You gotta ask yourself: "Why are they so afraid of her?"
The answer, of course, is because they know that she is eminently electable, and that her election would be the death-knell of their authoritarian-socialist dreams.
Posted on 01/14/2011 4:00:23 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Menachem Begin is today widely regarded as one of the most effective and far-sighted statesmen in Israeli history. At one end of the political spectrum, he is fondly remembered for surrendering the entire Sinai peninsula to Egypt and uprooting Israeli communities there. At the other end of the spectrum, he is hailed for taking strong action against PLO terrorists and Saddam Hussein’s nuclear reactor.
But when he was first elected prime minister in 1977, Begin was the object of an unprecedented frenzy of hatred from the international news media. He was called a terrorist, a fascist, a lunatic. To explain how to pronounce the name of the new Israeli leader, Time magazine notoriously found just the right Dickens character: “Begin (rhymes with Fagin).”
Journalists hated him because he represented traditional, old-world values. They hated him because he revered the Bible. They hated him because he could connect to the common man — to the silent majority of Jews from Arab countries who had been scorned by Israel’s political and intellectual elites.
Does this remind you of anyone in American politics today? Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is not only mocked and pilloried by a shameless and unscrupulous horde of media predators, but also sidesteps them, as did Begin, to connect with the common citizen.
As is the case with Palin today, the news media waited hungrily for any opportunity to pounce on Begin. Any minor misstep was reported as if it were a major scandal. Those were the days of “gotcha” journalism at its most reprehensible.
When the Lebanon War erupted in the summer of 1982, the media sharks smelled blood. (Not, mind you, the blood of the innocent Israeli civilians who were periodically murdered by Palestinian Arab terrorists based in southern Lebanon — which was, of course, the cause of the war.)
At one point during the war, Lebanese Christian forces (who were allies of Israel) entered the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla and killed hundreds of Palestinians. A maelstrom of media accusations battered the Jewish state. The most notorious was the allegation that Israeli leaders gave the Christian forces a green light to do what they wanted in Sabra and Shatilla.
Begin characterized the media attacks as a “blood libel.” Of course he was right. Blaming Israel for a massacre it did not commit was a blood libel. Indeed, an American jury eventually found that Time magazine had printed a false and defamatory report that then-defense minister Ariel Sharon was complicit in the killings.
But Sharon’s vindication came only years later. In the meantime, Begin was forced to suffer wave after wave of slander. It was too much for him. The ceaseless abuse, combined with his grief over his wife’s passing, drove him to resign from office less than a year later. Unlike other Israeli ex-prime ministers, who often return in future cabinets and sometimes even become prime minister again, Begin never returned to public life. He spent his final years as a virtual recluse.
They broke Begin. But they won’t break Sarah Palin.
Menachem Begin was the product of a bygone era. His gentlemanly manner, thoughtfulness and civility were no match for the new era of international electronic media assaults and technologically savvy propaganda.
Sarah Palin, by contrast, is a consummate 21st-century political leader. Alongside her formidable charisma, she has deployed a brilliant and highly innovative new media strategy. She may well be associated in history with the invention of the political tweet. And she has demonstrated that she is more than ready for a (nonviolent) fight.
Palin was right to describe the attacks on her as a blood libel. Falsely accusing someone of shedding blood or causing bloodshed is the definition of a blood libel — whether it’s medieval churches accusing Jews of baking blood in Passover matzos, or contemporary Muslim extremists accusing Israel of harvesting Arabs’ organs or political partisans blaming conservative political figures or talk-show hosts for the Tucson massacre.
“Blood libel” is a term that has been, and continues to be, legitimately used in contemporary American political debate by all sides. During the 2000 Florida recount, for example, Rep. Peter Deutsch said that some Republican accusations against Democratic nominee Al Gore were “almost a blood libel.” Newsday editor Les Payne in 2008 called the notion that African-American journalists’ wouldn’t be able to objectively cover the Obama candidacy a “blood libel.” Former deputy undersecretary of defense Jed Babbin said that John Kerry’s 1971 testimony about alleged war crimes committed by American soldiers in Vietnam was “a blood libel.”
Hypocritical blame-meisters will call Palin every name in the book. They hope to demoralize her and her supporters. It won’t work. After more than two years of enduring every attack imaginable, she knows their tricks. She won’t let them do to her what they did to Begin.
Sarah has more balls than ten of your average pol men combined.
Sharon also demonized. He’s been in a coma for years.
Very sad.
Great post. Thanks for finding it!
Good piece. ping
We'll see about that! Maybe all these smears, stalking, peeping (Joe McGinnis); etc., will backfire.
You gotta ask yourself: "Why are they so afraid of her?"
The answer, of course, is because they know that she is eminently electable, and that her election would be the death-knell of their authoritarian-socialist dreams.
A few days ago, after Sarah put out that wonderful , presidential quality speech, and the media just kept piling on....I thougt “it has to be a “rope-a-dope”. Sarah is letting them all “burn themselves out” until there is nothing left for them to say, as the real truth comes out...and the media ends up in another “raTHergate”, I really felt that way. And to some extent...I still do.
But Now as we are hearing from many voices..”Palin is finished”, she is no longer going to be an influence in politics.
And the media is still going, even after so much of the “real story” has some out(and still is coming out) that completely refutes the clams of the left.....
I do not know much about boxing, but to do a “rope a dope” one cannot allow their opponent to weaken them to the point that they have nothing left to fight with—or score a “knockout punch”.
My feelings are now...IF Sarah can survive this...she will be MUCH stronger and “ready to face it ALL” , for the presidential race—and there will not be much that the demons can say—that would knock her “off balance”.
But so many are now saying she is “finished”. I PRAY not, and I really feel it is so unfair, for such a beautiful, talented, sincere, caring, intelligent Christian Lady to be devoured by lies like this...unless she will “win in the end”.
But sometimes lies do win out—and the truth is never believed....as happened with me about 25 years ago in my youth group—which ruined my reputation at church, and set the stage for disappointment since then. I just pray that this does not happen to Sarah.
Ping to a beautifully written piece by Benyamin Korn, published in The Jewish Daily Forward.
ping
Thanks 2ndDivisionVet.
Palin Detractors, take note; You can tout your favorite candidate all you want because they are “right” on the issues but they will fold like a cheap suit when they are confronted by the “establishment elites” in the media and both parties. Sarah Palin won’t. Think about it.
Couldn’t have said it better!
perhaps Ariel’s current condition is an act of a higher power....
Recently read that he does respond to stimuli. Very sad.
Oh how he was hated. I would hear people say that he was worse for Israel than Arafat. The left is insane, no other word for it.
The press was controlled by left-wing Progressive/Marxists who have an agenda to destroy Israel and redesign America into a pagan, collective. They had total control over the MSM for decades (until Reagan ended the “Fairness doctrine”. They had agitprop going 24/7. Most people can not stand the Alinsky-type attacks. The attack was designed to destroy anyone who had the “wrong” beliefs by some of the top psychologists in the world.
They still have total control over the American educational system. We need to kick out all the psychological group think they are forcing into the heads of children. Take your children out of public schools and throw out their curricula—designed by Bill Ayers and extremely evil people...They designed the ideas for your children so they “think” their way—paganism, hedonism and Marxism are the only “acceptable” beliefs.
I’m here!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.