05 January 2009 - Robert Fisk can't even lie correctly
Writing about the Gaza War, Robert Fisk repeats the lie about the Jenin "massacre" that wasn't.
And what's more, he gets the date wrong. Israel's Operation Defensive Shield happened in 2002, not 2000.
Here's a screenshot of his willful stupidity before it gets corrected:
And here's the quote (h/t Backspin; my emphasis):
But the last time Israel played this game – in Jenin in 2000 – it was a disaster. Prevented from seeing the truth with their own eyes, reporters quoted Palestinians who claimed there had been a massacre by Israeli soldiers – and Israel spent years denying it. In fact, there was a massacre, but not on the scale that it was originally reported.
It's sad that some people still take this guy seriously.
posted by Joel @ 9:29 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
This post is not serious. First, Fisk's main point is about the exclusion of journalists, which I take as valid criticism. Second, the word massacre is relative. Fisk acknowldges that Palestinian reports of a massacre were exaggerated and adds that there was a smaller scale one nevertheless. In the week of fighting, aside from 20 or so Palestinian militants being killed, there were also over 20 civilians dead, hundreds injured, and destruction of many houses, leaving civilians displaced.
Second, I agree with you that Fisk got the dates wrong. Is that comparable to someone posting a video under the headline "the most important video of the Gaza war" when that video was shot over 4 years ago?
First of all, if you believe Israel committed a "massacre" in Jenin, I can understand why you post under a pseudonym. It's simply ridiculous.
Second--the Gaza video was posted on LiveLeak and presented as breaking news. It remains important, as it illustrates the degree to which extremist Palestinian groups violate international law and expose civilians to the risk of attack.
Appearing on Reliable Sources (CNN/Howard Kurtz's show) yesterday, Jim Warren tried the same spin - "Let us in, we can expose all the anti-Israeli lies!"
Not so fast Sparky. I recall that Andrea Koppel (with CNN at the time, I believe) basically got them shut down by Israel for awhile because she kept haranging them - "You will LOSE - This is the END of Israel".
Maybe they should offer to trade her for Shalit.
wahibicorridor
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