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Media Create False Moral Equivalence Between Released Hostages and Palestinian Prisoners
Yahel Shoham, 3, and Sharon Avigdori, released Israeli hostages, interact shortly after their arrival in Israel on Nov. 25, after being held hostage by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, at an unknown location in Israel. Photo: Israeli Prime Minister’s Office/Handout via REUTERS
During the tense four days that have passed since the start of the Israel-Hamas truce on November 24, media outlets have created a false moral equivalence between the release of Israeli hostages held by the terrorist group, and Palestinian prisoners who have been jailed in Israel. Such coverage, which implicitly equates Israel to Hamas and validates the latter’s strategy, may have far-reaching ramifications on the continuation of the war.
In order to achieve their distorted equation between innocent women and children who were abducted from their homes — and prisoners who have been charged with acts of violence or terror — media outlets have used three parallel strategies: Sanitizing the Palestinian prisoners, referring to the Israeli hostages as “prisoners,” and creating textual and visual symmetry regarding the joyful family reunions of each side.
AP and Reuters Set the Narrative
The Associated Press has managed to incorporate the first two strategies in one headline: “Palestinian families rejoice over release of minors and women in wartime prisoner swap.”
Seriously, @AP?
– These were terrorist offenders, not innocent “minors and women.”
– This was not a like-for-like “wartime prisoner swap.” There’s no moral equivalence between Israeli hostages and Palestinian terror offenders.https://t.co/UEGM0UxrXg pic.twitter.com/AAnLE0VV0m
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 26, 2023
Some are trying to equivocate between hostages & Palestinian security prisoners being released.
Israeli hostages were abducted from their homes in a blatant war crime. The Palestinian prisoners were arrested for committing acts of violence.
It’s repugnant to equate the two. pic.twitter.com/Bbc71jm50b
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 25, 2023
The rest of the AP’s story, while including some background on the released Palestinian “minors and women” (but none on the Israeli “prisoners”), carries an empathetic tone that borders on justification for Hamas’ kidnappings. For example, it quotes an official referring to “prisoner exchanges” as “the only hope” for prisoners’ families, without mentioning that she works for a group with terror links:
“These kinds of prisoner exchanges are often the only hope families have to see their sons or fathers released before many years go by,” said Amira Khader, international advocacy officer at Addameer, a group supporting Palestinian prisoners. “It’s what they live for, it’s like a miracle from God.”
The story ends with an emotional quote from a released Palestinian prisoner, who was jailed in Israel for throwing stones:
It was his first glimpse of the world after a year in prison for throwing stones in the northern town of Qalqilya. He was freed even though he had eight months of his sentence left to serve. He turned toward his father, wrapping him into a hug. “Look, I’m almost bigger than you now,” he said.
The hurling of rocks can kill, and it has killed Israelis in the past. It is most certainly not a harmless pastime activity, as some media have intimated. The story also does not detail the various charges against most of the released Palestinians, which range from attempted murder and violent assault to terror affiliations.
Hostages for Prisoners
Returning women and children. Fair deal, right?
Not. Quite.
Collab with @AdinHaykin1 pic.twitter.com/rmVsbtBnX5
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 23, 2023
The same distorted patterns appear in Reuters’ coverage. A mind-boggling headline refers to Israel and Hamas “prisoners,” including a four-year-old whose parents were brutally murdered in front of her eyes before she was kidnapped to Gaza.
No, @Reuters, there is no equivalence between Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel for terrorism offenses.
Please fix this abysmal #HeadlineFail.https://t.co/MG0OWyy3tp pic.twitter.com/TktmbYfv1F
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 27, 2023
An earlier version of the story included a video featuring a split-screen showing 9-year-old Emily Hand, an Israeli girl released from Hamas captivity, reunited with her father, next to the family reunion of released Palestinian bomber Israa Jaabis:
A @Reuters video employs a split screen. On the left, 9-year-old Emily Hand, reunited with her father after being kidnapped by Hamas. On the right, Israa Jaabis, convicted Palestinian bomber, greeted by her family.
Why has Reuters created a moral equivalence between the two?… pic.twitter.com/UQfMLn1iRM
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 26, 2023
A textual symmetry followed the visual one: After detailing Hand’s family’s plight, the story ends with a quote from Shorouk Dwayyat. Nowhere does it mention that Dwayyat is a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine member who tried to stab Israelis to death:
In comments to Al Jazeera TV from her home, freed prisoner Shorouk Dwayyat, who had served half of her 16-year prison term, said she felt joy mixed with pain. “I feel like I am in a dream, but I hope that the war on Gaza will stop as soon as possible.”
When one of the world’s largest news agencies fails to mention such details, instead presenting terrorists on the same moral level as a 9-year-old who’s been abducted from her home, it violates journalistic and human values alike.
US, UK Media Sanitize and Equate
The New York Times also featured Israa Jaabis, sanitizing her attempted murder by passively blaming her vehicle:
She was arrested that year after her car exploded at a checkpoint near Jerusalem in the West Bank, leaving her disfigured and an Israeli police officer seriously injured.
No, @nytimes, Israa Jaabees wasn’t “accused of attempted murder.” She was convicted. Because her car didn’t passively explode, she detonated a gas canister meant to be part of a suicide bombing.
You also forgot to mention that Addameer, whom you cite as a “prisoners’ rights… pic.twitter.com/DdNhdwEE1J
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 26, 2023
National Public Radio didn’t even bother checking the facts. It simply published a photo gallery presenting the release of Israeli hostages amid pictures of Palestinians celebrating their prisoners’ release.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, included the following paragraph about the Palestinian prisoners release after a description and photos of the family reunions of freed Israeli children:
Videos posted on social media showed similarly joyful scenes in the West Bank, where Palestinian women and children freed by Israel were reunited with their families. A bus carrying Red Cross staff and the prisoners as part of the second day’s releases arrived to a crowd of supporters holding flags in the occupied West Bank early Sunday.
But the “similarly joyful scenes” were not similar at all. As German magazine Bild has pointed out: “The Israelis celebrate the return of the hostages, the Palestinians the release of prisoners. The difference couldn’t be greater: Israeli parents peacefully hug their released children. Palestinian ex-prisoners are cheered at terror marches.”
Die Israelis feiern die Rückkehr der Geiseln, die Palästinenser die Freilassung von Gefangenen. Der Unterschied könnte nicht größer sein: Israelische Eltern umarmen friedlich ihre freigekommenen Kinder. Palästinensische Ex-Häftlinge werden auf Terror-Aufmärschen bejubelt. pic.twitter.com/zmVrCwgoD0
— BILD (@BILD) November 26, 2023
The Washington Post also does not say a word about why the Palestinian women and “children” (most of whom were minors) were arrested in the first place.
Israel spokesperson Mark Regev confronted a Sky News anchor about this issue, exposing the fact she was not even aware of the charges against the released Palestinians.
Some media outlets have created an abysmal narrative that whitewashes terrorists by comparing them to innocent toddlers. Some have minimized the kidnappings that took place on October 7, by equating the suffering of Israeli hostages to that of Palestinians in Israeli jails.
And by doing so, they have created a false moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas. They have also implicitly validated Hamas’ strategy of kidnapping Israelis, and undermined Israel’s justification to continue fighting against the terror organization.
In a week that may be decisive for the course of the war as the agreed-upon truce between Israel and Hamas comes to an end, media outlets have a responsibility to report the facts, not to create them.
The post Media Create False Moral Equivalence Between Released Hostages and Palestinian Prisoners first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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France Believes Israel’s Netanyahu Has Immunity From ICC Arrest Warrant
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
France said on Wednesday it believed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had immunity to actions by the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is seeking his arrest for alleged war crimes in Gaza, given Israel has not signed up to the court statutes.
France‘s view, issued a day after the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah brokered by the US and France, was condemned by rights groups. Other countries including Italy have also questioned the legality of the mandate.
A statement by the French Foreign Ministry said it would continue to work closely with Netanyahu.
Paris has taken almost a week to come up with a clear position, after the court in The Hague issued arrest warrants on Nov. 21 for Netanyahu, his former defense chief Yoav Gallant, and a leader of the Hamas Palestinian terrorist group.
After initially saying it would adhere to the ICC statutes, France‘s foreign ministry fine-tuned that in a second statement on Nov. 22 amid concerns that Israel could scupper efforts for a ceasefire in Lebanon, saying it noted that the court’s decision merely formalized an accusation.
On Wednesday, the ministry pointed out that the Rome Statute that established the ICC provided that a country cannot be required to act in a manner incompatible with its obligations “with respect to the immunities of States not party to the ICC.”
“Such immunities apply to Prime Minister Netanyahu and other relevant ministers and will have to be taken into consideration should the ICC request their arrest and surrender.”
The French ministry statement, referring to what it called the historic friendship between two democracies committed to the rule of law, said France intended to continue to work closely with Netanyahu and other Israeli authorities “to achieve peace and security for all in the Middle East.”
The ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel as it is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the court. Other countries including the US have similarly not signed the ICC charter. However, the ICC has asserted jurisdiction by accepting “Palestine” as a signatory in 2015, despite no such state being recognized under international law.
Rights groups suggested France had tempered its response in order to maintain a working relationship with Netanyahu and his government.
“Some shocking nonsense from France here. No one gets immunity from an ICC arrest warrant because they’re in office – not Netanyahu, not Putin, no one,” Andrew Stroehlein, European media director at Human Rights Watch, said on X.
He pointed to article 27 of the Rome Statute on the “irrelevance of official capacity.”
Amnesty called France‘s position “deeply problematic.”
“Rather than inferring that ICC indictees may enjoy immunity, France should expressly confirm its acceptance of the unequivocal legal duty under the Rome Statute to carry out arrest warrants.”
Israeli leaders have lamabsted the ICC’s allegations against Netanyahu and Gallant as false, politically motivated, and “antisemitic.”
The US similarly rejected the arrest warrants for the Israelis.
The post France Believes Israel’s Netanyahu Has Immunity From ICC Arrest Warrant first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Intercepts Vast Iranian Arms Shipment Intended for West Bank
Israeli military, Jenin area, West Bank, August 31, 2024. Photo: Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS
JNS.org — Israel’s security forces recently thwarted an attempt by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to smuggle heavy weaponry to Palestinian terrorist cells in the West Bank city of Jenin, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said on Wednesday.
Israeli intelligence believes that the arms were sent by Unit 4000 — the special operations division of the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization — and Unit 18840, the special operations unit of its Quds Force in Syria.
Among the weapons seized by Israel were 40 standard large Claymore mines, including detonators and wireless activation systems; 37 handguns; 33 improvised Claymore mines; 24 RPG-18 and RPG-22 rockets; 20 60mm mortar shells; seven Hunter sniper rifles; six RPG-7 launchers; six M16 rifles and 1 M4 rifle, along with ammunition; three 107mm rockets; and two 60mm mortar barrels, the joint statement said.
The majority of the weapons were buried in a location that was discovered by Israeli forces after the shipment was intercepted.
SEIZED: Iranian weapons used to arm terrorists in Judea and Samaria
The smuggling was orchestrated by Iran’s IRGC 4000th Division, led by Jawad Ghafari, and the Quds Force’s Unit 840 in Syria, commanded by Etsar Bakri.
The weapons seized included rockets, Claymore… pic.twitter.com/AlUn08pGye
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 27, 2024
The statement noted that Israeli security forces in recent months have “identified attempts by Iranian forces to resume smuggling advanced weapons into Israel, intended for the Judea and Samaria area [the West Bank].”
“This is part of an ongoing Iranian campaign to destabilize the region’s security by arming terrorist cells in Judea and Samaria, to carry out attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops,” it continued.
The IDF and Shin Bet vowed to “continue to monitor and thwart in advance any Iranian activity aimed at smuggling weapons into Israel and the Judea and Samaria area.”
In two separate operations in the past week, Israel Police officers foiled attempts by Israeli Arab citizens to smuggle large quantities of ammunition from northern Israel across the West Bank security barrier.
On Monday, a female resident of the Israeli Arab town of Kfar Qasim was pulled over by police officers near Yokneam. A search of her vehicle revealed several boxes containing more than 6,000 ammunition rounds.
On Friday, two men from Ma’ale Iron, a local council made up of five Arab towns near Megiddo, were caught attempting to transport a larger stockpile of over 20,000 bullets. The Arab suspects were pulled over at a junction a mere minutes’ drive away from the Samaria security barrier.
Earlier this month, Palestinian terrorists in western Samaria for the first time tried to fire a rocket with powerful explosives at Israel’s central region. The terrorist rocket, whose warhead contained high explosives with the potential to cause mass casualties, was discovered in bushes in the village of Budrus near Ramallah, about six miles from Ben-Gurion International Airport, Israel Hayom reported on Nov. 13.
The outlet noted that this marked the first time that a “high quality” (e.g., non-improvised) rocket warhead was found in the West Bank. It was also the first time a rocket was located in the area but outside northern Samaria.
In June, Palestinian Authority security officials told Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster that Iranian-backed terrorist groups might be able to fire advanced rockets at central Israel from the West Bank within a year.
The Islamic Republic continues to instigate terrorism in the West Bank by flooding the area with weapons, The New York Times reported in April, citing American, Israeli, and Iranian officials.
The majority of the weapons smuggled into the West Bank are small arms and assault rifles, analysts said. However, the US and Israeli officials said that the Islamic Republic is also smuggling in advanced weaponry, including anti-tank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades.
In the first six months of 2024, the West Bank saw more than 500 Arab terrorist attacks each month on average, according to data made public by Hatzalah Judea and Samaria (Rescuers Without Borders).
During that period, first responders recorded 3,272 acts of terrorism in the region, including 1,868 cases of rock-throwing, 456 attacks with Molotov cocktails, 299 explosive charges, and 109 shootings.
Terrorists murdered 14 people and wounded more than 155 others in the West Bank between January and July, the rescue group said.
The post Israel Intercepts Vast Iranian Arms Shipment Intended for West Bank first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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McGill cancels talk with former Hamas insider turned Israel advocate, citing fears of violence
McGill University has canceled an on-campus event planned by Jewish students—and temporarily halted bookings for all extracurricular activities—following threats of violence along with a death threat, as outlined in a […]
The post McGill cancels talk with former Hamas insider turned Israel advocate, citing fears of violence appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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