Editor,
Once again, the Daily Lobo gives a stage to an anti-Israeli propagandistic article where journalist Ziad Abbas and his faculty friends in UNM attack and blame Israel for the Palestinian suffering. Like many articles of its kind, it is full with common lies and disguised by comments of professors.
First and foremost, the Daily Lobo and Abbas forgot the very basic definition of journalism: Writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts or description of events without an attempt at interpretation. As part of the disgusting phenomenon of journalists forgetting their role as reporters and becoming public opinion creators, it is clear that in his tour to New Mexico, Abbas does not function as a journalist, but as a mere propagandist. Sadly, the Daily Lobo collaborates and offers a free advertisement.
The article contains several of the propaganda lies. Abbas says, "My family was forced out of their home in 1948 when Israelis attacked Palestinian villages," and continues, "To be there on the ground, and to see how they have changed the reality and tried to hide the history ... they gave my village a Hebrew name." This commonly used narrative is fraudulent and easily refuted. In 1948, Israel was attacked by the armies of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and local Arab villagers after they all rejected the generous U.N. partition plan. The majority of the villagers escaped - following the orders of Adolf Hitler's partner, the Mufti of Jerusalem, Al-Husayni - in order to clear the area for the progressing Arab armies. Moreover, the village of Abbas's mother, Jirash - as other Arab villages - was built on the biblical settlement Zanoah, and therefore, it received a Hebrew name.
In the article, professor Lori Rudolph pretentiously says, "The Palestinians that live on the West Bank were devastated to see their brothers and sisters massacred." I do not think there was a time when the West Bank was so relatively quiet as at the recent Gaza fighting and when there was such an understanding to the Israeli assault, without even mentioning the brutal killings of Fatah members by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Last but not least, Nagesh Rao said, "Americans have heard the Israeli perspective for a long time and are slowly starting to see the Palestinian point of view." This baseless statement is refuted by the ongoing propaganda taking place in UNM and as Palestinian speakers, exhibitions and articles are super abundant in the U.S. and Europe. This claim becomes more absurd as the Daily Lobo chooses to keep publishing pro-Palestinian articles and no pro-Israeli articles.
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Tons of minorities live around the world stateless and oppressed - from 15 million Kurds in Turkey to the Tibetans in China, and the list is long. But the honorable professors and the concerned media choose to deal with one issue only. Insanity broke new records at the U.N. conference on racism, where the most oppressing countries and the worst for human rights judge the rest of the world.
Yuval Carmi
UNM student
