By Eric Rozenman
Israel’s existential struggle against Iran’s “ring of fire”—Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon, militia in Syria and Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen and Tehran itself—includes a psychological warfare showdown between Josef Goebbels and Thomas Jefferson.
Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, famously asserted that “a lie repeated once remains a lie. But a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth.” Jefferson, on the other hand, observed that “the basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right …”
This brings us to the failure of many U.S. news outlets “to keep right” a basic statistic of the war in Gaza, the number of Palestinian Arabs killed and their identities.
In “Israel rescues four hostages in bloody raid,” (June 9, front page), The Washington Post stated that “in nine months of war, more than 36,600 [changed to 36,800 a day later] people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of those killed are women and children.”
Four days earlier, The Wall Street Journal carried a feature headlined “A Family of Democrats Splinters Over Biden; U.S. Backing of Israel in war, humanitarian crisis in Gaza weigh heavily in election,” (June 5). It reported that Israel’s battle against Hamas after the latter’s October 7 slaughter of 1,200 people and capture of 240 more “has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian authorities.”
This sort of language became press boilerplate early in the war. But “Palestinian authorities” are the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry. When uncritically reported, Hamas’ “human shields/martyrs strategy”—itself an ongoing war crime—advances the terrorists’ psych-war goal of delegitimizing Israel and its supporters.
As early as November 30, the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs compared the health ministry’s casualty figures that alleged 67 percent of the claimed 15,000 fatalities were women and children, with Hamas’ own much lower, specifically categorized 2014 war percentages. Its conclusion? Today’s Palestinian numbers “are a scam” significantly suppressing the number of male combatant deaths.
Scam or “completely unverifiable,” as a March 26 analysis by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy put it. In April, Gaza officials themselves admitted their records for more than 10,000 of the posted fatalities rested on “incomplete data.”
On May 13, USA Today reported that the United Nations—long an enabler of Palestinian rejectionism and terrorism through its U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)—reduced by nearly half its estimate of women and children killed. While still relying on Hamas’ Gaza Health Ministry, the U.N. noted many of its figures were “unsubstantiated.”
In June came a stake through the heart of Hamas’ vampire-like recurring women and children statistics (which omit those hit by the roughly 20 percent of rockets aimed at Israel that fall short or those killed by terrorists when trying to escape combat zones). “The Gaza Health Ministry Flimflam” in the June issue of Commentary magazine, dissected the methodology underlying the numbers. Researchers from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies found that “signs of major defects in the casualty data have been visible since December.”
Yet media outlets still parrot the likely inflated total numbers and “women and children” category. The distorted numbers echo in President Biden’s May 31 assertion that in Gaza “too many innocent people have been killed, including thousands of children.”
Spurious figures help support spurious allegations of Israeli “genocide.” Hence, the day after Israel’s military rescued four citizens from Gaza, several thousand leftists, Muslim and other demonstrators ringed the White House protesting “Genocide Joe’s” continued military backing of the Jewish state.
Even if Hamas’ claimed 36,000 Gazan fatalities were accurate, and likewise Israel’s estimate that it has killed approximately 14,000 terrorists so far, that would be a combatant-to-noncombatant ratio of 1:1.6. This indicates not genocide but restraint.
John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at West Point, is a former U.S. infantry officer with two tours in Iraq. He describes Israeli tactics as keeping non-combatant casualties “abnormally low.” In 2015, the United Nations put noncombatant-to-combatant deaths caused by U.S. and British forces in Afghanistan and Iraq at between 3:1 and 4:1.
Regardless, as British novelist Howard Jacobson observed, what better way to invert reality than to smear Israel with the great crime committed against the Jewish people within the memory of some still living?
News media refusal to “keep right” coverage of Israel helps enable genocidal anti-Zionist antisemitism and clouds U.S. foreign policy. Right now, Goebbels is beating Jefferson.
Eric Rozenman is author, most recently, of From Elvis to Trump, Eyewitness to the Unraveling: Co-Starring Richard Nixon, Andy Warhol, Bill Clinton, the Supremes and Barack Obama! He retired last month as communications consultant for the Jewish Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
First Published in the Jewish Policy Centre
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4 Responses
For the Islamist sadist taqiyya and kitman top their lying list.
Dear Eric
Forgive my pedantry, but you have the US/UK ration the wrong way round. 3:1 and 4:1 refers to the “non-combatant to combatant” ratio not the “combatant to non-combatant” ratio you express. See your link to the Camera article.
Otherwise, I agree the IDF have been commendably restrained in their operation (ie proportionate in the sense of the laws of armed conflict).
Pedantry again, I meant ratio not ration (autocorrect strikes again!)
Anti-Jewish racist liar “professor” Neve Gordon, who identifies with Hamas, has been making rounds with his twisted viewes on human shields.
Sep 24, 2024.
___
2005:
In bed with neo-Nazis..
Neve Gordon: Is He Anti-Israel? HNN, Mar 7, 2005.
Gordon was arrested for his illegal interference with IDf anti-terror operations. Prof. Alan Dershowitz last year described Gordon thus: “It is my opinion that Neve Gordon has gotten into bed with neo-Nazis, Holocaust justice deniers, and anti-Semites. He is a despicable example of a self-hating Jew and a self-hating Israeli.” Officials at Ben Gurion University have long backed Gordon’s anti-Israel and Solidarity-with-Terrorists activism.
https://www.hnn.us/article/neve-gordon-is-he-anti-israel
2007:
Distorting facts to support the A slur and intimidating students who challenged him to the truth.
Studying with Prof. Neve Gordon at the University of Michigan.
By Jacob Shrybman, Israel Behind The News. August 25, 2009.
https://israelbehindthenews.com/2009/08/25/studying-with-prof-neve-gordon-at-the-university-of-michigan/
An Israeli student in the large class raised his hand and told Gordon that he was offended by his phraseology and said Gordon was bordering on anti-Semitism by deeming these roads “Jewish roads.” The student described for the class the complete freedom of movement of Israeli Arabs (Arabs with Israeli citizenship) on Israeli roads inside Israel and inside the West Bank. Therefore by calling the roads “Jewish” and not Israeli Gordon was being anti-Semitic. Gordon again simply disregarded the challenge to his biased teaching and appeared irritated.
The same Israeli student that challenged Gordon received a terse email after class that same day from Gordon requesting that the student come see him at his office at an appointment two days later. The student arrived at Gordon’s office and was surprised to see his Graduate Student Instructor (who directly grades the student) present as well. The student cordially greeted Gordon in Hebrew but did not receive the same warm greeting in return.
Gordon then proceeded to berate the student for publicly embarrassing and offending him during class. He belittled the student by telling him that he (Gordon) had been teaching for longer than the student20had been alive and that he had never been embarrassed and offended like that before. Behind closed doors, intimidated by his professor yelling at him, and in the presence of the person who decides his grade, the student quickly apologized and hoped the matter was put to rest. Much to the student’s dismay, in the next lecture Gordon attempted to clear his name and denounced the student’s challenging questions as unfair and unfounded, while publicly humiliating the student…
2009:
Hypocrite, “a left-wing extremist from the fascist genre.”
Hypocrites at their worst.
Aaron Roll, September 4, 2009.
The debates surrounding the wrongful act of a lecturer at Ben-Gurion University are not forgotten. Niv Gordon, a left-wing extremist from the fascist genre, infamous as the human shield of “The Man with the Hair on His Face” Yasser Arafat, in a Muqata in Ramallah during “Operation Defensive Shield”…
https://web.archive.org/web/20220816104319/https://www.articles.co.il/mobile_article.php?id=48070
Always an extremist:
October 2, 2013.
The LA Times’ Ongoing Assault on Israel.
There they go again! Radical professors espousing the demise of Israel are an apparent favorite of LA Times editors who once more give a platform to extremist academic Neve Gordon.
https://www.camera.org/article/the-la-times-ongoing-assault-on-israel/
2018:
Peddling antisemitic tropes blood-ibels to Arab press.
Ben Gurion University Professor: “Passover (sic) Massacre in Gaza”
Liran Levy, 16th of Nisan 5778 (01.04.18)
Professor Niv Gordon of Ben Gurion University, wrote an article for Al Jazeera…
Now14, Apr 1, 2018.
Alon Schwarzer, head of the policy department at the Im Tirtzu movement and a graduate of the Department of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University, responded to the publication and said: “The use of the term ‘Passover Massacre’ by Niv (Neve) Gordon is not accidental. His goal is to direct the world of connotations to the most horrific anti-Semitic blood libels against the Jews who falsely claimed that Jews customarily kill children on Passover to prepare matzoh.
“Thousands of Jews have been murdered for these lies throughout the generations, and a professor belonging to the Israeli Academy is now dancing on this. Gordon is also known for his call to boycott Israel. We call on the outgoing university president, Rivka Carmi, to make amends in her personal career and to take advantage of Gordon’s sabbatical year to prevent his return to the institution. There is only one thing worse than anti-Semitism, and that is the Jews who fuel it.”
https://www.now14.co.il/article/274119
https://web.archive.org/web/20210811113910/https://rotter.net/forum/scoops1/462844.shtml
2020:
Identified with genocidal Hamas.
How Neve Gordon Identifies with Hamas.
Israel Academia Monitor. 19 November 2020.
https://israel-academia-monitor.com/2020/11/19/how-neve-gordon-identifies-with-hamas/
2020:
Never Gordon ‘book’ promoted by pro Hamas ‘Nableezy’ and anti-Jewish ‘Nishidani’.
Intellectual Racism.
Dailykos. Aug 14, 2020.
[…]
From email, August 12, 2020:
A HATER, HAS BEEN EDITING WIKIPEDIA SINCE AROUND 2006.
By editing so much, since around 2006, this means: the occupation on wikipedia as a routine putting in data and sources and pulling out and claiming what is a RS or not.
But revelations reveal this person’s [user name: Nishidani] motives.
Manipulating intellectuality for a hateful agenda. Nishidani masks his work under “politics.”
PROMOTING MUFTI PROPAGANDA AGAINST JEWS WHILE HUMANIZING HIMMLER.
On the page of Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
His edit in November 2015:
As he is so excited to find a “cherry” that can put Himmler in a nice light. He quotes Mufti’s writing from the 1970s that Himmler “told” him in the early 1940s he was “shocked” to see Jews abused… But does not quote it the verbatim nor in context of how M. Sells writes it. His purported source.
The Mufti al-Husayni who in 1920 incited Link to attack non-Zionist pious Link old men, women & children under cries of “idbach…” Link; who in 1941 called upon all Muslims to “Kill the Js wherever they are..this pleases Allah” Link, Link#2 Link#3 Link#4 , and has escaped Nurnberg trial, decades later tried to rewrite details in his memoirs. Naturally. And he was bitter after six-day war too, as Sells writes. Though the hatred is still there on display even on those notes, including believing J. are evil, (choosing to) believe in blood libel, etc.
Yet, even in choosing so enthusiastically to quote this specific line, the user changes, intentionally omits the already beginning fictional part in line, the sheer absurdity that supposedly Himmler was “shocked” (at all) seeing Jews abused. Instead, he maliciously edited it, to fit his intended goal to blame the Jews. The people who were all boxed together hungry and under strict orders of brutal Nazi guards.
HELPING FARRAKHAN’S HATRED.
Pushing for Khazar myth especially on the days it was used (again) for hatred
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Khazar&diff=prev&oldid=967431304].
It was at a time of publicized Farrakhan’s influenced “material” in hate in July 13, 2020. When the poison was in the air. Two days before Nick Cannon who pushed for it from Farrakhan, has finally retracted and apologized.
[Jerusalem Post › antisemitism.
Nick Cannon walks back on video containing antisemitic.. statements …Farrakhan has called Jews…
July 15, 2020
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/nick-cannon-walks-back-on-video-containing-antisemitic-statements-635098/amp%5D
[Nick Cannon Apologizes to Jewish Community for Hurtful Words
By Associated Press
July 16, 2020 01:17 PM
https://www.voanews.com/usa/race-america/nick-cannon-apologizes-jewish-community-hurtful-words%5D
Some info on the khazar myth:
[The myth of the Khazars and intellectual antisemitism in Russia …
2004
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1179/pua.2004.3.3.189 PDF
Our Four Genetic Moms – Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Aug 29, 2013 · On Friday nights Jews traditionally bless their daughters to … million —trace their DNA back to 4 “founding mothers”…
https://www.jta.org/jewniverse/2013/our-four-genetic-moms Link
Jews are not descended from Khazars, Hebrew University
Jun 25, 2014 · New study finds no evidence that Ashkenazi Jews are the descendants of Khazars,
[https://www.haaretz.com/amp/jewish/khazar-myth-busted-1.5253397]
On the Khazar canard.
Sep 11, 2017
https://forward.com/opinion/382244/how-23andme-fell-for-anti-semitic-khazar-canard.
Forward › ashkenazi..
Khazar Myth Disproved By History, Linguistics And Genes
Sep. 25, 2017
https://forward.com/opinion/382967/ashkenazi-jews-are-not-khazars-heres-the-proof/%5D.
And again, it’s also about ‘timing’ of Nishidani’s edit.
HOUTHIS
Upset, objects that the infamous anti-Jewish Houthis are being cited for its use of own people as Human Shields on the human shields page. (As usual, masking it under “politics”).
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Human_shield#New_Material
[Houthis’ flag: officially called Ansar Allah), a political and religious movement and rebel group in Yemen, reads “Allah is Greater, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-death-to-america-death-to-israel-say-houthis-in-yemen-20150220-story.html . https://books.google.com/books?id=42SzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT414 . https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/curse-the-jews-yemens-houthi-rebel-slogan-handed-out-at-university-569074/%5D
TWISTED VIEW: JEWS “VS”…?
Nishidani, edits, work on wikipedia come from seeing the world as non-Jews vs Jews.
His words in August 11 2020: “to win the minds and hearts of goys…” in the Human Shields page of wikipedia.
[Diff/972379035]
Besides the context, it is also the fact of using this form (with added S) not used by anyone else besides neo nazis , up to the time of that Aug.2020 edit. Example: (Fascists forge… January 15, 2019 https://lasvegas.adl.org/fascist-forge-a-new-forum-for-hate/%5D.
Later on, when asked, Nishidani took first the time to browse online, to come up with a weird “reply” trying to blame Jews. To make it clear. It’s not about any use of the word as a whole, but about the context; this person’s view of the world, and this particular form of use.
It all “explains” Nishidani’s obsession on editing about Jewish history, Jewish early sages, personalities, Judaism. And “deciding” what is a reliable source anything that can diminish, or and turn anything Jewish into negative light.
https://archive.ph/tRtFx
https://web.archive.org/web/20240728042059/https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/8/14/1969298/-Intellectual-Racism
‘Nicola Perugini, distorter, typical inciter.’ Aug 9, 2020. http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/259883
How Wikipedia’s Pro-Hamas Editors Hijacked the Israel-Palestine Narrative
a powerful group of editors is hijacking wikipedia, pushing pro-palestinian propaganda, erasing key facts about hamas, and reshaping the narrative around israel with alarming influence
Ashley Rindsberg.
Oct 24, 2024.
[…]
1. CarmenEsparzaAmoux – 8,353 edits
2. Makeandtoss – 8,074 edits
3. Nableezy – 6,414 edits
4. Nishidani – 5,879 edits
5. Onceinawhile – 4,760 edits
6.Zero0000 – 2,561 edits…
https://www.piratewires.com/p/how-wikipedia-s-pro-hamas-editors-hijacked-the-israel-palestine-narrative
https://www.opindia.com/2024/10/wikipedia-editors-vandalising-israel-palestine-articles-peddling-hamas-hezbollah-propaganda-pirate-wires-investigation-reveals/