Mercury News To Readers: "Stay Stupid"

The latest monstrosity from Israel's prolific Macabre Absurdities Lab:

JERUSALEM (AFP)--Israeli authorities were questioning on Wednesday three foreigners detained with Palestinian fishermen off the Gaza Strip and who will eventually be deported, police said.
"They are being questioned. They are being held at a detention area near Ben Gurion airport," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said of the pro-Palestinian activists from the U.K., Italy and the U.S.

"They are going to be EXTRADITED tomorrow, the next day, in a week or two, depending on whether they continue to refuse to show their ID," Rosenfeld told AFP [1]

The phrase "to be extradited" means the same in Israel as it does in the rest of the world: to be surrendered to another country where the person has been accused or convicted of a crime. So Rosenfeld was saying that the foreigners detained off the Gaza strip are going to be transferred from Israel to another country where they will be tried or punished for crimes they are wanted for in that country. Perhaps the outlaws were on the lam from their home countries for fishing without a license?

Rosenfeld's job as police spokesman is to clarify the state's actions and intent, in an incident that is receiving international attention. Yet he seems as befuddled as the rest of us. No, Micky - you're not so fine, but your ignorance does blow my mind.

Amidst the clouds of confusion, enter the San Jose Mercury News to tell us about the detainee from the US, Darlene Wallach. The Mercury News saw this as an opportunity to graciously provide the public with a tutorial in the art of crude propaganda. We must express our appreciation, by demonstrating that the lessons have not been lost on us.

Lesson 1: Framing - Start the story with your message

"San Jose substitute teacher and human-rights activist Darlene Wallach is in international hot water again, imprisoned in Israel after being arrested this week on a fishing trawler off the coast of the disputed Gaza Strip." [2]

Message:

1. Don't take this incident seriously.
   The lame "hot water" pun makes that clear.
2. No one to blame but herself.
   We know that because we're told she was arrested and imprisoned, but there's no mention of who did it. Since no one else was involved, she must be completely responsible for getting herself arrested and imprisoned.
3. It's a tangled mess: forget about it.
   That's our conditioned response to any story from the Middle East. This opening sentence immediately triggers that response by using the enigmatic phrase "the disputed Gaza Strip", with no hint of just what is "disputed" about Gaza.

"A human rights activist accompanying Palestinian fishermen on a fishing trip has been arrested by the Israeli navy off the coast of Gaza." [3]

There are no puns, no dispute over Gaza, no self-arrests in the BBC or Dow-Jones reports. Apparently, the smart money wants a straight story - not cynical cheerleading - to guide investment decisions (Could that be why Dow Jones dumped the US AP wire service for the French AFP?).

Lesson 2: Redirection - Obscure the story by focusing on personalities, and mock with innuendo

In her second arrest by Israelis since 2002, Wallach was picked up along with two fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement, acting as self-described "international observers" on behalf of Palestinians.

The Dow Jones report saw no need to qualify with the lengthy acting as self-described "international observers", and simply referred to the activists as "international volunteers".

Lesson 3. Denial - If a fact doesn't fit your message, then it's not a fact.

"In a statement, the activists said they were fishing in Gaza waters seven miles off the coast of Deir el-Balah, in what they claim is a zone authorized for Palestinian fisherman by the Oslo agreements of 1993 and 1994. "

Meanwhile that mouthpiece for terrorists, Dow Jones, stated as fact:

"Under the Oslo accords, Gaza fishermen were allowed to go as far as 20 nautical miles offshore, but Israel has in recent years reduced this to six."

This could be asserted confidently, because fact-checkers need only to look at the website of the US Embassy in Israel for the relevant text of the accord. [4]

The Mercury News warns us: step out of line, you'll end up in jail looking foolish, and it's your own fault. Public affairs are too complex and messy, so just stick to consuming goods and entertainment, and vote every four years. Now shut up and get back to work.

The success of the Mercury News propaganda demo is found in the comments:

"Some people have nothing better to do."

"she is nothing but a trouble maker, who is funding her???"

"Must be nice to fly around the world causing trouble and not have to work."

Mission accomplished.

[1] This gem is rapidly disappearing down the Memory Hole. No longer on the Smart Money or Nasdaq websites, but still up at http://www.easybourse.com/bourse-actualite/marches/israel-questioning-three-foreigners-detained-off-gaza-564758
[2] http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_11044328
[3] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7735876.stm
[4] http://telaviv.usembassy.gov/publish/peace/gjannex1.htm