Monday, May 29, 2006

Israel Good - Hamas Bad

Eric Westervelt reporting from Ramallah on moves by PA President Abbas is complelled to repeat (as NPR always does) that the Hamas Charter calls for the destruction of Israel. This seems fair enough--since the charter is (in my opinion) a grossly extremist document religious intolerance. However I don't recall similar citations being given when the extremist Likud party governed Israel. Likud's party platform, like the Hamas document, is loaded with religious zealotry and calls for the destruction of Palestine. How else can one read its assertion that Israel's eastern border must and alwayswill be the Jordan River, that all of Jerusalem will be the Israeli capital, and that Palestinians may hope for some submissive semi-autonomy in the future. NPR's constant reference to the extremist nature of Hamas' charter seems meant to show that Hamas could never negociate or compromise, and yet, as the past has shown--even extremists such as members of Likud can and do compromise--in spite of their rhetoric, platforms, and charters.

1 comment:

E. said...

This is a much-needed blog. NPR deserves to be taken to task for abandoning any pretense to providing an alternative to corporate media. "Liberal media," my ass. Thanks for putting into intelligent criticism all the snorting and grumbling my husband and I do as we make coffee in the morning or prepare dinner in the evening.

It drives me crazy that the American media puts such a blatanly unbalanced spin on the Isreal-Palestine conflict. Yes, David throws stones. But Goliath is still a giant and a bully. Can we acknowledge that?