Glad Someone Has a Sense of Humor About Reuters, Because I Don't
Dear Reuters, You Must Be Kidding, writes Jeffrey Goldberg:
This is from a Reuters story on the Jerusalem bombing earlier today: "Police said it was a "terrorist attack" -- Israel's term for a Palestinian strike. It was the first time Jerusalem had been hit by such a bomb since 2004."
Those Israelis and their crazy terms! I mean, referring to a fatal bombing of civilians as a "terrorist attack"? Who are they kidding? Everyone knows that a fatal bombing of Israeli civilians should be referred to as a "teachable moment." Or as a "venting of certain frustrations." Or as "an understandable reaction to Jewish perfidy." Or perhaps as "a very special episode of 'Cheers.'" Anything but "a terrorist attack." I suppose Reuters will mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11 by referring to the attacks as "an exercise in urban renewal."
This kind of reminds me of a story from National Lampoon, I think maybe in the 1970s, about the unknown wit and wisdom of Winston Churchill. It was filled with anecdotes like this:
Battling Bessie Braddock, a fiery Labour MP from Liverpool once said to Churchill, 'Winston, you're drunk!'--to which Winston replied, '[Expletive] you."
An actor friend telegraphed: "Two tickets reserved for you first night. Bring a friend if you have one." Churchill's reply? "[Expletive] you."
Reuters, you're not even worth the dignity of a witty reply.
- Comment (11)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (2)
Comments :
May '10
Re: Glad Someone Has a Sense of Humor About Reuters, Because I Don't
I do not understand the rank antisemitism in Europe. What is the deal? Why do they so hate the Jews?
Re: Glad Someone Has a Sense of Humor About Reuters, Because I Don't
You're asking the biggest unanswerable question of history.
Feb '11
Re: Glad Someone Has a Sense of Humor About Reuters, Because I Don't
The old anti-Semitism, which had been on the decline until recently, was based on the perception that Jews were "other", that they were alien to their societies. The new "anti-Zionism", on the contrary, stems from the belief that Israel--and, by extension, Jews as a group--**exemplify** the attributes of Western civilization so despised by the "progressives."
What is happening is that the new anti-Zionism/anti-Semitism has re-awakened the older form, which was still lurking in the collective subconscious. I'm reminded of C S Lewis's novel That Hideous Strength, in which a sinister cabal seeks a junction between modern science-based evil and an older magic-based form.
May '10
Re: Glad Someone Has a Sense of Humor About Reuters, Because I Don't
Then there's the lack of coverage generally
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/8402973/A-family-slaughtered-in-Israel-doesnt-the-BBC-care.html
Edited on Mar 24, 2011 at 5:58amAug '10
Re: Glad Someone Has a Sense of Humor About Reuters, Because I Don't
It's great to let Winston do the talking. Especially when it's directed downwards and you have to hold your nose against the rank odor emitting from Reuters.
As the estimable Slim Pickens said in Blazing Saddles: "Ditto !"
Jun '10
Re: Glad Someone Has a Sense of Humor About Reuters, Because I Don't
Although I can't speak for European Antisemitism, I have thought about Polish Antisemitism, which would cover Ukrainian Antisemitism also. If you consider that for most of its history Poland did not exist as a country, you get a sense for the cultural problem the Poles faced: they had to survive as a people. In fact Poles and Jews faced the same problem, no home land. As an aside, what this did to the Polish language was fill it with shibboleths, making it a very difficult language to learn to speak unaccented (know your enemy). The takeaway from this is that the culture, Polish or Jewish, to survive required enforced exclusivity that precluded any mixing of ethnicities. Add to this a mismatch of religions and what you get is people sharing the ground they walked on but nothing else. Further, for Jews to survive in such circumstances, they would have to provide services to the dominant economy, think money lending as usury prohibited by cannon law. If the Jews prospered in the provision of those services, it was not because the services were needed, but because Jews were nefarious. That's my sad hack at the issue.
Mar '11
Re: Glad Someone Has a Sense of Humor About Reuters, Because I Don't
What is actually even more bizarre in the Reuters story is that further down it quotes PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as saying "I condemn this terrorist operation in the strongest possible terms..." and no quotes are placed around the word terrorist. So it's OK for the Palestinians to call this a terrorist act but, somehow, the term becomes suspect when Israelis use it. Double standard and perversion of language rolled into one.
Dec '10
Re: Glad Someone Has a Sense of Humor About Reuters, Because I Don't
Ooooooh, good eye Ioannis! I had completely missed that.
Aug '10
Re: Glad Someone Has a Sense of Humor About Reuters, Because I Don't
When most people strike the lights go out or the schools stay shut. I guess Palestinian strikes are different.
Mar '11
Re: Glad Someone Has a Sense of Humor About Reuters, Because I Don't
Read Trials of the Diaspora, by Anthony Julius. Julius's history begins in the Twelfth century and ends now. It runs to 780 pages, including the notes (which you will want to read to understand Jew-hatred).
I read it. I've been trying to understand European antisemitism since I was a boy. The best I can do for a short answer after all this is to echo the legendary political bon mot, "Antisemitism is the Marxism of ignorant fools," meaning: Europeans hate Jews because they are ignorant fools.
Julius's book gave me a lot of details, which are more important to me anyhow, but didn't give me much new information. After reading the book and after over fifty years of trying to understand, I'm no closer than I was at ten years old. I know a lot about Antisemitism but nothing has ever "clicked" in a way that ideas will "click" when one understands.
So don't get your hopes up. But if you ever do understand, don't forget to write! I'd still like a good answer before I die.
Edited on Mar 24, 2011 at 3:38pmNov '10
Re: Glad Someone Has a Sense of Humor About Reuters, Because I Don't
One chilling idea is that it is merely a traditional prejudice--one that, having gotten started, simply persisted. When resentment beckons, the Jews just happen to be culturally available. So, there really isn't any underlying reason. It's conventional, like driving on one side of the road as opposed to the other.
Edited on Mar 26, 2011 at 1:19am