A CiF piece by Andrew Rawnsely, on the relationship between the U.S. and Britain, in the context of President Obama’s recent visit to the country, (What is the special relationship behind the barbecue bonhomie, May 29), which didn’t once even peripherally mention Israel or the Middle East, still managed to elicit this, which quickly garnered 49 Recommends.
In addition to the tortured syntax and redundant metaphors (so, the UK and U.S. are “servants” and “poodles”?!), its worth noting that this comment advances the hateful and absurd narrative that the small Jewish state is the “master”, controlling the behavior of great powers such as the U.S. and UK.
Though in fairness the comment was deleted shortly after I reported it, it’s important to note that the reader was advancing an argument extremely similar to one advanced in a Guardian approved CiF commentary by John Whitbeck in December in which he referred to America’s “slavish subservience to Israel.”
Fear not, though, because, after the CST complained that Whitbeck’s tropes were indistinguishable from anti-Semitic canards about the danger of Jewish power, the Guardian admitted guilt and removed the word “slavish” – establishing that “subservience to Israel” is just fine, but that “slavish subservience to Israel” runs afoul of their editorial guidelines.
My heart goes out to such readers as, given such mixed messages, it must be darn confusing for self-respecting Israel haters to know precisely when their animosity towards the Jewish state falls outside CiF’s “community standards.”
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COMMITTEE FOR ACCURACY IN MIDDLE EAST REPORTING AND ANALYSIS
Guardian reader off-topic anti-Israel hate of the day
A CiF piece by Andrew Rawnsely, on the relationship between the U.S. and Britain, in the context of President Obama’s recent visit to the country, (What is the special relationship behind the barbecue bonhomie, May 29), which didn’t once even peripherally mention Israel or the Middle East, still managed to elicit this, which quickly garnered 49 Recommends.
In addition to the tortured syntax and redundant metaphors (so, the UK and U.S. are “servants” and “poodles”?!), its worth noting that this comment advances the hateful and absurd narrative that the small Jewish state is the “master”, controlling the behavior of great powers such as the U.S. and UK.
Though in fairness the comment was deleted shortly after I reported it, it’s important to note that the reader was advancing an argument extremely similar to one advanced in a Guardian approved CiF commentary by John Whitbeck in December in which he referred to America’s “slavish subservience to Israel.”
Fear not, though, because, after the CST complained that Whitbeck’s tropes were indistinguishable from anti-Semitic canards about the danger of Jewish power, the Guardian admitted guilt and removed the word “slavish” – establishing that “subservience to Israel” is just fine, but that “slavish subservience to Israel” runs afoul of their editorial guidelines.
My heart goes out to such readers as, given such mixed messages, it must be darn confusing for self-respecting Israel haters to know precisely when their animosity towards the Jewish state falls outside CiF’s “community standards.”
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