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For the Media, Even the World Cup Is about the Palestinians
(JNS) Mitchell Bard - Given the media's obsession with the Palestinian cause and need to cover it out of all proportion to its importance in world affairs, it was not surprising the New York Times and the Washington Post would find a way to make the World Cup about the Palestinians, even though it wasn't. But if you're going to report it, shouldn't journalists at least place the activities in context and admit that examples of support for the Palestinian cause were pre-planned and supported by the Qatari government? It is all but impossible for a building in Doha to be lit with a Palestinian flag alongside a sign reading "Gaza is in our hearts" without it being planned long in advance. In addition, shopkeepers in Qatar were selling Palestinian flags and armbands, which could not have happened without the government's tacit approval. Qatar is also behind the most popular media source in the region, Al Jazeera, which is an anti-Israel propaganda arm of the government. It is nothing new for the media to cheer the Palestinians or ignore their incitement, terrorism, abuse of human rights and corruption. Such virtue-signaling during the World Cup gives Palestinians a warm and fuzzy feeling without changing their circumstances. They still are under the thumb of the Abbas and Hamas regimes, whose commitment to Israel's destruction guarantees that their flag may be unfurled at a soccer match in Qatar, but not over a capital in Jerusalem.