Journal for the Study of Antisemitism

2009] BETRAYING TRUTH 159
such a gross violation of international law and human rights. 75
*
Biased reporting sometimes employs subtle innuendo. This is especially
true when political agendas seep into reportage. The Post’s coverage
of President Barack Obama’s brief visit to Israel in July of 2008 (when he
was still a candidate) exemplifies editorializing too often seen in its news
coverage. 76
The article reporting on the trip included the statement that “Palestinian
gunmen in Gaza have long fired makeshift rockets at Sderot, typically
after Israeli military operations in the strip or the Israeli-occupied West
Bank.” In fact, though, Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank are almost invariably counter-terrorism operations, either
responsive or pre-emptive, as compared to unprovoked Palestinian attacks
against Israeli civilians. Palestinian terrorists fired more than 2,000 rockets
from Gaza at the nearby Israeli town of Sderot in the four years between
2004 and mid-2008; after September 2005, Israel had withdrawn all settlers
from the Strip. 77
By inverting cause-and-effect, the Post’s report injects editorial comment,
essentially favoring the Palestinians. When the story also refers to
“the Israeli-occupied West Bank,” even though the legal status of that area
remains in dispute, it takes sides. 78
Regarding Senator Obama’s unequivocal support for Jerusalem as
Israel’s “eternal, undivided capital” in his speech to the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee in June of 2008, the Post reported that “that comment
drew sharp protest from Palestinians, and Obama quickly corrected
the statement at the time, saying that by undivided he meant a city not
75. See Kenneth Lasson, “Is Gilad Shalit on the Radar?,” Baltimore Jewish
Times, August 7, 2009, p. 32.
76. See Griff Witte and Dan Balz, “Obama Ends Mideast Swing With Vow to
Back Israel, Peace Talks,” Washington Post, July 24, 2008, p. A7.
77. See Bret Stephens, “The Sderot Calculus,” Wall Street Journal, February
26, 2008.
78. Israel has always maintained that its military presence is the legitimate
result of a successful war of self-defense, pending a final negotiated settlement, and
this position has been supported by, among others, the U.S. and British authors of
U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 (1967), the keystone of subsequent Arab-
Israeli negotiations. A noteworthy comparison: the Post has always referred to
Syria’s former military occupation of Lebanon as a presence. See, e.g., Alia
Ibrahim, “Presidential Election Has Lebanese Parties in a Bitter Struggle,” Washington
Post, September 24, 2007, p. A12.