Many in Israel approved of the settler “pogrom” against Huwwara because they regard Palestinians as “animals,” a leading Israeli reporter explained to American Jews last week.

Anti-Palestinian racism remains the norm in the Israel lobby and in Washington too. The Israel Policy Forum aired an hour-long assessment of Israel’s attacks on Gaza this month and repeatedly praised the operation for leaving no Israelis dead, and never mentioned the scores of Palestinian civilians killed and injured. In his one indirect reference to the Palestinian deaths, Amos Harel of Haaretz said that Israel had demonstrated that it was “very good” at avoiding killing Palestinian civilians.

The New York Times asserts that Gaza forces initiated the latest violence, and Israelis merely responded, leaving out earlier Israeli strikes. The Times characteristically leaves the reader with the impression that Hamas is simply a bloodthirsty, terrorist movement that attacks at every opportunity without provocation.