I really had not planned to write a political post. Not at this time, anyway. But after this week’s events, I cannot keep silent.

Last Wednesday  I received a series of ‘interesting ‘ emails and calls from one of my daughters in Los Angeles. She had been out with a group of her young, hip, urbane, well-educated friends. It was a very diverse group racially, religiously, politically. They had begun discussing the Mid East. And they had begun discussing Israel: the colonialist, apartheid, unjust occupier of Palestinian land. Their talk led to the unfair treatment and persecution of all Arabs, most notably, Ahed Tamimi, Palestinian  poster child.

My daughter tried to refute the many assaults against Israel….after all, several family members have made Aliyah. She stated historical facts not only about the Jewish people returning to their ancient and promised homeland, but cited modern day treaties and declarations.  She explained that Israel was the only true democracy in the Middle East, a place where Arabs have rights, where Arab women do not have to wear burkas or hijabs- where Arab women drive freely, unescorted; where the university system is open to all; where not only Jews, but Christians & Muslims can and do serve as members of Knesset (Parliament), doctors, engineers, architects, actors.

The discussion then moved on to the current US administration’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the rightful capital city of Israel. My daughter confronted one of the men as being anti-Semitic. His response to her was that he was by no means anti Jewish, but was anti Zionist (against Jewish people claiming Israel as their home). And then the Tamimi affair popped up.

Ahed Tamimi is the blond haired, blue eyed 17 year old Palestinian activist. She is often pictured wearing “love” and “peace” T shits and jeans. Very Western. She hails from a long line of Hamas supporters. Her  cousins include the first female plane hijacker and a female suicide bomber. The parents of Ahed have a long history of using their children, most notably, Ahed, in the front lines of protesters, rioters, and hecklers of IDF soldiers. In the latest video clip, two IDF soldiers have come to the Tamimi home. There were only two soldiers. It was not a raid. That December day, there had already been several outbreaks/riots in the village of Nebi Salih. There was a report to check  the Tamimi house, as that was a usual hotspot for terrorist activity.

In the clip, Ahed can be seen taunting the soldiers. She and her sister (filmed on cell phone by a friend), slap and punch the soldiers, spit on them, curse them, and punch them about the face and head. The soldiers show great restraint and eventually leave the premises. They do not engage or respond to the verbal or physical abuse. After the video is posted to Facebook and other social media as a resistance movement advert, Ahed is arrested. It has since become a propaganda piece for those who claim the injustice of the Israeli occupiers towards the Palestinians.

My daughter texted me and called to find out what we knew about it. She wanted factual information to rebut what she perceived as inaccurate reporting. I had been following the story for the past month in several of our media outlets. In fact, I bookmarked a couple of the stories.

My first surprise came when I went to retrieve the articles. They had been removed!!! So I googled Ahed Tamimi. I found plenty of articles from the mainstream American and European news outlets, Memri, Al Jezeera, NPR, the Guardian, the BBC, Newsweek. All slanted in Tamimi’s favor. It wasn’t until page 16/20 that I found an article published in The Tower which told the whole story. I copied it and sent it to my daughter. An hour later, I could no longer bring up that exact article in my google search. Also, all the other reports from our Israeli news outlets were not present. I finally reached the end of my search on page 20 to find this:

The plain truth is that the real truth has been hidden. Obscured. Obfuscated. Obliterated.

I have recently been hearing about how Google, Facebook, YouTube and other outlets have been selectively removing facts with which they do not agree. But here it was up close and personal, so to speak. Revising facts. Absolute censorship. Selective reporting. Even fake news. I was seeing it all firsthand. How can one see both sides of complex issues when truth is hidden? How can this happen when there is supposed to be freedom of press and speech? Where is our world heading when basic up-to-date information is twisted, slanted, or in this case, altogether buried?

Much food for thought. In the meantime, we are trying to provide our daughter with both sides of this story, as well as with reports of the good that comes from this country. Operation Good Neighbor: the IDF work to provide food, clothing, and desperately needed medical care to Syrian War civilian casualties. The Search & Rescue teams Israel sent after the Nepalese and Mexican earthquakes. The well digging, water purification and reclamation projects by Israel to help draught-stricken African nations.

In conclusion, I refer you to an article written in November,2015 in The Tower Magazine(thetower.org). It is entitled “How a Family Became a Propaganda Machine.” I hope my next posts will resume a more pleasant tenor….