New video underscores Reuters systematic bias

On July 14th, we commented on a story by Reuters correspondent Allyn Fisher-Ilan sympathetic to Haneen Zoabi, an Israeli Arab MP aboard the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara where the violence between members of the jihadist-linked IHH and Israeli commandos occurred.

At the time, we noted that while Fisher-Ilan cited Zoabi's assertion that she had tried to mediate between the sides before the melee, the Reuters correspondent failed to recount Zoabi's earlier testimony that she had not seen any weapons carried by the Turkish passengers.  We provided an embedded video showing the passengers with clubs, metal bars, and catapults along with Zoabi at or near the same locations on the ship and suggested that it was highly unlikely Zoabi could have failed to notice the weapons.

Now comes a new video again showing the Turkish passengers armed with various "cold" weapons on and under deck, this time with Zoabi in the same frame, interacting with these passengers -- proof positive that she did see the weapons and that she lied in her earlier testimony:



Will Reuters update their earlier hagiography of Zoabi with news of this latest video?  We're not holding our breath.

hat tip: EoZ

Birds of a feather

Reuters correspondent Allyn Fisher-Ilan reports on the Israeli parliament voting to remove certain diplomatic privileges from Arab MP Haneen Zoabi (also "Zuabi") for her participation in the Gaza flotilla.  Fisher-Ilan provides a platform for Zoabi's political views, devoting over one-third of the story content to quoting or paraphrasing her and focusing on red herrings like Israeli Arab rights:

Israeli Arabs enjoy full citizenship rights, though many complain of discrimination and poorer funding for their towns. 

Most are descended from Palestinians who stayed in what is now Israel when hundreds of thousands were driven out or fled during fighting in the late 1940s.

On the attempt by passengers to lynch the Israeli commandos who boarded the ship, Fisher-Ilan ignores the video evidence and twists the incident into a "he said/she said":

Israel says troops acted in self-defence when activists set upon troops with knives and iron bars, and defended the blockade as a measure to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas Islamists in charge of Gaza. Activists aboard the ship disputed that account.

And while Fisher-Ilan cites Zoabi's recent account of her role in the incident:

Zoabi had earlier told Reuters she did make efforts to mediate between the sides.

The Reuters correspondent fails to note Zoabi's previous risible testimony on what she did (or didn't) observe on board the ship:

"All of us didn't hold anything in our hands; there was no weapons; nothing at all."

The following video footage was shot on the Mavi Marmara traveled by Zoabi.  Beginning at 3:32, note the batons, bars and slingshots held (and used) by passengers on the lower deck where Zoabi was stationed during the battle.  At 5:00, note the passenger carrying the blue metal rod walking down the stairs to the lower deck.  And at 10:37, note Zoabi waving off the camera operator as she traverses the deck.



We're not quite certain who is more oblivious to the facts: Haneen Zoabi or Allyn Fisher-Ilan.

An attempt to edit out the truth

Reuters runs a video story on the mutual recriminations between Israel and the flotilla passengers, each side blaming the other for the violence.  Watching the video, two things stand out: first, while Reuters shows some footage (14 seconds in total) taken by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of the passengers holding batons or poles and beating the Israeli marines, the footage has been carefully edited down from over a minute of much more graphic video here:



Apart from the captions and highlight circles added by the IDF, it's clear that Reuters editing guts important details from the scene which otherwise provide a much more explicit and conclusive record of events.

The second item of note is of course, the mendacity or obliviousness of passenger and Israeli Arab MK Haneen Zuabi when she attests:

"All of us didn't hold anything in our hands; there was no weapons; nothing at all"

Even Reuters eviscerating editing can't salvage that testimony.