Oh, Bibi. Do you really think the world gives two figs about the double standard they apply to Israel? The AP couldn’t even get the headline right. No mention of Israel, which is the subject of Netanyahu’s quote.
Israeli’s Netanyahu: World has double standards
This one, though is a puzzle. Was it the original AP headline, or did the CBS News editor rewrite it to be perfect?
Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu accuses international community of “deafening silence” on Hamas threats
They’re both the same story, with the same lead. With the same purpose of whitewashing the Palestinians by not including the direct quotes in the three-paragraph story that shows up in the “World News” section of your local paper. And the same purpose of chastizing Israel for planning new bulding in Maale Adumim, which they’ve ben doing all along.
Note also that the AP points out that Bibi accusing the world of a double standard is going to make Israel even more disliked–by those he accuses of having the double standard. The mere act of pointing out the truth–that the world treats Israel differently than it treats everyone else–is going to make them dislike Israel even more. Curiously, that’s the argument I’ve heard over my eleven years of blogging–from anti-Semites. They tell me that Jews bring trouble on themselves, and when Jews have the nerve to point out how they’re hated, people hate them even more. Nice work, AP! You have now reached the same level of logic as anti-Semitic commenters on a blog.
Israel’s prime minister on Monday accused the international community of “deafening silence” in response to recent vows by the head of the Hamas militant group to fight on until the Jewish state is destroyed, and appeared unmoved by the gathering storm of global condemnation of his government’s plans to continue settling the West Bank.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s tough words were likely to deepen the rift between Israel and some of its closest allies, particularly in Europe, that has emerged since the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favor of Palestinian independence last month. In a sign of the tense relations, European Union foreign ministers were gathered in Brussels to condemn new settlement construction that Netanyahu has authorized in response to the U.N. decision.
Speaking to foreign reporters, Netanyahu accused the international community of having double standards, condemning not-yet-built settlements in the West Bank while standing quiet during a historic visit to the Gaza Strip by Hamas’ exiled leader, Khaled Mashaal.
So what’s the quote that the AP so kindly pushed to paragraph four? Fooled you! The AP didn’t quote Khaled Mashaal at all, only paraphrased him.
Making his first trip to the Hamas-ruled territory over the weekend, Mashaal delivered a series of speeches to throngs of supporters vowing to wipe Israel off the map. The visit underscored Hamas’ rising clout and regional acceptance since its eight-day conflict with Israel last month.
He didn’t say he would “wipe Israel off the map.” Here’s what he actually said:
First of all, Palestine – from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea, from its north to its south – is our land, our right, and our homeland. There will be no relinquishing or forsaking even an inch or small part of it.
You can watch the whole thing at MEMRI (and consider donating to them).
Oh, and he also said this:
Jerusalem is our soul, our history, our collective memory, our past, our present, and our future. It is our eternal capital, to which we hold fast and which we will liberate, inch by inch, neighborhood by neighborhood, stone by stone, every place sacred to Islam, and every place sacred to Christianity. Israel has no right to Jerusalem.
MEMRI translations are available freely to the public. I wonder why the AP doesn’t utilize their services? Then again, the AP uses Arabic-speaking reporters. I wonder why they don’t produce these quotes in their articles?
No, not really.
The world is always living on Israeli Double Standard Time. Bibi knows this. He just felt that it was time to point it out again. But don’t worry! It only occurs on days that end with a “y”!