Letter to The Washington Post followed by a response from the Ombudsman

From: mberenhaus@comcast.net
To: letters@washpost.com Cc: ombudsman@washpost.com, kesslerg@washpost.com
Subject: Excellent article by Glenn Kessler
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:47:06 +0000

Dear Editor,

Kudos to Glenn Kessler in “Arab Aid to Palestinians Often Doesn't Fulfill Pledges” (July 27, 2008) for exposing the Arab nations’ hypocritical and apocryphal criticism of the United States and West for not helping out the Palestinian people. Kessler accurately reports that "European governments, the World Bank and the US have provided more than three times as much money as the Arab countries this year" to the Palestinians.

Arab nations invoke the Palestinians’ plight as a pretext against America, Israel and the West. They do not do this out of love for the Palestinians, whom they’ve short-changed, and often suppressed or abandoned. In fact, Arab regimes’ antipathy towards America, Israel and the West is due more to their opposition to democracy and religious pluralism.

Kessler, in an otherwise informative article, felt the need to include a news media ‘go to’ guy on Middle East affairs, Prof. Shibley Telhami - a frequent apologist for Arab nations. Telhami states that the reason the Arabs have not met their pledges to the Palestinians is because there "is frustration that nothing is happening in the peace process, and so they would be throwing good money after bad." But what does having peace or not having peace have to do with whether to give aid to the Palestinians or not? It certainly didn't stop many other countries from supporting them, even when Palestinian terrorism continues to be one of the main reasons “nothing is happening in the peace process.” Telhami's consistent defense of Arabs, as exemplified in his absurd agenda-driven claim, disqualifies him from being an honest broker when it comes to the Middle East conflict. In the future, the Washington Post would better serve its readers by finding a more objective source to consult.

Michael Berenhaus
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From: Ombudsman Internet DropBox ombudsman@washpost.com
To: mberenhaus@comcast.net
Subject: Re: Excellent article by Glenn Kessler
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:44:05 +0000

Thanks. I may use this in my internal memo to the staff this week.
Deborah Howell Washington Post Ombudsman

Letter to The Washington Post

From: Dr. Michael Berenhaus [mailto:mberenhaus@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 9:09 AM
Subject: letter to wash post

Dear Ombudsman,

In "Obama Ends Mideast Swing With Vow to Back Israel, Peace Talks" (July 24, 2008), The Washington Post stated that Palestinians fired rockets from Gaza into Israel "typically after Israeli military operations." The facts are the other way around: Israeli operations occur to stop rocket firing and terrorism.

Since Hamas took over Gaza, rockets have been fired whether there have been Israeli military operations or not. The reason can be found explicitly in Hamas' charter - to destroy Israel. Israel's explicit goal, like any other country, is to protect its citizens.

The Washington Post mixed up cause and effect. Unless you have references or statistics to support your claim, a correction is in order.