A deceitful ploy by a columnist and a prince - ten years on In early February, 2002, Thomas Friedman wrote a column, Dear Arab League, pretending to be a letter to the Arab League from then-President Bush. The key lines are: You need to face up to something: Ehud Barak gave us an Israeli peace plan, however rough. Bill Clinton then followed up with an American peace plan. Now is the time for an Arab peace plan. No more you guys sitting back complaining about everyone else's … [Read more...]
About Daniel Goldstein
Daniel Goldstein is a media critic and recovering blogger. He has been critiquing media bias against Israel since his first letter to the editor in 1987.
Middle East Media Sampler for February 19, 2012
By February 19, 2012
1) The progressive Islamists In one of his final dispatches, the late Anthony Shadid profiled a Said Ferjani, a Tunisian Islamist in Islamists’ Ideas on Democracy and Faith Face Test in Tunisia. Most of the article profile Ferjani, but in the middle, Shadid writes about the interactions of exiled Islamists in the 1990's: But no less dramatic was the shift under way within various currents inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. Mr. Ghannouchi, his own thoughts evolving in exile, became an … [Read more...]
Middle East Media Sampler for February 17, 2012
By February 17, 2012
1) Revenge or MO? After the wife of an Indian diplomat was injured by a bomb, Ethan Bronner of the New York Times reported in Israel say Iran is behind the bombs: The wife of an Israeli defense envoy to New Delhi was hurt along with several other people when her car was destroyed by an explosive device placed on it by a motorcyclist at a red light. In Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, a similar device was discovered on the car of a local staff member of the Israeli Embassy, but was defused by … [Read more...]
Middle East Media Sampler for February 16, 2012
By February 16, 2012
1) Now the Washington Post is against daylight Last week Richard Cohen of the Washington Post wrote America’s red lines in the sand on Iran. Now the editors write about The U.S.-Israeli trust gap on Iran. For now, several top Israeli officials are skeptical. That is where Mr. Panetta and Mr. Obama should be making an effort. Rather than publicly arguing with Israel, they should be more clearly spelling out U.S. willingness to take military action if Iran is discovered … [Read more...]
Middle East Media Sampler for February 15, 2012
By February 15, 2012
1) New NYT Jerusalem Bureau chief Ethan Bronner in an e-mail to Politico explains why he's leaving his post as the New York Times bureau chief in Israel: My son, who is 22, not 21, left the Israeli army a year ago. And I have not been reassigned. I asked to return. It has been 4 years, my parents are in their 90s and I originally promised to stay only three years, both my sons are there, my wife wants to return to her psychoanalytic practice. So we are coming home. I told the … [Read more...]
Middle East Media Sampler for February 14, 2012
By February 14, 2012
1) The Istanbul Process and Hamza Kashgari The New York Times reported Saudi Writer Is Deported Over Posts on Prophet: The journalist, Hamza Kashgari, had been detained by the Malaysian police since Thursday, when he was stopped at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at the request of the Saudi government. Mr. Kashgari, a newspaper columnist based in Jidda, had fled Saudi Arabia amid public outrage after he wrote about an imaginary meeting with the Prophet Muhammad in a series … [Read more...]
Middle East Media Sampler for February 13, 2012
By February 13, 2012
1) Russia protects Syria The Washington Post reports Syria needs time for dialogue, Russia says Speaking in Moscow a day after talks with Assad on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed the Syrian president’s willingness to engage in a national dialogue, even though an overwhelming majority of members of the opposition, both inside and outside the country, have said that dialogue is no longer an option. ... Lavrov also said Wednesday that the abrupt … [Read more...]
Middle East Media Sampler for February 12, 2012
By February 12, 2012
1) Ari Shavit says stay the course In A new peace is needed, (h/t Petra Marquardt-Bigman) Ari Shavit writes: First the old peace was lightly wounded. After Israel gave the Palestinians most of Gaza, the first bus blew up at Dizengoff Square. After Israel gave the Palestinians Nablus and Ramallah, buses started blowing up in downtown Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. And after Israel suggested that the Palestinians set up a sovereign state on most of the occupied territories, they responded … [Read more...]
Middle East Media Sampler for February 10, 2012
By February 10, 2012
1) The twitter one-two David Keyes has written Saudi writer Hamza Kashgari faces charge of blasphemy after tweets about Muhammad: Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari was detained in Malaysia on Wednesday night and is likely to be extradited soon to Saudi Arabia, where he will be tried for blaspheming religion. Kashgari, 23, had fled the kingdom Monday after he received thousands of death threats. His crime? He posted on Twitter a series of mock conversations between himself and the Islamic … [Read more...]
Middle East Media Sampler for February 9, 2012
By February 9, 2012
1) Apartments are such a clear obstacle to peace Two years ago, Israel's housing ministry announced that 1600 new apartments would be built in Ramat Shlomo in Jerusalem, while Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Israel. The Washington Post reported: "I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem," Biden said in a statement released during the meal. "The substance and timing of the announcement, … [Read more...]
