CAMERA - The World Is Flat and Some Israeli Told Me So

DVZ..
CAMERA/Snapshots..
02 May '12..




"The world is flat. How do I know? Some Israeli told me!"

That’s about what 60 Minutes Producer Harry Radliffe would have us believe.

Radliffe, you’ll remember, was the producer of the 60 Minutes segment on Christians in the Holy Land – the segment that falsely reported the security barrier “completely surrounds Bethlehem, turning the ‘little town’ where Christ was born into what its residents call ‘an open air prison.’”

The security barrier does not “completely surround Bethlehem” but in fact passes by its northern and western sides.

CAMERA called Radliffe on Monday April 30, 2012 and asked for 60 Minutes’ source of misinformation about the security barrier. Radliffe said that the Israeli Ministry of Defense was the source of information about the security barrier. He went on to say that maybe the people at the Ministry of Defense “don’t know what they are talking about" suggesting that the error was not the fault of 60 Minutes, but was really the fault of the Israeli government.

When CAMERA asked Radliffe for the name of the official at the Ministry of Defense who gave 60 Minutes the information he said he didn’t have the name and that we should call 60 Minutes’ office in Tel Aviv for that information.

Later on Monday, CAMERA contacted the CBS communications department (via email) for the name of someone we should contact about 60 Minutes’ “source” at Israel’s Ministry of Defense. We have received no response.


So we are left with Radliffe’s statement that the Israeli Ministry of Defense is the source of the error that appeared in the 60 Minutes episode.

This seems pretty incredible. The idea that the Israeli Ministry of Defense would provide such an obvious misstatement of fact about the security barrier just does not make any sense.

Why?

Well, the Ministry of Defense has a map of the security barrier’s route on its website!

And the map clearly shows that the security barrier does not “completely surround Bethlehem.”

Here it is:

A map of the security barrier around Bethlehem from the Ministry of Defense website. 

Is it possible that someone working for the Ministry of Defense gave the wrong information to someone at 60 Minutes?

Sure! It's not very likely, but it is possible.

But who? Who are the someones we are talking about?

Link: http://blog.camera.org/archives/2012/05/the_world_is_flat_and_some_isr_1.html


Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page. Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand 
.