Is it possible for The Washington Post to misreport a critical element of a story after getting it right just two days earlier?  Apparently.

In “Israel should evacuate settlements, pay reparations, ICJ says“ (7/19/24), Post reporter Loveday Morris manipulates casualty figures by saying that the war in Gaza “has claimed more than 38,800 Palestinian lives, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.”  However in “Hamas attack civilians intentionally, Human Rights Watch says“ (7/17/24), just two days earlier, the Post properly admitted that the Gaza Health Ministry casualty count “does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.”  So Morris effectively inflated the civilian casualty count figure, knowing full well that combatants were included.  Israel says there are upwards of 14,000 Hamas combatants in that number, making the war one of the most humanely fought in the history of urban warfare in terms of minimizing civilian casualties.  This war has been made more difficult as Hamas hides behind, beside, and below civilians, having formed a terrorist tunnel system more expansive than the London and New York subway systems combined.  Israel deserves appreciation for its success in minimizing civilian casualties — but we will never see commendations appear in the notoriously anti-Israel Washington Post. 

Both articles actually abandoned a principle of good journalism by failing to say that the Gaza Health Ministry, which counts the casualty figures, is controlled by Hamas — the terrorist organization that controls all information out of Gaza.  And the reporters should have added that a key prong of the Hamas war effort is to manipulate world opinion in its attempt to defeat Israel politically through worldwide pressure since it can’t win militarily.  There is no motivation for Hamas to tell the truth about the casualty figures — they have been caught numerous times erroneously reporting exorbitant casualty counts.  Most notable was the explosion in the al-Ahli Hospital in October of last year, when Hamas falsely blamed Israel for the attack, saying soon after the incident that there were 500 deaths.  It was later found that the attacks were from an errant Islamic Jihad rocket that hit a nearby parking lot, causing very few casualties. 

This propaganda offensive by Hamas is apparently working, as the Post states that “Israel has faced mounting international pressure over the war including in a separate case South Africa lodged at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, charges Israeli officials have vehemently denied.”  These charges are at a minimum based on the Gaza Health Ministry casualty count lie but additionally on the libel that Israel is committing a genocide — a charge that is ironically absurd because genocide is the aim of Hamas against Israel (and all Jews).  The Hamas charter blatantly says so.  Further, the wrongful charge of genocide against the Jewish state is cynically calculated to strike a personal chord because that is what happened to the Jews in the Holocaust. 

The article either tells lies or reports ICJ lies.  The article starts with “The International Court of Justice, the top judicial arm of the United Nations, said Friday that Israel should end its occupation of Palestinian territory, evacuate existing settlements, stop building new ones and pay reparations to Palestinians who have lost land and property.”  Israel is not occupying any Palestinian territory — the territory is disputed.  See “The Israel-Palestinian Legal War: This land is ours” by Joel Margolis.  Israel has no legal obligation to relinquish territory in the West Bank or to stop building homes there, if it wants.  The U.N. is known for its anti-Israel animus, and the Post should know that and report it accordingly. 

Is it that difficult for the Post to figure out that one of the tiniest countries in the world — Israel, a country so small that its name cannot be written inside its borders on most maps — cannot possibly deserve the number of U.N. resolutions leveled against it?  The number of U.N. resolutions targeting Israel is more than the total number naming the worst offenders of humanity on the planet combined, including Iran, China, Russia, Sudan, and North Korea.

The Washington Post needs to stop maligning Israel, the Jewish nation.  The Jews are a people persecuted more than any other people in history.  Why does The Washington Post feel so compelled to keep demeaning and libeling them when it should be standing up for them?

Flickr, CC BY 2.0.

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