Early this month, in "Palestinian Israelis divided, disillusioned as election nears," the Washington Post stated that "many Palestinians fled or were expelled" after Israel's "creation in 1948."

The mere creation of Israel produced no displacements of Palestinians, but the Post readers would never know this if the article is an indicator.  The Washington Post leaves a giant hole in the description of what happened in 1948.

What the Post cynically omitted was that after the Jews announced their independence, the local Arabs (who later became known as Palestinians) and five neighboring Arab countries launched a genocidal war against the nascent Jewish state, attempting to "push the Jews into the sea" — in their words.  Had this been successful, the Jewish people would have suffered back-to-back Holocausts.  Instead, in what seems to be one of the greatest upsets in history, the tiny Jewish nation won!

Yes, there were Arabs who were displaced during this war, as Jews were displaced.  However, without the Arab aggression, there would have been no displacement on either side!  The Post leaves out this critical detail, making it impossible for the reader to understand that in the 1948 war, the Arabs were the aggressors, and the Jews were the victims.

Would the Post describe America's bombing of Tokyo in WWII without telling readers about the prior Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor?  Would the Post describe Ukraine's recent attacks on the Russian airfield in Crimea without mentioning Russia's land-grab of Crimea?

The Post's insidious omission of the Arab attack on Israel after its creation in 1948 was clearly calculated to suppress pro-Israel sympathy.  It is unethical journalism by any standard.  Why is the Post trying to sway its readers against Israel?

Image: Daniel X. O'Neil via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.