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CBS "60 Minutes" Joins the Arab Propaganda Bandwagon on Jerusalem

(CAMERA) Ricki Hollander - Lesley Stahl's segment of CBS News' "60 Minutes" on October 17, entitled "Controversy in Jerusalem: The City of David," demonstrated how to promote Arab political propaganda with shoddy and partisan journalism. Stahl characterized as "controversial" Israel's publicizing of archeological findings of Israelite history in Jerusalem, discredited the field of biblical archeology, and dismissed archeological excavations as something run by a "settler organization." While she questions the existence of King David ("There's actually no evidence of David, right?"), it is unlikely she would ever challenge Palestinians about the existence of Mohammed, or question Christians about the existence of Jesus, based on lack of direct archeological proof of those individuals. Her approach, of course, supports attempts by Arab and Muslim leaders to erase any evidence of Jewish history in Jerusalem. Nor did she note that City of David archeologists, who are respected internationally for their scholarly contributions to the field, carry out their work under the auspices of the well-regarded Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) under strict protocols. She also calls it political "indoctrination" to teach Jews about their historical roots in Jerusalem. Furthermore, she portrays Silwan as an area that does or should belong to Arabs, failing to report that there was a community of Yemenite Jewish families in Silwan as early as 1882 in the neighborhood known as Kfar HaShiloach, and additional Jewish families from various countries joined them in the following years. In the early 1900s Baron de Rothschild bought several acres of land there for the Jewish community. Silwan's Jewish residents lived in the area until they were forced out by Arab attacks in the late 1920s. The City of David, situated in the Silwan valley, is still 60% Jewish-owned and it is perfectly legal to buy homes there. To Ms. Stahl and CBS, the only obstacle to peace is Israel's commitment to its Jewish roots in Jerusalem.
2010-10-22 09:44:16
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