South African Zionists have long complained about the knee jerk criticism of Israel in the local media. So often it feels that no matter what Israel does, she is always guilty of something. But this time the Independent Newspaper Group has taken it too far. The headline of an article on their online site reads ‘Israel charges alleged Hezbollah ‘spies’’ (gotta love those inverted comma around spies). The only problem is on closer inspection the article has nothing to do with Israel. It was Egypt not Israel that was responsible for the arresting. The article even begins ‘Cairo-Egypt’s … ‘. Israel is not mentioned at all.
Of course they will claim this was a minor oversight. Nothing intentional for sure. But it gives us an insight into the mentality of putting together the headlines on one of the country’s leading news website. When there is trouble in the Middle East it must be Israel who is to blame. How can we ever hope to get a fair hearing in the South African media with this type of mentality?
| Israel charges alleged Hezbollah 'spies'
Cairo - Egypt's attorney general has added espionage to the charges against 49 alleged Hezbollah agents, in addition plotting to destabilize the country. Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud told Egypt's state run news agency MENA late on Sunday that the alleged agents, including Lebanese, Palestinian, Egyptian and Sudanese nationals, have been spying for a foreign group intending to carry out terrorist attacks in Egypt. Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has rejected the accusations but confirmed over the weekend that it had sent a member to Egypt - a rare acknowledgment that the Lebanese militant group was operating in another Arab country. - Sapa-AP |
I wonder if, when they realise their mistake and substitute Egypt for Israel, the inverted commas around “spies” will also disappear. It’s an interesting thing to watch out for.
Hat tip: Immanuel Suttner.
If a tree falls in Lebanon and no one is around to hear it, is Israel still to blame?
Old joke, but still relevant, sadly... reminds me of the malpractice that prompted Honest Reporting to get started.
Posted by: Joel Pollak | April 14, 2009 at 07:20
It has yet to be corrected.
Posted by: Ariel | April 16, 2009 at 21:53