The United Nations Human Rights Council just issued a damning report that said Israel may have committed crimes against humanity during the Great March of Return in Gaza last year, and the New York Times responded with a brief, mediocre 750-word account.
U.N. investigators charged Israel with far worse crimes than anything that the government of Venezuela has been accused of, but Times coverage of the South American nation has been considerably more extensive. The Times did say that the U.N. report on Gaza
concluded that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers had deliberately shot at journalists, health workers, children and people with disabilities.
The Times article could have been worse. It was written by Nick Cumming-Bruce, datelined from the Human Rights Council’s headquarters in Geneva, instead of by the paper’s correspondents based in Israel. Cumming-Bruce only gave the Israeli government two paragraphs for their denials — by contrast with the Times reporters in Jerusalem, who normally spend paragraph after paragraph taking stenographic exonerations from the Israeli military.
U.N. investigators reported that Israelis killed 189 Palestinians, and wounded another 6,106 with live ammunition. By contrast, Cumming-Bruce noted dryly,
The panel found that four Israelis were wounded in the clashes, and none were killed.
The Times report explained that Israel, following its standard procedure, did not allow the U.N.’s 3-person investigative panel to enter either Israel or Gaza. So the panel
drew on 325 interviews and more than 8,000 documents, including affidavits and medical reports, as well as photographs and video and drone footage. Along with its report, it released a video compilation showing some of the shootings.
Cumming-Bruce did not quote any Israeli human rights organizations, who have been indicting the Israeli military in similar ways since the Great March of Return started last March 30. The highly respected B’Tselem has consistently pleaded with Israeli soldiers to refuse orders to fire on civilians, but the Times apparently has a long-standing policy to ignore the group. Not surprisingly, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published a better report, which included reaction from human rights groups inside Israel.
At least the Times covered the story, even though it was inside the print edition on page A9. So far, the Washington Post has not published a single word.
CORRECTION: The Washington Post *did* report on the U.N. investigation; here it is.
H/T to Commenter “just”.
Ruth Eglash February 28 at 1:09 PM in Wapo:
“U.N. report on Gaza says Israeli forces may have committed war crimes …”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/un-report-on-gaza-says-israeli-forces-may-have-committed-war-crimes/2019/02/28/f7236282-3b4d-11e9-a06c-3ec8ed509d15_story.html?utm_term=.f0de0524bd81
(comments were allowed)
Looks like there’s a struggle going on in the NYT between the forces of truth and the forces of deceit. I’m guessing the Zionist cult leaders are running scared, what with Israel’s dirty secrets spilling into public view. People have been known to get desperate when faced with prison.
The New York Times is fast becoming slanted and biased, just like Faux News. It has a token few journalists who may criticize Israel, but they have deliberately given the megaphone to pro Israel apologists like Bari Weiss, and Brett Stephens (who son is supposedly fighting for the IDF, and he should never be allowed to write any articles on the I/P conflict). The NYT is harsher in it’s criticism of Trump, and milder in it’s criticism of Israel, which reflects the general attitude in the US.
Israel is a rogue nation given legitimacy by the support, and protection, of the US.
From what I read, there was more condemnation about Netanyahu and his indictment for corruption than there was for the fact that Israel has committed horrific war crimes/crimes against humanity.
I haven’t heard a peep from anyone in Congress or the US government wrt to Israel’s indictment by the UNHRC, but I did read that Warren was upset about Netanyahu:
“‘Corruption Threatens Democracy’: Elizabeth Warren Slams Netanyahu After Indictment Decision …
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren slammed Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, hours after Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit announced the prime minister will be indicted, pending a hearing, in three corruption cases.
Warren shared a CNN report on the latest legal developments on Twitter, writing: “First embracing right-wing extremism. Now manipulating a free press, accepting bribes, and trading government favors. The allegations against Prime Minister Netanyahu are serious and cut to the heart of a functioning democracy.” …
The first part of her statement was a reference to Netanyahu’s recent political dealings with the racist Otzma Yehudit party, which Amy Klobuchar, another senior Democratic lawmaker and presidential hopeful, also denounced earlier this week.
In another tweet as part of the same thread, Warren wrote: “Corruption — in Israel, in the US, or anywhere else — is a cancer that threatens democracy. We need to fight back. And we can start by having the courage to call it out wherever it occurs. Even among our allies. Especially here at home.”
A situation in which two prominent presidential hopefuls comment on internal Israeli politics in less than a week is rare and highlights the growing criticism of Netanyahu within the Democratic Party. …”
https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-threatens-democracy-elizabeth-warren-attacks-netanyahu-for-draft-indictment-1.6981148
I guess she still believes that Israel is a democracy! I bet that she’ll be at AIPAC anyway.
(the article has generated quite a few comments…)
I don’t hear the members of Congress who invited Crooked Bibi to Congress, to give his war mongering speech against Iran (against the wishes of their own President), nor staunch supporters like Adelson, Kushner, Trump, Dirty Dersh, Bari Weiss, Brett Stephens, and all the other sympathizers of Israel, speaking up for Crooked Bibi. I guess they know the occupation, land grabs, and the massacre of children, will go on regardless of what happens in their favorite nation.