Article on Joseph's Tomb Obscures PA Complicity

"Pilgrimage To Roots Of Faith And Strife"
A5, Friday, 10/24/08
By Isabel Kershner

The New York Times' position on the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) has been consistent: even with its flaws, the PA, compared to the more radical Hamas, represents Israel's best opportunity for a two-state solution. The editorial page has scolded Israel for not making the most of this opportunity. Moreover, the paper's reporters pass over relevant facts that cast doubt on the PA's commitment to a two-state solution.

A case in point is Friday's "Pilgrimage To Roots Of Faith And Strife". Reporter Isabel Kershner details a trip she took with some religious Jews to Joseph's Tomb. The site is one of the holiest in Judaism, and located in the PA-controlled West Bank town of Nablus. This tour, which Kershner explains as an "operation," happens at least once a month. Jews are "escorted by the military," and "rushing through the darkness" sliding "quietly along deserted streets". It's part religious pilgrimage, part special forces op.

Why? Kershner gives readers a half-explanation. First, she begins by correctly noting that under the Oslo Accords, Israelis were to be "assured free access to Jewish holy sites" within areas under PA control. "But," Kershner points out, "the tomb became a frequent flash point." Strife? Flashpoint? Trite. Equivocal. Kershner continues:

“In 1996, six Israeli soldiers were killed there in a wave of riots by the Palestinian police and militants throughout the West Bank. The second Palestinian uprising broke out in September 2000, and the tomb was the scene of a battle in which 18 Palestinians and an Israeli border policeman were killed; the policeman was left to bleed to death inside.”

This description obfuscates a harsh reality. In 1996, there was in fact a wave of riots by the Palestinian police and militants throughout the West Bank. What Kershner doesn't say is that the Palestinian mob that assaulted the tomb was led by PA police, who opened fire on Israeli troops. After the Israelis withdrew, the mob entered and set fire to the site – prayer books and relics. As for October 2000, more descriptive than a "scene of battle," is that an armed Palestinian mob descended upon the site. This is a fact not in dispute.

Soon after, PM Ehud Barak ordered the handover of the tomb to PA police, who not only stood aside and let an ensuing mob attack the site, but took part. This is unmentioned in the article's rendering: “Hours after the handover, however, a Palestinian mob ransacked the structure, smashing the dome with pickaxes and setting the compound on fire.” Importantly, readers are told of the Palestinian mob’s tool of choice.

Kershner continues: “Since then, according to settlers, the Palestinians have continued to desecrate the tomb, using it as a local garbage dump and sometimes burning tires inside.” Kershner didn’t have to cite biased settlers when she could’ve referred to PA security forces from February of this year. They reported fire damage to the tomb after finding 16 burning tires inside. Momentarily embarrassed, the PA stated it was forming a joint committee to find those responsible. They then came to their senses and issued the following statement:

"Pay no attention to the rumors that we will work with Israel to restore the burial site of the holy Muslim Joseph. We are going to guard this holy Muslim site." (emphasis added)

Holy Muslim Joseph, Batman! It’s Palestinian Two-Face! It’s one thing for Kershner to report nothing of past PA desecration of holy sites like the Temple Mount and Rachel’s Tomb. It’s another to report nothing of PA desecration of the holy site that's ostensibly her focus.

Kershner ends the article with a sympathetic tone towards the Jewish visitors. “For those present it was as if the tomb, like Joseph, betrayed by his jealous brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt, had been temporarily redeemed.” Earlier, Kershner also noted the Jewish pilgrims’ heartfelt connection to the tomb, writing that “they were praying to be infused with some of the righteousness of Joseph, as well as to be able to return.”

The question of whether Jews will be able to return to this holy site is one that cuts right to the heart of the conflict. As Kershner states, it’s at Joseph’s Tomb that the conflict is “boiled down to its very essence of competing territorial, national and religious claims”. Yet she doesn’t want to spell out two big issues Israel has with the PA: access to holy sites and security cooperation. Kershner thus fails to challenge readers with two necessary questions:

If Israel completes a West Bank withdrawal, as the Palestinians seek, will the PA be willing and able to protect Jewish holy sites like this one? More important, will such an authority be willing and able to prevent attacks against Israelis?

For the Times, in this case, the less its readers know, the better.