Makdisi Op-Ed in LA Times Replete With Inaccuracies |
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Saree Makdisi, whose Op-Eds demonizing Israel regularly appear in the Los Angeles Times, as well as other media outlets, weighed in on Israel’s war with Hezbollah (“Death still stalks Lebanon”) in an LA Times Op-Ed on Oct. 21. Employing his usual tactics, the professor of English and comparative literature at UCLA levels grossly inaccurate unsubstantiated charges against Israel. Denies That Hezbollah Used Human Shields Ignoring volumes of evidence from countless sources, and without providing any counter-evidence, Makdisi alleges that Hezbollah did not hide behind civilians. He wrote:
What are the facts regarding Hezbollah’s use of civilians to provide cover? 1) Hassan Fattah, a reporter for the New York Times, interviewed residents of the village of Marwaheen who described how they begged Hezbollah not to use their village as a staging ground for attacks. According to Fattah,
2) Sabrina Tavernise, also of the New York Times,reported July 28:
3) Jan Egeland, the United Nations humanitarian chief, asserted in a press briefing:
4) On Oct. 8, Anthony Shadid of the Washington Postreported:
5) AP correspondent Todd Pittman interviewed residents of the village Marwaheen, who recounted:
6) Ze’ev Schiff of Ha’aretzdescribed how Hezbollah enlisted farmers to launch rockets at Israel:
7) For visual evidence of Hezbollah’s use of civilian areas, please see the Web site of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition to photographs and videos, it also contains incriminating excerpts from Canada’s National Post and New Yorker Magazine. Contradicts Himself Makdisi can’t seem to decide whether Israel indiscriminately attacked the entire civilian population, all innocent, or whether Israel singled out a specific religious group. Also, he contradicts himself as to whether or not the population was providing “support” (cover) for Hezbollah:
Makdisi is right on one point – Christian towns were relatively spared Israel’s strikes against Hezbollah because their sympathy for the Shiite terrorist group was much more limited than their Shiite counterparts. Thus, Hezbollah was not as entrenched in Christian locales, and Israel had less reason to target them. In other words, Israel was hitting Hezbollah targets which posed a threat to Israel’s civilian population and was not simply “punish[ing] an entire population.” Makes an Outrageous Allegation Makdisi’s outrageous allegation that Shi’ite villages were “literally wiped from the surface of the Earth” requires substantiation. What villages? By what means were the villages supposedly “wiped from the surface of the Earth”? Does he claim that all of the inhabitants were killed and every building destroyed? If none is forthcoming, a correction is in order. Repeats Debunked Figures for Lebanese Casualties Makdisi parrots the common media charge that “The vast majority of the 1,200 Lebanese killed by Israeli bombardments were civilians; one in three was a child.” This frequently repeated figure is apparently based on Hezbollah assertions that it lost up to 80 fighters. But as the Daily Telegraphreported:
Additionally, on Aug. 22, Patrick Bishop of the Daily Telegraphreported:
Israeli sources, and a few non-Israeli sources, including the Kuwait Times , reported that up to 700 Hezbollah fighters were killed. The Israelis claim to have identified by name some 440 Hezbollah fighters and estimate at least 200 others were killed. Despite Hezbollah attempts to cover up the extent of its losses by, for instance, concealing funerals, a tally of press reports on fighters’ funerals confirm that Hezbollah fighters suffered many more casualties than the 80 frequently cited. See CAMERA’s full analysis and detailed list of these funerals, as well as a flash presentation summarizing the issue. In short, if Hezbollah’s losses are as high as 700, it is blatantly false to claim that the “vast majority” of the 1,200 casualties were civilians. Makdisi’s Op-Ed is not the first time that the Los Angeles Times has printed the specious charge that the majority of Lebanese casualties were civilians. When challenged earlier by CAMERA, the paper failed to provide substantiation for reporter Raed Rafei’s claim as fact that “1,200 Lebanese, mainly civilians” were killed in the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah (“Hezbollah Holds Beirut Rally,” Sept. 23). It is unconscionable that, despite the vast evidence that CAMERA has provided the Readers Representative disputing Rafei’s allegation, the paper has not only failed to substantiate its news report, but also repeats it. |
CAMERA Protests UCLA’s Saree Makdisi for “Grossly Distorting” and “Demonizing” Israel in LA Times: Denies Hezbollah Used Human Shields in Lebanon War
- By Tamar Sternthal
- October 29, 2006