March 12, 2007

Unquestionably, the New York Times is the most influential newspaper in America if not the world. it is not only the paper of record but it also prides itself for only publishing  news 'that's fit to print.' But when it comes to the Middle East, I  often get ulcerating pains reading its coverage, editorials and commentary on  the Palestine-Israel conflict. "How can they not see the truth? Who is behind this moral blindfold which sees the Israelis as victims and the Palestinians the villains? Well, we may have the answer in a new book by two well known authors. You can be certain that,  just as in the case of Carter's Palestine peace not Apartheid book, this volume will also be discredited and attacked. Hopefully, enough Americans will read it and decide to change their  views on  the conflict. And America will better for it because truthful and unbiased news and commentary will foster good policy decisions.  Please spread the word.

I have preordered  the book from Amazon. Here is  a quote from the books publishers:

Israel-Palestine on Record: How the New York Times Misreports Conflict in the Middle East (Paperback)
by Howard Friel (Author), Richard Falk (Author)

Book Description
A detailed indictment of the New York Times' coverage of Israel-Palestine.

In this scathing analysis of Israel-Palestine coverage in the US media, Howard Friel and Richard Falk reveal the persistent ways the New York Times has ignored principles of international law in order to shield its readers from Israel's lawlessness. While the Times publishes dozens of front-page stories and extensive commentary on the killings of Israelis, it publishes very few such stories on the killings of Palestinians, and mostly ignores the extensive documentation of massive violations of Palestinian human rights by the government of Israel. Furthermore, the Times regularly ignores or under-reports a multitude of critical legal issues pertaining to Israel's policies, including Israel's expropriation and settlement of Palestinian land, the two-tier system of laws based on national origin evocative of South Africa's apartheid regime, the demolition of Palestinian homes, and use of deadly force against Palestinians. These journalistic practices have not only shielded the extent of Israel's transgressions from the American electorate, which is Israel's main source of financial and military support, it has severely diminished our understanding of the Middle East and of US foreign policy in general.