As another supposed ceasefire between the IDF and Hamas brings a period of
relative calm to Gaza, one war continues: the information war never stops.
Those of us who support unequivocally Israel’s right to exist, but also get on
with its neighbours, which includes the establishment of a viable and free
Palestinian state, tend to get drowned out by the bellicose and righteous.
Definitely not fair and balanced
And there is no-one more bellicose and righteous than
Melanie “not just Barking but halfway to
Upminster” Phillips, whose ability to take one side in the conflict, refuse
to concede that her side can do any wrong, and screamingly denounce anyone of
opposing view, is unparalleled. So is her tendency to selectively reinterpret
facts until they support her point of view, and no other.
In this, she starts off merely dishonest, then journeys in
short order to jaw-dropping stupidity. The starting point is an innocuous
looking item on the BBC website discussing casualty figures from the Gaza
conflict. “BBC, NYT now say no
indiscriminate Israel fire in Gaza as fighting-age men hugely over-represented
in casualty figures” she asserts, somehow missing over 400 children.
One read tells you that Mel’s interpretation is highly
subjective, but this does not deter her: “Will
world media now inform public it incited them wrongly to hate Israel over Gaza
women, children deaths?” Did over 200 women not get killed, then? Ah, but
these, she has decided, are deliberate: “Of
course Hamas resumed attacks. Aim to procure more Gaza deaths so Obama will
press Israel to reopen border to let in weapons to kill Jews”. There is no
middle ground with Mel.
Meanwhile, the allegation that the BBC and New York Times have made some kind of
admission is hammered home: “Israel
vilified, Jews threatened [because] world media claimed Israel targeted Gaza
civilians. Now BBC, NYT admit untrue”. There is still no acknowledgement of
those 400 dead children.
And, along the way, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) gets gratuitously smeared: “UNHRC
[sic] lied when [it] said Israel attacks indiscriminate. UN said deaths mostly
civilian. Reason: UN in tank with Hamas”. So that’s rank paranoia, on top
of not acknowledging 400 dead children.
But the real brass neck is saved till last: “Israel [a] model for other nations in Gaza
conflict; could have decimated Gaza in hours but chose rare humane option”. Yes, she really believes that
trashing five billion dollars’ worth of real estate is “humane”. She thinks killing more than 200 women is “humane”. And, worst and least excusable
of all, Melanie Phillips says the killing of more than 400 children is “humane”. And some people wonder why
folks call her mad.
With friends like Mel, Israel is in no need of any more enemies.
4 comments:
Please stop calling her Mad Mel, Tim. Apart from it being a cheap shot at people with genuine mental health issues it lets Phillips off the hook. She's not mentally unstable - she's just horrifically biased and utterly unreliable as a source. Implying she's insane means she can't be taken seriously. But she should be, because she needs to be debunked and held accountable for all the dreadful stuff she writes, not just laughed at.
If I didn't know better this vile woman could turn me all ant-Semite. She won't, of course, but her constant spew of lies, distortions combined with shrieking paranoia isn't doing the uk's Jewish community any favours at all.
As she gets older she seems to get worse. Poor old rosenthal: imagine being married to that. Attending dinner parties must be acutely embarrassing for him.
@1
An edit of the last line has been carried out at your suggestion.
@2
The name you are looking for is Joshua Rozenberg.
Corrected. I was thinking of jim rosenthal. And I haven't been anywhere near a Belgian beer today. Promise.
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