PrintMarch 22, 2007
Kristof and Obama
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's recent column advocated a weakening of America's support for the beleaguered state of Israel. Kristof has never directly written about Israel before but chose the present moment, just as Israel faces threats from Hezb'allah in the north, Hamas in the south, the medley of terror groups in the West Bank, Syria in its northeast, and an Iranian regime to the East bent on its destruction-to call for this break.
His column has been found wanting in many respects-factual errors, misinterpretations, omission of inconvenient facts, and reliance on discredited data. What many have missed is that this column is a culmination of columns that seemed to indicate a bias against Israel. Kristof had a history of writing in defense of Sami Al-Arian, the Florida professor accused of financing the Palestinian terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Aside from killing many Israeli civilians PIJ was also responsible for the murder of a young teenage American girl. Disregarding a preponderance of evidence that came to light as Al-Arian's trial proceeded, Kristof continued to man the ramparts to defend Al-Arian. When Al-Arian saw how the legal proceedings were going, he pled guilty to financing terror. He saw the light; Kristof never did: unlike the few other journalists who supported Al-Arian, he alone never apologized for his support. He apparently felt no shame at all.
While Kristof has written many columns about the tragedy of Darfur, which won him a Pulitzer Prize, he has never written one word about the hate that is taught to children throughout the Arab world for Jews, Hindus, and Christians. Nor has he written about the hate that is broadcast in Arab media, advocated in mosques, and peddled in bookstores. Nor has he seen fit to previously write about the Iranian regime's Holocaust denial nor its boasting of dreams to commit another one. Not one word.
But now he chooses to write a column advocating that the one true friend Israel has in the world abandon our long-time bond with her. How would he try to make this happen? Well. writing his column. He also wrote that he prefers the view of Senator and Presidential candidate Barack Obama who recently stated, " No one is suffering more than the Palestinian people". Does anyone have a problem with the fact that Kristof, who unapologetically supported Al-arian, has a blind eye for the pain and violence inflicted upon Israelis and the genocidal threat they face, and who advocates a cahnge in relations with Israel, is also supporting Barack Obama for President?
What does he know?
What does he know?
