Australian media hearts Hamas

Two days, two tongue baths on Khalid Mashaal, whose PR department is evidently targeting Australia these days. And oh, how the two major newspapers of Australia responded handily.

Both the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age of Australia published glowing fanboy articles about the wicked cool leader of Hamas, with the Age portraying his daily routine at the gym in Doha, and the Herald breathlessly talking about how he is poised to become the leader of the PLO. The Age has a video of how honored its photographer was to be able to take pictures of the mass murderer in his private life.

It is utterly despicable. I knew Australian media was anti-Israel, but I didn’t think it was so eager to pass Hamas propaganda off as news. And if you’re not quite sure it’s propaganda, the “news” article discusses Mashaal’s gym “routine”. The photographer talks about how his bodyguards would help Mashaal figure out how to turn on a machine in the gym. Two plus two equals four, morons. If he doesn’t know how to work a treadmill, he is not a regular gym goer–except, it seems, for photo ops. When she talks about photographing him with his grandchildren, all I can think about is the grandchildren the victims of his terror will never have. But then, I’m not a terror-worshiping star-struck Australian journalist.

In neither article is the terrorism of Hamas covered. There is only a brief nod to the fact that the U.S. and Israel consider Hamas a terrorist organization in the Herald, nothing in the Age. The word “terrorism” does not appear in the latter in reference to Hamas–only to Israel.

The Age.

But there is not a lot of humour when Mishal is challenged on Western demands for Hamas to renounce violence and to revise the movement’s charter, to delete its crude anti-Semitism and its call for the elimination of the state of Israel.

“Why should we be the ones on whom conditions are imposed, but not on the Israelis?” he asks, indignant. “Who should be asked to stop their violence and state terrorism – Israel or us? Who should be asked to change their ways – those who occupy or the victims of their occupation?”

The Sydney Morning Herald:

Asked about his ambitions, Mr Mishal was cryptic. During more than six hours of interviews in Doha last month, he said: “God knows best. [But] I’m ready to play any role that will serve my people.”

Certain to be an affront to US and Israeli sensitivities (for both countries it is a proscribed terrorist organisation), the Hamas plan is also likely to raise the ire of Fatah, which has controlled the Palestinian Authority and the PLO for virtually their entire existence.

Despicable. Loathsome. Those are two words that bring to mind what I think of the reporters and editors who brought these tongue-baths to the Australian media. They are willingly furthering Hamas’ propaganda aims. And the reporters are completely on board with it. Note the anti-Israel tone of this paragraph in the Herald when discussing whether Mashaal might take over the PLO. Why would U.S. and Israel object? Their “sensibilities” about Hamas being a terrorist organization would be “affronted” if he became leader of the PLO. The fact that he is a terrorist and the leader of a terror organization responsible for the death and wounding of thousands of civilians is being equated to holding a political position on which rational people can disagree. It is, in the words of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, defining deviancy down.

Certain to be an affront to US and Israeli sensitivities (for both countries it is a proscribed terrorist organisation), the Hamas plan is also likely to raise the ire of Fatah, which has controlled the Palestinian Authority and the PLO for virtually their entire existence.

The reporter for the Age doesn’t even bother to hide his open admiration of Hamas and his contempt for Israel.

Our discussion of demands by the international community for Hamas to renounce violence and to recognise Israel calls to mind Yasser Arafat’s acute discomfort in 1988 when, as leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, he was made “to play [that] last card” as the price for Washington agreeing to a dialogue that became the so-called peace process which, 20 years later, is stalled.

Arafat was hauled twice to a lectern in Geneva before he could publicly utter an agreed form of words that explicitly renounced terrorism and recognised Israel. Having done so, he snapped, seemingly addressing the foreign policy gurus in Washington: “Enough is enough, enough is enough! What do they want – do you want me to striptease?”

Arafat never explicitly renounced terrorism, and went on to launch the deadliest wars against Israel since its founding. But this reporter can’t be bothered with noting that Suha Arafat herself confirmed that Arafat directed the terrorism of the second intifada. But that’s understandable. Australian media is pushing the narrative of the poor, poor, pitiful Palestinians. They can’t let facts get in the way. Like the fact that they’re whitewashing leader of Hamas, and the terrorism that he and Hamas represent.

Despicable.