The disappointing part about this boilerplate isn’t that it’s false. It is definitely true, though not exactly shocking. The really sad thing is that Helen Cooper couldn’t find a better source for these banalities than this anti-Israel nutjob. Hey Helen – Stephen_Walt@ksg.harvard.edu. Seriously:
“Hillary Clinton’s statement was notable because the language was stronger than we’ve heard in years,” said Ali Abunimah, the co-founder of ElectronicIntifada, a Web site that analyzes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “And clearer than we’ve heard in years. But the burden of proof is still on them. If it’s just going to be strong statements, that’s not enough.” Administration officials have not said whether there is an “or else” attached to their demand for a settlement freeze. Mr. Obama said Thursday that it was not yet time for that. “In my conversations with Prime Minister Netanyahu, I was very clear of the need to stop settlements, stop the building of outposts,” he said. “I think we don’t have a moment to lose, but I don’t make decisions based on a conversation we just had last week.”
If Electronic Intifada is “a Web site that analyzes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” then Stormfront is “a web site that analyzes American race relations.” Though where else would the NYT find experts to describe Hamas rockets as “effective” and “successful” while demonizing Israeli reactions? Except everywhere:
The NYT today features two articles about Israel’s war against Hamas that are rather revealing. One is Striking Deep Into Israel, Hamas Employs an Upgraded Rocket Arsenal, and the second is In Dense Gaza, Civilians Suffer They are revealing both for what they say and don’t say as well as their juxtaposition. In the first, the reporter describes the efforts Hamas has made to upgrade its arsenal to threaten (and attack) Israel… first paragraph quoted first starts with describing Hamas’s limitations and then tells us that the terrorist group has come up with “an effective strategy.”… the Times gets an expert who claims that all the Israseli attacks are now “punitive.”
Sometimes I wonder “how could a journalist and several layers of editors not notice there’s something wrong with the phrase ‘the Palestinian government in 1938?’” And then I’m like, “oh, probably for the same reason that they tried to suffocate the Freeman scandal by starving it of oxygen.” (h/t: Anne Lieberman)
References:
* Israeli Officials: Hey, It’s Almost As If Obama’s Trying To Detonate The US-Israeli Relationship [MR]
* ELECTRONIC INTIFADA (EI) [Discover The Networks]
* Nyt: hamas upgrades = success / israel defends = disaster [Soccer Dad]
* The New York Times On ‘The 1938 Palestinian Government’ [Daled Amos]
* NYT gets the big Freeman scoop! [Hot Air]
Previously:
* New York Times Mourns Loss of Beautiful and Delicate Flower Who Happened to Also Be Palestinian Suicide Bomber
* New York Times Comments on Israel, Hilarity Ensues
* Fun with the New York Times Editorial Process (Don’t Push/Leave Incomplete/Old Drafts Online Edition)
