Isabel the Dove

"Forming Coalition, Netanyahu Agrees to Make Nationalist Leader Foreign Minister"; By Isabel Kershner; A6

A title is meant to capture the reader's attention but not at the expense of misleading him. Too often, the title of an article about Israel does not match the content. 

In the latter half of Isabel Kershner's report, the reader learns that "should Kadima join" the coalition "the job of foreign minister would probably be reassigned." Thus, the agreement between Likud and Yisrael Beitenu does not have the permanent quality that the title suggests.

Unsurprisingly, Kershner portrays Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beitenu, in the least sympathetic light possible. Although his proposal of a loyalty oath is controversial, Kershner neglects to mention the frequent traitorous actions and statements of Arab MKs, which provoked it. 

Regarding the matter of unfair portrayals, Kershner refers to the future Likud-led government as "hawkish." Unless she is willing to describe other parties, such as Meretz, as dovish, the use of the word hawkish constitutes a clear bias.

Cohen - A Joke or A Danger

"Iran, Jews, and Pragmatism"; Roger Cohen; A23

Roger Cohen is in pursuit of The Most Irresponsible Columnist award. His take on Iran, its Jewish population, and its pursuit of a nuclear weapon hews close enough to reality to avoid being labeled delusional but constitute more an exercise in fantasizing than critical analysis. 

Cohen relates a meeting he had with Iranian Jews, who were furious with him for minimizing the threat of Iran to Israel and for overstating how comfortable life for Jews is in the Islamic Republic. 

He prints the statements of several and then departs from the meeting to opine about "the hawks' [whose] case against Iran depends on a vision of an apocalyptic regime." This transition is so quick that the reader is inclined to just move along with him. But the problem here is that he seeks to blend the testimony of Iranian Jews into the viewpoint of "the hawks." Although there may be overlap between the two groups, this merger is a tactical move by Cohen to dismiss the views of the former group. 

Roadblock Removal Leads to Killings

"2 Israeli Officers Killed in Attack In West Bank"; By Isabel Kershner; A10

Isabel Kershner reports that "Israeli security officials said they were treating the killings as a probable nationalist attack by Palestinians." I am doubtful that Israeli security officials described these killings as a "nationalist attack." They more likely described it as a terrorist attack, but Kershner took the liberty to call it a nationalist attack. An article in the Israeli press confirms that those responsible for the killings were part of a terrorist group called Imad Mughniyeh.

To Kershner's credit, she links Imad Mughniyeh's attack to the Israeli Defense Force's easing of travel restrictions for Palestinians around Nablus, a fact that strengthens Israel's position as administrator of these territories.

Playing Down Anti-Semitism

"Readings And Talks For Pro-Gaza Playlet"; By Patrick Healy; C2

The concern about Caryl Churchill's play is that it is anti-Semitic, yet the only shortcoming that Healy presents to readers is the "incendiary comments about Palestinians...with one character saying, 'I wouldn't care if we wiped them out.'" Such a genocidal remark, attributed to a Jewish character, actually reflects more negatively on Jews than Palestinians, undermining Patrick Healy's forced point. 

Moreover, Healy writes vaguely about the play's topic. It is about a how a Jewish family views "violence affecting them, from the Holocaust to the Palestinian uprisings and the Israeli military campaign in Gaza this winter." 

"How to view violence affecting them" seems to suggest violence against them, but Healy's usage leaves the matter unclear. In short, Healy's report is murky in order to deemphasize the play's offensive portrayal of Jews.  

A Dismissive Account

"Allies' Clocks Tick Differently on Iran"; By David E. Sanger and William J. Broad; WK 1, 4

William J Broad's article in the Week in Review depicts Israel as panicky and overreactive and the United States as a kind of Cool Hand Luke.

This view is fed by Adm. Dennis Blair, the new director of national intelligence in the Obama administration, who said before a Congressional committee last week that Israelis "take more of a worst-case approach to these things." Picking up on Blair's point, Broad states, "The nuclear-threat clock ticks a lot faster in Jerusalem than in Washington."

Later on, he writes that Israelis "draw...a dire scenario" about Iran's ability to produce a nuclear weapon. 

Broad's account is replete with ranges. Iran could enrich enough uranium for a bomb in two to three months, say some experts. Others "put the figure between 9 and 36 months." Others still say that Iran won't have enough until 2015. 

Two weakness stand out in Broad's article. First, he states that both American and Israeli officials spoke out last week in response to a United Nations' report on Iran's progress toward nuclear capability, but Israel likely has internal reports through its own intelligence off of which it bases its view. 

Secondly, Broad neglects to mention Israel's history of success in identifying potential nuclear threats before the international community is even aware of them, namely the Osirak reactor in Iraq and a recently bombed reactor site in Syria. In short, Israeli intelligence has proven to be reliable. 

Letting Sadat Off Easy

"The War Widow"; Interview by Deborah Solomon; MM13

Only so much can be dealt with in a Deborah Solomon interview, given the lack of space. Nonetheless, some criticism can be leveled at this week's "Questions for Jehan Sadat."

Solomon asks an excellent question "Why can't the Palestinians, your fellow Muslims, be part of your country?", to which Sadat responds rigidly, myopically. Solomon should have followed it up.

Secondly, Sadat gives Solomon an opening to talk about the status of women in the Middle East. "From time to time, I teach a class about the status of women in the Middle East, mainly in Egypt," she says. Solomon, however, is too concerned about checking off items on her “progressive” checklist to focus in on the matter. Instead, she quickly moves to the issue of homosexuality and Islam.

The most obvious problem with the interview is how Solomon leads and Sadat follows in linking the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty, which Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, Jehan's deceased husband, forged in the late seventies, to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

"How do you feel when you read the headlines these days," asks Solomon. 

Sadat responds, "Sometimes it's very painful for me...[My husband] paid his life for [the peace treaty], and every day there are either Palestinians sending rockets to Israel or Israelis invading Gaza." 

To be sure, Anwar Sadat was assassinated because he signed an Egyptian-Israeli agreement, not an Israeli-Palestinian agreement. 

What Solomon should have asked Jehan Sadat about is why the Egyptian-Israeli peace has been so cold. Assuredly, she would have blamed Israel for the lack of warmth, but at least, such a question would be within her purview.

Vilification of Israel

"American Injured in Clash at Israeli Barrier"; By Ethan Bronner; A7

Ethan Bronner reports that the "Palestinian-led" International Solidarity Movement (ISM) protested "the extension of Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank" on Friday. ISM was “protesting the extension of Israel’s separation barrier in the West Bank.” 

Yet, Bronner provides no details on the extension of the barrier - where it had been, where it was going, and, most crucially, why it was being moved.  

As the article reveals, ISM has a fundamental motivation for its actions, which has nothing to do with barrier extensions. It “opposes Israel’s occuption of the West Bank" and "leads demonstrations against the barrier every Friday at several West Bank locations.”

The reader wonders whether ISM is protesting:

1. "The occupation"
2. The barrier
3. The extension of the barrier

Based on Bronner's report any - or even all - three may be the target. The real mission of ISM demonstrations appears to be the vilification of Israel.