19 July 2014

Jewish/Muslim clashes in Paris. POV means: Point Of View

An interesting case of headlines' war is going on right now in the media. I shall start with one that I consider to be more or less neutral (from HuffPost, not the most pro-Israeli or pro-Jewish news outfit):

Violent Clashes Between Pro-Palestine, Jewish Activists As Middle East Crisis Spills Into Europe

A few quotes to explain the background:

A video has emerged showing dozens of Jewish men waving iron bars, chair legs and shooting pepper spray at pro-Palestinian demonstrators in the French capital, while shouting racist slogans, like "Fuck you Palestine".
There is an important point that should be noticed to better understand the situation:
The video emerged in the days after Hamas supporters stormed the Synagogue de la Roquette in Paris, when three Jewish worshipers were taken to hospital, but is believed to have been shot on the same day.

The article offers a video of the fight (also offered by other two sources mentioned below, but with an amazing twist in the last case):



Now to the Israeli source. This headline belongs to Arutz 7 - very, even vehemently pro-Israeli (and pro-Jewish) bunch:

Watch: Jewish Youths Fight Back Against Islamist Mob in Paris

The article offers an explanation (I don't know how true it is):
Video appears to show clashes outside the Don Yitzchak Abarbanel synagogue in Paris, as Muslim extremists attempted to force their way in.
In any case, this information matches what HuffPost says. And here is what a witness, according to Arutz 7, tells about the clash:
She said that the clash on Sunday actually began when the anti-Israel group attempted to storm the Don Yitzchak Abarbanel Synagogue, which at the time was hosting a rabbinical conference. She claimed that police were called but were very slow in responding, and only arrived in sufficient numbers to push back the protesters after the President of the French rabbinate made a direct phone call to French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who then contacted Paris's Chief of Police to dispatch sufficient forces to the synagogue.
Both HuffPost and Arutz 7 acknowledge involvement of the frisky Jewish boys from the French Jewish Defense League - the Ligue de Defense Juive, so that "Fuck you Palestine" (while I am not sure it is a "racist slogan") is explained too.

And now to the British angle: Daily Mail. To start with, the Internet tag assigned to the article (this is when you google for Jewish-Arab clashes in Paris, for example) is mighty interesting:


"Israeli/Palestinian violence in Paris" - how do you like them chickens? OK, when you open the article, the "Israeli/Palestinian" part is corrected to:

Shocking scenes as 150 Jewish men go on rampage in Paris streets and clash with pro-Palestinian demonstrators

The lede of the article is also amazing:
  • About 150 men took to the streets armed with metal bars and sticks
  • None were arrested despite going on the rampage in front of police
  • Six pro-Palestinian demonstrators arrested over synagogue break in
If you checked the clip, you would agree that even if you sum up the participants of the squabble on both sides, the total will hardly come to 150 (other sources say 60 or "several dozens". You would also be hard tasked to find these "metal bars". And how do you reconcile the claim that the clash was with "demonstrators" against that third bullet - about the six "pro-Palestinian demonstrators" arrested for synagogue break-in? Strange, innit?

Now to the clip. Loath to use the Youtube services, as the two previously quoted sources do, Daily Mail has cleaned up the clip and embedded their own version, with own headline (just move the cursor to any point inside the frame to see it). Unsurprisingly, it says (again):

INCREDIBLE FOOTAGE of Israeli/Palestinian violence in Paris

Oh well, but what is so "incredible" and "shocking" in the fact that in Paris (France), where Jews are being attacked in the streets almost on daily basis, 60 hotheaded Jewish boys decided to prevent the "pro-Palestinian demonstrators" from trashing a synagogue and the people inside, like they have done just the day before?

Isn't it telling that the author(s) of the article is/are being shocked and surprised by the fact that some Jews are not being ready to serve as complacent punchbags for some enraged Muslim hooligans?

You tell me...

And I warmly recommend that  you read all three articles for comparison.

And then, just to see it through the eyes of a witness, read this.

And more facts the Daily Mail omitted (or missed).

4 comments:

Dick Stanley said...

Dozens, sure, Scores? Not a chance. I had a hard time deciding which side was which, but both were using chair legs and sticks. No iron bars in sight. Must a new phenom for the lefties. Thus the "incredible."

SnoopyTheGoon said...

I can't even say that Daily Mail could be classified as lefty. Some other terms come to mind, but I am not in the mood to open this page.

Martin Robb said...

I noticed the other day that these stories about Jewish 'extremists' causing trouble in Paris, and another about the 'outrage' of the next pro-Palestinian demo being banned, were posted by the Mail's Peter Allen. If you scroll through his Twitter posting, you'll see it's full of anti-Israel garbage - and yet he poses as an objective reporter for the paper from Paris.

SnoopyTheGoon said...

Thanks Martin, I didn't think to look at the reporter. Now I know why...