As I browsed one of the Jewish news sites last night, I stumbled upon the following item, originally reported by IsraelNN.com: PA Court: Hang Arab for Selling Land to Jews.
According to this story, a Palestinian Authority military court yesterday sentenced a Hebron Arab to death by hanging for treason. The crime? Selling land to Jews in Judea and Samaria. The court's ruling is the first time the PA has officially handed down a guilty verdict of treason for this crime.
I quickly switched to my standard news sources, hoping beyond hope that they would deem this story newsworthy. But... nothing. Not on the sites' homepages, and not even buried somewhere in a two-hits-per-week Middle East news index. (In case you're doubting the veracity of the story considering its Israeli source, Aljazeera's website also reported this story.)
A phenomenon that is becoming predictable, though still discomfiting every time anew.
(I should note that CNN did find another news item more worthy of reportage: An indictment drafted by a conference of Islamic prosecutors – hosted by acclaimed human rights champion, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – against Israeli leaders, accusing them of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. "Israel is a regime that only understands the language of violence and force," the peace-loving Ahmadinejad moaned...)
Is this due to a bias by the "mainstream media" against Israel? Perhaps.
And perhaps not. Maybe this is simply a byproduct of the journalistic rule: Man bites dog—newsworthy. Dog bites man—not newsworthy. This also explains why chances are that many of you are unaware of the vile vandalizing of Joseph's Tomb that occurred this past week, this holiest of sites desecrated with swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti. This also explains why Gilad Shalit, now held captive by Hamas for nearly three years, is nowhere near public consciousness.
In truth, however, I believe that this story is a bit more newsworthy than many other similar crimes that happen so often in that corner of the world. Yes, Arab "collaborators" have, for years, been tried and murdered by vigilantes and ad hoc kangaroo courts, with tacit support from the Palestinian Authority. But this is the first time that the P.A., the "moderate" entity that the world expects Israel to view as a partner for peace, has officially, and "legally," initiated this heinous injustice.
May G‑d have mercy on this poor Palestinian. And may G‑d give the relatively new Israeli government clarity, courage and strength in their quest for security and peace.
