April 4, 2009

Jerry Gordon comment: Today’s New York Times reopened the fraudulent ‘case’ of IDF soldier actions in Gaza with an Op ed, “Israel on Trial” by University of California Hastings College of Law professor, George Bisharat-a notorious apologist for Palestinian rights and proponent of a ‘one-state solution.’ Just three days earlier Bisharat had a similar op ed in his home town newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle, “Changing the Rules of War”.

This looks like a bi-coastal cabal of leftist editors engaging in perpetuation of the blood libel against the IDF, allegedly put to rest by internal investigations and media critics of the patent lack of journalistic vetting of sources. CAMERA and thousands of others had taken the ‘New Duranty’ Times to task over these stories put out by Gideon Levy of Ha’aretz based on alleged IDF solider testimonies compiled by reservist refusenik Danny Zamir. Last Saturday, the New York Times published a retraction of sorts, “Israel Disputes Soldiers Accounts” that didn’t completely mollify CAMERA. So, once again, the ‘New Duranty’ Times editorial page editor gives equal time to baseless hearsay against Israel and the IDF, another low in journalistic ethics by the wrecking crew running the ‘gray lady’. Read this review of Bisharat’s sinuously dangerous taqiyya by Jonathan Boyko of Tactical/Middle East.

by Jonathan Boyko, Tactical/Middle East, April 4, 2009

Meet George Bisharat, currently a professor at the UC Hastings College of Law. Bisharat was born in 1954 in Kansas, to a Palestinian family from Jerusalem, eventually earning BA in Berkeley and MA in Georgetown. Later, Bisharat studied in Harvard, and assumed position of professor of law at University of California. Bisharat is an author of ‘Palestinian Lawyers and Israeli Rule: Law and Disorder in the West Bank’, worked with Palestinian Legislative Council and on editorial board of Journal of Palestine Studies.

I believe the above gives us clear understanding of Bisharat’s allegiance; however, it is also clear he is a smart man. Bisharat criticized Israel’s conduct in 2006 Second Lebanon War, pushes for the boycott of Israel, alleges Israel’s conduct in 2008 Gaza campaign constitutes war crimes and an avid supporter of a one-state solution (read: Israel ceases being a Jewish state).

In a recent op-ed published by the New York Times, Bisharat presents us with a real problem, while using unsubstantiated claims to promote his point. Starting with

CHILLING testimony by Israeli soldiers substantiates charges that Israel’s Gaza Strip assault entailed grave violations of international law. The emergence of a predominantly right-wing, nationalist government in Israel suggests that there may be more violations to come. Hamas’s indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israeli civilians also constituted war crimes, but do not excuse Israel’s transgressions.

The ‘Hearsaygate‘, which we discussed in length last month, cannot be used as substantiation to anything, as both soldiers eventually admitted hearsay and rumors, rather than actual witness to the events described. Thus, Bisharat is being dishonest from the top, by attributing any value to ‘testimonies’. By the way, Israeli Palestinian Rights Groups such as Betzelem and Yesh Din were – and are – doing their best, together with Israeli newspaper Haaretz, to unearth more testimonies and allegations of murder of innocent Gazans – months after the operation, they still have no facts at hand. (Continue Reading This Article)