Defaming Israel

September 20, 2010 By 28 Comments

In his reference to Arabs “whose families used to live on this land,” Vick is apparently justifying Arab-Palestinian intransigence, while subtly rejecting Israel’s historic claims to the land.  He is, in essence, implying that Israelis are at fault in the conflict, since the land really belongs to the Arabs.

Israel delivered to Egypt “the last grain of sand” and all of the Sinai Peninsula as part of the March 1979 Camp David Peace Accord, in exchange for a “Cold Peace” it got from Egypt.  That small fact was conveniently ignored by Vick.  How many countries would trade their energy independence (Sinai oil wells) for a cold peace?  That question was apparently not on Vick’s mind.  It was not only with Egypt that Israel made concessions in their search for peace, it also ceded disputed land along the border with Jordan in 1994 in 1994, and it has offered to do the same with Syria in exchange for a genuine peace.  From 1948 onward Israelis sought to make peace with all or any Arab State, and in the aftermath of the 1967 Six Day War, Israel invited the defeated Arabs to make peace with it in exchange for land it captured.  The response was the famous Three No’s at the Khartoum Summit of late 1967, no to peace, no to negotiation, and no to recognition of Israel.

Vick chose – purposely? – to feature the hedonistic Israelis who are interested in money, pleasure, and leisure, and who choose to spend little time in pursuit of something as elusive as peace.  This is not only a distortion of reality and truth; it reflects at best the insular world of a small Tel Aviv bohemian clique.  For hundreds of thousands of Israeli mothers and fathers, wives and children, whose loved ones don the uniform of the Israel Defense Forces, and Border Police, and who are in constant danger from murderous Palestinian terrorists, no prayer and wish is greater than that of peace.  It is expressed in popular songs, in synagogue prayers, in casual greetings, and in daily conversations. Somehow this was never mentioned in Vick’s article.

The obvious intent of Vick’s piece is to present Israelis as arrogant overlords who do not want to lose their possessions or share them with the “poor” and “injured” Palestinians who want their land back. Aside from the question of who has rights to the land (West Bank and Gaza), which is a separate issue, Abbas and the Palestinians have made impossible demands such as the aforementioned “Right of Return.” One should not forget that there were more Jewish refugees than displaced Palestinians – 850,000 Jews were booted out of their homes in Arab lands.  The Jewish refugees were dealt with more humanely and were settled by Israel while the Palestinians refugees were deliberately kept in misery so as to help the Arabs score political and propaganda points against Israel. Peace talks focus on the concessions that Israel must make – as they recently did when Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered a freeze on all new construction in the Jewish settlements.  What concessions have the Palestinians made? None…

The establishment media in the U.S. and the West, represented by such journalists as Karl Vick, hold Israel accountable for the lack of peace in the region despite the fact that historical facts dispute this.  Cowardly journalists like Vick know that there is nothing to lose in smearing Israel, while presenting the truth about Palestinian and Islamist triumphalism might engender personal risk.  It is therefore an easy job to paint the Palestinians as “victims” and Israelis as callous victimizers who – Do Not Care About Peace.

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  • proxywar

    I wish this site would do articles like this when it comes to American foreign policy and how the left says we are to blame for 9/11 and all the troubles in them middleeast.

  • jbtrevor

    Excellent piece, shared & bookmarked!!

  • andres de alamaya

    Israel is paying in PR for its reticence in war. It IS at war constantly, as is America, facing a 1400 year old adversary who cannot rest until it sees us destroyed. When Israel finally attacked Gaza after putting up with rockets for years, it pulled out before finishing the job as Bush, Sr., did when Schwartzkopf wanted to chase the beaten Iraqis to Bagdad. One cannot have peace if one is not willing to vanquish one's enemy. The prattlings of all the Vicks of the world in a magazine on its last breath have no meaning or importance.

  • Beverley

    I am not Jewish … but I will not buy Time anymore. I hope everyone puts this article on their 'Facebook'.

  • ze-ev ben jehudah

    I do,nt have to write a comment because you have sayd it all,also for me.

  • ze-ev ben jehudah

    Antisemitism is in.You have to be an antisemite to belong to the [leftis] incroud?.
    It is starting all over. The antisemitism of today is more severe than in the 1930's
    and once more there are powers rising who want to eradicate the Jews world-
    wide.

    • WilliamJamesWard

      This is true and it is very sad but the World does not know and
      the leftists do not know that Jews in America have made life
      long friends that will do what is necessary to help Israel. My
      thoughts of today were in Isaiah 49: 25&26 and it is so……William

  • Michael Pat

    Thanks to the IDF the Israelis do enjoy a relative peace, at least internally in the country, albeit under constant threat from Iran and its proxies, and from HamAss rockets. In spite of the difficult situation of Israel there have been positive signs of Israeli confidence recently, for example and increased birth rate. So it shouldn't be too surprising if some Israelis are looking to their own future. If the Arabs did the same thing instead of obsessing themselves with destroying another country they might be able to irrigate their deserts and make something decent out of them, just like Israel did.

  • Harold K.

    A mainstream magazine article with the title "Why Israel Doesn’t Care About Peace" has committed clear violations of moral etiquette, along with defamation, innuendo, misrepresentation of truth, and even incitement. It is the kind of story that any Arab leader would be proud to hang in their office as a support for jihad.

    It thereby acts as a deterrent to peace, by giving the warmongers more ammunition and one more pretext to continue jihad against Israel or its supporters. It only makes you wonder who Time's investors are or how desperate they've become to stay afloat. Has Time entered the ranks of a fifth column? Is it still an American magazine?

  • Robert Heller

    The Israeli's have come to understand that wishing for peace will not bring peace. They are realists who have demonstrated their desire for peace over the last 60 plus years and have repeatedly been rebuffed. It is interesting that Vic and the Time editors don't condemn the American public when they respond poll after poll that their number one concern is the economy. Should one draw from this poll that American's don't want peace? Should one draw the conclusion from the fact that President Obama and his family take vacations in lovely places that he doesn't want peace? This foolish article only highlights the absurdity of their writers and editors conclusions. Shame on them. Bob Heller

  • Patrick

    Disgraceful. How can the writers of trash like this ( usually on the left ) get away with gross distortions of the truth, or outright lies? Does anyone actually read Time anymore or has it gone the way of 1$ newsweek? There are historical facts that seem to be completely ignored when the left attacks Israel. Why is that?

  • muchiboy

    "When, however, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza and abandoned settlements in Samaria only to be repeatedly rocketed by Hamas, it became clear that peace is simply a pipe-dream. You simply cannot have a one-sided peace.

    Ehud Barak, backed by President Bill Clinton, was ready to concede 95% of the West Bank and Gaza, including East Jerusalem, and compensate them with the remaining 5% with land inside the Green Line (Israeli territory). This generous offer "

    Given that hundreds of thousands of European Jews dispossessed the Palestinian people from their homeland with the approval and support of the Western world ,given that Zionists continue the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians,the use of the term "generous offer" is both demeaning and offensive. Muchiboy

    • WilliamJamesWard

      muchiboy you're back and I see that mental frame of
      wacko is still vibrantly endearing, how do you do it,
      I am almost a fan of you're bizarro lunacy. However
      pleasantry aside, tell the truth, you work for Time
      Magazine under the pseudonym Karl Vick……..eh! eh! eh!
      Must be……………………………………………………….William

    • MixMChess

      "Given that hundreds of thousands of European Jews dispossessed the Palestinian people from their homeland with the approval and support of the Western world"

      I have already proven that the so-called Palestinians never called the region their homeland. The so-called Palestinians originated from surrounding Arab countries after Zionists provided economic opportunities and raised the standard of living so the land was "livable." I have also already proven that early Zionists LEGALLY purchased VACANT and TENANT-FREE land in order to specifically avoid dispossessing any native Arabs. You need to get past your "dispossession" lie.

      "given that Zionists continue the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians"

      Again, I have proven to you before that Israel has not and does not engage in ethnic cleansing. Palestinians populations in and out of Israel proper have increased exponentially under Israeli rule (84% increase from 1994-2003 alone!).

      The fact that you continue to repeat lies and ignore the real ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by Jordan is both demeaning and offensive.

    • ziontruth

      Given that the Jews, no matter where they come from, are the indigenous people of Palestine, while the Arabs of Palestine, just like Arabs anywhere outside the Arabian Peninsula, are settler-colonist invaders exceeding their indigenous mandate (the aforementioned Arabian Peninsula), even the tiniest concession on the indigenous Palestinians (=the Jews) part amounts to a generous offer.

      (Peeps, I know I've been through this with Muchiboy a hundred times. You ask why I persist? Again, my answer is: For the lurkers who read here.)

      • MixMChess

        (Peeps, I know I've been through this with Muchiboy a hundred times. You ask why I persist? Again, my answer is: For the lurkers who read here.)

        I agree wholeheartedly.

  • aspacia

    The Left has distorted the whole conflict, and will not recognize the fact the Arab/Muslims are at fault. I dumped Time and Newsweek years ago after my critiques sent to the editors were never published. Myopic nincompoops.

    • WilliamJamesWard

      You are to kind…………………………Willaim

  • Phil

    As someone who was in college during the civil rights movement that was given moral leadership by MLK, I never,ever, thought that I would see the day when a mainstream magazine went antisemitic. Unfortunately, I am unable to cancel Time at this moment because I cancelled my subscription to this vile magazine several years ago. Time would not dare to write a similar story about Muslims because they know that retribution would be swift and horrific. Jews don't do that kind of thing but they can show their abhorrence of the magazine by cancelling subsc riptions and most of all, advirtising.

  • muslimpoxbyebye

    Islam has been at war with the whole planet since 1400 years. Islam is a genocidal cult with a billion members who want you dead or forcibly converted.
    Why is “kill all the unbelievers wherever you find them” so hard to understand?
    It will take another 15 years or so for the planet to wake up completely and as one to realize that Islam is not a religion at all but a mass murdering cult started by a very disturbed evil murderer and pedophile that has spiraled out of control. The source of this evil is Mecca and this will have to be vaporized and all the mosques on the planet will have to be razed to the ground. All the Korans and all their evil cult literature will have to be burnt and only then will peace come. About 2 billion Muslims will have to be killed. There seems to be absolutely no option to this scenario.

  • muslimpoxbyebye

    Muslim means violent-cult member and violent cults cannot co-exist with the rest of this planet in this day and age. Think about it ..their population is spiraling and our resources are dwindling and these insane cult members are looking forward to Armageddon. We should give it to them. Let their evil day dreams come true. WHEN WILL THIS START ? WHEN THE COURTS START INFORMING THE GENERAL POPULACE ABOUT THIS CULT. RIGHT NOW WE ARE JUST UNVEILING THE CULT'S FACE .. SLOWLY….SLOWLY… SOON THE TITLE OF RELIGION WILL BE SHORN AWAY FROM IT AND ISLAM WILL PERMANENTLY BE LABELED A CULT. THE MASQUERADE WILL BE OVER AND THE REAL FIGHT WILL START. As it is today the term "muslim" in the free world is a spittoon and an insult. Blood will have to flow. is there another way ?

  • muslimpoxbyebye

    The Gaia theory guy Lovestock says there should be 1 billion people max on this
    planet. Today there are nearly 7 billion.. If we minus 2 billion Muslims = 5 billion. 5 billion peaceful people on the planet will be a tight squeeze but it'll be cool. Let us cull these cult members from this lovely planet for their sakes as their evil book instructs them to be evil and not co-exist with the rest of the planet. Let us send them on their way to their evil Allah. Call it pest control or what you will but it will have to be done. Dark times are coming and come they will. A few years back thinking like this would have been ridiculous but with every passing day we encounter more and more of these made-mad-by-Islam people who refuse to live in the present and refuse to see the madness in their thoughts and actions. Locking them up means feeding them and spending resources that could be used for good and science otherwise. Science is anathema to them and the dirty years of their pedophile and mass murdering leader is the only era to live in ..so be it… Let's get rid of them.

  • muslimpoxbyebye

    Anyone can start an evil cult but everyone can stop it. if anyone has another option that would make more sense let me know. I'm not an Israeli but if anyone should start this mass cull it should be Israel because when the evil mad man was alive and spewing at them they didn't knock him off and look what's happened. It's never too late to stamp out filthy evil. Never too late. We all, bar none will help the Israelis.. We have to ..for our sakes and for the good of children and this lovely planet. It is said that blood always flows where Muslims go…soon blood will flow where Muslims have gone but it will be Muslim blood that will flow. Non-Muslim good blood will also flow in the fight back by evil but that is expected. We live in interesting times. Get ready boys and girls ..our grand-children will thank us but first we have some sincere work to do even if it repulses us. Such is life.

  • muslimpoxbyebye

    After dark comes light and only after Islam is smashed will come peace for our children's children. We have to make this happen. And the only way it’s not going to is if we leave any Muslims alive. 2+2=4, so few Muslims =few mosques , therefore more Muslims= more mosques , so no Muslims = no mosques .
    So in conclusion : no Muslims= no evil Islam = peace on earth and living in peace with science and joy and laughter.
    Class over. for today . Don’t forget your homework boys and girls. Read up more on the evil cult of Islam.
    We all hate hate hate islam.. Have no doubt about it..all this pc crap about islam being a religion was started in europe and by the brits too and now islam is biting them on their arses with it's rabid mouth and stinking putrifying but still not dead body..daisy khan is right right right.. We all hate islam and all all all muslims because we all know how evil islam it is.

  • muslimpoxbyebye

    When moha-mad was alive and spewing crap about the jews the jews didn't knock him off. When hitler spewed about the jews the jews didn't knock him off. Now that nut-job in iran is spewing and the jews are again doing nothing. Islam has a saying,first comes saturday then comes sunday and all the way to friday which they think they own. So first they'll kill the jews then they'll kill the christians,then they'll kill all the hindus and then some other people till only muslims are left ! Israel has to wipeout mecca and medina nobody cares about saudi arabia. So be it. The muslim fundamental belief is that mecca has some sort of allah shield over it. Wipe it out !! Everybody on the planet will be grateful to israel. There will be nobody to say sorry to and life will be cool after the mullahs in iran wake up to the fact that allah crapped in his pants and islam is actually moha-mad's turd that they've been swallowing for 1400 filthy years.

  • muslimpoxbyebye

    We will all help and thank israel but israel has to start the bombing. Now is a good time as any.moha-mad was a repressed killjoy; and a liar, thief, con man, pedophile, misogynist pig — and to top it all off, a mass murderer as well. Yeah he was such a well-rounded evil person. And anyone following his example is evil, too."
    There are some decent muslims—but they are decent *in spite of* their religion. I imagine many of them in fact feel quite guilty acting like decent human beings, because they must know in many cases it is "un-islamic".

  • muslimpoxbyebye

    All muslim men should be given a couple of tight slaps on their faces by women and children and told to disband and follow some other way of life that does not oppress women and children. .muslim males can strut around like peacocks and the women are dressed in garbage bag attire. Islam is a cult . It is not a religion. It is a cult that was started by an evil man for evil men to continue and breed evil men while women are treated as slaves. Cults are defined as cults because to leave one is to invite death by other cult members. Got it ?? A religion one can leave anytime ..a cult you can leave only when you die, welcome to islam.
    Muslims and islam have murdered over 270 million people over islam's 1400 years of murderous existence. Muslim-wipe out is imminent. When you kill rats and vermin(pests) you don't see whether they are males or females or baby rats.. All have to fry. Same will happen to islam ..only then peace will come. The essence of war is violence, and moderation in war is stupidity.

  • William Smart

    The Romans may have changed the name of the country, but they failed to change the Biblical names of many towns and villages – they even failed in in the case of Jerusalem, where their destruction was greatest and yet the name they wanted for the city "Aelia Capitolina" did not stick.

    Compare that with the results of the utter destruction and ethnic cleansing of the 1948 Nakba, of which militaristic Zionists such as Moshe Dayan even boast "You don't even know the names [of the previous Arab villages] and I don't blame you … There is not one single place that did not have a former Arab population."