Countdown
"Faux"to-Ops
Vol. 7 42
Posted on Thursday December 7, 2006
Accuracy in Media
Watching former President Jimmy Carter discuss his new book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, has been both a breath of fresh air and a jarring reminder of the inaccuracies that ordinarily permeate coverage of Palestine and Israel. Take this exchange between Carter and CNN’s Wolf Blitzer regarding the wall:
Blitzer: The book jacket, the book cover, has a picture of you. It also has a picture of the wall that Israel has constructed…along the West Bank to protect itself, presumably, from terrorists coming into major Israeli cities and towns.
Carter: Not along the West Bank, but inside the West Bank.
Blitzer: Inside the West Bank…
Carter: OK.
Blitzer: To separate, if you will, the Palestinian territories from Israel, pre-’67 Israel…or close to those lines. Carter: As a matter of fact, that’s not correct, Wolf. What the wall does is separate Palestinians from other Palestinians. This wall is not built between Israel and Palestine. It’s built between the Palestinians and other Palestinians.
Blitzer: In terms of going a little bit further than the pre-’67 lines…
Carter: I wouldn’t say a little bit.
Blitzer: You’re right, it’s all built on Palestinian-occupied territory.
Carter: And in some places, it goes much further than a little bit.
Who other than President Carter would be permitted not just to respond to Blitzer’s questions, but to challenge their premise?
“Faux”to-Ops…
As the first American Muslim elected to Congress, Congressman-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN) must have known he’d fascinate bigots everywhere, but this is getting ridiculous. This week, Townhall’s Dennis Prager picks up were CNN’s Glenn Beck left off, attacking Ellison’s choice to swear in on the Quran rather than the Bible as an act that “undermines American civilization.” We’re not kidding. In fact, Ellison will take the official oath of office with all other freshmen members of Congress in a ceremony that doesn’t include any religious text. The ceremony Prager attributes as a foundation of American civilization is actually an optional photo-op and Ellison would be following the tradition set by many of his colleagues—including Jewish elected officials who regularly use the Torah rather than the Bible. Perhaps Prager missed that line in the Constitution that says, ”...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
Genie in a Bottle…
Congratulations to Arab American filmmaker, Jehane Noujaim, who was recently awarded Technology Entertainment Design’s TED Prize. The award is described as a $100,000 grant to help fulfill an individual’s world-changing wish. According to TED, “Our prize-winners may be very different, but they will have this in common: They will be doing something that has extraordinary potential. Something whose positive influence could spread, transcending borders.” Noujaim’s wish is to “bring the world together for one day a year through the power of film.” Most recently, Noujaim directed the acclaimed documentary, Control Room, which examined the Iraq war from the eyes of both American and Arab journalists. “It’s important for everyone, simply as individuals, to try to understand different people and different cultures, but it’s especially important for people in the United States because we affect so much of the world beyond our borders,” she said.
