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Sometimes after someone has been doing the same job for a long time, he becomes careless. It can happen to drivers and factory workers as well as journalists. In the case of a reporter, the rules that one learned in school, like integrity and double-checking sources, don't seem important anymore and get overlooked after a reporter has developed a reputation and a byline. The person forgets that he is supposed to REPORT the news and not create it himself. So, instead of examining your terms for accuracy, maybe you just decided to make up some on your own because they are catchy and inflammatory, and you've reached a point where no one is checking your work anymore. An explanation for your comparing Israeli "extremist settlers" to Arab jihadists in Iraq in your outrageous article: "Tyranny of the Minorities" could be that you have succumbed to such sloppiness in your articles. But maybe it isn't carelessness that has caused you to use such loaded and false terminology. Perhaps you have legitimate reasons for labeling the Israelis as "extremist settlers." I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt and to examine the situation in Israel to find a legitimate reason for your doing so. Since there are really several issues here, we'll examine each one separately. "EXTREMISTS" First, your decision to use the adjective "extremist" to label the Israeli residents of Gush Katif (which is the real name of the area where Israelis live) in addition to the misnomer "settlers" needs to be examined. From your earlier writings about Israelis, it is clear that you follow the Arab propaganda lexicon very closely, but adding the adjective "extremist" to the already false term of "settlers" is clearly your own invention. However, I'll try and look at your use of terminology objectively (even though you didn't) and see what the Israelis could possibly have done to lead you to call them "extremists" and to compare them to Arab fanatics in Iraq. Of course -- it's because they have been randomly shooting missiles at the Arab villages for years. No, it can't be that, because it is the Arab terrorists who have constantly bombarded and targeted the Israeli neighborhoods, never the other way around.
But don't worry, I don't give up easily. Let's see... What else would an extremist group do? I've got it -- they've hidden in houses and olive groves so they could ambush Arabs as they went by minding their own business. Wrong again. It's always Arab terrorists who ambush Israelis (and sometimes Americans)!
Or perhaps you called the Israelis "extremists" because they chopped up Arab soldiers that they ambushed and then hid their body parts? No, that can't be the reason either as it was Arab barbarians who did that, too! I'm running out of ideas here. Maybe it's all the tunnels that the Israelis have built to smuggle arms in order to attack innocent Arabs? No, it can't be that because all the smuggling tunnels are in Arab homes and the arms are smuggled FROM Egypt to use against Israelis! The only other reason that I can think of would be that the Israelis get their identity from a group whose purpose for existing is the destruction of the Arab countries. But it can't be that either, because it is the 'Palestinians' whose leaders are known terrorists, and whose very charter states that its purpose is to destroy Israel and annihilate all Israelis. Israelis, in contrast, get their identity from being citizens of a democratic sovereign nation. The hard truth is that the ONLY thing that can possibly be considered "extremist" about the Israelis in Gush Katif is their absolute refusal to leave their homes and to see their enemies move onto their land, enjoying the fruits of three generations of their labor! "SETTLERS" The second issue is your misuse of the term "settlers." The "settlers" do not consist of a few Israeli mavericks as you are implying. There are approximately 8,000 Israeli residents in Gush Katif (that you wrongly misnamed "Palestinian Gaza") and over 200,000 Israelis in Judea/Samaria (that you wrongly called the "West Bank") whom you disparage by that term. Their homes are in well-established neighborhoods with all modern amenities like schools, clinics, municipal offices, parks, etc., as well as flourishing farms and factories in areas that, under Arab occupation, were barren and empty. Another point about Israeli "settlers" that you either don't know or insist on ignoring is that they are living on Israeli land! "PALESTINIANS" The "Palestinians" as a separate group of Arabs weren't even recognized by the Arab countries until the Rabat Conference in 1974.) That territory was occupied by Jordan and Egypt for 20 years after the Israeli War of Independence; it was TAKEN BACK in 1967 when Israel was attacked by the combined Arab forces and WON! Just for the record, Arabs did NOT build villages or farms on the land during the 20 years it was occupied by Jordan and Egypt; NO ONE showed any interest in making that land into a country called "Palestine" until AFTER the Israelis had returned and built it up. The Jordanians in Jerusalem didn't even use Hadassah Hospital, which the Jews were forced to abandon, as a hospital. That building, along with many others, were left standing empty, after Jews were forbidden to live there -- on land which Jewish ancestors had lived in uninterruptedly for thousands of years! However, the biggest piece of misinformation that you are spreading in your article is not your terminology, as outrageous as that is. It is the false idea that only a minority of Israelis are against the insane philosophies encompassed in the idiocy known as "land for peace" which entails negotiating with terrorists and giving concessions to one's enemies. The fact is that there are a small number of residents in the border communities, especially those who have been misled by both Israeli leaders and their American friends, who might be willing to leave their neighborhoods in their hope that doing so would bring peace. However, NONE of the Israelis who live there are in favor of such a move, if by that allegation you meant eager! Moreover, the majority of Israelis who live in more central parts of Israel don't want them to leave their homes either! THESE BORDER COMMUNITIES ARE PROVIDING SECURITY TO THE REST OF ISRAEL FROM UNRESTRAINED TERRORIST ATTACKS! That is why the Israeli government urged people to move there (and even gave free home loans as an incentive) in the first place! The Israelis in the border communities have lived in their homes for THREE GENERATIONS and they do not want to leave! And despite what their enemies abroad and traitors in their own country say, THEY DON'T HAVE TO! But perhaps I misinterpreted your use of inflammatory terminology and misinformation. If your use of such terms is not a result of carelessness nor from a legitimate concern that the Israeli "extremist settlers" are dangerous, the only other possible reason for your provocative and inflammatory mislabeling of the 8,000 Israeli residents of Gush Katif as "extremist settlers" and comparing them to Arab barbarians, is simply that you are no longer able even to pretend to be objective because of your extreme personal anti-Israel bias!
It is writers like you that have cost the NY Times its standard of journalism for which it used to be known. If you can't keep your personal feelings out of your articles, you should consider another line of work. I recommend political spin-doctor as you've obviously had a lot of practice twisting facts to fit your personal ideology. by Dafna Yee |
Then it must be the Israelis' use of their young people,
even children, as human bombs deliberately aimed at Arab civilians with promises of martyrdom if they succeed in dying while killing Arabs. No, it can't be that either, because there has not been a single Israeli human bomber! Oddly enough, the "extremist" Israelis don't teach their children that the greatest goal they can aspire to is to kill Arabs; it is only the
"peace-loving Arabs" who do that. 
