If you checked out the news in non-Israeli newspapers last week, you will be quite aware that the EU called “For Israel to dismantle all checkpoints in the West Bank” and that the EU called for “Israel to lift the closure of Gaza.” If you read the BBC, at the end of an article about the (poor things) 23 militants that were killed in Gaza last week you also learned that “an agricultural worker was killed in Israel by sniper fire from Gaza.” At least get it right, people, he was a tourist from Ecuador who was spending a couple of weeks volunteering on a kibbutz to learn about kibbutz life. The U.N. with a bare mention of the rockets and mortars falling as thick as rain forcefully condemned Israel for attacks on militants in Gaza and urged Israel in strong language to “avoid creating a humanitarian crisis” in Gaza. A lot of newspapers carried as headlines, Abbas’ claim that Israel was conducting a “massacre.”
Nowhere did you read during the three days that such headlines listed above were appearing that, during those same three days more than 130 Qassam rockets hit the Israeli city of Sderot. Also during those same three days, more than 80 mortars were fired from Gaza into Israeli civilian communities along the Gaza border. Nowhere did you read that, in addition to the 19 year old Ecuadoran tourist who was killed by sniper-fire, snipers fired repeatedly at civilian targets or that Hamas issued a statement calling for constant sniper attacks against Israeli farmers and farm workers. Nowhere did you read that, in just the past year alone, Palestinian militants have launched considerably more than 1,000 rockets targeting the civilian population of Sderot.
Nor, if you tot up the number of all those injured from flying shrapnel and debris in Sderot over those three days, do you read that 60 civilians were injured and required medical treatment, including several children hospitalized with serious injuries.
Yes and lacking this context, if you read the newspapers in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, Australia or anywhere else, you might agree with the U.N. assessment that Israel is imposing an “arbitrary” closure on Gaza and doing it for pure mean pleasure. You might well agree with both the U.N. and Abbas that Israel should stop this “massacre” of the armed Palestinian terrorists who were among the very ones shooting these 210 rockets and mortars at Israeli civilian targets and who murdered an innocent tourist.
I get none of my news from “mainstream media” anymore. It’s more than inaccurate; there is bias, lies by omission, and outright lies and distortion. It benefits no one, least of all those of us who want resolution, fair and just, in conflicts, and to promote good lives for everyone across borders.
I am relying on bloggers, independent journalists, and think tanks who provide news analysis. It’s hard enough to “get the facts” (try settling a playground dispute among first graders, for example :)—I do not need the lies and distortions from the mainstream media to make it more difficult to understand.
I rarely believe anything that the UN says.
hi yael, how are you?
so glad to know that tzofia is well! so good of you to take care of her.
back in canada now, we adopted two kitties that needed a home (their mama was a pregnant stray my mom adopted). trying to do research now into the best time to spay/neuter [we have a little girl & a little boy]. what are your thoughts? how do you know if a vet is a good vet or not? you’re my resident cat expert
take care,
f
Mac –I’m with you there buddy!
F -hey sweetie! Tzofia (or Tofi as my Ema calls her) is indeed doing well and is still as independent as she was when she was a baby. Still not very big and still ready to take on the world!
It is best to spay and neuter at 3 - 4 months. This is one of the things we animal care workers are trying to beat into the heads of the vets here (the ignorance is unbelievable). They typically wait until 5-6 months to spay here. There are so many problems with this –first, a female can become pregnant as early as 4 months, and waiting until after she has gone into heat will predispose her to cancer later in life (as does having a litter of kittens before she is more than a year old). For boys, you definitely want to get them before they begin to spray. About 15% of boys who start spraying and are then neutered will continue to spray even after they are neutered and oh you so don’t want to go there with a cat in your house.
About knowing if you have a good vet –how does he handle the little animal? Gently? Pays attention to how it is reacting? Does he listen to you and fill you in on what he is doing? Most vets are fine for run-of-the-mill things like yearly shots and checkups. When a severe illness is involved, then you’ve got to ‘vet’ them (sorry for the pun) more closely.
Tzofia, is so cute! She is the most daring and the most independent little animal I have ever seen. So cute! I could watch her in action all day
Great post, I really want to go down to Sderot and volunteer some time.
thanks very much, yael! i really appreciate the advice. glad to hear Tofi is as cute and independent as ever
our kitties are now about 4.5 months old, so i make sure to find a good vet as soon as possible.
take care,
f
[...] Aliyah! Step-by-Step: Making a Life in Israel » 3 days in Sderot –210 qassams and mortars (tags: israel) [...]
[...] Yael of Oleh Girl adds to Rachel's criticism of what she perceives as the media's slanted reporting. “A lot of newspapers carried as headlines, Abbas’ claim that Israel was conducting a ‘massacre.' [...]
[...] Yael de Oleh Girl añade a la crítica de Rachel lo que ella percibe como la información sesgada de los medios. [...]