Wow. Really?

On January 9, 2009, Bill Moyers presented his thoughts on the Gaza situation. In it he (apparently) couldn't resist connecting it to biblical issues. And in doing so, he revealed an appalling, and for someone steeped in biblical interpretation, inexcusably vicious reading of the texts. From Bill Moyers's transcript: "What we are seeing in Gaza is the latest battle in the oldest family quarrel on record. Open your Bible: the sons of the patriarch Abraham become Arab and Jew. Go to the Book of Deuteronomy. When the ancient Israelites entered Canaan their leaders urged violence against its inhabitants. The very Moses who had brought down the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' now proclaimed, 'You must destroy completely all the places where the nations have served their gods. You must tear down their altars, smash their pillars, cut down their sacred poles, set fire to the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their name from that place.' So God-soaked violence became genetically coded.

Richard Landes has an extensive writeup about the blood-soaked history of this particular smear. And while it's now as egregious as Carter's musings about how "Israeli authorities" treat the Palestinians just like they treated Jesus - it's still not the kind of thing you'd want to let pass without an obligatory "nice to see American tax dollars going to good use." It's probably only a matter of time All Things Considered starts showcasing David Duke-parroting leftists.

UPDATE - Just for the record: in between explications on the bloody legacy of Moses, sentences like "Israel misses no opportunity to humiliate the Palestinians," and dishonest characterizations of Israel's "we're not committing any war crimes" YouTube films as "boasting of [the IDF's] might" - Moyers did find the time to mention that "a radical stream of Islam now seeks to eliminate Israel from the face of the earth." Nice of him to mention that.

References:
* Bill Moyers reflects on Middle East violence [PBS]
* Just what is genetically coded in the history of Judaism? Bill Moyers' Wretched Failure [The Augean Stables]
* Is Jimmy Carter Just An Old-Fashioned Christian Fundamentalist, Anti-Semitic Bigot? [MR]
* Top US Communication Listserv: Hey, How About Some Anti-Israel David Duke Pamphlets? [MR]

Previously:
* Just A Reminder: Arab Media Is A Cesspool Of Genocidal Anti-Semitic Incitement
* Noted Theologian And Geopolitical Theorist Roseanne Barr: "The Jewish Soul Is Tortured... The Destruction Of Israeli Jews Is Assured"
* British Muslims Doing Their Best To Cleanse Britain Of Jews