The swirl of misinformation and outright lies that hits us each day is having some really bad effects. One place this is happening is in Israel. In the last three days, lies by Palestinian president Abbas, US secretary of State Kerry and the chief spokesman for the State Department Admiral Kirby have caused some major problems. (To be fair, I am not sure that Kerry and Kirby were telling lies; they may just be misinformed and negligent in their comments.)
Abbas' announced a few days ago that Israel had "executed" a young teenage Palestinian. There was an outpouring of outrage on the West Bank in response to that announcement. The teen in question had been participating in a terror attack in Jerusalem. He had stabbed two people near a bus stop and then run on to attack another pedestrian nearby. During the attack, he was shot by a security guard. After the Palestinians announced that he had been executed, the Israelis released video showing the teen being treated in an Israeli hospital; he is very much alive. The truth, however, has been denounced as an Israeli trick, and president Abbas has not bothered to take back his lie.
Secretary Kerry blamed the violence in Israel on the "massive expansion" of Israeli settlements in the last few years. There are, however, two problems with this statement. First, there has not been a massive expansion of those settlement. When president Obama took office, he started criticizing Israeli settlements as an obstacle to peace and he put great pressure on the Israelis not to grow those settlements. Over the last seven years, the settlements have only grown to accommodate the natural increase in the population. In other words as children have been born or newly weds started families, homes have been built to house the increased number of people. There has been no large scale growth in the settlements, however, and Kerry's description of "massive expansion" is completely false. Second, the settlements have nothing to do with the violence. The current wave of terrorism from the Palestinians stems from their belief that Israel is changing the rules on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Supposedly, the Israelis are planning to take over the al Aqsa mosque to build a third temple on the site. (This is, of course, untrue.)
Admiral Kirby actually blamed the violence on the "fact" (his word) that the Israelis have changed the status quo on the Temple Mount. Since this claim is contrary to the truth, Kirby was questioned by reporters repeatedly and he stuck to his story. It was only some hours later that Kirby sent a tweet in which he stated that he never meant to imply that Israel had changed the rules on the Temple Mount.
Kirby and Kerry's statements are both factually wrong and very bad for the situation. When Palestinians hear Kirby announce as a fact that Israel is changing the status of the Temple Mount, it confirms all the false claims that they have previously heard. No one cares that Kirby later sent a tweet to correct his error. Kerry's statement is not as bad, because even most Palestinians know that Kerry is wrong. Nevertheless, the misstatements from these State Department people still stir up enormous trouble. The sad thing is that these guys are supposed to know better. It's their job to keep up with what is going on abroad.
By the way, the Kirby and Kerry statements have caused an uproar among the Israeli government. They are used to hearing lies about them from Abbas, but to hear blatant misstatements from the USA is very troubling.
Abbas' announced a few days ago that Israel had "executed" a young teenage Palestinian. There was an outpouring of outrage on the West Bank in response to that announcement. The teen in question had been participating in a terror attack in Jerusalem. He had stabbed two people near a bus stop and then run on to attack another pedestrian nearby. During the attack, he was shot by a security guard. After the Palestinians announced that he had been executed, the Israelis released video showing the teen being treated in an Israeli hospital; he is very much alive. The truth, however, has been denounced as an Israeli trick, and president Abbas has not bothered to take back his lie.
Secretary Kerry blamed the violence in Israel on the "massive expansion" of Israeli settlements in the last few years. There are, however, two problems with this statement. First, there has not been a massive expansion of those settlement. When president Obama took office, he started criticizing Israeli settlements as an obstacle to peace and he put great pressure on the Israelis not to grow those settlements. Over the last seven years, the settlements have only grown to accommodate the natural increase in the population. In other words as children have been born or newly weds started families, homes have been built to house the increased number of people. There has been no large scale growth in the settlements, however, and Kerry's description of "massive expansion" is completely false. Second, the settlements have nothing to do with the violence. The current wave of terrorism from the Palestinians stems from their belief that Israel is changing the rules on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Supposedly, the Israelis are planning to take over the al Aqsa mosque to build a third temple on the site. (This is, of course, untrue.)
Admiral Kirby actually blamed the violence on the "fact" (his word) that the Israelis have changed the status quo on the Temple Mount. Since this claim is contrary to the truth, Kirby was questioned by reporters repeatedly and he stuck to his story. It was only some hours later that Kirby sent a tweet in which he stated that he never meant to imply that Israel had changed the rules on the Temple Mount.
Kirby and Kerry's statements are both factually wrong and very bad for the situation. When Palestinians hear Kirby announce as a fact that Israel is changing the status of the Temple Mount, it confirms all the false claims that they have previously heard. No one cares that Kirby later sent a tweet to correct his error. Kerry's statement is not as bad, because even most Palestinians know that Kerry is wrong. Nevertheless, the misstatements from these State Department people still stir up enormous trouble. The sad thing is that these guys are supposed to know better. It's their job to keep up with what is going on abroad.
By the way, the Kirby and Kerry statements have caused an uproar among the Israeli government. They are used to hearing lies about them from Abbas, but to hear blatant misstatements from the USA is very troubling.
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