Unworthy to Report

"Hezbollah Seeks to Marshal the Piety of the Young"

Robert F. Worth

A1

November 21

Robert F. Worth profiles summer camps of the terrorist organization humbly called party of God, or Hezbollah in Arabic.

Worth displays a stunning lack of independence in his journalism, unbefitting of such a renowned media outlet, such as the NYTimes. He offers a recitation of Hezbollah propaganda with respect to Israel and uncritically presents their worldview.

Hezbollah’s denotion of Israel as adversary appears no less than eight times in the article, but at no point does the reporter present the reader with an accurate picture of the Hezbollah-Israel conflict, which was initiated and is perpetuated by Hezbollah.

The references that most clearly evidence Worth’s adoption of Hezbollah propaganda are those that include the word “struggle”:

• “to continue its military struggle against Israel”  [paragraph 5]

• “the struggle with Israel , they were told, is the same as the         

struggle of Shiite Islam’s founding figures, Ali and Hussein, against unjust rullers intheri time” [19]

• “full time pre-occupation with Hezbollah’s military struggle against Israel” [35]

Leaving aside Hezbollah propaganda, Hezbollah’s worldview receives uncritical presentation by Worth. In sections referring to women, secular society, and the death of Imad Mugniyah, Worth submits to the Hezbollah perspective:

• “He is extremely devout – he will not shake hands with women” [paragraph 39]

This is as much sexism as devotion. 

• “temptations of Lebanon’s secular and often decadent society” [42]

Pray tell, would Amsterdam be called “decadent” in the pages of the NYTimes?

• Imad Mugniyah “who was widely viewed in the West as the mastermind of decades of bombings, kidnappings and hijackings” [29]

Is this a matter of perception? Isn’t Mugniyah known for the same actions in Lebanon, but much of the populace looks at those actions as positive not negative?

• “loyal base of support that has made Hezbollah the most powerful, military and social force in Lebanon” [4]

No. What has made it the most powerful is the truckloads of arms from Iran through Syria that it receives. Hezbollah would like to play up its grassroots people power in order to appear homegrown, rather than looking like the foreign-funded presence that it is.

One wonders why Worth has essentially given Hezbollah control over its image in this article. Fortunately, the answer is hinted at in the piece itself.

Worth writes, “The party has become extremely protective and rarely grants outsiders access to them.” Therefore, if you do get access to them, you better write sympathetically.

A last point – for the Jews out there. Worth conveys the hateful messages taught to camp participants about Jews, but will not use the word anti-Semitic to describe this material. That is a damn shame.