CBS Smears Israel on 60 minutes

CBS SMEARS ISRAEL

We wonder where Bob Simon of CBS's 60 Minutes has been for the past few weeks. Hamas's actions in the Gaza Strip, which Israel evacuated in 2005, have led to divisions within the Palestinian people and Israel's Operation Cast Lead. Hamas is still intent on destroying the State of Israel through terror. Yet, according to Simon, the sole "obstacle to peace" is West Bank settlements. Whether one agrees or disagrees with settlements, Simon has produced a shocking piece of journalism that amounts to a smear against Israel.

* According to Simon, Palestinians "have to submit to humiliating delays at checkpoints and roadblocks." Simon fails to mention the Palestinian terror that has plagued Israel, necessitating such security measures.
* In an incredibly loaded narrative, Simon claims that Israel has three options: "They could try ethnic cleansing, drive the Palestinians out of the West Bank, or they could give the Palestinians the vote. That would be the democratic option but it would mean the end of the Jewish state. Or they could try apartheid - have the minority Israelis rule the majority Palestinians, but apartheid regimes don't have a very long life."
* Intentionally pandering to Palestinian propaganda, Simon immediately follows this up by associating Israel's security barrier with apartheid: "Apartheid? Israel is building what it calls a security wall between the West Bank and Israel." As the barrier is mostly a fence, Israel certainly does not refer to it as a "wall" and Simon makes no reference as to why the barrier was constructed nor to its effectiveness at preventing terror. Instead, viewers are treated to one side of the story.
* It appears that Simon is attempting to misrepresent the majority of Israelis. He claims that "Moderate Israelis who deplore the occupation used to believe passionately in a two-state solution." Yet, to illustrate this point, he interviews Meron Benvenisti, an Israeli who has long advocated a one-state solution and considers Israel to be worse than apartheid South Africa. Is this representative of the Israeli mainstream?
* Likewise, Simon's focus on settler Daniella Weiss is not representative following Weiss's rejection by the mainstream settler movement.

Presenting a one-sided picture of perceived Palestinian grievances, unrepresentative Israeli viewpoints, and completely ignoring the Palestinian role in the conflict, Bob Simon's report deserves a response.

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