FLOTILLA Cover-up: The New York Times Accused
01. Jul, 2010
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by David Morris
For the past month, the alternative media have sought concrete evidence that the mainstream U.S. media, including the New York Times, willfully aided Israel’s cover-up of information about their Gaza flotilla attack.
Prima facie evidence of their complicity is abundant.
The Times’ role in the cover-up ranged from suppression of facts and failure to follow leads that might (and did) contradict Israel’s version of the massacre, to serving as a shameless conduit for Israeli propaganda. The Times persisted in publishing and republishing the official line of Israel and became a virtual bulletin board for crackpot opinions and commentary. A prime example is Michael Oren’s “An Assault on Israel, Cloaked in Peace,” arguing delusionally that this humanitarian effort was an “act of aggression” that threatened the very nation of Israel.
The news we Americans received on the massacre seemed written by an Israeli propaganda minister — in fact, some of it was. The Israeli army generously provided our media with a carefully edited video of their attack, which major news outlets dutifully broadcasted.
Long-distance images of civilians defending themselves against commando killers (including a woman brandishing a deck chair) were presented as evidence of armed resistance. The imprisonment in Gaza of an Israeli soldier four years ago was cited as justification for executing nine peace activists, two shot in the back of the head at point-blank range.
Alternative media journalists like Philip Weiss (Mondoweiss), Glenn Greenwald (Salon), and yours truly (USMediaAndIsrael.com) provide examples of the Times’ stonewalling and disinformation. James North on Mondoweiss, for example, writes about the aftermath of Israel’s illegal detainment of hundreds of peace activists and their video evidence. As Israel began releasing the prisoners, the Times’ legion of reporters failed to interview a single flotilla member to get their version of the atrocity. As North wrote, this unconscionable delay gave “Israel’s version of the deadly raid time to harden.”
The May 31 Times reported “Israeli officials said that international law allows for the capture of naval vessels in international waters…” Israeli officials said. Exactly. With convenient unprofessionalism, the Times published Israel’s claim at face value, offering no comment or analysis by experts in international law. In fact (and as the Times must have known), independent experts call the attack “flagrantly illegal.”
When the Times finally did report something not fed to them by Israel, their front page story lamented the public relations catastrophe for Israel, not the murder of nine peace activists nor the immense suffering caused by the illegal siege of Gaza.
On the contrary, Times reporter Isabel Kershner writes, “Israel says it allows enough basic supplies through crossings to prevent an acute humanitarian crisis.” Again, the paper reported this cruel lie citing only Israeli propaganda as their source (“Israel says…”). No editor of the NY Times would allow such sloppy journalism — unless directed to do so by top management.
The NY Times has a long history of pro-Israel reporting of events in the Middle East. One notable illustration is their coverage of Israel’s 1967 attack on the USS Liberty that killed and wounded over 200 American sailors. The Times’ only account of this deliberate, hour-long assault on a U.S. ship — a brief summary buried on page 19 of the paper.
The question is who within the New York Times ordered the most recent journalistic stonewalling and submission to Israeli interests. Might it be publisher/owner Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.? Rank-and-file employees and journalists at the Times must be truly embarrassed, even shamed by their employer’s willful deception of American readers.
We ask that someone come forward.
David Morris is a U.S. citizen dedicated to promoting an informed public discussion on the US relationship to Israel.
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The Times amateurish”reporting” seems too well coordinated to be judged as anything but directed by The Boss. The caption of the accompanying cartoon says it all
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The cartoon is actually from USMediaAndIsrael, not from the NYT.
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How can we doubt or question the coverage of the New York Times on anything pertaining to events in Israel, especially this “defense against an invasion force,” as incomplete, inaccurate and erroneous when the N.Y.T Bureau Chief in Israel has a son in the very same IDF who so courageously defended the nation against these fierce invaders, and undoubtedly enjoys close and special relations and privileges with Israeli Authorities?
You think David that he does not get his information directly from the horses mouth, but from the nether end of an ass?
Sheesh, oy vey! Have an-udder serving of matzos and chicken soup!
How can we doubt the impartiality and integrity of Mr. Sulzberger and Ms Kershner
dedicated members of an honorable profession long devoted to bringing truth and justice before the eyes of the public, and guarding the interests of their homeland, and their people?
Even the famous jounlanist Judith Miller could not have given us a more thorough and honest account of this heroic night when Israeli forces managed to repel the mad-dog anti-Semitic invaders from Hell.
They should all be rewarded for their services, not condemned.
Perhaps Mr. Nut&yahoo will award them each a new home recently built on abandoned land in the Holy City for their services to their country.
Mazeltov, Earlaiman
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The yellow pages, sorry yellow press, have been at work in America since the American Mexican conflict and the Spanish/American war where the first example of the USS liberty took place in Cuba when an American ship was attacked and American service men killed. History has shown that it was a false flag operation carried out by Uncle Sam to start a war with Spain in order to relieve them of Cuba, The Philippines and Guam, all Spanish territories. It gave America what it wanted and it only cost a few American lives. Men murdered for greed. it was made all the more possible by the Yellow Press and today is personified by the NY Times and most if not all of the others who are nothing if not YELLOW. This has been going on for a long time and still they get away with it. You would think that the Journalists would be so embarrassed they would have to rebel but clearly they are all spineless pieces of SHIT. They Should all take a leaf out of Helen Thomas’ book.
Here’s what one prominent Journalist had to say on the subject.
The Independent Press
“There is no such thing, at this date of the world’s history, in America, as an independent press. You know it and I know it. There is not one of you who dare to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinion out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the streets looking for another job. If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my paper, before 24 hours my occupation would be gone.
“The business of the journalists is to destroy the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and I know it, and what folly is this toasting an independent press? We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes.”
John Swinton, preeminent New York journalist, when guest of honour at a banquet given him by the leaders of his craft, 1880.
130 years on an nothing has changed. I say again “Spineless pieces of SHIT”.
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Jim Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 10:56 am
News is what somebody somewhere is trying to suppress. The rest is only advertising. Lord Northridge
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The main thing in the fabricated
videos showing the peace activists
hitting the soldiers with clubs heavily:
This video must have been recorded on another ship not on the Marvi Marmara
Look on Youtube :
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The powerful print media around the world including NYT ,WP and others have been already purchased by the Zionists.
Those journalists have no moral,no ethics,no feelings– nothing as a human being.They can write what ever they like to suppress the truth in favor of Zionist Israel.
Time has come to treat “Zionist Israel” brand of cancer ,in mainstream media,by its conscious and peace loving citizens.
Muslims,Arabs,Palestinians are not the enemy of US–rather its Zionist citizens.
Thanks to Mr.David Morris.
May ALLAH bless all the peace loving people on earth and the Palestinians.
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