“[T]oo many reporters have forgotten that the highest calling of journalists is to ferret out the truth, consequences be damned.”
- Arianna Huffington
“[W]e are increasingly seen ... as an Internet newspaper, not positioned ideologically in terms of how we cover the news.”
- Arianna Huffington
On Monday, July 9, the Jerusalem Post published a front-page story by intrepid investigative journalists Benjamin Weinthal and Maximilian Kiewel that revealed Germany has been sending highly advanced deep-drilling technology to Iran:
German firms still ship dual-use goods to IranGiven the fact that the Western world has been desperately trying to prevent Iran from completing its quest to build nuclear weapons - a state run by a madman who has repeatedly threatened to "wipe Israel off the map," coupled with Germany's history of genocide against Jews, this is a remarkable development.
BERLIN – Germany’s multi-billion euro bilateral trade relationship with Iran continues unabated, even as evidence mounts that the Islamic Republic is determined to build a nuclear weapons capability. The Jerusalem Post has obtained an uncensored list from late 2011, showing hundreds of German and Iranian enterprises in a flourishing trade relationship. [...]
Some businesses have asked that their names be removed from the list to avoid damage to their reputations. One company named is Baden-Württemberg-based engineering giant Herrenknecht AG, which appears to be delivering heavy tunneling equipment to Iran – some of which is promoted as having the capability of “drilling down to depths of 6,000 meters.” [Ed. note: 19,685 feet]
Merchandise that can be used for military and civilian purposes falls under the rubric of “dual-use” goods and may require approval from Germany’s Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA). In response to Post questions, BAFA spokesman Volker Anders wrote via email on Friday that the agency cannot comment because “administrative law does not allow [the disclosure of] industrial and business secrets.”
Continued
Further, the fact that Germany claims it cannot comment on the evidence supporting the allegation that it is sending high-tech equipment to Iran, which few doubt will be applied to its nuclear weapons program, adds still another layer of newsworthiness to this story.
So what kind of coverage did HuffPost give this story? None.
HuffPost routinely cites the Jerusalem Post as a source for its articles --- but almost invariably, only in those instances in which the "news" story casts Israel or Jews in the most negative possible light.
We began monitoring HuffPost on July 9, to see what kind of (if any) coverage it would give this story. Day by day, we scanned HuffPost's entire front page, to see if it made any mention whatsoever of the story --- and captured JPGs of the "news" stories that Arianna Huffington and her "army" of journalists decided were sufficiently important to present to their global audience.
By July 15, HuffPost published not a single story concerning the Post's story of Germany sending deep-drilling technology to Iran. To validate this, on July 16 we took a screencap of the results of our search, using the string "Herrenknecht" (the name of the German industrial firm) and "Iran". Here was the result:
Instead of giving this story any coverage at all, HuffPost posted on its front page a headline that could only serve to incite hatred against Israel based on false grounds.
On July 10, HuffPost positioned this "news" story near the top of its front page:
Did Israel really keep a "soccer player" in custody for three years? Of course not.
As our friends at HuffPostMonitor documented, the fact is that, as HuffPost knew --- because the Reuters story it cited pointed out --- the "soccer player" in question is actually a terrorist:
"Israel has accused Sarsak of being active in the violent group Islamic Jihad, a claim he denied while in custody. However, senior Islamic Jihad officials were present during his reception Tuesday, and one of the group's leaders, Nafez Azzam, praised the footballer as 'one of our noble members'."Another aspect of this story is that Israel had been holding the man, Mahmoud Sarsak, without charges. That, certainly, is a legitimate avenue of inquiry. But as you can see, HuffPost made zero mention in its blaring headline of anything regarding why Israel was holding Sarsak.
Instead of playing the story honestly and accurately, though --- instead of "ferreting out the truth, consequences be damned," as Arianna claims is a journalist's highest duty --- HuffPost (which is entirely under her supervision) continued its long pattern of turning facts concerning Israel on their heads, in order to give top-line coverage to "news" stories it creates that can only serve to incite hatred against the Jewish state, on false or decontextualized grounds.
This is not the first, second, third or even twelfth time that
HuffPost has perpetrated an act of overt anti-Israel incitement, and given it top-line coverage. Other examples from our massive archive:HuffPost publishes anti-Semitic blood libel without any proof; users unleash anti-Semitic hate (HuffPost: "Approved!!!")
HuffPost twists headline to incite hate against Israel, protect Hamas (again); predictable user hate-fest ensues; HuffPost: "Approved!!!"
HuffPost publishes another inflammatory, proof-less allegation against Israel; hate-fest erupts (HuffPost: "Approved!!!")
HuffPost's anti-Israel incitement: Dog execution edition
So what kinds of "news" stories did Arianna Huffington and her underlings decide should be on HuffPost's front page during July 9-15?
Arianna has bragged that HuffPost employs an army of "hundreds of editors and reporters." As we have documented over and over again, this "army," under her direction, consistently roots out (or manufactures) and gives top-line coverage to one "news" story after another that can serve only to incite hatred against Israel and Jews.
So, instead of presenting the truth about Germany sending high-tech drilling technology to Iran --- or about the terrorist that Israel has been holding for three years --- what kind of "news" stories did this intrepid team of "journalists" decide were more deserving of space on HuffPost's front page?
Here is a sampling of "news" stories that HuffPost placed on its front page from July 9-15:
And as we documented here, Arianna routinely devotes space on HuffPost's front page to posting "news" stories about... herself. Below are several examples that appeared between July 9-15:
To see more examples of the "news" stories that occupied HuffPost's front page from July 9-15, click here.
Commentary & Analysis
For the past four years, HUFF-WATCH has been documenting how HuffPost has persistently incited hatred against Israel and Jews, while ignoring or whitewashing militant Islamists who threaten and murder them. We've also documented how HuffPost has consistently glorified Iranian madman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and ignored his genocidal threats against Israel, while vilifying Israel's political and military leadership (pictorially and otherwise), and giving top-line coverage to any controversial statements they make in defense of the Jewish state.
Now, HuffPost has demonstrated that its bias against Israel extends into protecting other nations who are providing vital technologies to Iran, apparently in violation of international sanctions designed to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons, from being exposed. Instead of providing even minimal coverage of a shocking act by Germany to enable Iran, HuffPost has - once again - devoted its front page to "boob" stories, Arianna-worship, and more nonsensical distractions.
If HuffPost were just another blog, this wouldn't matter so much. But the fact is that HuffPost is the most widely-read, advertiser-supported "news" site in the world, and via such acts and omissions, we contend it is also the Internet's largest facilitator of the cyber-jihad against Israel, Jews and the U.S. military.
ACTION ITEMS
If you believe HuffPost should start living up to its repeated claims of nonpartisanship, particularly in its coverage of Middle East affairs, we urge you to do three things:
(1) Make your voice known to HuffPost's senior management here.
(2) Consider writing or calling one or more of HuffPost's top advertisers, to let them know your thoughts on what their ad dollars are enabling.
An easy way to approach this is to scan our easy-to-use directory and find one or two corporations that you are a customer of, or have stock in. Your concerns will automatically be given considerably more weight. Also, request a follow-up after they've had a chance to review the evidence; don't let them off the hook, or sweep this under the rug.
(3) Forward the link to this story along to others who support Israel and Jews
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