Tuesday, September 27, 2011

What the media didn't report in UN speeches?

It is interesting to read the official transcripts of the speeches delivered by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the UN.

As reported on honestreporting.com, "Take a look at how Netanyahu emphasized “peace” (44 times in fact) and mentioned the Palestinians on many occasions. Contrast this with Abbas, whose speech contained nothing in the way of conciliatory language with little emphasis on peace (26 times) or addressing Israel, the state with whom the Palestinians must make peace with."

Further, "

While Netanyahu reached out his hand to Israel’s neighbors and the Palestinians, Abbas not only dispensed with any conciliatory statements but actually came out with statements and claims that the media chose to ignore.

  • Abbas referred to 63 years of Palestinian suffering under “occupation” – the implication being that the birth of the Israeli state in 1948 is the real issue rather than Israeli control over the West Bank and Gaza Strip which began in 1967 following the Six Day War.
  • Abbas spoke of the importance of the Holy Land to both the Christian and Muslim religions failing to even acknowledge the undeniable and historical connection of the region to Judaism."
There appears to be a real lack of coverage on the specifics of the speeches. In fact, very little history has been conveyed (eg. There was a treaty between the Arabs and Jews known as the Balfour Treaty – signed in 1917 long before the UN took up statehood for Israel, granted in 1947).

For a country that is so bright, why can't Israel develop a better pr team?

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