Lazer Beams: Mass Media

The difference between the world of Torah and the outside world can be summarized in two sentences: The world of Torah first clarifies what's true, and then builds opinions accordingly. The outside world first forms opinions according to its own interests and bodily appetites, and then builds an ersatz "truth" around those opinions.

We normally don't blow the whistle on Israel's leftist, vehemently anti-religious and self-despising media. Jew haters have to work hard to equal the systematic hatred that the Israeli media sows in the minds of its audience against ultra-religious Jews, settlers, Jewish minorities, and especially ultra-religious settlers. We don't want to send them a single additional reader. Nevertheless, Emuna News finds it necessary to expose what appears to be deliberate misinformation on behalf of Haaretz.com.

Haaretz quotes IDF Home Front Commander General Yair Golan as telling a Knesset committee that "Reinforcing private homes in Sderot is our last priority," basing himself on statistics that during 2006, 1,488 Qassam rockets were fired towards Israel in contrast to the 1,150 that were fired in 2007. In other words, according to Haaretz, General Golan was telling the Knesset that there were 30% less Qassams in 2007 than in 2006. True, but Haaretz conveniently gives half the truth and fails to report that General Golan also gave the stats of Qassams in 2008. Haaretz would like us to think that everything is hunky-dory in Sderot and the nearby kibbutzim and moshavim. They should be required by law to move their editorial offices from Tel Aviv to Sderot for a week.

Debka.com paints a different, unslanted picture. Debka writes, "Homeland Front commander Maj. Gen. Yair Golan reported to a Knesset panel Feb.19 that 400 Qassam missiles were fired at Israeli civilian locations bordering on the Gaza Strip in the first six weeks of 2008. This brings the monthly rate of fire to roughly 265 - more than double that of the last two years. If this rate is sustained, Sderot and its environs will be assaulted by more than 2,500 Palestinian missiles by the end of this year, compared a total of 1,500 missiles in 2006 and 1,150 in 2007. Already the average has risen. Monday, 16 Qassam missiles exploded on the Israeli side of the Gaza border causing heavy damage and tens of shock victims."

Haaretz has been caught red-handed (do you like the pun? I'd laugh if it weren't so sad). They write what they write because they don't have to give a detailed report to Hashem every day accounting for what they've done that day. The problem is that when a person doesn't do daily teshuva, the day comes when all the markers will be called in. Emuna News encourages our non-emuna friends in the Israeli media to do teshuva - now. Where do they start? We suggest they try telling the truth.