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May 10, 2011 The Wire Just Journalism Spokesperson exposes Middle East Monitor writer's 'kike' slur Tues. 10 May 2011 @ 13.13 - Following Just Journalism's uncovering of racist materials published by pro-Hamas media watchdog, Middle East Monitor author uses derogatory term in blog comment thread. Khalid Amaryeh, a frequent contributor to the pro-Hamas media monitor MEMO, has responded to criticism of Amnesty International's relationship with the organisation by using the racist slur 'kike'. Two week's ago, on his Daily Telegraph blog column, Just Journalism Spokesperson Michael Weiss raised the issue of MEMO being granted permission by Amnesty to host an event at its Human Rights Action Centre in London, despite the former's publication of avowed racists such as Amaryeh, who recently described Israelis as: 'pathological liars from Eastern Europe, who lie as much as they breath oxygen'. After blogger Richard Millet highlighted Weiss' criticism of Amnesty on his blog on 29 April, Khaled Amaryeh responded in person in the comments thread. Addressing another commenter, he wrote: 'Anyway, I don't give a damn whether you are a kike or not. Read more>> The Wire Reuters article downplays Hamas leader's new call for 'armed resistance' against Israel Tues. 10 May 2011 @ 12.44 - Reuters article on Khaled Meshal interview downplays continued Hamas commitment to 'resistance in all forms, armed and public'. This week news agency Reuters conducted an interview with Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, on the new Fatah-Hamas reconciliation deal, which was signed in Cairo last Wednesday. The article by Yasmine Saleh was given the headline, 'Hamas's Meshaal urges West to back Palestinian deal', and was framed as a call by the Islamist leader for international support for the agreement, as it accorded with 'the Palestinian people's choice'. The majority of the article is dedicated to this call: '"The international position, especially that of the Europeans and the Americans, is still unclear but we hope they respect our will and decision," Meshaal said. '"This is an internal Palestinian issue that no one should delay or place conditions on."' However, in the same interview Meshal also explicitly reiterated Hamas's commitment to violence against Israel: '"What is needed today ... is to have resistance in all forms, armed and public ones," he said adding that he intends to try to persuade Fatah to adopt his approach to force Israel to end its occupation. "Any occupier in the world never retreats voluntarily ... It only retreats under pressure and force."' Read more>> The Wire Guardian Jerusalem news blog promotes partisan film Mon. 9 May 2011 @ 11.41 - First entry for nearly two months promotes pro-Palestinian film 'now available on DVD'. The Guardian's Jerusalem correspondent marks her return to regular duty with a blog post reporting that, 'Today sees the DVD release of Budrus, a documentary film about a Palestinian village's struggle against the route of Israel's separation barrier.' In 'Budrus: A West Bank village's emblematic struggle for its land,' Sherwood notes that the film 'has deservedly won many awards and if you didn't get a chance to see it at the cinema, now's your chance to catch up.' Read more>> The Wire Christians in the ME: Widespread coverage of Imbaba violence Mon. 9 May 2011 @ 15.00 - Some high-profile accounts of Salafists ignore role of Muslim Brotherhood in heightening Christian fears in Egypt, as British media reports on latest example of sectarian conflict between Muslims and Copts. Across the weekend there was widespread coverage of the escalation of violence between Muslims and Christians in the Egyptian town of Imbaba, which culminated in two church-burnings and street battles that left at least ten people dead. The violence erupted following mass demonstrations by Egyptian Salafists demanding the 'release' of Kamilia Shehata who was alleged to have been held captive in a church after converting to Islam to marry a Muslim man. Shehata has appeared on a Christian television channel, denying this version of events. The story was covered by The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Times, the Financial Times and the BBC News website. Reporting of the story highlighted the involvement of Salafists, fundamentalist Muslims who have hitherto played a minimal role in Egyptian society, while also relating events in Imbaba to the wider issue of Christian persecution in Egypt. Two articles in particular were noteworthy. Read more>>