Yesterday National Public Radio had a travel report from the Herodium in the occupied West Bank of Palestine, and host Steve Inskeep called the region “Israel’s West Bank.” NPR has now corrected the error at its site– “We incorrectly refer to the West Bank as Israel’s West Bank. We should have called it the Israeli-occupied West Bank.” But why do they do this sort of thing in the first place? Inskeep is an Indiana teacher’s son who has interviewed Obama and Netanyahu and should know this kind of thing.
Maybe he picked up the mistake from the correspondent, David Plotz, who states at his travel website that the Herodium is located in Tall Furaydis, Israel. On NPR, Plotz treated the Herodium as a magic place outside of modern time:
You’re driving through the desert and all of a sudden, this cone juts up from it. And as you get closer, you realize they’ve taken this mountain and built a huge structure on top of it. The they in this case was Herod, the king of Judea. You emerge in this open space at the top of the mountain. You can then look out and have this incredible expansive view of the whole desert around you. So it has a human story and then this strange, artificial wonder about its appearance that are magical for me.
But I’ve been there, and the entrance to the Herodium has a military checkpoint at it, and it neighbors occupied Palestinian villages with huge red signs saying it’s dangerous for any Israeli to enter them. And I’m sure you can see Gush Etzion settlement bloc from the top. Two years ago Israeli archaeologists looted the place to make an exhibition at the Israel Museum, promising they’d return the artifacts. So yes, the Herodium has a human story. A living one of apartheid and exploitation.
Plotz is married to an Israeli, and has bemoaned the alleged absence of nonviolent protest in Palestine. Where is the Gandhi? Etc.
Speaking of NPR, the other day National Public Radio quoted the eminent constitutional lawyer Jules Lobel on the California solitary decision and trailblazing Columbia Law prof Katherine Franke on that Kentucky county clerk’s refusal to grant marriage license because she has a religious objection to same-sex marriage. But I have never heard Franke and Lobel interviewed about Palestine. Lobel has documented Israeli war crimes; Franke is a leading anti-Zionist. Why doesn’t NPR ever interview these intellectual leaders about Israel and Palestine? Because it’s PEP, progressive except Palestine. NPR is progressive on solitary confinement and progressive on LGBT rights but has its head in the sand on Palestine.
Update: Henry Norr picked up an error in my piece; I called Gush Etzion Gush Emunim. Apologies!
Inskeep “knows this type of thing” Everyone I have ever talked with about this issue of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine believe NPR has done their part to support the occupation and cover up (or be silent) on Israeli’s crimes for decades. Ok maybe the last five years they have become a bit more fact based.
However in the past it was either silence or complicity
NPR chooses to have it’s “head in the sand” on this conflict. They have been complicit for decades. People have talked about this for decades. Even contacted NPR.
RE: “Why doesn’t NPR ever interview these intellectual leaders about Israel and Palestine? Because it’s PEP, progressive except Palestine. NPR is progressive on solitary confinement and progressive on LGBT rights but has its head in the sand on Palestine.” ~ Weiss
WHY NPR IS “PEP”: I recall watching a video some years ago about a forum including a participant from NPR. When they took questions from the audience, an old geezer like myself went to the microphone. Instead of asking a question about the topic, he angrily asked the NPR guy why he should continue making donations/contributions to NPR when they employed people like the NPR guy who were [allegedly] so critical of Israel. He was really obnoxious.
Multiply that “old geezer” by many thousands!
RE: “Henry Norr picked up an error in my piece; I called Gush Etzion Gush Emunim.” ~ Weiss
MY COMMENT: Horrors! ! !
■ Gush Emunim – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gush_Emunim
The Golan Heights has also been annexed [de facto] in breach of UNSC Resolution 497 [1981]..Inter alia.
“Decides that the decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Golan Heights is null and void and without legal effect.
That does not stop a major wine exporting company Golan Heights Winery located in the illegal settlement of Katzrin Syria labelling all their wine thus..
1. ‘Wine of Israel’ and
2. ‘Produced by Golan Heights Winery 183 Katzrin 12900, Israel.
As an added factor, the labels when viewed as a whole show at least five other indicators which tend to confirm the false facts in 1 and 2 above.
1. Golan Heights Winery with Galilee underneath, ‘Galilee’ is a region of Northern Israel.
2. The wine is Kosher for Passover; and is authenticated for the Jewish religious holiday of Passover by a Rabbi from the Northern Israeli City of Tiberias.
3. The web page http://www.golanwines.co.il indicates an Israeli country code [il]
4. Barcode first three digits 729 indicates Israeli origin, although not conclusive proof of origin.
5. Hebrew text.
As you can see this is a blatantly false label in breach of various EU Regulations in this case EU Reg 607/2009 article 55. The Trading Standards Departments will not prosecute. The Food Standards Agency will not prosecute. The Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs [DEFRA], Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs or The UK Foreign Office will not prosecute . Is it any wonder the Israelis think they can get away with it?
You can see the photographs of false wine labels in my photobucket library here: http://s430.photobucket.com/user/HarryLaw/library/
Anything with a barcode that begins 729 is illegal settler squatter goods.