"Jewish settlers attacked American consular officials Friday during a visit the officials made to the West Bank as part of an investigation into claims of damage to Palestinian agricultural property, Israeli police and Palestinian witnesses say.
The incident is likely to further chill relations between Israel and the United States, already tense over American criticisms of Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, and Israeli perceptions that President Barack Obama is only lukewarm in his support of Israeli diplomatic and security policies.
Settlers have often spoken against what they call foreign interference in their affairs, but this is the first known physical attack against diplomatic personnel." CS Monitor
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You do notice that the MSM in the US has largely ignored this attack on US consular officials? You do notice that, don't you?
This criminal attack is under investigation by Israel's police. Good, is it also under investigation by US Diplomatic Security and/or the FBI?
No? What a surprise it would be if the WH and State Department are looking the other way!
This is yet another instance of the "Mouse that Roared" phenomenon in which Israel tries (often successfully) to control US behavior.
We are idiots to put up with this kind of thing. pl
Robert Parry reports that "The Reagan administration pulled right-wing media executives Rupert Murdoch and Richard Mellon Scaife into a CIA-organized “perception management” operation which aimed Cold War-style propaganda at the American people in the 1980s, according to declassified U.S. government records."
https://consortiumnews.com/2014/12/31/murdoch-scaife-and-cia-propaganda/
My guess is that this "perception management" has become the norm across major media outlets. It would explain why the government narrative gets adopted uniformly and without question (Putin in invaded Crimea, Assad used chemical weapons, Iran developing nukes, N Korea hacked Sony, etc.)
Of course, Israel has conducted a very effective "perception management" operation of its own and could even have had significant help from unexpected places...
Posted by: JohnH | 04 January 2015 at 11:00 AM
All,
When we end the welfare to Israel, then I'll know things have changed and they are finally. Being held accountable.
Posted by: Cee | 04 January 2015 at 12:57 PM
Haaretz and the Guarian reported it- read the comments in Haaretz to get further upset.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.635066
Remember that teh settlement Adei Ad is where Palestinian minister Ziad Abu Ein was reportedly killed by Israeli security forces.
Some of the Israelis were complaining about Diplomatic Security drawing their weapons. Tough.
Posted by: oofda | 04 January 2015 at 01:34 PM
And today the Lady from South Carolina slavishly bowed in fealty to the Israeli interest machine. Didn't he hear about the attack on the U.S. diplomats. From his Benghazi crusade, one would think he would take the safety of U.S. diplomats more seriously. (well, maybe not.)
"South Carolina's Senator Lindsey Graham, at a joint news conference in Jerusalem, has pledged to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his support in conflicts involving Hamas and Iran. He has also vowed that the Senate, now Republican controlled, would approve legislation to impose sanctions on Iran if it does not comply with limiting its nuclear arsenal.
"The United States Congress, above all entities in America, has your back in a very bipartisan way," Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a joint news conference in Jerusalem. "The Congress clearly sees the difference between the tactics of Hamas and the democracy called Israel, and the international community seems to be a bit confused."
Graham said he agreed with Netanyahu that "the Hamas regime does everything they can to kill children," while the Israeli Defense Forces "does everything they can to avoid killing Palestinian children."
Posted by: oofda | 04 January 2015 at 02:31 PM
What would have happend if the cat of Iranian embassy's doorman would have scratched his/her American diplomatic counterpart?
Posted by: Amir | 04 January 2015 at 03:01 PM
Dear Colonel,
Tying this and your last post (on Fallows' great read), the upper levels apparently view the (non-appointee) levels in the diplomatic corps. as props, too.
This return to aristocratic ideals by our leaders - that the common Joe matters naught to the high (1%, the appointed, and the connected) and mighty is spreading and does not augur well. I tend to believe that the amazing progress humanity has made in the last century arose because of changes that created a great middle class with accountable leaders.
Posted by: ISL | 04 January 2015 at 03:13 PM
ISL
"This return to aristocratic ideals" A basically marxist test for identity is not the only possibility. there is also the type of vertical, tribal identity in which the tribesmen and the chiefs identify with each other. As for example in the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries in which the laird under stress always seeks the company of the common man. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 04 January 2015 at 03:28 PM
Off da, one correction. It is The Old Lady From South Carolina. The Old must be added at all times.
Posted by: BabelFish | 04 January 2015 at 06:24 PM
Col; Actually, I'm waiting for the US diplomats to apologize to the stone throwers.
(I wish I were being sarcastic.)
Posted by: Matthew | 04 January 2015 at 06:27 PM
The DoJ has statutory authority to shutdown propaganda efforts directed against the American polity. That is why many label federal department and agency media campaigns as counter-propaganda.
NAZI propaganda such as Leni Riefenstahls's movie TRIUMPH OF WILL were never shown publically in the USA.
Posted by: William R. Cumming | 05 January 2015 at 12:50 AM
Naturally, they would have shot the vile beast and held the owner fully accountable for it.
Likely these US diplomats made provocative moves, like being in Palestinian territory in the first place. How could they? Likely they also called for the settlers to not throw stones at them. How foolish.
After all, for one being a settler in Palestine land offers the opportunity to be an obnoxious jerk with impunity. People so inclined are drawn to that. US diplomats should take that into account and not go there.
http://www.btselem.org/settler_violence
Secondly, the fun thing about being Israel is never having to say you're sorry even when your citizens pelt diplomats with stones and the like.
After all, orthodox in Israel pelt seculars with stones all the time when they dare drive cars on sabbath through their neighbourhoods - throwing stones is as Israeli as matza!
Posted by: confusedponderer | 05 January 2015 at 02:04 AM
Oofda,
I wonder if Lindsey is on a list or in a video like Prince Edward is reported to be. This is riciculous!
Posted by: Cee | 06 January 2015 at 08:19 AM
Oofda: According to Graham, Hamas does every possible to kill children, but kills very few; while Israel does everything possible to avoid killing children, but kills many.
So basically Graham is saying that Hamas and the IDF are both utterly incompetent.
Posted by: Matthew | 06 January 2015 at 04:55 PM
And the Settler's Best Friend is elected by private American money, to spend public American money. Perfect!
"A BuzzFeed piece by Sheera Frankel notes that 90 percent of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign funding comes from United States donors—and, astoundingly, more than half of the money supporting his current campaign was given by just three American families:"
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/01/06/netanyahu_american_donors_small_group_funds_huge_share_of_israeli_prime.html?wpsrc=fol_tw
Posted by: Charles I | 07 January 2015 at 12:43 PM