Mr Bagel

Sunday, 12 April 2009

Faux Photography and captions from Reuters Again!!!!

Click on image to see the capture of the biased UK Reuters article heading.

Reuters is at it again.
According to Reuters UK editon: Jewish settlers rampage through West Bank village.

Biased inaccurate reporting!
Its not enough that they rely exclusively on what 'Palestinian witnesses' and 'Palestinian medics' have claimed the residents of Bat Ayin did, they have use selective captions added to 5 selectively chosen misrepresentative photos to bring context and support to a story that simply isn't true.
The Reuters journalist, editor, photographer and photo editor have all conspired to tell a story that simply didn't happened and was a gross exaggeration and manipulation of the truth.

After the recent murder of a young boy from Bat Ayin, all local communities both Jewish and Arabic have been on edge. Late last week bereaving Jews from the Gush Etzion settlement of Bat Ayin simply wanted to observe and pray at an event (Birkat Hachama) that happens only once in 28 years, at this particular time it happened the morning before Passover , something that has only happened 3 times in the last 2,000 years!

According to other reports the Israeli's from Bat Ayin had made their way to a local hillside to pray at the coming sunrise.
From one of the local Israeli's involved in the event this is what he says happened.

From Daniel Winston:
Eyewitness account I was there.

We finished the blessing of the sun and 30 minutes later a mob of Arabs from Tzafa approached us yelling and throwing rocks. We did not run away but, rather, went towards them I order to protect the large crowd of men, women and children who would have been in harms way had we allowed the murderous crowd to approach. We did not enter the village nor did a single one of us shoot (even in the air) since the army was doing its job of repelling the attack using tear gas, stun grenades, and, when necessary, live fire - although I dont know if that was with hard or rubber ammo.

Daniel Winston - Israel (04/09/2009 20:45)

________________________________________________________

Photo 1 of 5

Caption Photo 1: Palestinians carry an injured man during a clash with Jewish settlers after the settlers rampaged through the West Bank village of Safa near Hebron April 8, 2009.

REUTERS/Nayef Hashlamoun

Proof:

Does this look like they are carrying an injured man from rampaging settlers in a village? Wouldn't there be a background of houses?
Or is this photo actually an example of the Palestinians carrying a 'stone throwing' trouble maker away from the Israeli's who simply wanted to worship the once every 28 years event (Birkat Hachama) of the sun coming up on their local hillside.
Was he injured whilst in the village or was he injured whilst the IDF was trying to hold back local Palestinians trying to show affection to local Jews with large stones who simply wanted to pray?

________________________________________________________

Photo 2 of 5

Caption Photo 2:
Israeli soldiers fire their weapons into the air to disperse Palestinians protesting after Jewish settlers(sic) rampaged through the West Bank village of Safa near Hebron April 8, 2009.

Proof:

Does this look like the local Israeli's are rampaging? Or does it actually look like the local Palestinians were on a mission to be as disruptive as possible to the local Israeli's praying on top of a hillside.
________________________________________________________

Photo 3 of 5

Caption Photo 3: An Israeli soldier fires tear gas at Palestinian protesters after Jewish settlers(sic) rampaged through the West Bank village of Safa near Hebron April 8, 2009.

Proof:

So if we believe the caption, the Palestinians are 'protesting' after the Israeli's have just finished rampaging through the West Bank village of Safa, which bears the question has one single photo what so ever surfaced of this large group of Israeli's rampaging through the village "damaging windows and cars'?

I'm not aware of one single photo showing such a scenario, despite this, Reuters obviously had a Photographer on scene, yet Reuters fails to have one photo of the rampaging!
Reuters claims during the 'Rampage' that Palestinian medic crews couldn't get through!. Reuters has chosen to believe 'local Palestinian residents and medics' when they claim that the 'Settlers'(sic)
"rampaged Wednesday through a West Bank Arab village, smashing car windows and damaging homes, residents and medics said."

Why aren't there any photos showing the Bat Ayin residents rampaging through the West Bank village? Is this because it didn't happen? Why is it that almost every photo in this story places the Palestinians as victims and the IDF as the aggressors?
The Palestinians were the ones who started the whole affair by throwing large lethal sized rocks at the local Israeli's from Bat Ayin who were simjply praying.

________________________________________________________

Photo 4 of 5

Caption Photo 4: An Israeli soldier points his weapon as Palestian protestors look on after Jewish settlers rampaged through the West Bank village of Safa near Hebron.

Proof:

Cleverly the Reuters photographer has positioned himself so as to capture the Israeli Soldier whilst capturing the Palestinians in the background, creating a more dynamic photo which again just happens to portray Israel in the 'offensive' position.

________________________________________________________

Photo 5 of 5

Caption Photo 5: Israeli settlers throw stones at Palestinians after the settlers rampaged through the West Bank village of Safa near Hebron April 8, 2009.

REUTERS/Nayef Hashlamoun

'Settlers throwing stones? I see one single settler throwing a stone, which in the correct context is probably a reaction to the number of Palestinians throwing stones at him. Why has Reuters not shown any photos of the hundreds of Palestinians who were throwing stones?

Like this Photo, one of hundreds available:

Photo: AP Palestinians throw stones at IDF troops during clashes in the village of Safa, near Bat Ayin, Wednesday.

From this slanted reporting by Reuters we end up with an even more slanted and out of context piece of Journalism from Ramallah Online.
More Clashes and Unrest in village of Safa By Jihan Abdalla

"Dozens of Israelis from a Jewish settlement on Wednesday (April 08) rampaged through the West Bank Palestinian village of Safa, smashing car windows and damaging homes, residents and medics said.
Some 12 Palestinians were injured by Israeli fire who arrived at the scene after the settlers from Bat Ayin stormed into the village. Palestinian medics said one of those wounded, who was hit by a live bullet in the neck, was in serious condition.

Safa residents said about 200 settlers, some of them carrying weapons, entered the village.
An eye witness reported that a large number of settlers came early in the morning and started to smash car windows and hurl rocks at houses.

Soldiers fired rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas during the clashes with Palestinians, villagers said. Some 1,000 Jewish settlers live in Bat Ayin near the Palestinian towns of Hebron and Bethlehem.

In 2002, three settlers from Bat Ayin were sentenced by an Israeli court to prison terms ranging from 12 to 15 years for trying to set off a bomb near a Palestinian girls' school in Arab East Jerusalem. The injured seven-year-old boy is a son of one of the three jailed settlers. "

Mr Bagel: No mention of the boy who was murdered instead the blame for violence is implied on the 'injured boy' who was the son of "one of the three jailed settlers."

What a disgraceful example of slanted Journalism.

References:
Reuters: Jewish settlers rampage through West Bank village.
Ramallah Online:More Clashes and Unrest in village of Safa
JPost:Palestinians, Bat Ayin settlers clash

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Saturday, 11 April 2009

Why do we allow others to define who we are?

Why do we allow others to define who we are?
Please feel free to comment.

Slain Israeli boy wasn't a 'settler'

"The Baltimore Sun's headline "Palestinian kills Israeli settler, 13" (April 3) was an unfortunate way of describing the cold-blooded ax-murder of a sweet, harmless little boy. And since the victim is described as a "settler," he is treated, in some way, as the bad guy, while the term "Palestinian" is, at most, neutral."

"I have visited Bat Ayin, the community where the killing occurred. It is in Gush Etzion south of Jerusalem. Gush Etzion was part of Jewish Palestine before 1948.

The Jordanian Arab Legion led by British officers besieged it and murdered all the males and deported the women and children. The children came back in 1967 and rebuilt the villages their fathers had died protecting.

Israel will never give back Gush Etzion; it is a nonnegotiable part of the land of Israel.

To call residents of Gush Etzion "settlers" is the same thing as calling Jews living live near the Western Wall settlers because this area was also reclaimed in 1967."

Rabbi Leonard Oberstein Baltimore

Further Reading:The History of Gush Etzion
A history of Gush Etzion and the Massacre of Kfar Etzion

References:
Slain Israeli boy wasn't a 'settler'

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Bodgey Bagels Caption Contest Week 39

The 'Almost Famous'
Bodgey Bagels Caption Contest

Number 39

Entries in by Sat 18th April

Bodgey Bagels Caption Contest

will now always be available from:
http://bodgeybagels.blogspot.com/

Or see the caption link in the Mr Bagel Menu.

Ground is broken for White House 'kitchen garden'

... Caption away!
Leave your entries in the comments section
before Saturday 18th April.
Take Note of New weekly Tuesday Deadline

Leave yourcaptions on Bodgey Bagel Comments

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Friday, 10 April 2009

Pro Palestinian Supporters decide what can be sold in French supermarkets

Forget freedom of choice you will do what we want!

If the video fails to play click here:
Pro-Palestinian Supporters Enter French Supermarket And Remove Israeli Goods From Shelves

This video has just appeared on the Pro Palestinian George Gallaway site 'Viva Palistina'
Seems these nice friendly people think its appropriate to march into French stores and start throwing products they don't want the stores selling into baskets. Why do they look so much like a lynching mob? Why were they able to get away with this kind of behaviour? Why do the most active 'activists' look like they might be Middle Eastern Muslims?
What would happen if some one marched into a French store and banned goods from Islamic countries??

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Sunday, 5 April 2009

The New Diplomatic Mantra: Peace for Peace

Apparently the return of a sense of conviction and strength from Israel's new ruling coalition has made some parties very nervous. Some elements of the mass media are desperately trying to present this assertive stance in a poor light.

You can bet the inevitable violence that the Palestinians unceasingly direct towards the Israeli civilian population will be held to be the result of this 'refusal to bend (read buckle)'

AP has quickly jumped on the 'Israeli the peace breakers' bandwagon, as this article shows.
Re: Netanyahu pledges to produce peace policy soon

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said his government would immediately get to work on Mideast peace issues, promising to present a diplomatic agenda in the coming weeks.

Apparently within a week of forming a government your expected to have a comprehensive peace plan that covers all the opinions of your wide coalition. I think considering it has taken over a month to form a Government it might be safe to say it might take just over a week to form a consensual platform to negotiate peace from.

Speaking at the first meeting of his Cabinet, Netanyahu said he planned to appoint an inner Cabinet on Sunday to deal with the nation's most pressing security and political issues. "In the coming weeks, we shall complete our policy guidelines for progress on peace and security," he said.

Despite the media's portrayal of the Government being against peace, the real difference is this Government isn't going to persist in continuous compromises which are never rewarded and simply weaken Israel's position both strategically and militarily.

Netanyahu has sent mixed signals about his diplomatic program in recent weeks. Elected on a platform highly critical of his predecessor's peace talks with the Palestinians, he took a softer line when he was sworn into office last week, telling parliament he would pursue a "full peace" with the Arab and Muslim world

Remember when Israel was being called upon to negotiate with Hamas, who refuse to actually even acknowledge the existence of Israel? Well now with the new Israeli government only just coming into power we have this gem from Associated Press.

"However, Netanyahu has given few details about his program and has so far refused to endorse the idea of an independent Palestinian state. Palestinian independence is a cornerstone of U.S. policy in the Mideast, and the Palestinians have said that if Netanyahu does not commit to a two-state solution, there is no point in negotiating."

Its almost sickening to see the Palestinians play the 'we really want peace card', the simple fact is its hard to believe some one is sincerely wanting peace whilst they're firing Katushas every day towards civilians.

In another article discussing the controversial approach (refreshing to some) by Avigdor Lieberman towards any future negotiations, written by Matti Freeman for AP :
Ex-foreign minister: Israel not a peace partner

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Lieberman's remarks were an insult to the world powers pushing for peace.

"He has slammed the door in the face of the U.S. and the international community," Erekat said. "It seems to me that this is President Obama's first real test."

Of all the people to talk about insults to world powers in the pursuit of peace Saeb Erekat takes the cake.

Its not enough that Tzipi Livni was giving concession after concession away in the recent peace negotiations, now she's actively undermining the position of the new coalition in future peace negotiations. Where does political point scoring become less important than Israel's future in any peace deals?

Two notable quotes from Lieberman:

"Netanyahu's hard-line foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, raised additional concerns on his first day in office when he dismissed as meaningless the past year of U.S.-led peace negotiations and said concessions to the Palestinians only invite war."

and the best quote to be heard this week:

Peace for Peace!

References:
AP: Netanyahu pledges to produce peace policy soon
AP : Ex-foreign minister: Israel not a peace partner
Picture Credit: Cox & Forkum

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Finally some reality therapy...

Finally, harsh realism from Israel

If Avigdor Lieberman's first speech as Israel's new foreign minister did nothing else, it certainly vexed the media.

The Associated Press called it a "scathing critique of Mideast peace efforts" that had diplomats "cringing," while other reports said Lieberman had "dropped a political bombshell," "sparked an uproar," "repudiated a key accord," and "reinforced fears." The New York Times pronounced Lieberman's remarks "blunt and belligerent," describing the foreign minister as a "hawkish nationalist" who is "not known for diplomacy" and heads an "ultranationalist" party that is "seen by many as racist." Headlines summed up Lieberman's debut as an attack on peacemaking: "Lieberman dashes peace hopes," "Israeli official hits peace efforts," "Lieberman dumps peace deal."

But the headlines were wrong, as anyone can ascertain by reading Lieberman's short address. Far from disparaging peace, Israel's new foreign minister called for pursuing it with the respect and realism it deserves. And far from "dumping" agreements entered into by his predecessors, he explicitly committed himself to upholding the Roadmap - a step-by-step blueprint to a "two-state solution" adopted by Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the international Quartet in 2003.

"I voted against the Roadmap," Lieberman acknowledged, but it was "approved by the Cabinet and by the Security Council" and is therefore "a binding resolution." However, he insisted, it must be implemented "in full." The Roadmap imposes specific obligations that the Palestinians must meet prior to achieving statehood - above all, an unequivocal end to violence, terrorism, and incitement against the Jewish state - and Israel will not agree to waive them in order to negotiate a final settlement.

If Lieberman is as good as his word - and if he is backed up by Benjamin Netanyahu, the new prime minister - we may finally see an end to Israel's fruitless attempts to buy peace with ever-more-desperate concessions and retreats. Under Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert, Israel surrendered the entire Gaza Strip, released hundreds of arrested terrorists, and even offered to divide Jerusalem with the Palestinian Authority. "But none of these far-reaching measures have brought peace," said Lieberman. "To the contrary." The steeper the price Israel has been willing to pay for peace, the more it has been repaid with violence: suicide bombings, rocket attacks, kidnapped and murdered soldiers, and wars with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

It is time, Lieberman is saying, for Israel to stop genuflecting to a feckless and counterproductive "peace process" and to return instead to the pre-Oslo policy of deterrence. "The fact that we say the word 'peace' 20 times a day will not bring peace any closer," he noted. It only makes Israel seem weak and irresolute, encouraging its enemies not to halt their murderous jihad, but to redouble it. Sixteen years of appeasement have left Israel more demonized and isolated than ever, the foreign minister observed. And when was Israel most admired in the world? "After the victory of the Six Day War," when no one doubted the Jewish state's audacity or resolve.

"If you want peace, prepare for war," Lieberman declared.

That idea may offend the smart set and leave diplomats "cringing," but Israel's new foreign minister is hardly the first to express it. "To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace," affirmed President George Washington in his first address to Congress in 1790.

Perhaps the world would more clearly understand the nature of Israel's enemy if the media weren't forever fanning moral outrage at the Mideast's only bulwark of freedom and democracy.

In recent weeks, the Palestinian Authority has warned Arabs that it is "high treason" punishable by death to sell homes or property to Jews in Jerusalem; shut down a Palestinian youth orchestra and arrested its founder because the ensemble played for a group of elderly Holocaust survivors; and celebrated the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel's history with a TV special extolling the massacre. On Thursday, after a Palestinian terrorist used an axe to murder a 13-year-old Jewish boy, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - a wing of the "moderate" Fatah party - issued a statement claiming responsibility.

There is no appeasing such hatred, and demonizing those who say so will not change that fact. "If you want peace, prepare for war." How refreshing to hear an Israeli foreign minister say so.

Mr Bagel: Instead of never ending one sided concessions with no progress, now the agreed terms of the agreement have to be abided by. This is how it should have been in the first place.
To read the full article hit read more or go to this link:
Boston.com: Finally, harsh realism from Israel

References:
Boston.com: Finally, harsh realism from Israel
Article by Jeff Jacoby