OpEd by: Ronn Torossian
Israel is so constantly subject to obscene double standards by the media, it reminds me of a touching scene from the movie Defiance, about Jewish partisans during the Holocaust where the prayer leader begs of G-d “Please, choose another people! We’ve run out of blood, so please choose another people.” When incidents which portray the truth about Israel – as the victim – they are often ignored by the media. Two incidents this week which occurred in Jerusalem received zero mainstream media coverage, outside of the Israel/Jewish related media. If the shoe had been on the other foot there would have been wall-to-wall media coverage, United Nations condemnations, and who knows what else:
At
the holiest Jewish site in the world, Jews dared to sing Hanukkah songs and
pray – and for this were attacked by Muslim worshipers on the
Temple Mount
in Jerusalem on
Sunday. In Israel,
which is often falsely condemned for “oppressing” Arabs, Jews were banned from
praying at the site after the Muslims attacked them. No media coverage
surrounding any of this. (No calls from world leaders about this Palestinian
Arab action creating a crisis for peace talks, or as an obstacle to peace.)
Imagine if Jews attacked Arabs while they were praying?
A
two year old toddler, Avigail Ben-Zion, sustained serious head as the result of
Arab terrorists throwing a three-pound rock through the window of the car her
mother was driving in Jerusalem
Thursday night. A complete black wall of silence. Both of these
incidents occurred in Jerusalem
– and there was literally not one foreign or International news organization
which covered either of these stories. Imagine if Jewish teenagers threw
rocks at Arab toddlers?
Jews
pray and Jews drive cars – and are attacked and the media ignores it. Media
ignoring these incidents is simply insane.
Bob Dylan wrote a song in 1983 called “Neighborhood Bully” which
is a perfect description of today: “He's criticized and condemned
for being alive. We are supposed to turn a blind eye while millions of Israeli
citizens are in danger .He's not supposed to fight back, he's supposed to have
thick skin, He's supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in.” “The
neighborhood bully been driven out of every land - He’s wandered the earth an
exiled man - Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn -
He’s always on trial for just being born - He’s the neighborhood bully.”
Everything in Israel
attracts undue media attention – except when Jews are harmed. A Zionist leader Ze’ev
Jabotinsky had the answer when he wrote “Instead of Excessive
Apology” in 1911: “We constantly and very loudly apologize…. Instead of turning
our backs to the accusers, as there is nothing to apologize for, and nobody to
apologize to, we swear again and again that it is not our fault… Isn’t it long
overdue to respond to all these and all future accusations, reproaches,
suspicions, slanders and denunciations by simply folding our arms and loudly,
clearly and calmly answer with the only argument that is understandable and
accessible to this public: ‘Go to Hell’?”
This
PR Agency owner says Israel needs to act in its best
interest always and regularly – and sometimes forget about negative PR.
Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, a leading independent PR
Firm.
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