Notes on the Current Conflict
Ed. by Norman Finkelshteyn
Has Arafat and the PA declared Holy-War against History?
Photo Essay on the current conflict
A "Mistake"? In reporting on conflicts in Israel
Historical Overview of Jewish Warrior Cultures
Caveats in Researching Jewish History
Hairstyle of the Jewish Khazar
Copyright and Authoring information
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 Photo from Associated Press |
written October 10, 2000
(the incident described in letters from Mr. Grossman's relatives and a friend below)
A little after the violence that now rages in Israel began, Tuvia and his friends were in a Taxi on their way to prayer at the "Wailing Wall". The Taxi was surrounded by a group of "Palestinian" Arabs and the young men were dragged out of the cab, severely beaten and stabbed.
An Associated Press photographer captured the scene as an Israeli soldier afforded a last minute rescue to the young men.
Unfortunately, the picture was sent out, and published in such prominent American Newspapers as The New York Times with the caption
"An Israeli policeman and a Palestinian on the Temple Mount" - with articles accusing Israeli Police of using excessive force to quel protests by "Palestinian" Arabs.
It has been said that "a pictue is worth a thousand words". This picture is worth as much and more -- and not just for itself but for what it shows about media reporting on the conflict in Israel. While there have been numerous attacks by "Palestinian" Arab mobs on Israeli and American Jews, these attacks have gone unreported. Instead, the news media has gloried in characterising the Israeli military reaction to Arab violence as attacks on the "Palestinians".
Sadly, I submit that if this picture had not been mislabeled as an Israeli soldier attacking a "Palestinian" it would never have appeared in the news media.
The letters below, from Mr. Grossman's relatives and a friend, were written in response to the appearance of the photograph in The New York Times.
I have reproduced the letters as received (with format, spelling, and syntax intact). My only modifications, in order to improve readability, have been to highlight paragraph openings and italicise signatures.
Regarding your picture on page A5 (Sept. 30) of the Israeli soldier and the Palestinian on the Temple Mount - that Palestinian is actually my son , Tuvia Grossman, a Jewish student_from Chicago. He, and two of his friends, were pulled from their_taxicab while traveling in Jerusalem, by a mob of Palestinian Arabs and were severely beaten and stabbed.
That picture could not have been taken on the Temple Mount because there are no gas stations on the Temple Mount and certainly none with Hebrew lettering, like the one clearly seen behind the Israeli soldier attempting to protect my son from the mob.
Aaron Grossman, M.D.
Dear Editor,
Even the typically biased and slanted NY Times middle east reporting has hit a new low. Since the Times wishes to convey the belief that the Palestinians are all innocent lambs being tormented by an aggressive oppressor, it can not even conceive that the wounded and injured are NOT Palestinians. The current case in point is very personal to me. In the Saturday's Times on page A6, the picture of the "wounded Palestinian" is, in fact, my nephew, Tuvia Grossman, an AMERICAN Jewish student learning in Israel. His only crime was being Jewish. He was not in "crossfire" but merely the target of Palestinian lambs who stoned his cab, dragged him from the vehicle, smashed his
head with stones and stabbed him in the leg. The Israeli soldier, whom you obviously wished to portray as victimizing the poor, wounded Palestinian was actually saving my nephew's life. A casual look at the background of the picture can tell anyone that it's not the Temple Mount at all. I believe that a retraction, in a prominent position in the paper, is necessary and an apology to the parents, forthcoming.
Howard Gissinger
Here is a letter from a guy in Gruss about what is really going on despite the coverage by Deborah Sontag and the rest of the NY Times reporters.
Shana Tovah Umetukah
b'ahavat yisrael,
ezra
Dear Jews All Around the World,
I am writing this email with much trepidation and caution as i realize the possible importance and impact of this letter. I do not write this to scare any of you, nor to shock you, i write this merely to wake you up as to what is really going on in our holy land and holy city.
Friday afternoon, as Jerusalem was preparing for our most holy day, rumors began to cirucualte of riots at the Kotel, and that Jews were being stoned as they were praying the afternoon service before Rosh Hashana. There had been newspapers stories about the possibility of riots starting, but nobody expected that sort of violence "erev" Rosh Hashana, at the Kotel. But the
holiday was fast approaching and i did not have time to worry about rumors of possible riots. As i walked into synagogue Friday night, i was greeted with the sight of my Rabbi's son bloodied and bandaged forehead. People were talking about what was really happening, numbers were being thrown around of
injured and dead, but nobody really knew for sure. So the holiday started and we quickly forgot about the events of Friday. Due to the restrictions of the holiday I was unable to hear any news until Sunday afternoon, as the holiday
was coming to an end. I and a friend decided to walk to the Kotel to pray the last tefilah of Rosh Hashana. On the way i bumped into a friend, who told me that on Friday a boy by the name of Tuvia Grossman was badly beaten up by Arabs.
Who is this Tuvia Grossman? Tuvia is a 19 year old kid from Chicago, presently studying in a yeshiva in Jerusalem. He is a normal guy just like me and you spending a year in Israel. He was on the way to the Kotel on Friday afternoon, to daven before the holiday. Him and three friends were in a cab, and as they were driving through an Arab neighborhood, they began to get stoned. The cab driver stopped the car. Six Arab teenagers stormed the car and took out one of Tuvia's friends. They began to beat him terribly, but thank god he was able to escape by slipping out of his jacket. They went after the second boy, and again began to it hit him and kick him, he also managed to escape somehow. Unfortunately Tuvia was not so lucky. He was grabbed and punched and kicked mercifully. They took out a knife and stabbed him twice in the foot, they threw him over a fence into a ditch. But they weren't finished they continued to kick him and beat him. Tuvia was sure this was the end, he said the verse of Shema Yisarel Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echod, but suddenly he remembered learning as a kid in yeshiva a story in the gemara of holy Jew who was about to be killed by anti-Semites he said Shema and then he let out a tremendous scream, the Gemara says that miraculously the enemies dispersed. Tuvia remembering this story let out a cry, and the Arabs were startled for a second, taking this opportunity Tuvia slipped by, and ran two blocks to the nearest police station.
I spoke to Tuvia an hour ago, I was in yeshiva with him for two years in New York, and I was his "chavruta" for a year. You could say we were best friends. And now he's in the hospital recovering from this, he is still there after spending the entire Rosh Hashana in the emergency room. Sunday night as i was freaking out from this news, my roommate gets a call that a friend of his Avi Chermon and his wife are in the hospital they were also attacked and beaten. Another friend of mine is in the religious unit in the army. His unit was called into Jericho to control the riots. Unprovoked the Palestinian Police began to shoot at them from a building filled with school children.
Not wanting to shoot back the Israelis asked them to evacuate the children, instead using the children as cover, they brought in more children to the building, this all while Israeli soldiers are getting shot. Where ever i look friends of mine are in the hospital.
So i call up Danny Liberman last night, literally on the verge of tears, expecting to hear that the Jews of Montreal are freaking out running to help.
Instead i hear probably the hardest words i have ever had to hear. The students in Montreal feel that the Israelis are to blame, We have been to "excessive " in our use of force, everybody is shocked from the pictures of the 12 year old boy, we are shooting at helpless Arabs, Ariel Sharon etc....
There have been many blood libels in the history of the Jewish people, but never before have Jews believed that we were actually killing the babies. I could say its Arab propaganda, but you will all think im crazy, i could tell you twenty more stories of ruthless behavior by Arabs, i could show you pictures. But will it help? I just want to tell you one thing. There appeared in the New York Times on Saturday a picture of youth badly bloodied and bruised, a very gory picture. The picture was attached to an article claiming that the Israelis are going crazy against the Arabs. The caption of
the picture read "Palestinian youth beaten up by Israeli Soldiers." A friend of mine in New York was reading the article, and something looked strange, Arabs don't normally dress in black and white, with horror he realized it was Tuvia in the picture.
Don't worry the New York Times has already been notified and they hopefully will run a correction soon. But that's not the point, so what should i say that Arabs are liars, and the National Post and the Gazette are wrong, you'll all think that Poupko is crazy hes a right wing fanatic, Bibi just spoke two weeks ago at his shul. Im sitting here at my computer exasperated of the events of the last five days, i cant fall asleep at night im so upset about whats going on, . and i call home and i hear how the students are afraid to counter an Arab demonstration, because maybe we are guilty. Im just
so frustrated, how can i make you want to defend Israel, how can i make you believe in helping in Israel? I can't. I just beg of you to believe in Israel, believe in the Jewish people, care about the Jewish people, care about Israel. Don't Listen to people. Listen to yourself. Jews are being killed left
and right, its your responsibility to do something.
I don't know what more i can say, i apologize if was condescending at all. I just pray that you all do believe in Israel.
Shana Tova
Avi from Jerusalem
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