Business Day 'Toon Blames Only Israel...Again

This cartoon from the Business Day (22/05/2007) aptly illustrates the rancid brand of intellectual fashion that typifies large swaths of the South African media.

The recent internecine violence in Gaza has brought the number of Palestinians violently killed by Palestinians this year to 270. During the month of May some 213 Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel. Israel only responded on 4 of the 25 days during which Qassam’s were fired. (Facts according to Elder of Ziyon who has keeps a Qassam calendar for every month, with links to news articles confirming his statistics.)

So despite the relentless violence between Hamas and Fatah, the poison from Brandon’s pen oozes only towards Israel.

There is virtually no disagreement that Hamas deliberately provoked Israel, drawing them into the violence in order to deflect attention away from the Hamas -Fatah mayhem, uniting them against a common enemy. But alas, it is only Israeli PM Ehud Olmert who is lampooned for stewing up the problems both in Gaza this year and Lebanon last year. Once again the Palestinians are not held responsible for anything.

Visit Honest Reporting for more on the distorted coverage of Gaza.

Update @ 28/05
I was incorrect in asserting that Israel has only responded on 4 days this month in which Qassams were fired into Israel. Elder of Ziyon, who I got the information from, has responded, "I apologise, but once Israel started firing back this month they continued every day."

Comments

[Hard Rain]

Also no mention of the fact that collateral damage from the strikes against Hamas are at an absolute minimum currently...

[Brett]

Steve excellent point, but there a few points I wish to emphasize. Firstly, I recent increase in the number of Kassam rockets shot into Israel is exactly that - an increase. Stating that Hamas provoked Israel into the conflict to direct attention away from its own internal killing spree,may be correct but is implies that before that there was calm. There have been 10's of rockets fired every week at Sderot for well over a year. Even before Lebanon, the rockets were flying over and it has been a truly open miracle that there have not been many more deaths.
The other issue, whilst it may seem to be sematic, I believe to be important. You said that Israel responded on only 4 days of the month. The implication here is that Israel is restraining itslef in a tit-for-tat exercise of rocket and revenge. In the past this was the case but if you follow the details of the current strikes you will see that Israel's policy is now a tactical disruption of their systems and is not related to the number of rockets fired.

[steve]

excellent points Brett. i agree with you & didnt intend to create the impression that there were no qassams before the recent hamas fatah violence. elder of ziyon has a calendar for every month thus far, check it out.

Hard Rain, that point has been totally missed in the coverage.

[Elder of Ziyon]

I apologize, but once Israel started firing back this month they continued every day. I have not been keeping up with every one, sorry.

[Elder of Ziyon]

I apologize, but once Israel started firing back this month they continued every day. I have not been keeping up with every one, sorry.

[Erin van de Poll]

Thankfully a lot of things have changed for the better in South Africa.
However, when it comes to seeing the "whole picture" and all its "players", unfortunately, some ill informed people, who obviously can and want to see situations, from one side (apart from the other!) only, draw pictures, that portray one part of a total, in a desire to spread even more "Apartheid"...
We should be striving for unity and peace, instead some, sadly, also in the media, still throw oil on the fire, as we say in Dutch, so who is the bad cook here, Mr. Brandon?

[Scott]

I have just sent SA Business Day an expression of my disgust at the publication of the cartoon.
Unfortunately, the same malaise that affects the SA media is very much present here in Australia too, especially at the government-owned ABC although we havent had such a blatant example as this yet.

These people absolve a mentality that is responsible for some of the most primitive, disgusting behaviour thats occured at any time in history and their 'program' is ongoing.

Israel's opponents should feel extremely lucky they are not facing an enemy with their own kind of sickening mindset.

Thanks for the blog - the world needs more like it.

[Johanna van der Gaast]

Elk land dat zegt dat Israel is the agressor moet zich schamen. Na de tweede wereld oorlog droegen de europeanen en Turken de overgeblevenen Joden in hun armen ze waren allemaal zo beschaamd what Duitsland had gedaan.
Ik was in een Japans concentratie kamp, en weet nog heel goed de mens onterende behandeling die wij hebben doorstaan. Maar na de oorlog hebben wij niet hoeven te strijden tegen de wederkerende belegering van valse getuigenissen hoewel wij ook moeite hebben het te vergeten, maar de Joden zijn zonder ophouden onder de barages van valse getuigen en verhalen die niet waar zijn. Dan zijn er 7 miljoen Israelieten in Israel strijdende tegen de overmacht van 1 biljoen Arabieren, Muslim en de rest van de wereld. Welk land in de wereld durft nee te zeggen tegen zo'n overmacht van helden zonder glorie, hoe bestaat het, hoe kan het bestaan. Maar het moet haast wel landen zijn die niet vrezen voor wat een ander van hen zeggen zal en dat zijn helden en waar zijn zij??????

[Steve]

Erin,
That's just the point. It relates to the calls for South Africans to mobilise against Israel next week.

It throws fire on the oil and makes peace more difficult to achieve.

And yes, things certainly have changed for the better in South Africa.

Scott,
Thanks for the kind words. Out state controlled tevelvision station is very partisan in their support of the Palestinians, or rather, their castigation of Israel. They blasklisted a Jewish journalist merely because she is a "white Jewish girl" The News Editor openly stated " from the movement where I come from we support the PLO." SABC Scandal

[Rampisad Mukerjee]

All you people who are attacking the cartoonist have missed the point! He's not against Olmert - he's FOR him. Remember ... "a watched pot never boils". So let it be clear - Brandon is an Israel-loving Olmert supporter who fully endorses current Kadima policy. Broadcast it on the streets! Make sure that all his friends and colleagues realise it. See how many invites he gets to cartoon again!

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