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6 comments

1 Jolo5309  Thu, Aug 29, 2013 12:15:50pm

They are Jewish not barbarians.

2 sliv_the_eli  Thu, Aug 29, 2013 12:32:19pm

Of course, it would be too much for AFP to get their historical facts correct. Per the article:

…Syria and Israel are technically still at war following their 1967 and 1973 conflicts…

and

The neighbours have been in a state of mutual hostility since Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the strategic Golan Heights plateau during the 1967 Six-Day War, which it later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.

Is it asking too much for a journalist writing about events in the region to get basic facts right? The state of war between Syria and Israel did not begin in 1967, much less in 1973. It began on May 14, 1948, immediately upon the announcement of Israel’s independence, when

Syria invaded Palestine with the 1st Infantry Brigade supported by a battalion of armoured cars, a company of French R 35 and R 37 tanks, an artillery battalion and other units. On 15-16 May they attacked the Israeli village Tzemah, which they captured, following a renewed offensive, on 18 May. The village was abandoned following the Syrian forces’ defeat at the Deganias a few days later. Subsequently, the Syrians scored a victory at Mishmar HaYarden on 10 June, after which they reverted to a defensive posture, conducting only a few minor attacks on small, exposed Israeli settlements.

Source (I used wikipedia so nobody can claim the information is from a biased pro-Israel source).

The 1948-49 war ended with the signing of separate armistice agreements between Israel and each of the five Arab states that had invaded the nascent Jewish State:

In 1949, Israel signed separate armistices with Egypt on 24 February, Lebanon on 23 March, Jordan on 3 April, and Syria on 20 July.

Critically, the Arab states, including Syria insisted that the Armistice Agreements they signed “emphasize[] that the armistice line was ‘not to be interpreted as having any relation whatsoever to ultimate territorial arrangements.’ (Article V)” Link

Moreover, the Armistice Agreement did not purport to end the conflict, only to be a “step toward the liquidation of armed conflict.” (Israel-Syria Armistice Agreement, Article I, sec. 2). Read the entire document here.

In other words, there has been a formal state of war between Syria and Israel since 1948. So why does AFP insist on claiming otherwise? Or, perhaps more pointedly, why does AFP insist on making such false statements in an article that otherwise attests to the basic humanity exhibited by Israeli doctors and by the Israeli soldiers who bring wounded Syrians to hospital for treatment?

3 Jolo5309  Thu, Aug 29, 2013 2:21:45pm

@sliv_the_eli

Never assume malice where incompetence exists as well.

4 Archangelus  Thu, Aug 29, 2013 2:57:30pm

re: #2 sliv_the_eli

why does AFP insist on making such false statements

As someone who has experience with some of the news agencies, you’ll find that its a mixture of ignorance and occasional stupidity combined with pressure and short timetables…


To be honest, i’m surprised AFP even noticed this - it’s nowhere NEAR a new thing, and Israel has been treating Syrian civil war victims more than a year now.

The odd thing is that you would think that the Israeli media would have covered it much more by now, if only for PR purposes, as it rarely gets a mention on Israeli media or on Israel’s main news websites; I’ve seen more updates about Syrians treated at Israeli hospitals on IsraelDefense (which as the name indicates is a defense/industry-oriented news site) than on Ynet, Walla or NRG (which are extensions of Israel’s major news media organizations)…

5 sliv_the_eli  Thu, Aug 29, 2013 7:47:25pm

re: #3 Jolo5309

re: #4 Archangelus

I get the point about carelessness and incompetence, which, in and of itself, should worry us as consumers of news.

However, I have noticed over many years that these “errors” only seem to occur in one direction when it comes to coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict. For example, one will never see Reuters, AP or AFP mistakenly identify the 1929 massacre of Jews in Hebron as the start of the conflict, but, “coincidentallY”, the factual error often identifies 1967 and the beginning of the “occupation” as the date when the conflict “began.” These “errors” are consistent with a historically false and dishonest narrative that has already poisoned the minds of too many and only lessens the already slim prospects of real peace.

6 sliv_the_eli  Thu, Aug 29, 2013 8:04:36pm

re: #4 Archangelus

One more point. I think there are two reasons why the Israeli media does not cover this story to an great degree. First, it is not really news to Israelis that their doctors would provide medical care to victims of the fighting in Syria. Most Israelis are aware that Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank are routinely allowed into Israel for medical care. There are stories, in fact, of Palestinian terrorists being treated in the same hospitals, by the same doctors and at the same time as their victims.

Second, I think the Israeli media is more sensitive than the Western press is to the risks which some of the patients being treated by Israeli doctors might face when they are repatriated and, therefore, are less willing to publicize the fact that Syrian nationals are being treated in Israeli hospitals. The AFP piece, on the other hand, provides a significant amount of information about the supposedly anonymous “Fatima” which could be enough to identify to the wrong people who she actually is and might expose her to harm upon her return to Syria. There is a reason why “fatima’ doesn’t want her real name used. The Israelis, who unlike many members of the western press, are under no misconceptions as to what that reason is, may simply be trying to avoid putting these victims of the war to any future risk arising solely from the fact that they were treated for their wounds in Israel.


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