Bias, Hate and Firecrackers

A mentally disturbed man and his Christian wife and non-Jewish daughter entered the Church of the Annunciation with a baby carriage full of firecrackers. The couple had a history of mentally disturbed behavior. They had sought asylum from Arafat and moved to the Palestinian territories as soon as they were set up and later kidnapped their children there preferring Palestinian rule.

Shortly after they were taken into custody the media led by Haaretz promptly began reporting that they were "right-wing" and "religious," though by this point the Shabbat itself was underway and this was implausible at best. It does however demonstrate once again the reflexive bias in the press which seeks to smear Jewish and religious targets at the earliest opportunity. Every absurd thing has been repeatedly blamed on "Jewish Extremists" and the media were very nearly salivating at the prospect of a Jewish attack on a Church; which to their disappointment only turned out to be a plea for attention from a mentally unstable man who had lost custody of his children.

What is significant here is the way in which the media not only engaged in biased reporting but made up information wholesale and when it was proven wrong did not retract or apologize for it in any way.

This is however only mild compared to the behavior of the Arab street which cannot stop a campaign against the Jews, no matter how misguided it might be. Shortly after the attack crowds of Arabs had gathered chanting 'Death to the Jews' though only one of those involved was Jewish. They waved Palestinian flags and signs such as "Israel breeds hate" and "they accuse us of terrorism but they do terrorism." Over a dozen policemen and stone throwing protesters were injured shortly thereafter. Latin Patriarch Michael Sabbeh held a protest march too, though again it is not clear, what if anything was being protested.

Arab politicians meanwhile demonstrate their complete inability to put the brakes on their usual rants about Israel, no matter how wrong they have proven to be.

Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas called the attack the result of "the culture of hate that the State of Israel instills in its citizens against the Palestinians..."

The absurdity of this statement from the leader of a terrorist group in the Palestinian Authority which runs TV shows that show children singing about wanting to kill Jews is so absurd that there aren't even words for it.

The Higher Israeli Arab Monitoring Committee called on the Israeli government to "take full responsibility for the incident in the Church of the Annunciation, and to deal with forces considering attacks on holy sites, forces that developed against a backdrop of hatred and defiance toward the Arab public."

One wonders how exactly the Israeli government is responsible for the actions of people it sought on criminal charges and who were taking refuge in Palestinian areas. And a man moved to Palestinian areas and applied for Palestinian citizenship does not exactly sound like a man full of hatred for Arabs.

Committee chairman Shawki Khatib said. "The strategic decision of the [Arab] people is to live with the Jews. But the government and the Jewish sector have not accepted this. Our ability to endure is running out. We warn the leaders of the state against another attempt at harming the Arab public."

And this is a typical breakdown of the Arab reaction to anything that happens. The first is to accuse their enemies of responsibility. The second is to boast how peaceful they are and finally to threaten violence and make it clear that this is a legitimate cause for violence. This is the same pattern that occurs whether it's cartoons in Danish newspapers, an imaginary Koran flushed at Guantanamo Bay or a mentally ill man throwing firecrackers. Everything becomes just another thinly veiled pretext for violence and the biased media laps it all up.