RUTHFULLY YOURS

Reprinted from Mida.org. 

The New York Times published an op-ed by arch-terrorist and convicted murderer Marwan Barghouti on Sunday. A respectable international newspaper giving a terrorist and a murderer an outlet to spread his venom and lies is detestable, but it’s also an affront to all those fighting terrorism worldwide. What the New York Times did to Israel is comparable to an international newspaper providing an outlet to Osama Bin Laden to spread his hatred and lies towards America.

But who is Marwan Barghouti and why is the New York Times’s willingness to publish his lies so repulsive?

Barghouti was the leader of the military wing of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, which between September 2000 – April 2002 carried out thousands of terror attacks against Israel, including suicide bombings. Furthermore, he served as Secretary General of Fatah in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, head of the Tanzim, and the founder of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – a designated terror organization by the U.S. –  which has carried out a large number of deadly terrorist attacks killing scores of Israelis and wounding hundreds.  Barghouti received large amounts of funds from different sources both inside and outside Israel to finance terror attacks. Among these sources was the Palestinian Authority and the specific allocations of these funds were authorized by Yassir Arafat. In addition, Barghouti provided weapons and logistical support for many terrorist attacks.

Barghouti was arrested during Operation Defensive Shield on April  14, 2002. In 2004, Barghouti was sentenced to five consecutive life terms and 40 years for the murders of of Greek Orthodox monk Tsibouktsakis Germanus; a shooting spree at the Tel Aviv Seafood restaurant killing Eli Dahan, 53, Yosef Habi, 52, and Salim Barakat, 33, and wounding 31; the killing of Yoela Hen, 45, gunned down at the entrance to the town of Givaat Zeev.

According to the IDF, the following are some of the more heinous terrorist activities which Barghouti is responsible for between the years of 2001 and 2002:

– Shooting attack during a Bat Mitzva celebration at a banquet hall in which six Israelis were killed and 26 injured.

– Shooting attack in the center of Jerusalem killing two Israelis and wounding 37.

– Shooting attack in the Jerusalem residential neighborhood of Neve Ya’acov, killing an Israeli policewoman and wounding nine.

– The murder of an Israeli at a coffee factory in the Atarot industrial zone of Jerusalem.

– Suicide attack perpetrated by Daryan Abu Aysha at the Maccabim checkpoint in which two policeman were injured.

This is the despicable murderer whom the New York Times would have you believe is some kind of Nelson Mandela or Gandhi rotting in the prison of an abusive colonial power.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Barghouti’s hunger strike, along with other convicted terrorists, is another ploy to put international pressure on Israel to secure their release.  It won’t work, because the moral authority rests with Israel.

The fact that the New York Times sides with repugnant murderers such as Barghouti reveals the moral bankruptcy that pervades the New York Times editorial board; not only did they allow such a person to write an op-ed on their editorial page, but also hid from the public that he is a convicted terrorist.

Only after a public outcry was an editor’s note attached saying that the article “neglected to give sufficient context” for the article.