BACK FROM THE CITADELS OF UNREASON
by David Basch
by David Basch
"Clearly, there was here two worlds unfolding before us,
the products of altogether different exposures to news
and contexts...."
"A good example of such an anti-Israel media personality
active today is Thom Friedmann of the New York Times...."
It was indeed a series of experiences in the citadels of unreason
these last few days of Passover as I attended seders that included a
surprising assortment of uninformed adults and confused, uncertain
youngsters, certain of nothing except that Obama was great and that
Israel needs to be more interested in peace.
It was apparent that, except for some pillars of conservatism present,
I was among those who had been the targets of one-sided reports on
domestic and foreign events and the inculcation of liberal
philosophies that had virtually removed those influenced persons from
the possibility of communication with the likes of me.
For example, one of those present, who had accused me of extreme bias
while asserting his own bias-free views and open mindedness, left the
room when the Fox channel came on giving reports that were
picturing another, apparently unacceptable, side of the news.
In this context, Avigdor Lieberman's sage and prideful declarations of
a new era of Israeli self-respect and right to formulate its own
policies to save itself from grave Arab and Iranian threats were
being criticized as "belligerent" and "racist" -- reflecting the
universal news commentaries of the liberal press and media. My
response was quick and curt to the effect that here were Israel's
enemies clearly trying to terrorize and destroy Israel and it is the
Jewish defenders that are the ones called the "racists."
Clearly, there was here two worlds unfolding before us, the products
of altogether different exposures to news and contexts. But what was
particularly apparent was the assumption of those on the liberal side
of the debate that it was they had the monopoly on virtue and had the
right to ratchet up the worst interpretations of whatever was said to
the contrary as evidence of the other's "racism" and
"narrow mindedness."
The situation brought in my mind a talk many years ago by political
humorist Mort Sahl during the Vietnam era of mass protests against the
war. He mentioned how the CIA had infiltrated the public organizations
of protest to the point that at one such protest meeting that he had
attended, half the persons at the meeting were CIA agents, set to work
to try to create conduct to discredit that protestors.
The reason why I thought this memory significant is that it revealed
the way the CIA operated intensively in order to create opinion for
the advantage of the government. I reasoned that little had changed
today in the new circumstance and that the CIA -- or whatever the
current organization or organizations are named -- was obviously
operational behind the scenes in all those anti-Israel, "peace"
organizations -- Yesh Gevalt, Betzel Chelm, Pieces Now, etc' -- whose
purpose was to discredit Israel in the minds of the mass of Jewish
youth and the liberals, all the latter characteriistically over-righteous,
moralistic (moral-like but not moral), and altogether ignorant (or
wishing to be ignorant) of facts.
It is about time that the defenders of Israel woke up to the fact that
these CIA type activists are at large to spread the opinions of the
pro-Arab State Department in support of the oil tyrannies of the
Middle East, distorting news and burying any semblance of the reality
of savage, racist, and murderous Arab policy toward Jews and Israel.
Few will remember that during World War II some of the top news people
were members of secret intelligence agencies like today's CIA that
existed at the time for the purpose of conditioning public minds --
definitely a good cause while we were at war with the Nazis -- but
less so today when such media types push short-sighted, narrow
policies that sacrifice long-term US interests and turn against
staunch US allies while supporting and championing the purveyors of
racism, anti-Semitism, and terror.
A good example of such an anti-Israel media personality active today
is Thom Friedmann of the New York Times. Years ago he wrote a book
about how the Lebanon war in 1982 that sought to dislodge Arafat's
terrorist army there somehow turned Friedmann's long-time support for
Israel to an anti-Israel stance against the then government of
Menachem Begin.
But those who knew Friedmann as a student at Brandeis years before
reported that he had long been anti-Israel, anti-Israel from the very
first. Friedmann had already been a stooge for the CIA that supported
his career to this very day where he leads liberal Jewish readers by
the nose to have them lobby and agitate for destructive Israeli
policies that go against the realities that would otherwise dictate
wise, strong, unyielding policies against implacable Arab enemies.
I have long ago recognized the fact of this propaganda war against
Israel that include as practitioners many career oriented Jews in
media, academia, government, and politics. I remain ever surprised
at how Israeli governments and US Jewish organizations proceed with a
straight face giving such practitioners the benefit of the doubt,
although they walk like CIA agents, talk like CIA agents, and act like
CIA agents. From this, I come to other conclusions.
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