Adania Shibli, "Separated by Israel, Palestinians are forgetting how to stand together": Distorting the Facts

In a guest Washington Post opinion piece entitled "Separated by Israel, Palestinians are forgetting how to stand together" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/separated-by-israel-palestinians-are-forgetting-how-to-stand-together/2014/08/08/ab3ab1fa-16a3-11e4-9e3b-7f2f110c6265_story.html?hpid=z3&wp_login_redirect=0), Adania Shibli, a visiting professor at Birzeit University’s Institute of Women’s Studies and Cultural Studies Department, writes:

"What used to be an open space where people could travel freely between all the Palestinian areas, and even into the Israeli areas, has been divided into four zones, with connections between them controlled by more than 500 checkpoints and roadblocks and a wall 26 feet high."

Peculiar. In fact the West Bank separation barrier, intended to keep suicide bombers out of Israel, is only 10 percent "wall," meant to prevent terrorists from shooting into Israel, and 90 percent "fence." Moreover, as of February 2014, there were only 13 West Bank checkpoints, whose use is dependent upon the security situation at any given time (http://www.idfblog.com/blog/2013/05/06/reality-check-the-truth-behind-crossings-in-judea-and-samaria/).

Apparently unbeknownst to Shibli, there is also a separation fence between the US and Mexico, to prevent Mexicans from crossing the border and seeking work. Mexicans are not trying to blow themselves up and kill innocent American civilians.

But why should the facts get in the way of Shibli's propaganda opinion piece?

CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager's Lie Concerning Israel at a Church Lecture: E-mails to His Reverend

As noted in an April blog entry (http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.co.il/2013/04/pamela-geller-prevented-from-speaking.html), CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager spread a lie about Israel at his New Canaan Church. Fager claimed that Bethlehem is surrounded by a security wall, and although his contention was challenged real time at the church by Dexter Van Zile, Fager is ducking the issue.

On Thursday, I sent an e-mail to Fager's reverend:

Dear Reverend Walsh,

You invited one of your congregants, Jeff Fager, to speak about Bethlehem before your church. Mr. Fager stated that Bethlehem is surrounded by a security wall, and as someone who lives in Israel, I can assure you that this is incorrect.

Mr. Fager was challenged to prove his assertion, but he has since avoided the issue.

You told your congregation that Mr. Fager is: “a man of extraordinary integrity and character. He's a man of grace in a world without grace. He's a trustworthy soul in a world where people ain't always so trustworthy.”

Query: Has Mr. Fager acknowledged to you that he spread a falsehood at your Church?

As you can see below (http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=3&x_outlet=13&x_article=2445), much of what Mr. Fager claimed, beyond the mere issue of the purported wall, is the subject of serious contention.

Would your congregants be interested in hearing a different description of events on the ground from people who are far better informed than Mr. Fager?

Yours sincerely,
Jeffrey

I am still waiting to hear back from Reverend Peter Walsh. Today, I dashed off another e-mail to him:

Dear Reverend Walsh,

I have not heard back from you.

By now, you are surely aware that Bethlehem is not surrounded by a security wall.

Have you discussed this matter with Jeff Fager? Have you personally informed your congregants that Mr. Fager was mistaken?

Is it not imperative that this falsehood, intended to foster enmity, be addressed and rectified in your House of God?

Yours sincerely,
Jeffrey

Let's see if there will be a reply.

Palestinian Torture of Prisoners: The Story Nicholas Kristof Didn't Investigate

You will recall how in July of 2010 Nicholas Kristof made a pilgrimage to the Palestinian Authority, this time with his family, to report, inter alia, on the weekly demonstration against the separation fence at Bilin (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/opinion/11kristof.html?ref=nicholasdkristof). Kristof proudly reported on having been "stoned and tear-gassed on this trip" and announced that "some Palestinians are dabbling in a strategy of nonviolent resistance that just might be a game-changer."

But instead of the fence, let's talk for a minute about what Kristof didn't have the شجاعة or אומץ or cojones to investigate, which would have required a mere 15-minute detour from Bilin.

An article entitled "PA has been torturing prisoners for years, UK group says" (http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=204763), written by Khaled Abu Toameh for The Jerusalem Post , describes the horrors being perpetrated in Palestinian Authority prisons and places Kristof's contention that "nonviolent resistance . . . might be a game-changer" in proper perspective. As reported by Abu Toameh:

"The Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank have been using torture on a widespread and systematic basis for several years, according to a report by the Arab Organization for Human Rights in Britain.

Torture techniques used in PA prisons included shabh (hanging) of all kinds, beatings with cables, pulling out nails, suspension from the ceiling, flogging, kicking, cursing, electric shocks, sexual harassment and the threat of rape, the report found.

. . . .

At least six Palestinians have died under torture in PA prisons and many former detainees have permanent physical disabilities, the report found."

Disturbing? Absolutely, and I hasten to add that the conditions faced by those unfortunates doing time in Hamas prisons, which Kristof also didn't visit this past July while in Gaza, are actually worse.

Hey, Nicholas, how about some nonviolent resistance against the abuses of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas? Do you think it might work? Could this also prove a "game-changer"? Sorry, not a chance. Play these games with the PA or Hamas and the likelihood is that you will also be hanging upside down ("shabh"), or worse.

Meanwhile, Kristof, in the company of his family, prefers to divert our attention to a separation fence, which continues to serve as a highly effective deterrent to suicide bombings (see: http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/ct_250308e.htm).