The Middle East Media Sampler 8/12/2012: Palestinian Culture And Blaming Others For Their Failures

From DG:

1) The fact that undermines the argument

In The Palestine Romney doesn't know, Palestinian American businessman Zahi Khori writes:

Despite their circumstances, Palestinians living under Israel’s brutal occupation share the same culture and proudly claim the same remarkable achievements. I, for one, returned to Palestine in 1993 to launch the first Coca-Cola bottling plant in the West Bank. It was granted a Best Country Bottling Operation award in May by Coca-Cola, a testament to my colleagues’ ingenuity and determination. But these traits alone cannot overcome the stifling effects of Israel’s occupation.

Explaining Why Israel Is More Prosperous Than Palestinians Highlights Media Bias

His [Romney's] comparison of the two economies did not take into account the stifling effect the Israeli occupation has had on the Palestinian economy in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem — areas Israel captured in 1967 where the Palestinians hope to establish a state.

In the West Bank, Palestinians have only limited self-rule. Israel controls all border crossings in and out of the territory, and continues to restrict Palestinian trade and movement. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in 1967, but has invested much less heavily there than in Jewish west Jerusalem.
Kasie Hunt, AP, Romney comments at fundraiser outrage Palestinians

Putting aside how Kasie Hunt and the Associated Press fabricated the original story about Romney's "culture" quote, the deeper issue is the failure--or refusal--of the media to understand why the Palestinian Arabs are nowhere near as prosperous as Israel.

Middle East expert Barry Rubin writes that the media's bias prevents it from understanding why the Palestinians fail:

The Media Is Still Trying To Trip Romney Up On Israel

“It’s individuals and their entrepreneurship which have driven America. What America is not a collective where we all work in a kibbutz or we all in some little entity, instead it’s individuals pursuing their dreams and building successful enterprises which employ others and they become inspired as they see what has happened in the place they work and go off and start their own enterprises.”
Mitt Romney, in Romney: America Is No Kibbutz, BuzzFeed

The media must really be hungry for a good anti-Romney story, and as usual--if they cannot find a gaffe then they are going to manufacture one.

Apparently, Zeke Miller (who subtitled his piece "His ties to Israel only extend so far") have a particular view of Israel and Israelis:

US Jewish "Peace Group" Wants Romney To Apologize For 'Culture' Comment

The following by Lori Lorenthal Marcus is reprinted with permission from JewishPress.com

While I have no desire to give added exposure to this group, it is important to identify groups that are harmful to Jews and to Israel and to know how to refute them

US Jewish Peace Group Calling Romney Racist over Palestinian Culture Comment

By: Lori Lowenthal Marcus

Rabbi Joseph Berman, Boston chair of Jewish Voice for Peace. 
Photo Credit: Temple website

In an entirely predictable effort to use the word “Jewish” to attack those who support the Jewish State, the organization Jewish Voice for Peace invited other haters of Israel to sign a letter to Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, lambasting him for his “racist” and “ignorant” statements about Arab Palestinians.

Some In The Media Wake Up To Fact Romney's Culture Quote Is Correct

Romney could have been more diplomatic and eschewed a shorthand explanation of what ails Palestinian society — he might also have acknowledged Palestinian achievements — but he identified what are, indisputably, two problems. The first is that of culture. The second is the reluctance to discuss it.
Richard Cohen

After the initial rush of journalists to be part of the crowd to jump on Romney's "culture" comment, some voices of sanity in the media are finally making themselves known.

One is Richard Cohen of the Washington Post, who writes that culture is A difference beyond question:

The Middle East Media Sampler 8/7/2012: Media Forgets Palestinian Terrorism

From DG:

1) "Victim of this, Victim of that"

Mitt Romney's comments about the role culture plays in economic success has led to counterclaims that it is Israel's occupation, not Palestinian culture that is responsible for the Palestinians' economic problems. We saw it in the Washington Post editorial Mitt Romney's less than successful trip abroad:

The Middle East Media Sampler 8/6/2012: The Media vs Romney Continues

From DG:

1) The "culture" war against Mitt Romney cont.

Here are the first four references to Gov. Romney's "culture" statement in the New York Times, in order according a search of the paper's website:

Romney's charm offensive at the Taking Notes blog of editor Andrew Rosenthal.

Another non-surprise: Just like in London, he held a fundraiser, attended by high-profile donors including Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate who bankrolled Newt Gingrich’s hard-hitting attack on Mr. Romney before he started bankrolling Mr. Romney’s hard-hitting attack on Mr. Obama. And at this fundraiser he suggested that Israelis are more economically successful than Palestinians because of cultural differences. (A senior aide to President Mahmoud Abbas had a different explanation: “this man doesn’t realize that the Palestinian economy cannot reach its potential because there is an Israeli occupation.”)

As We Approach November, More Signs That Obama Has Forgotten israel

Will Romney's Visit Mark a Criticial Turning Point?

by Jonathan Rosenblum
Yated Ne'eman
August 3, 2012


Jews constitute only two percent of the American electorate, though Jewish contributors were estimated to be responsible for 50% of the money raised by candidate Barack Obama in 2008. But in an election that looks to be almost dead-even, both camps are gearing their campaigns to target every identifiable demographic group. While the Jewish vote in the two states with the highest concentration of Jews – New York and California – is not relevant, as neither state is in play, the votes of the 640,000 Jews living in Florida could prove crucial.

How The Media Faked Romney's "Culture" Gaffe

Don't get stuck on stupid, reporters. We are moving forward. And don't confuse the people please. You are part of the public message. So help us get the message straight. And if you don't understand, maybe you'll confuse it to the people.
Lieutenant General Honore addressing reporters about New Orleans evac plan for Hurricane Rita

Over at Big Journalism, John Nolte writes that Howard Kurtz exposes how the AP Manufactured Romney's Palestinian 'Gaffe'. Indeed, Kurtz, Washington bureau chief for The Daily Beast, does not paint a pretty picture of how the media distorted Romney's statement on the Palestinians and "culture":

Video Debate: Romney's Israel Trip And The Jewish Vote: J Street vs ECI

PBS Newshour had a segment on Will Mitt Romney's Israel Trip Help Win Over Jewish Voters in the U.S.?, featuring a debate between J Street's Jeremy Ben-Ami and Emergency Committee for Israel's Noah Pollak on Mitt Romney's endorsement of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, his "culture" comment key and the Jewish vote in the upcoming November election.

Here is the video and the transcript:

The Middle East Media Sampler 8/2/2012: Obama's Declinist View of America

From DG:

1) About that endorsement 

In endorsing Barack Obama for President, the editors of the Washington Post wrote:

But Mr. Obama, as anyone who reads his books can tell, also has a sophisticated understanding of the world and America's place in it. He, too, is committed to maintaining U.S. leadership and sticking up for democratic values, as his recent defense of tiny Georgia makes clear. We hope he would navigate between the amoral realism of some in his party and the counterproductive cocksureness of the current administration, especially in its first term. On most policies, such as the need to go after al-Qaeda, check Iran's nuclear ambitions and fight HIV/AIDS abroad, he differs little from Mr. Bush or Mr. McCain. But he promises defter diplomacy and greater commitment to allies. His team overstates the likelihood that either of those can produce dramatically better results, but both are certainly worth trying. 

I never read Barack Obama's books, but I was never impressed that he had a "sophisticated understanding" of foreign policy.

I doubt it will sway the Post's editors but Fouad Ajami (h/t Instapundit) has written a devastating critique of the President's foreign policy, The Foreign Policy of David Axelrod:

When It Comes To Romney, US Media Channels...Latma?

Last week, Latma came out with a skit about "The callous Israel government," on the Israeli governments inability to comply with protesters demands which would cost 192 billion shekels, an amount the government cannot spare.

The response of the interviewer and the protest representative is counter the argument by unceasingly returning to one point. Over and Over:



The Latma skit is humorous.

But what is one to make of the liberal media, which acts--as Bernard Goldberg puts it--"like birds on a telephone wire" repeating each other. Over and over:

Barry Rubin On Racism vs Culture: Why Palestinians Fail

Romney Lays It Out: Progress and Success Versus Name-Calling And Bragging About Being Victims

by Barry Rubin

There are some broad and important political issues raised by a minor flap concerning presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s visit to Israel. To look at these questions in a detached and honest way can tell us a lot about the future of the world and of U.S. policy.

The controversy began when Romney said at a meeting with donors:

“As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality.” Romney said the economic history of the world has shown that “culture makes all the difference.”

The Middle East Media Sampler 8/1/2012: Media Piles On Romney's Israel Visit

From DG:

1) Brother Tom's traveling misinformation show

I’ll make this quick. I have one question and one observation about Mitt Romney’s visit to Israel. The question is this: Since the whole trip was not about learning anything but about how to satisfy the political whims of the right-wing, super pro-Bibi Netanyahu, American Jewish casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, why didn’t they just do the whole thing in Las Vegas? I mean, it was all about money anyway — how much Romney would abase himself by saying whatever the Israeli right wanted to hear and how big a jackpot of donations Adelson would shower on the Romney campaign in return. Really, Vegas would have been so much more appropriate than Jerusalem. They could have constructed a plastic Wailing Wall and saved so much on gas.

"The Wailing Wall?" Anyone still using this term betrays a contempt not just for Israel but for Judaism.

Arlene Kushner On The Palestinian Reaction To Romney In Israel

From Arlene Kushner:

July 31, 2012:

Doing Something Right

Mitt Romney held a fundraiser in Israel while he was here -- the first time ever for a presidential candidate.  And he raised over a million dollars.  That, surely, tells us something.

~~~~~~~~~~

So does the response of spokesmen for the PA.  The Palestinian Arabs are not a happy group at the moment.  They are distressed that Romney didn't visit Ramallah during his trip here, and didn't meet with Mahmoud Abbas.

Erekat's Responds To Romney By Resorting To The Same Excuse

Much has been made about the comment Mitt Romney made in Israel, when Romney referred to Israel's success being a result of "culture":

Speaking to his donors, Romney repeated that thought, adding that “as I come here, and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things.”

The media has been quick to quote Saeb Erekat's response to Romney:

"It is a racist statement and this man doesn’t realize that the Palestinian economy cannot reach its potential because there is an Israeli occupation," said Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

But of course, Romney is correct: Israel's success is due to its culture.

Arlene Kushner On Romney's Tisha B'av Speech--In Comparison With Obama

From Arlene Kushner

July 30, 2012

Genuine Hope This Time

Yesterday was Tisha B'Av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar.  (Actually, Shabbat was Tisha B'Av, but we are not permitted to mourn on Shabbat.)  It is the day that marks the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem and other calamities in Jewish history as well.   We fast, refrain from the wearing of leather as a sign of mourning, chant Eicha (the Book of Lamentations) and kinot (dirges referring to the Temple and other Jewish suffering).

Most often mention of Tisha B'Av brings to mind thoughts of the destruction of the Second Temple, 2,000 years ago, by the Romans.

The Middle East Media Sampler 7/30/2012: Implications and Reactions To Romney In Israel

From DG:

1) The bigger schlep The electoral battle for the pro-Israel vote continues. This week's Mishpacha magazine had an item about the extensive voter registration drive in Israel by Republicans. (The article notes that Obama won about 25 percent of the Israeli American vote in 2008, so this likely has less to do with increasing the percentage of voters, but the number of voters.) With Gov. Romney's trip to Israel this weekend coverage of the two candidates' views on Israel have received extensive coverage. The Washington Post started with Mitt Romney likely to get a warm welcome in Israel:

Romney's Tisha B'Av Appearance In Israel Emphasizes Wide Gap With Obama

I know that that there are those who would argue that in some ways America has become a safe refuge for the Jewish people, but if you’ve gone through the Holocaust, then that does not offer the same sense of confidence and security as the idea that the Jewish people can take care of themselves no matter what happens. That makes it a fundamentally just idea.
Obama in interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, On May 12, 2008

-----

America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.
Obama in Cairo, June 4, 2009

It was not until September 23, 2010 did Obama finally, and briefly, say that Jews have a historic tie to Israel:

Israel is a sovereign state, and the historic homeland of the Jewish people.

It was not until then that Obama finally showed cognizance of the fact that the Jewish connection to Israel did not begin with the Holocaust, but that the ties was a deep and ongoing historical tie.

David Efune, editor of the Algemeiner, notes that Mitt Romney clearly and publicly recognizes and talks about that basic truth. That is why, as Efune points out, there is No Better Time for Mitt Romney to Visit Israel than Tisha Be’Av:

Barry Rubin: Mitt Romney Captures Jerusalem

Mitt Romney Captures Jerusalem

by Barry Rubin

Speaking to an often-cheering group of about 400 people in Jerusalem, Governor Mitt Romney gave a speech less notable for what he said that for the fact that the audience believed he was sincere in saying it.

At a beautiful outdoor setting with the Old City in the background, Romney declared his strong support for Israel, using phrases often heard from American presidents. He also proclaimed his view that Jerusalem is Israel’s eternal capital. The difference, of course, is that those listening were less inclined to think that when President Barack Obama said similar things to AIPAC meetings he was describing his own views and policies.

Clearly, Romney was restrained by the American principle that partisan politics stops at the water’s edge, that no politician should criticize a president or U.S. government while abroad. Thus, Obama’s name—or even his specific policies—was never explicitly mentioned.