14 thoughts on “Al Jazeera’s Suppressed Israel Lobby Expose Entangled in Major Qatar-Saudi Arabia Battle – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
task-attention.png
Comments are published at the sole discretion of the owner.
 

  1. Before claiming that the all powerful Israel Lobby suppressed the Al Jazeera story, there is something that needs to be considered, namely, did Al Jazeera’s undercover reporter violate any laws when he secretly recorded his co-workers? Could the Al Jazeera reporter have violated some laws, and has the Lobby threatened Al Jazeera with lawsuits? Also, when the Al Jazeera reporter was hired by the lobby, did the reporter sign, and than violate, a confidentiality agreement?

    Different States have different laws regarding consent to electronic recording. The District of Columbia, where the Al Jazeera reporter was domiciled, has a One Party Consent Statute, while the nearby State of Maryland has an All-Parties Consent Statute. A reporter located in the District of Columbia who records a telephone conversation without the consent of a party located in Maryland would not violate District of Columbia law, but could be liable under Maryland law. A court located in the District of Columbia may apply Maryland law, depending on its “conflict of laws” rules. Therefore, an aggrieved party may choose to file suit in either jurisdiction, depending on which law is more favorable to the party’s claim.

    Al Jazeera may have decided that airing the expose wasn’t worth it from a legal standpoint.
    Of course, this is pure conjecture on my part.

    1. @ Dr John: Yours is the “cooked spaghetti” method of hasbara. Throw the whole batch against the wall and hope something sticks.

      You think a professional journalist managing an investigative staff and producing an explosive documentary series wouldn’t have considered every potential mine he might step on? And dotted every ‘I’ and crossed every ‘t?’ If so, you’re a fool and underestimate Swisher’s professionalism. Not to mention that if a lawsuit had been threatened then the Lobby would’ve rushed to report this; or the filing of charges against Al Jazeera for violating U.S. laws.

      Secretly recording someone, especially when it involves the media and its special protections is not necessarily illegal. It depends on where and how it is done. In this case, the recordings definitely serve a public good and the public’s right to know, which is much more strongly protected in the U.S. than in Israel.

      Do me a favor and don’t bother conjecturing. It’s a waste of my time and yours. Conjecture that is based on reasonable assumptions is fine. Yours aren’t.

      1. For someone who often questions the shitty job journalists of the NEW YORK TIMES or WASHINGTON POST are doing, you got a lot of trust for a journalist of much more politically influenced AL JAZZIRA.

        1. @ Ariel Koren: You’re ignoring (of course you are) the tens of thousands of links here to articles in the NY Times, Washington Post, Haaretz to which I link because I believe they are good journalism. Naturally, I single out especially bad journalism wherever I find it, on the subject of this blog. I’d do the same with Al Jazeera.

          I know Clayton Swisher’s work and have done so for years. I respect it greatly. You wouldn’t know Clayton Swisher’s work from a candy bar wrapper.

          Do learn how to spell and show the media outlet the respect of spelling its name correctly.

  2. mr silverstein. haaretz put up an article about an idf secret sensitive doc that apparently saw the light in the internet. can you find out the subject and if we the taxpayers cows deserve to know what bibi and his cronies are up behind our back,
    thanks

  3. Reading about all the shenanigans, it’s comic to reflect on the professed concern about RUSSIAN influence in America. Yeah, right…

    As I’ve said elsewhere, the ‘Russia’ thing really is like a prostitute crawling out of her motel room — and then complaining about how some man looked at her ankles.

    1. @ Colin Wright:

      the ‘Russia’ thing really is like a prostitute crawling out of her motel room — and then complaining about how some man looked at her ankles.

      I think it’s rather like the prostitute’s pimp rolling her John and then blaming the John for being robbed.

      Please don’t mix these two important subjects. YOu know you & I completely disagree about Russian intervention in U.S. domestic affairs. Keep them separate. I didn’t bring up Russia, you did. Which makes the subject off-topic.

  4. ‘Before claiming that the all powerful Israel Lobby suppressed the Al Jazeera story, there is something that needs to be considered, namely, did Al Jazeera’s undercover reporter violate any laws when he secretly recorded his co-workers? Could the Al Jazeera reporter have violated some laws, and has the Lobby threatened Al Jazeera with lawsuits? Also, when the Al Jazeera reporter was hired by the lobby, did the reporter sign, and than violate, a confidentiality agreement?’

    Yep. That’s what’s important. Who cares whether Israel et al control our political process? The important question is whether al Jazeera broke the law somehow.

    Let’s let al Jazeera take care of itself. Run the documentary, and then press charges against al Jazeera if you can find evidence.

    Or does that not meet your needs somehow? Isn’t the point not to expose just what your Israel does?

    1. I hope the documentary is aired. I’m not afraid.

      “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants”–Hon. Louis D. Brandeis

  5. Would you please elaborate on this statement,”…dual loyalty–a canard often spouted by anti-Semites claiming that American Jews owe their loyalty not to their homeland, but to a foreign power.” I have been thinking a lot about this recently, having protested at the AIPAC conference and conversed with several AIPACers there. The majority put Israel’s interests before the U.S.’s (though they say they are the same). Senator Schumer is a perfect example – and
    I think that’s a treasonous offense. I don’t have an ounce of anti-semitism in me. I need some clarification and I value your opinion.

    1. @ Paula Muth: I prefer not to use words like “treason” as they’re quite inflammatory and offer images of capital punishment, which is technically possible in such cases. I prefer to point out that these people are betraying American values and that they are making a fundamental error in assuming the interests of both countries are the same. The interests of two separate countries can never be the same. I think we make that argument and let Americans as a whole make a judgement on interpreting their actions beyond that.

    2. I think Israel — and her demand that Jews support her — naturally raises the prospect of dual loyalty, and raises it in a way no other state ever has.

      German-, Japanese-, and Italian-Americans all overwhelmingly opted for an American identity when the issue came up. So, for that matter, did Jewish Americans. There wasn’t much nostalgia for the shtetl there. It was become an American, and how about that Hank Greenberg?

      Israel really threw a wrench into that, and I don’t think it’s been sorted out yet. For one thing — unlike just about every other national home Americans can trace their roots to — Israel insistently and continuously demands our financial, diplomatic, military, and even psychological support. It’s really intolerable — and I say that as a gentile. It’d be worse if I was a Jew.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *