CNN's God's Warriors at war with truth

Jerusalem Post ^ | 8-26-07 | Rabbi Marvin Hier

[SJackson]

West of Delancey: CNN's God's Warriors at war with truth
Posted by Rabbi Marvin Hier | Comments: 4

A day prior to the airing of Christiane Amanpour’s six-hour CNN documentary entitled God’s Warriors, I was one of four clergymen to be a guest on Larry King Live to discuss the issue of fundamentalism in today’s world. The interview on Larry King was pre-recorded in mid-July and none of the participants had seen the six-hour documentary because it was still being edited. Now that I have seen it, I sent the following critique to the producers of God’s Warriors.

1. MORAL EQUIVALENCY - There is no moral equivalency between some 200 Israeli fanatics prone to violence and tens of thousands of Palestinian terrorists whose acts are endorsed by the elected government and a significant portion of the population. The failure of the documentary to clearly make that distinction skews the facts and conveys the false impression allowing people all over the world to conclude that there IS a moral equivalency between the number of Palestinian terrorists and Jewish terrorists - this is a complete distortion. More importantly, the largest terrorist group responsible for much of the unrest in the Middle East, Hamas, got a free pass from CNN in God’s Warriors and is not even mentioned in the documentary’s segment on Islam.

2. JEWISH LOBBY - CNN spends much time describing the strength of the “Jewish Lobby” in Washington.  But what do supporters of Israel active on the Hill have to do with a documentary focusing on the power of religion? Indeed, many of those defending Israel on Capital Hill are, in fact, secular Jews.  Furthermore, if you are going to talk about powerful lobbies, why not give equal time to the enormous power of the Arab Oil lobby?

3. SECURITY FENCE (Hamas Wall) - The consultants of the documentary make a point of showing the security fence that now separates the Palestinians from the Israelis. Palestinians interviewed explain the hardships they face and call the fence an “apartheid” wall. Nowhere is there a mention of the wide consensus of support for the security fence amongst all Israelis, left and right, including Israel’s Supreme Court, which has sanctioned the fence because, without it, the suicide bombings would continue unabated, something NO society can tolerate. Indeed, the terrorist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad are the real architects and designers of that fence.

4. FIGHTING TERRORISM - God’s Warrior’s makes mention of the fact that the few Jewish terrorists described in the film were all arrested by the Israeli government and sent to jail for their crimes. Yet, they ignore the fact that Palestinian officials have never convicted Palestinian terrorists. Had they done so, there would be no need for a security fence.

5. SIX DAY WAR - The documentary spends a lot of time on the Six Day War and emphasizes how Israel decided to attack the Old City during the War, which changed the status quo forever. But God’s Warriors fails to explain how or why the Six Day War started. It hides from its audience the fact that Egypt blocked the Straits of Tiran (an international waterway), an act of war under international law, denying all shipping to Israel and that the Arab States, including Jordan, which controlled the Old City, brought their armies to the border. Had they not taken those actions, the Six Day War would have been averted. By ignoring all that and instead focusing on Israel’s attack on the Old City, God’s Warriors guides its audience to the conclusion that the purpose of the War was Israel’s intention to grab the Old City of Jerusalem.

6. SHARON - The documentary is critical of Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount, which enraged Muslims and allegedly started the Second Intifada.  It also mentions his “responsibility” in allowing Lebanese Christians to massacre Muslims at Sabra and Shatila. Yet, it ignores his critical decision to unilaterally withdraw from Gaza in an attempt to jump start the peace process. Nor does it mention the Palestinian response to the withdrawal - the election of Hamas - a terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of the State of Israel - as the new Palestinian government.

7. TEMPLE MOUNT - The documentary fails to emphasize that the Muslims, to whom Israel gave the authority to administer the Temple Mount, strongly discourage any Jew from coming there despite the fact that it is the holiest site in all of Judaism (whereas, the holiest sites in Islam are, in fact, Mecca and Medina). On the other hand, the Western Wall, which is under Israeli control, regularly welcomes visitors of all faiths.

8. RELIGIOUS LEADERS - CNN presents the senior Imam in charge of the Al-Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount, who explains the site’s holiness to Muslims. But rather than interview the Chief Rabbi of Israel to describe the sacredness of the site for Jews, CNN contents itself with allowing an extremist layperson to explain the importance of the Temple Mount to Jews. Where is the fairness?

9. TWO STATE SOLUTION - God’s Warriors ignores the origins of the Arab/Israeli conflict: the Arab refusal to accept the 1947 United Nations Partition of Palestine, which called for both a Jewish state and an Arab State. The Jews accepted the plan – the Arabs rejected it. Had the Arab world accepted the two-state solution then, much of the bloodshed would have been averted. There’s a lot of talk about settlements, but no talk at all of the consistent Arab policy from 1948 until 1978 to make no compromises with Israel.

10. A HUMAN FACE ON TERROR - God’s Warriors keeps mentioning the “despair” that many Arabs feel, as if that is a justification for the insane behavior of honoring people as martyrs because they murdered innocent civilians they never knew. Why patronize terrorists and even humanize them if we are going to allow the conversation to be dominated by their despair? The parents of these terrorists should be confronted with the simple truth that despair has existed throughout time – that billions of people throughout history have felt pain without reverting to mass murder. Following the defeat of Nazism, the Holocaust survivors were also in despair. They lost their families, but they didn’t resort to killing innocent civilians as a way of alleviating their pain. Neither did the 750,000 Jews expelled from Arab countries following the 1948 War – they too, did not become suicide bombers.

[SJackson]

I wonder how much Arab oil money has infiltrated our MSM.

If you recall CNN has admitted to biased reporting both from Sadaam's Iraq and Cuba as a condition of maintaining their presence there.

[quadrant]

After viewing the program and reading the Rabbi’s comments, I’m forced to conclude:
The Rabbi’s comments are couched in the language of reason. Unfortunately, this conflict has gone beyond reason. No amount of reason will persuade Palestinians that their only hope for a state of their own is east of the Jordan River.
The “plight” of the Palestinians - which is mostly self-inflicted - has become and will be from now on a major “litmus test” for the Left.
Unless one is a believer in a mass conversion to sanity by the Left and its allies and minions in the media, those who support Israel should brace themselves for more programs such as “Warriors of God.”

[Earthdweller]

"If you recall CNN has admitted to biased reporting both from Sadaam's Iraq and Cuba as a condition of maintaining their presence there."

That would be a source of immediate reasoning for the bias and distortions. In the long run, the propaganda in the media and in our schools has been pushing a subtle distaste for religion to our youth for a long time. Cnn has just taken the next step. This is not an accident.

[Alouette]

An Eye for an Eye: The Untold Story of Jewish Revenge Against Germans in 1945

I am not familiar with this book, however I heave heard that the Soviets did attempt to recruit such "revenge squads," but most survivors were more interested in gathering what was left of their families and rebuilding their lives.

I heard this from a neighbor, a Holocaust survivor, who declined to be recruited into one of these squads.

[Alouette]

FReepMail to be added or removed from this pro-Israel/Judaic/Russian Jewry ping list.

Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.

[Salem]

"Terrorist-turned-Zionist Exposes Deliberate Bias in CNN’s ‘God Warriors’"
[AtlasShrugs - Former PLO member Walid Shoebat]

---

If you'd like to be on or off this
Christian Supporters of Israel ping list,
please FR mail me ~
    

There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had
spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass. (Joshua 21:45)
Letter To The President In Support Of Israel ~
'Final Solution,' Phase 2 ~
Warnings ~
The Nature Of Bruce ~

"The West has given more significance to the myth of the genocide of the Jews, even more significant than God, religion, and the prophets...."—Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Holocaust Chronicle ~



" ... It's time we recognized the nature of the conflict. It's total war and we are all involved. Nobody on our side is exempted because of age, gender, or handicap. The Islamofacists have stolen childhood from the world."—FReeper Retief
"Palestine is the wrong name for their State. It should be called Anarchy."—FReeper sgtbono2002
"Then let's wait and see what the Arabs do after they take Gaza. There's nothing like Arab reality to break up a Jewish fantasy."—FReeper Noachian
A student told his professor he was going to "Palestine" to "fight for freedom, peace and justice,"—Orwellian leftist code words that mean "murder Jews."

[Lewite]

Reply to post #15
I also think Christine smells. I watched a few minutes and noticed thee pro arab bias quickly. I do not think the truth will come from her lips.

[Jeff Head]

Come on, it was never proven that this Solomen actually or personally killed anyone in the camp himself. He was charged with creating unbearable life conditions...and I am sure that he was terribly harsh and and that it no doubt contributed to the deaths of people in a communist concentration camp.

But here's my point...he wasn't doing what he did, however harsh, in the name of Judaism. He was doing it as a communst.

So that's where the test fails. Of course communists, of all stripes have committed atrocities since the onset of their fanatical ideology. That's not new.

What isn't happening is that Jews, in the name of their religion, and Christians, in the name of their religion, are not going out regularly and systematically, as a part of their religious creed, and beheading and homacide bombing those who do not believe as they do as a method for "converting the world".

The reason why is that the basic laws and tenants at the root of Judaism and Christianity are the ten commandments and the golden rule.

The basic tenants at the root of Islam arw what Mohammed did and what he wrote in the Koran...to abjectly subjugate or kill the infadel. We and every non-Islamic are the infadels to those individual who practise those root tennants fanatically.

[SJackson]

I haven’t seen any of them. By any chance did you see the one on Christianity. I’m curious if the mentioned the PFLP, originally a Christian Arab terrorist group, quite successful in the 1970s, or the Sabra-Shattila incident, perpetrated by Christian militia. I’m speculating they didn’t, since these issues would reflect poorly on Arabs.

[rawcatslyentist]

>"why not give equal time to the enormous power of the Arab Oil lobby?"

When is the last time you saw Larry King leading our leader like a puppy dawg?

But Chrissys right, it's all the ebil Jooooosssssss fault!

[bperiwinkle7]

Thanks for posting.

[Earthdweller]

"But Chrissys right, it's all the ebil Jooooosssssss fault!"

Oh and here I thought it was the EVIL Evangelicals. It's equal opportunity bias week at CNN. LOL.

[Albertafriend]

Here is a link to another response:

God’s Jewish Warriors—Cnn’s Abomination

http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=3&x_outlet=14&x_article=1354

There is also a response to the Muslim section too.

I didn’t watch this programm myself because I don’t get CNN and probably wouldn’t have watched even if I did. However just after the program a friend called for my husband and told me that he had watched and had learned so much. When I asked him what, he said, “Did you know that Israel building those settlements was illegal according to International Law?” I said I didn’t think so but he said they even had some Jewish “law expert” on the program saying this and that’s a reason for all the trouble over there. I told him that whatever CNN produces would likely be full of propaganda and misleading bias but I didn’t respond directly to the program because I hadn’t seen it. Later I went looking for information and found the links to CAMERA’s articles which also link to some other articles regarding the settlements. So I printed them out and also the above response to the Christian segment. This friend likes to read and study so I hope this will further educate him with some real facts—not just about Israel, Muslim terrorists and Christians but more importantly to open his mind to how CNN and other networks manipulate the truth. Like so many people he is so naive but I decided it might be worth a bit of my precious printer ink to help him out.

[Wilhelm Tell]

Unless one is a believer in a mass conversion to sanity by the Left and its allies and minions in the media, those who support Israel should brace themselves for more programs such as "Warriors of God".

I think no one is counting on some mass conversion of leftists to sanity. What is disturbing but not surprising is how propaganda pieces like "Warriors of God" are used to fool people and keep them in ignorance. The average people who view this have little knowledge of the Mid East or the origins of terrorism. They have been conditioned to think that all sides in a conflict are morally equivalent and they have the vague idea that it is a pity that "those people over there" don't get along. Then they watch "Warriors of God" and they go away saying, "the Jews control the media," "the Palestinians were never offered a two-state solution," "Israel started the 1967 war," "the Jews endanger Muslim holy sites," and "both Hamas and Israel support terrorism." So ignorant people who like to believe they reject extremism start to think in anti-Israel terms and they get anti-Semitic ideas too.

Then they are conditioned to accept worse propaganda. They see a film that "proves" that 9/11 either was a hoax or it was a "Zionist" conspiracy aided by U.S. neo-conservatives. So when someone hands them a copy of "The Protocals of the Elders of Zion," they begin to believe that and become full fledged moonbats.

[vladimir998]

you wrote:

“Come on, it was never proven that this Solomen actually or personally killed anyone in the camp himself.”

It probably won’t be proven as long as Israel doesn’t hand him over for prosecution. Poland certainly has the right to demand his turn over to them, and Israel, knowing what it did to get Nazis has no ground to stand on in denying extradition.

“But here’s my point...he wasn’t doing what he did, however harsh, in the name of Judaism. He was doing it as a communst.”

He was a Jew. The Nazis killed Jews whether they were religious or not. We don’t breakdown the numbers of Jews killed into categories like: “Religious Jews” and “Atheist Jews/Jewish in culture only” when we discuss the 6 million slaughtered by the Nazis. I don’t see why that necessarily needs be done now in regard to Solomon Morel’s religious feelings.

I agree with the rest of your post.

[quadrant]

The foolish believe such tales because they want to believe them. Tier inclination tells them that: because some group is at the bottom of the social heap they are persecuted, that all claims have a moral equality, and that to discriminate - which, by the way, is a very fine word and the mark of an educated person - among claims is wrong.
Such ideas have been drummed into people’s heads for so long that few question them.

[quadrant]

Unfortunately, I saw only the one on Christianity. I saw no mention of any Christian Arab group.

[Grunthor]

Sounds like just a CNN hit piece against “da jooos” and Israel.

[detch]

I travel outside the USA a lot. CNN International is one of the most biased, anti-American programs on the air. And, it’s CONSISTENTLY anti-American.

Christiane Amanpour basically pushes the same agenda. Since Israel is our ally in the Middle East, she is always pushing an anti-Israel (and anti-American) position. It fits well with the CNN overall bias. WHY THAT IS, I DON’T KNOW.

She was born in Iran, and despite going to Catholic schools in England, I don’t see her being fair in any way to the Jews. It’s sad. (No, I am not a Jew, just a viewer who would like to see a presentation that allows voices from the Israeli side in a fairer way, such as the Rabbi’s.)

I don’t expect Christiane Amanpour to try to be fair — EVER. She fulfills that expection, always.

[sheik yerbouty]

Crescent News Network propaganda..