Author Archives: Soccerdad

About Soccerdad

I'm a government bureaucrat with delusions of literacy.

Some say that the New York Times is anti-Israel

With an article titled Some question insistence on Israel as Jewish State, the New York Times officially joins the anti-Israel crowd. No doubt there are those who disagree with Netanyahu as to whether Israel should be called a Jewish state. … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time, Media Bias | Tagged | 2 Comments

Distorting Mideast policy

According to Laura Rozen (note here yesterday) the administration’s upset that Netnayahu isn’t infinitely pliable. The American team is said to be frustrated and upset at Netanyahu’s dismissal to date of the package, which was drafted by the NSC’s Dennis … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time, Saudi Arabia | Tagged | 5 Comments

Will Bolton’s fears be realized?

Yesterday I noted that John Bolton feared that the Obama administration would (tacitly) support a Palestinian effort to get support for statehood at the United Nations. The Palestinians clearly are looking to the UN for support: The Palestinian leadership, near … Continue reading

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The “bash Israel” security blanket

The first paragraph of Thomas Friedman’s column today, Just Knock it off, makes sense: Some of Israel’s worst critics are fond of saying that Israel behaves like America’s spoiled child. I’ve always found that analogy excessive. Say what you want … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged | 2 Comments

Jacoby: The Undeniable Jewish State

Last week CNN reported (via the Daily Alert Blog) Top PA negotiator Nabil Sha’ath, an advisor to Mahmoud Abbas, distanced the PA government from comments by PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo inferring that Palestinians might recognize Israel as a Jewish … Continue reading

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Working against peace and Israel?

Jackson Diehl observes: So why does Abbas stubbornly persist in his self-defeating position? In an interview with Israeli television Sunday night, he offered a remarkably candid explanation: “When Obama came to power, he is the one who announced that settlement … Continue reading

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Accepting Jewish history; accepting Israel

In a departure for the New York Times op-ed page, they included “An end to Israel’s Invisibility” by Ambassador Michael Oren. It’s a case for Israel being recognized as a Jewish state by the Palestinians as a condition for peace. … Continue reading

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Hamas’s “good government” charade is over

A few years ago there was a trend in newspapers to write flattering accounts of Hamas and its commitment to good government. It was as if there was a campaign to say that “Hamas is basically good, you can ignore … Continue reading

Posted in Israel | 10 Comments

The tarnished halo effect

The New York Times ran a Reuters report Israel Says Flotilla Detainees Were Treated Well, yesterday. Really nothing surprising about that. What is is surprising is this (via Daily Alert Blog): In a TV interview, Turkish journalist Åžefik Dinç, who … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time, Media Bias | Tagged | 2 Comments

Even the losers write history sometimes

I am no historian. But I can’t help the feeling that the New York Times’s account of the recdently declassified transcripts of the Israeli government’s deliberations over the war wasn’t presented in academic fashion, but rather to promote the view … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Juvenile Scorn, Syria | Tagged | 7 Comments

When a reporter’s opinion is news

Friday’s effort at smearing Israel in the Washington Post is called For Israeli army, tests of accountability and it is written by long time slanderer Joel Greenberg. First Greenberg writes about the recent video of Israeli soldiers dancing around a … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time, Media Bias | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Damn the Israelis, full speed ahead

According to the JTA (via Daily Alert Blog) The Israeli prime minister also has a major strategic concern. According to confidants, he fears that as soon as any new 60-day freeze ends, the Americans will put a “take it or … Continue reading

Posted in Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged | 4 Comments

Hezbollah in passive voice

Many of us have noted that since the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, Hezbollah has rearmed in violation of UN Security Council resolution. I always wondered when the MSM would catch up with the story. Today the New York … Continue reading

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NYT: peace process failing despite the great work of the administration

Contrary to the upbeat assessment of the Washington Post, Mark Landler of the New York Times can’t figure out why the Middle East peace process isn’t going smoothly. In Risks and Advantages in U.S. Effort in Mideast, Landler begins: When … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Media Bias | Tagged | 1 Comment

Absolving Arafat; ten years later

In her thoroughly dishonest valedictory as New York Times correspondent from Israel, And yet so far, Deborah Sontag wrote: In the tumble of the all-consuming violence, much has not been revealed or examined. Rather, a potent, simplistic narrative has taken … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Media Bias | Tagged | 3 Comments