Is it possible for the New York Times (NYT) to contribute
something positive toward the betterment of life on Planet Earth? The answer is
this: to get on the road to doing that, the editors of the Times will have to
want doing it, will have to go through the many options at their disposal, and
will have to pick the options they deem will lead them to their goal.
Two such options come to mind immediately. First, the
editors will have to stop gazing at their navel (America 's navel.) Second, they have
to stop treating Israel
like a cuddly panda and start treating it for what it is: a skunk that is
perpetually bloated with spray and constantly discharging it. You can see why
it is necessary for the Times to do this when reading the piece they wrote
under the title: “Mr. Netanyahu's Strange Course” and the subtitle: “Another
Israeli Housing Project Threatens a peace Deal,” published on October 3, 2014.
Try to imagine what – besides navel gazing – would prompt
someone to write: “another in a string of calculated embarrassments that over
the years have undermined American efforts to broker an Israeli-Palestinian
peace deal. These decisions inevitably raise tensions between Israel and its
main ally.” Hey, I have news for you who write this sort of editorials. The
important thing is not that America
was embarrassed or undermined. The important thing is that the ongoing Jewish
crime against the people of Palestine
has added another notch to its unending strings of horror. This must end;
period.
It is from this angle that the situation in Palestine
must be viewed and not in the relationship that may exist between America and Israel . And if you must at some
point mention that relationship for whatever reason, then tell it like it is.
To know what that is, America ,
make the effort to see yourself the way that others see you. What most of the
world sees is a low life scruffy vagabond who befriended a once respected upper
class family, routinely visiting the home of that family where he urinates on
the rug, craps everywhere, makes love to the attractive wife, rapes the boys
and girls and gets paid by the husband on his way out. That's the story of
Netanyahu and the American Congress of brain-dead zombies. It is not
flattering. It is disgusting.
This being the most descriptive analogy that can be given
about the situation in Palestine and the relationships that have been forged
inside the bordello known as the Beltway; that view must become the starting
point of every discussion on the subject, be it written for the print press or
conducted verbally in the studios.
If and when the New York Times and the other media decide to
take this approach when discussing the real cost to America for maintaining
“friends” like Israel, the Netanyahus and the other bums of this world will
know that America is close to deciding it will no longer accept being treated
in this manner. When this happens, there will be no need for the editors of
major American publications such as the New York Times to mumble timidly things
like this: “Netanyahu insisted he remains committed to the vision of peace, but
those words are hard to square with the pursuit of further settlements. He has
also continued to insist on an indefinite Israeli presence in the West Bank . And far from endorsing direct talks with the
Palestinians, he proposed an undefined new process.”
No, not like that. Treating a panda this way may get you
somewhere. But when you deal with a skunk, you'll do better adopting another
kind of treatment. Thus, instead of Obama warning that the housing construction
will bring international condemnation, that it will distance Israel from its closest allies, and that it
calls into question Israel 's
commitment to a negotiated settlement, the administration should do something
more drastic, and the media must call for an even harder line.
Thus, instead of moaning: “Mr. Netanyahu's present course is
antagonizing everyone. It is hard to see why he thinks it is in Israel 's best interest,” the media being the
brain and voice of America ,
must now join the Palestinians who are preparing to ask the Security Council of
the United Nations to call for Israel 's
withdrawal from Palestine
by the end of 2016.