Can the Whole World Be Wrong?

 At Life is Like a Library, we love trifectas. And we got a great one recently. Thank you to Pomeranz Books in Jerusalem for hosting an event promoted as

Lethal Journalism and the Oslo Debacle: A Panel About Media Bias Against Israel

Three authors spoke about the topic:

Eliezer Tauber, author of The Massacre That Never Was (The Toby Press, 2021);

Richard Landes, author of Can the "Whole World" Be Wrong?: Lethal Journalism, Antisemitism and Global Jihad (Academic Studies Press, 2022);

and David Bedein, author of Roadblock to Peace: How the UN Perpetuates the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Israel Resource Agency, 2014)

Also in attendance:

 Jonathan Pollard, a former US intelligence analyst who was convicted of "conspiracy to deliver national defense information to a foreign government" and given a life sentence. He was paroled after 30 years and moved to Israel shortly after his parole expired. He sat on the panel with the authors;

and Leo Dee, whose wife and two of his daughters were murdered in a terrorist attack on April 7, 2023. He had much to add to the discussion in terms of how his family members' murders were reported by the media.

Pomeranz is one of our all-time favorite bookstores on many levels. It is a nice big store full of an eclectic mix of Jewish books (and some secular self-help books). It is located on Be'eri Street in Jerusalem, up the street from Froumine House on King George, which was the temporary home of the Israel Knesset from 1950 to 1966. And best of all, the staff is knowledgeable, courteous, and helpful. And, obviously, they host interesting and engaging book events.

Each author spoke, and then the panel interacted and later fielded questions from the audience. Professor Tauber is "a world expert on the emergence of the Arab nationalist movements, the formation of the modern Arab states, and the early phases of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He is currently the director of the Menachem Begin Institute for the Study of Underground and Resistance Movements." He spent four years researching his book and one year writing it. The notes comprise about a third of the book, and Tauber's sources includes archival records, typescripts of interviews, and many memoirs. 

True to its subtitle, Tauber debunks "the myth of Deir Yassin." On April 9, 1948, Etzel and Lehi members attacked the village of about 1,000 residents west of Jerusalem as part of a larger Haganah operation to make the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway safe and break the siege of Jerusalem. About 100 villagers were killed, including women and children, as well as five of the attackers. Most of the villagers escaped to a neighboring village and the reminder were taken prison and moved to eastern Jerusalem. But the battle was exploited to enflame the Arabs against the Jews. The number of casualties was highly inflated, and false reports of rape and other atrocities were spread. Rather than encouraging the Arabs to fight, they fled. Hopefully Tauber's excellent research and presentation will finally put this myth to rest.

Professor Landes was trained as a medievalist and taught history at Boston University. His book "documents how a radical inability of Westerners to understand the medieval mentality that drove Global Jihad prompted a series of disastrous misinterpretations and misguided reactions that have shaped our so-far unhappy century." Another meticulously researched book with extensive footnotes, a comprehensive bibliography and detailed index,  one Amazon reviewer calls the book "frighteningly brilliant and brilliantly frightening." One of our favorite aspects of the book is Landes' terms to describe the current "journalistic" environment, including "Masochistic Omnipotence Syndrome," "Moral Schadenfreude," and "Humanitarian Racism." At a hefty 486 pages of text, it is a fascinating and worthwhile, if challenging read.  

David Bedein established the Israel Resource News Agency and serves as the director of the Center for Near East Policy Research. He also created and maintains the website Israel Behind the News. His book details how the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) blocks peace and supports the teaching of hate and terror in Arab schools. It keeps the refugee issue alive and "avoids any permanent solution to the plight of the refugees from the 1948 war."

Bedein spoke about current efforts to "report Israel's reality to the media," and efforts to stop Palestinians terrorists and their families from receiving stipends for killing Israelis.

As for the Real Cats of Israel, this guy was wandering around the Adamit National Park in Northern Israel, probably more interested in what the picnickers were eating than the amazing views and the Keshet "Cave": 

Keshet "Cave" at Adamit Park

Happy Reading!