This article will be very short. The reason for the brevity is because a picture is worth a thousand words.
As you see from the coverage of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal on the topic of the Al Jazeera journalist killed during a battle between Israel and Arab terrorists, the media has two alternate universes.
The Times headline is that Israel is condemned for beating Arab mourners at the journalist’s funeral. Interestingly, if you read the full article, you will see that the only ones condemning Israel are the Arabs and The Times itself.
There is no context offered in the article – just scant reference to the fact that the mourners were in violation of the agreement with the journalist’s family that the coffin would be carried by hearse, not by hand.
There was a reason for that agreement. They were afraid that if it were carried by hand, things would get out of control and the body dropped. Indeed, many of the gathered began throwing rocks at the Israeli soldiers as the coffin was being bandied about. A little detail.
What about the fact that the Palestinians refused to cooperate with the investigation as to who actually killed her? The Palestinians are holding the fatal bullet but will not yield it to the investigators. That story was not mentioned.
But think about it. Remember a few months ago, when a beloved Fox News reporter named Pierre Zakrzewski was killed while reporting on the war in Ukraine? Do you recall any investigation as to who was responsible for his death? It’s a war, and tragically, these casualties are sadly often the result. But not when Israel is involved. Then it’s investigations and condemnations galore. The Biden administration was not very helpful in this issue.
Do you remember the episode a few years ago when an Arab child was caught in a military crossfire between Israel and Hamas? The little boy was killed as he was cowering for cover with his father. Do you remember that the whole world followed the narrative of French television that it was an Israeli bullet that killed the child? That led Israel to be condemned worldwide and exacerbated the volatile situation. Of course, after lawsuits and thorough investigations, it was proved that it was actually an Arab bullet that killed the child. But it was too little too late. Who cared? The worst part is that no lessons from that fiasco were learned. I don’t know why the Israelis, as far as I have seen, do not bring up that incident at this time. But it would make no difference. Reality never makes a difference when dealing with Jews.
Our reality is, as Chazal say: “We have no one to rely on except for HaKadosh Baruch Hu alone.”
Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is the Rabbi of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, Vice President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, former President of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens, and the Rabbinic Consultant for the Queens Jewish Link.