Hamas Wins Propaganda War

Hamas Wins Propaganda War - Jack Kinsella - Omega Letter Editor - http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=6548

NOTE: The following article was originally posted in February 2009, fast-forward nearly four years and little has changed...

The prophet Zechariah predicted that, during the last days, amid the wars and rumors of wars, the preeminent global hot spot will be Jerusalem. Zechariah wrote from the province of Judea, 150 years AFTER the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel and 2500 years BEFORE the restoration of the Jewish State.

"And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." (Zechariah 12:3)

The UN General Assembly is really run by the Arab League, whose aim it is to prevent a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Arab League's 22 members run the 59-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, which in turn runs the 115-member Non-Aligned Movement, which also includes the Islamic Conference and Arab League member states.

Thus the Arab League has a guaranteed majority to fulfill its first ambition: the destruction of Israel, one of the only two democracies in the Middle East. In a real sense, the General Assembly functions primarily as an instrument to rob Israel of any legitimacy as a nation-state.

The General Assembly is at its most malevolent in its mistreatment of Israel. Israel and the West Bank are always referred to as "occupied territories." But that term is never applied to persecuted Tibet, China's colonialist grab.

As far as the U.N. is concerned, there is no Israel; only Palestine is legitimate and its capital is Jerusalem.

Examples of General Assembly discrimination against Israel abound. Israel is the only country of 191 member states that is barred from membership in any regional group.

Consequently, Israel can never serve as a member of the Security Council, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights and other U.N. bodies. Regional group membership is a prerequisite to such appointments.

Israel is the only nation on earth to be made a permanent part of the United Nations Human Rights Council as a serial human rights violator.

Not the Sudan. Not Iran. Not China. Not Somalia. Not Rwanda. Not Saudi Arabia. Just Israel -- the only representative democracy in the Middle East.

More UN resolutions have been passed condemning Israel than any other nation, including countries like Libya, Iraq, Iran and Syria.

In fact, more than half of all the condemnatory resolutions ever passed by the United Nations were passed against Israel, meaning the UN has condemned Israel more times than it has all the other nations of the world combined.

During the recent operation against Hamas in Gaza, the world press hammered Israel after 40 Palestinians taking refuge at the UN school in Jabaliya refugee camp north of Gaza City were killed by Israeli tank-fire.

The press reported that Israeli forces fired on a refugee camp. The Washington Post's headline was typical of the coverage: "Israel Hits UN-Run school in Gaza."

Secretary General Ban ki-Moon dropped what he was doing to visit Gaza and express solidarity with the Palestinians. "These attacks by Israeli military forces which endanger U.N. facilities acting as places of refuge are totally unacceptable and must not be repeated," he thundered.

The UN Security Council immediately passed a resolution mandating a cease-fire.

The global press reacted typically: "Israel Rebuffs UN Resolution, Pursues Gaza War" read the Reuters headline on January 9.

The fact that Hamas rejected the ceasefire (even before Israel had a chance to), claiming it hadn't been consulted' was barely reported outside the Israeli press.

In another widely reported incident, Israeli forces hit a hospital in Gaza's al Quds neighborhood. For most consumers of news and information, that's all they got. If one had to compose a headline based on the preponderance of information concerning the Gaza operation, "IDF Attacks Schools And Hospitals" sounds about right.

It's all based on a lie, but that doesn't matter. Truth isn't what is true, it is what people want to believe is true.

The Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera reported Thursday that a doctor working in Gaza's Shifa Hospital claimed that Hamas has intentionally inflated the number of casualties resulting from Israel's Operation Cast Lead.

"The number of deceased stands at no more than 500 to 600. Most of them are youths between the ages of 17 to 23 who were recruited to the ranks of Hamas, who sent them to the slaughter," according to the newspaper article....

A Tal al-Hawa resident told the newspaper's reporter, "Armed Hamas men sought out a good position for provoking the Israelis. There were mostly teenagers, aged 16 or 17, and armed. They couldn't do a thing against a tank or a jet. They knew they are much weaker, but they fired at our houses so that they could blame Israel for war crimes."

The reporter for the Italian newspaper also quoted reporters in the Strip who told of Hamas' exaggerated figures, "We have already said to Hamas commanders - why do you insist on inflating the number of victims?"

Of course, the reason for inflating the numbers is because the inflated numbers are what most people will remember. A few years back, the IDF was accused of massacring 1500 Palestinians at Jenin. The UN sent envoys, passed resolutions and threatened to bring Israel before an international tribunal.

It was all based on a lie. There weren't 1500 Palestinians massacred. There were 54 Palestinians killed, 45 of whom were armed men. But by this time, the major media was finished with the story and moved on.

So the 'Jenin Massacre' lives, completed with a documentary record including UN resolutions and must official bluster. The meat-grinding Battle of Jenin that ultimately claimed the lives of 34 IDF soldiers is largely unknown outside of IDF legend.

At the recent Gaza UN school 'massacre' that got Ban ki Moon's knickers in a knot, the IDF was returning fire. It turns out that the IDF forces didn't know it was a school.

But Hamas did. So it stationed a mortar team just outside. It was Hamas who was responsible for the deaths of those forty Palestinians taking refuge there. Not Israel. But rather than correct the story, the majority of the media just moved on.

Hamas stationed an anti-tank crew at the al Quds hospital. The IDF tank crew that returned fire hit the hospital because of Hamas. But rather than correct the record, the major media moved on again.

US president Barack Hussein Obama just authorized $20 million be sent to 'aid the Palestinians' in rebuilding Gaza. Money sent to Gaza is money sent to Gaza's government, which is, of course, Hamas.

So Obama just sent $20 million to Hamas.