Bias in the Media, and on the Streets

The plague of religious persecution survives despite all the lessons of history. It does so under ever-changing guises, employing excuses that defy truth, logic, and basic human decency. The depredations of terrorist organization such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and ISIS against Jews, Christians and even other Moslems who define their faith differently have been well documented.

The danger, however, is not restricted to the embattled Middle East. In both Europe and the United States, in different degrees, anti-Semitism is once again increasingly part of the political environment. Some of this can be seen in news reports about the Middle East. At other times, it can also be seen on the streets of Europe and the political comments of certain officials, predominately on the Left.

Media coverage of the opening of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem concentrated substantially on the Palestinian demonstrations and the lack of support by European nations, rather than the fact that this move was authorized by Congress in the 1995, and supported by Presidents Clinton, Bush (43) and Obama, and simply reflects the reality of where a sovereign nation chooses to place its government headquarters. The move did nothing to change the status quo, either in the city with its separate Israeli and Palestinian sections, or in the control of the religious and historical sites.

In two separate reports, the Free Beacon pointed out key news items much of the media downplayed. The first involved an Iranian organization, the “Iranian Justice Seeker Student Movement,” which has offered a $100,000 reward to any person who bombs the embassy. The second is that those Palestinian demonstrators were far from peaceful. What has been described as “light weapons” were possessed by some.

Bizarrely, the Free Beacon notes, “NBC News reporter Matt Bradley on Monday called Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip ‘unarmed’ before immediately acknowledging they ‘had some light weapons,’ adding they were ‘not peacefully demonstrating’ but were peaceful in comparison to the more heavily armed Israeli military… On the day of the U.S. embassy opening in Jerusalem, violent demonstrators urged on by Hamas, the terrorist group in control of Gaza, sought to breach the fence to penetrate Israeli territory…Bradley took a stridently pro-Palestinian tone in his coverage, saying the Israelis should not have felt threatened by the violent demonstrations. One Palestinian told the Washington Post that he would try to kill people if he got into Israel.”

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It should come as no surprise. The acceptance of those sympathetic to anti-Semitism has become notable within the Democrat Party, particularly in the ascension of Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) as Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee. Ellison has close ties to America’s leading anti-Semite, Louis Farrakhan, and has attended a private dinner with Iranian President Hassan Rohani.

WTOP News reported that Democrat D.C. City Councilman Trayon White “ignited a firestorm on March 16 by posting a short video on his Facebook page claiming that an unexpected snowfall was because of ‘the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters.’ Fellow council members and Jewish community leaders accused White of spreading an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about Jewish control of world events. The Rothschilds, a prominent Jewish family whose banking dynasty dates back to the 18th century, are a frequent target of global conspiracy theories.” A D.C. city official featured a city official who said that all Jews were ‘termites.”

The Report Concludes Monday

Photo: Jerusalem (Pixabay)

Quick Analysis

Ukraine’s Frozen Conflict

As we approach winter in the northern hemisphere, the war in Ukraine is beginning to resemble a “frozen conflict” from many perspectives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told the media he hopes the war will end faster once President-elect Trump takes over in January. Opinions in Moscow, however, differ from that of the Ukrainian leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin argues that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) needs to exclude Ukraine from joining in “exchange” for peace. If it does not, he says, then no end to the war is in sight. So far there is no Christmas solution. Several NATO countries, according to Vladimir Socor of the Jamestown Foundation, are tentatively considering “coalitions-of-the-willing” to provide security for Ukraine outside of the formal NATO framework. There is, however, no collective mechanism today under which such an arrangement is viable. According to the NATO Charter, while Ukraine is a NATO partner country, it may not join as a full member since it has not fulfilled the requirements for membership. That has not stopped NATO and allies from continuing “to provide Ukraine with unprecedented levels of support, helping to uphold its fundamental right to self-defence,” according to the organization. Socor says that keeping Ukraine out of NATO will not advance peace with Russia. Waiting for a peace settlement, he suggests, would only serve to encourage Moscow to continue the war indefinitely. Although the Biden Administration officially withdrew its support for Ukrainian membership in 2021, NATO maintains an “open door” policy toward membership-seeking countries. The current White House position led the way for European states to oppose Ukraine’s membership saying that a decision should be delayed until “conditions are met.” Biden pushed for changing “open door” to a “bridge” metaphor. It is not intended as an across-the-board NATO policy and has been implemented in the past on a case-by-case basis, says Socor. “The alliance’s open-door policy was not fully insulated from Russia’s non-statutory blocking power, and NATO-aspirant countries’ path toward membership was not always irreversible.” Russia has successfully blocked states like Georgia from joining, first in 2008 and again after the war in Ukraine began in 2014. Russia recognizes the value add of Ukraine to NATO is enormous and that Kyiv has a better case than some other nations. Putin’s invasion was, in part, intended to foreclose that option. By 2021, Moscow was pushing hard to maximize its war objectives, which included further annexations of Ukrainian territory. A main goal for Putin was, and is, to ensure there is no Ukraine left to join NATO. As President-elect Trump prepares to assume office in January, he is faced with the historical challenges presented by the war. Post-conflict security guarantees were the center of several proposals made during the 2023 military stalemate. The incoming Trump Administration has yet to outline how it intends to handle the Russia-Ukraine war. Analysts in Washington believe that the new Administration will expect its European allies to guarantee the majority of Ukraine’s security needs. As we approach 2025, several European nations have acknowledged that they do not view Ukraine as eligible for NATO membership as it would draw the organization into the middle of the conflict. Others want to wait until the war is over or pending a “peace” settlement before considering Ukrainian membership. Socor reports that some “influential voices” are suggesting that “Kyiv should join NATO after “freezing” the war along a stable armistice line, de facto accepting Ukraine’s partition, with NATO security guarantees applying de jure to the government-controlled territory only.” This would mean starting accession talks soon with the actual talks to commence only after a ceasefire is in place. Trump arrives in Washington at a time when Putin’s hybrid strategies of war in Ukraine have eviscerated commonly-held differences between war and peace. “Absent a political consensus in NATO over Ukrainian membership, certain European allies, including France’s President Emmanuel Macron, are holding informal consultations about post-conflict security guarantees to Kyiv by NATO members outside of NATO’s framework,” according to the Jamestown Foundation. The Biden Administration downplayed the discussions on possible forms of military assistance and defense industry cooperation by sending only an Assistant Secretary of State. For a European peace to hold the Trump Administration would need to formally extend the United States’ nuclear deterrence to Ukraine. Options under discussion in Europe include a “coalition of the resolute” to deploy forces to Ukraine as part of a possible armistice package, deterring further Russian attacks, says Secor. European officials are also debating, without any agreement, whether its military forces could perform non-combat logistical roles to free Ukrainian forces to fight. None of the possible courses of action has moved forward as all eyes are waiting on the incoming Trump Administration for clues about its intended level of support for a NATO framework and other non-NATO proposals. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.