merits of BDS ;)
They would. In fact, if your soldiers and sailors stopped behaving like brigands and pirates, there would be plenty of business the Palestinians could take with Egypt, and the rest of northern Africa, and Europe, and…
One of the tings which bothers the hell out of me about these Zionists, including some of those who comment on Mondoweiss, is the ease with which they lie. I don’t mean twist, or misunderstand, or obvious bias, I mean flat out brazenly lie. Zero intellectual integrity.
Spoiled American brats bother you? This particular version are hardly unique. Suburbia is Disneyland. Never rebelled, never grew up. Sometimes, I actually feel sorry for them. Wasted pathetic lives with nothing of their own, just pol-parroting the indoctrination of their mommies and daddies. That’s all about to end in many, many ways. Hint, watch the dollar index. When it hits 71.8(maybe next week), a waterfall event. This particular American nonsense and much else is about to come to an abrupt end. Can’t wait to see the looks on their faces.
Hej!
Keith, I feel the same way. The incessant lying by Israel apologists is infuriating. I almost got used to the predictable endless distortions, half-truths, denials and lies by omission but for the past few years, I find the amount of blatant lies that I’ve encountered, simply mind-boggling.
Could it be that their Hasbara nonsense has been so often and thoroughly debunked by now by so many, that all they are left with is just making ludicrous stuff up?
It is just me, or was that strange turn of phrase meant to evoke images of suicide bombers (of the really scary Islamic type, naturally)?
I think it was meant to open up the writer’s mind and reveal the swamp of mean-spirited, racist bullsh-t that lives therein.
Probably an added bonus, but I think it was specifically meant to remove all responsibility for the deaths from Israeli shoulders. After all, they were “suicidal” and they forced the Israelis to kill them. ‘If only they loved their lives more than they hated Jews, the IDF wouldn’t have had to shoot them. ‘ Let the weeping commence. Come on, you know the drill.
So the Daily News is literally recycled garbage. Does that make it environmentally friendly?
Hey, does anybody even read the NY Daily Snooze anymore? Isn’t it hemorrhaging Zuck’s family fortune like there’s no tomorrow? The editorial page is far right of J-Post, and has no American interest at heart. Seriously, does anyone really take the NYDN seriously? Zuckerman is a buffoon.
The good news is that 6 of the 9 comments under the NY Daily News hasbara article called it just that in one way or another. The rag stuck a big pic of a Palestinian boy shopping in a well-stock food store right in the middle of its article. See, they haven’t been put on “a diet.” Reminds me of the video clip Glen Beck showed–of Palestinian ladies shopping at a brand new modern Mall in their own land. No doubt about it the handsome Zuckerman tells it like it is.
my question is there anything we can do about flagrant lies.Where is the limit in a newspaper to publish wrong information especially if it is not an opinion piece.can they be force to publish a retractation if they are proven wrong? i would like to know if there is any ethical standard in newspaper to follow.otherwise might as well believe aliens have been found in the sewers of new york and will be guess speakers at aipac
In case anyone is interested, I have posted some additional observations on the Daily News editorial, not included in the above article, over at my website.
Click here!
Thanks, NimaShirazi. Your blog does provide really good in depth coverage of just precisely how lying Zuckerman’s rag is.
Mort has done his successful best to keep the facts on the ground out of the MSM and keep the wall of silence up in the MSM
I remember as a kid, when the NY Daily News was owned by the Paterson and McCormick families, what an insanely right-wing anti-Communist rag it was.
What’s the political distance between midwestern isolationism to eastern cosmoploitan divided loyalties?
Now it’s an insanely right-wing Likudist rag which tries [perhaps in a futile attempt at mitigation for it's loathesome ME positions] to be a somewhat liberal-populist working class mouthpiece. A nice example of the Progressive Except Palestine position.
And here I thought the Daily News was the current version of “Mad Magazine”. You know, “What me worry” Or am I just showing my age?