A couple of nuts go into the Basilica of the Annunciation, armed with firecrackers and propane gas tanks in a baby carriage. They start throwing firecrackers off a balcony. The crowd reacts by capturing and beating them. Then, the crowd refuses to let the police or emergency services through to treat the injured. Then, the crowd riots some. Then, the news gets out, and more crowds riot. There are now 433 articles about the incident in Google’s news aggregator.
The first headlines out of the box:
Firecrackers at Israeli Church Spark Riot (AP)
Israelis set off firecrackers in church, spark brawl (Reuters)
Jewish Attackers Set Off Riot By Throwing Fireworks Into Nazareth Holy Site (AP)
Israeli Couple Attacks Christian Shrine (ABC)
3 Israelis Set Off Fireworks Inside Church (The New York Times, in an article that details the death of an Israeli by terrorists, but leads with this headline)
So here are the facts of the story from Israeli news source Ynet:
A married couple from Jerusalem threw firecrackers in the Church of the Annunciation on Friday after entering the compound disguised as pilgrims.
The couple was identified as Haim Habibi, a Jewish man who is known to police, and his wife Violet, a Christian. Their 20-year-old daughter also entered the church.
Security establishment sources said the two are not right-wing activists, but are known to welfare authorities.
From Ha’aretz:
According to police, the Jewish man, Haim Eliyahu Habibi, 44, had a history of mental illness. The assailants were not believed to be linked to any ultra-nationalist Jewish group.
Reuters:
Television reports said the man, a Jew, was a Jerusalem resident known to police and security services as having a history of threatening to attack churches.
While police said all three intruders were Jews, Israeli television said one of the women was Christian. Officials said one of the women was the Jewish man’s partner.
From the Jerusalem Post:
The man suspected of the attack was identified as Haim Eliyahu Havivi, a Jerusalem resident. The two women were thought to be his 40-year-old Christian wife and the couple’s daughter.
It was reported that the man had made previous threats against the church since two of his children were taken away from him and handed over to foster families. He allegedly warned that he would wreak havoc, and possibly even commit suicide.
This guy was a nutcase. He did not “bomb” the church. He threw firecrackers. Of course, the anti-Israel media is all over this as a “terrorist” attack. All the Arab media is calling him a terrorist. And the non-Arab media is going out of its way to ignore the fact that his wife is a Christian, not a Jew, which makes his daughter a Christian as well. Suddenly, the “three Jews attack Church” story becomes “One Jewish nutcase and his Christian wife and daughter attack Church” story, but you aren’t seeing it reflected in any of the major wire services. They’re flogging either the words “Israeli” or “Jew.” “Mentally ill” doesn’t seem to come into the picture at all.
The AP is quoting Ismail Haniyeh as calling the attack part of Israel’s “culture of hate.” This, from one of the leaders of the organization whose charter reads
We should not forget to remind every Moslem that when the Jews conquered the Holy City in 1967, they stood on the threshold of the Aqsa Mosque and proclaimed that “Mohammed is dead, and his descendants are all women.”
Israel, Judaism and Jews challenge Islam and the Moslem people. “May the cowards never sleep.”
This, from the group whose suicide bombers have killed or wounded thousands of Israelis. A “culture of hate.” And the AP quotes him as if he has some sort of legitimacy.
What time is it, kids? Say it with me: Israel Double Standard Time.
