Just another game...

I believe now that I can find a silver lining in anything, so I am not absolutely lost to humanity. Here comes an example of a tragic story, idiocy and yes, some silver lining. Plus a superb writer, person and blogger who was too het up to spend a few more minutes in an investigation. Writes Ami Isseroff:

Media bias is apparently an immovable fact of news reporting on the Middle East. I am not talking about doctored photos, use of hate words like "Israel Occupation Forces" and "Apartheid Wall" in more more extremist publications. I am referring to a pervasive standard of more subtle mendacity that we have come to accept. Like people condemned to live near a pigsty or a chemical plant, we have become so used to the stench that we hardly notice it. In the same way, Jews in other times became accustomed to wearing a yellow star, and black people in southern United States understood that they must ride in the back of the bus.

Difficult to disagree, especially on the background of the Western MSM recent surrender to the Hamas' propaganda. In this instance Ami describes a specific and truly disgusting Reuters piece.

Yesterday, two terror attacks took place in the West Bank. In one, Palestinian Arabs attacked border guards at a checkpoint and killed a border policeman. In another, Palestinian Arabs entered a civilian Yeshiva in the community of Kfar Etzion and tried to kill students there. The students were armed though, and they overcame and killed their attackers.

The Reuters report of this incident is below. It is not outstandingly anti-Israel, just biased and hateful in an ordinary pedestrian way. A casual reader might not notice much bias unless it was pointed out. What do we see here? The headline tells you that two Palestinians and one Israeli was killed. Clearly it is another case of the Israeli Goliath victimizing the oppressed Palestinian David. That is how those lopsided casualty figures pile up - incident by incident.

The lede paragraph tells us that "Jewish settlers shout dead two Palestinians" - without telling us why. It also tells you that "gunmen" (of unidentified origin - maybe Jewish) Killed an Israeli Border Guard (religion and ethnic affiliation unspecified.

Etc. Well, I have invested about 5 minutes to study the author of this dreck. One Ori Lewis, a Jerusalemite, most probably an Israeli. A quick google shows that Ori is mainly a Reuters sports hack with very few articles on other subjects. Now the provenance of the offensive headline "Two Palestinians, Israeli killed in W.Bank incidents" should be clear. Think "Brazil - Uruguay 3:1". And the further development of the story is a typical report on a sports event.

Small fry and not very professional, in other words. The editor of the story, one Tim Pearce, is quite another matter. Seems like a seasoned editor, having his fingers in lots of pies. But a bit of low level anti-Israeli coverage probably doesn't bother his majesty. Unless it's Mr Pearce himself that arranged the article in this way...

In any case: Reuters - Ami 0:1. Easy game, too.

Do you see the silver lining now?

Cross-posted on Yourish.com.