It has been rightly said that the pen is mightier than the sword; and just as this truth has been used to great effect for the good of the world - as in the case of gospel proclamation - so it also has the potential for spreading cancerous ideology, like Marxism and atheism.

An Upside-Down Media World

Lies repeated often enough become accepted as fact, as in Germany when its people were assailed by horrible misrepresentation of the Jews through Hitler's propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels. And the same applies to the distorted narrative of Israel's legitimacy since Arab-Muslim fanatics took over the baton from the Nazis.

As a result, much of the mainstream media in the West has swallowed an upside-down version of Middle East political realities, ignoring historical facts while choosing instead to believe the mantra that Israel has no right to exist, that they have stolen Arab land and have no historic link to the region.

Attitudes to Israel become both illogical and irrational, so that even legitimate defence under the provocation of constant rocket fire is deemed disproportionate if, for example, more are killed on the aggressor's side than on the side of the nation defending itself – as if it's some sort of handicap competition.

I believe that rising anti-Semitism in Britain is built around this oft-repeated media narrative, invented by 'Palestinian nationalism', depicting tiny Israel as the Middle East bully.

The 'Bully' Narrative

In a nutshell, the ultimate goal of this narrative is the destruction of Israel. Having failed to achieve this in three major conventional wars between the Jewish state and its Arab neighbours (1948, 1967 and 1973), Palestinian leaders adopted a new and increasingly effective strategy – to demonise Israel internationally, particularly in the eyes of Western liberal opinion, by re-branding the conflict as a heroic struggle for Palestinian freedom and self-determination against an oppressive 'occupying' power.¹

In reality, the real purpose behind the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza is to provide a launch pad for an eventual 'second phase' war of extermination against an Israel psychologically weakened by decades of terrorism, economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation.

Middle East Media

Violence against Jews is constantly encouraged through Palestinian and Arab media. If you wish to check this out, visit the website of the Middle East Media Research Institute which monitors Arab and wider Islamic media and video clips with English translations of material originally appearing in Arabic, Farsi, Turkish or some other Middle Eastern tongue. In addition, the Palestinian Media Watch focuses specifically on Palestinian media output, which recycles classic anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and employs the same kind of abusive language and stereotypes used by the Nazis to justify the Holocaust.

What's more, the official PA logo brazenly shows a map of a future Palestinian state stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, clearly indicating that there is no likelihood of their being satisfied with a 'two-state solution' in the long term.

Western Media Coverage

Mainstream media coverage of the conflict is typically biased against Israel in its failure to tell the historical truth about that conflict, its uncritical acceptance of the narrative of Palestinian 'victimhood', its failure to report and analyse the failings of Palestinian leaders and institutions, and its failure to reveal the degree to which truthful reporting of Hamas activity in Gaza (for example) has been hampered or prevented by the intimidation of journalists.

This general media bias also reveals itself in a disproportionate coverage of Israel's shortcomings (real or imagined) compared with a relative lack of scrutiny of the mass carnage and tyranny which prevails in much of the Arab-Islamic world.

For example, Italian reporter Gabriel Barbati disclosed that Israel was telling the truth and Hamas was lying when he confirmed that the deaths of ten people at the Al-Shati refugee camp on 28 July 2014 was not the result of Israeli fire, as had been widely reported (and in the case of NBC never corrected), but of a misfired Hamas missile. But he only disclosed this information once he was out of Gaza, beyond the reach of Hamas' retaliation. Not surprisingly, truth has been the first casualty of Hamas' intimidation and manipulation of the international press.

Complicated by Politics

At the same time, a worldwide revival of radical Islam is wreaking havoc across much of Central Asia, Europe and Africa. And the likes of ISIS share a hatred of Israel with the Palestinian parties Fatah and Hamas, which ironically leaves the West's pro-Palestinian lobby in cahoots with the very people who are trying to destroy our Western democracy and culture.

Yet despite the clear evidence to the contrary, Prime Minister David Cameron tries to convince us that Islam is a peaceful religion, whereas he is actually bowing to political correctness and fear. This is a repeat of what happened during the British Mandate of Palestine, when murderous threats saw our Government capitulate to Arab demands at the cost of Jewish aspirations.

So it is that today our politicians and media dare not rock the boat by facing up to reality. That radical Islam represents a threat to our society seems patently obvious, especially since 9/11, 7/7, the Paris attacks and the Brussels attacks. But we continue to sweep this fact under the carpet.

Even evangelical Christian publications shy off tackling the issue, as I have discovered through my own experience. One magazine was keen for me to contribute but backed away after my first submission – a topical article on the threat of Islam. Those who wish to silence such truths find themselves in league with the Hard Left, who in turn have joined forces with the Far Right Islamist cause opposing both the people of Israel and the God of Israel – hence the reason Christians become a target.

Counter-Arguments and Contradictions

But thinking people in the Muslim world are challenging the status quo – for example, our newscaster friend in Saudi Arabia (mentioned earlier in the series) called on her fellow Muslims to stop pretending that there is no connection between the teachings of Islam and the violent attacks we are increasingly having to witness.

And the various camps betray such bizarre contradictions. Someone has tweeted that, though liberal media like The Guardian are quick to rally to the Palestinian cause, it doesn't seem to occur to them that they are taking sides with what a recent survey has discovered to be an extremely homophobic society.²

But as the Prophet Isaiah wrote some 2,700 years ago: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter" (Isa 5:20).

Talking of The Guardian in a more positive light, it was one of their highly-respected veteran journalists who exposed the absurd media portrayal of Israel as an 'apartheid' state for the nonsense that it is. Having worked as a correspondent in South Africa for 26 years, and having lived in Israel for 17, Benjamin Pogrund made it clear that there could be no comparison; that Israel is not remotely like that.

"Dragging in the emotive world 'apartheid' is not only incorrect but creates confusion and distracts from the main issue", he wrote.³ And referring to the security barrier – originally built to keep out suicide bombers – as the 'apartheid wall' was "untrue propaganda...Of course Israel isn't perfect, despite its many and wondrous achievements since 1948. However, for critics it's not enough to denounce its ills and errors: instead, they exaggerate and distort and present an ugly caricature far distant from reality."⁴

So why, he asks, is the apartheid accusation pushed so relentlessly, especially by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement (supported by supermarkets such as the Co-op, which refuses to sell Jaffa oranges)?

I believe campaigners want Israel declared an apartheid state so it becomes a pariah, open to the world's severest sanctions. Many want not just an end to the occupation but an end to Israel itself.

Tragically, some well-intentioned, well-meaning people in Britain and other countries are falling for the BDS line without realizing what they are actually supporting. BDS campaigners and other critics need to be questioned: Why do they single out Israel, above all others, for a torrent of false propaganda? Why is Israel the only country in the world whose very right to existence is challenged in this way?⁵

More on this topic next week.

References

1 In defence of Israel, research done by Philip Vander Elst, May 2015.

2 Peace in Jerusalem – olivepresspublisher.com – p129, quoting 'The Global Divide on Homosexuality', Pew Research Centre, 4 June 2013.

3 Pogrund, B. Israel has many injustices. But it is not an apartheid state. The Guardian, 22 May 2015.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.