Berl Falbaum
He is brutal and hateful.
I am referring to Ta-Nehisi Coates, the nationally recognized Black intellectual who has made a reputation as a leading writer on race, delivering such a one-sided screed on Israel’s alleged mistreatment of Palestinians that I checked the copyright page to see if the book was published by Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, or other neighboring enemies of Israel.
The worst part of his new best-selling book? Coates is making lots of money from “The Message” by, sadly, peddling hate. He is appearing “everywhere” during his book tour and the focus always is on his condemnation of Israel’s abuse of Palestinians.
No alleged wrongdoing by Israel escapes him during a 10-day visit to the country, from his outrage over having to wait at checkpoints to an Israeli man who was “glaring” at his group during a guided tour. He is angered by a hotel security guard who asked for ID, writing it was less than “N---er get out” to “What the f___ are you doing here?”
In the 256-page book, he reports on his visits to Daka, Senegal; Columbia, South Carolina; and the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This column focuses on his “discussion” of Israel which consumes 117 pages of “The Message.”
Let’s begin by acknowledging and condemning abuses of Palestinians. Many have suffered needlessly and unfairly while the Netanyahu administration has been remiss in addressing the issue. Worse, some in his government have supported the discriminatory practices.
But — here is the major point — overall the 2 million Arabs (Jews make up just over 7 million) have been integrated into Israel’s society. They work alongside Israelis, go to Israeli universities, have had a political party since the founding of the Jewish state in 1948, about 100 Arabs have been members of the Knesset (Parliament) and an Arab Muslim sits on the Israeli Supreme Court. This is Coates’s apartheid.
He criticizes the characterization that “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East,” comparing that phrase to advertising jingles such “Just Do It.”
Meanwhile, there have been no elections in Gaza, ruled by Hamas, since 2006. Similarly, in West Bank areas governed by the Palestinian Authority, no elections have been held, except for local offices, since 2012.
Coates ignores the fact that Palestinians could have had a state from day one in 1948 but they rejected the U.N. partition proposal and that Palestinians turned down several proposed two-state solutions.
Former President Bill Clinton, in a recent interview, said what has happened in the Middle East in the last 25 years “is one of the great tragedies of the 21st century.” Addressing the Arabs, he added: “You walk away from these once-in-a-lifetime peace opportunities, and you can’t complain 25 years later.”
Nor does Coates cover the wars Israel has had to fight to survive, nor the intifadas, nor the countless terrorist attacks it has suffered through over the decades that require Israel to have the checkpoints and guards in hotels that upset Coates. (He must be terribly upset at airport security in the U.S.)
He is also mute on the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. One would think that such a renowned writer would spend a few pages outlining, for the reader, the basis of this continuing animosity between the two parties.
The names Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Houthis are no where to be found in “The Message.”
In interviews, he has made the following point: “I’m against a state that discriminates against people on the basis of ethnicity. I’m against that. There’s nothing the Palestinians could do that would make that OK for me.” He also said:
“Were I 20 years old, born into Gaza, which is a giant open-air jail … and I grew up under that oppression and that poverty and that wall comes down — am I even strong enough … where I say, ‘This is too far’?”
Translation: He might have participated in riddling babies with bullets, burning people alive, beheading them and gang-raping women.
He does not report on how support for Israel from Arab Israelis after October 7 increased dramatically. Indeed, he doesn’t even mention October 7.
Thus, we might point out to Mr. Coates, Hamas did not commit its October 7 savagery because it wanted a two-state solution. The terrorist organization proudly bragged its goal is to destroy Israel as stated in its charter and, left to its devices, promised to conduct atrocities “again and again…and again.”
Moreover, Gaza is not “occupied territory.” Israel withdrew on its own from Gaza and four Israel settlements in 2005. Hamas has total control and instead of waging war and building tunnels it could have used the billions of dollars to improve the lives of Gazans. Worth noting: Before October 7, some 18,000 Gazans and 150,000 West Bank Palestinians crossed the border daily to work in Israel.
If he is so moved by human “indignities,” he might spend all of 10 days in Arab countries and “research” how Jews are treated in those countries. While there were some 1 million Jews in Arab countries when Israel was founded in 1948, only 10,000 to 15,000 remain because of persecution. Meanwhile, the Arab population in Israel has grown from about 100,000 to 2 million during the same period. So much for genocide.
As a Black man, he might visit other countries, such as Sudan, which is suffering the worst humanitarian disaster in the world and where Blacks are tortured and killed simply because they are Black. No Jews remain in Sudan because of persecution.
In one challenging TV interview, the host explains to Coates that Israel has had to take severe security measures given all the wars, terrorist attacks, and suicide bombings from Arab nations seeking its destruction.
Coates doesn’t care about the reasons behind the “indignities” suffered by Palestinians. Taken to its logical conclusion, Israel should just continue to accept the slaughter of its people and threats to its very existence. The existential threat does not matter to Coates.
We might note that the TV interviewer made national headlines after he was rebuked by his superiors for asking Coates tough questions.
Coates explains that the world has received misinformation from what he calls “low-information” people and he wants to give the voiceless a voice.
Three points: (1) He is now fully informed having spent a full 10 days in the region. (2) Advocacy is not a role for a journalist; it is the role of a propagandist. His obligation is to present both sides as accurately and objectively as possible. (3) The Palestinians are hardly voiceless; he obviously does not read or listen to the news. (Well, actually he has but takes exception on how the story has been told.)
Coates seems to acknowledge his slanted analysis when he writes: He has no desire to “hear both sides no matter how politely articulated, no matter how elegantly crafted. My frame excluded any defense of the patently immoral.”
In short, the book reeks of loathing, hostility, anger, resentment, animosity — all directed at Israel.
It would not be unfair to suspect that Coates will send royalties he earns from “The Message” to Hamas so the terrorist organization can finance future massacres.
I am referring to Ta-Nehisi Coates, the nationally recognized Black intellectual who has made a reputation as a leading writer on race, delivering such a one-sided screed on Israel’s alleged mistreatment of Palestinians that I checked the copyright page to see if the book was published by Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, or other neighboring enemies of Israel.
The worst part of his new best-selling book? Coates is making lots of money from “The Message” by, sadly, peddling hate. He is appearing “everywhere” during his book tour and the focus always is on his condemnation of Israel’s abuse of Palestinians.
No alleged wrongdoing by Israel escapes him during a 10-day visit to the country, from his outrage over having to wait at checkpoints to an Israeli man who was “glaring” at his group during a guided tour. He is angered by a hotel security guard who asked for ID, writing it was less than “N---er get out” to “What the f___ are you doing here?”
In the 256-page book, he reports on his visits to Daka, Senegal; Columbia, South Carolina; and the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This column focuses on his “discussion” of Israel which consumes 117 pages of “The Message.”
Let’s begin by acknowledging and condemning abuses of Palestinians. Many have suffered needlessly and unfairly while the Netanyahu administration has been remiss in addressing the issue. Worse, some in his government have supported the discriminatory practices.
But — here is the major point — overall the 2 million Arabs (Jews make up just over 7 million) have been integrated into Israel’s society. They work alongside Israelis, go to Israeli universities, have had a political party since the founding of the Jewish state in 1948, about 100 Arabs have been members of the Knesset (Parliament) and an Arab Muslim sits on the Israeli Supreme Court. This is Coates’s apartheid.
He criticizes the characterization that “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East,” comparing that phrase to advertising jingles such “Just Do It.”
Meanwhile, there have been no elections in Gaza, ruled by Hamas, since 2006. Similarly, in West Bank areas governed by the Palestinian Authority, no elections have been held, except for local offices, since 2012.
Coates ignores the fact that Palestinians could have had a state from day one in 1948 but they rejected the U.N. partition proposal and that Palestinians turned down several proposed two-state solutions.
Former President Bill Clinton, in a recent interview, said what has happened in the Middle East in the last 25 years “is one of the great tragedies of the 21st century.” Addressing the Arabs, he added: “You walk away from these once-in-a-lifetime peace opportunities, and you can’t complain 25 years later.”
Nor does Coates cover the wars Israel has had to fight to survive, nor the intifadas, nor the countless terrorist attacks it has suffered through over the decades that require Israel to have the checkpoints and guards in hotels that upset Coates. (He must be terribly upset at airport security in the U.S.)
He is also mute on the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. One would think that such a renowned writer would spend a few pages outlining, for the reader, the basis of this continuing animosity between the two parties.
The names Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Houthis are no where to be found in “The Message.”
In interviews, he has made the following point: “I’m against a state that discriminates against people on the basis of ethnicity. I’m against that. There’s nothing the Palestinians could do that would make that OK for me.” He also said:
“Were I 20 years old, born into Gaza, which is a giant open-air jail … and I grew up under that oppression and that poverty and that wall comes down — am I even strong enough … where I say, ‘This is too far’?”
Translation: He might have participated in riddling babies with bullets, burning people alive, beheading them and gang-raping women.
He does not report on how support for Israel from Arab Israelis after October 7 increased dramatically. Indeed, he doesn’t even mention October 7.
Thus, we might point out to Mr. Coates, Hamas did not commit its October 7 savagery because it wanted a two-state solution. The terrorist organization proudly bragged its goal is to destroy Israel as stated in its charter and, left to its devices, promised to conduct atrocities “again and again…and again.”
Moreover, Gaza is not “occupied territory.” Israel withdrew on its own from Gaza and four Israel settlements in 2005. Hamas has total control and instead of waging war and building tunnels it could have used the billions of dollars to improve the lives of Gazans. Worth noting: Before October 7, some 18,000 Gazans and 150,000 West Bank Palestinians crossed the border daily to work in Israel.
If he is so moved by human “indignities,” he might spend all of 10 days in Arab countries and “research” how Jews are treated in those countries. While there were some 1 million Jews in Arab countries when Israel was founded in 1948, only 10,000 to 15,000 remain because of persecution. Meanwhile, the Arab population in Israel has grown from about 100,000 to 2 million during the same period. So much for genocide.
As a Black man, he might visit other countries, such as Sudan, which is suffering the worst humanitarian disaster in the world and where Blacks are tortured and killed simply because they are Black. No Jews remain in Sudan because of persecution.
In one challenging TV interview, the host explains to Coates that Israel has had to take severe security measures given all the wars, terrorist attacks, and suicide bombings from Arab nations seeking its destruction.
Coates doesn’t care about the reasons behind the “indignities” suffered by Palestinians. Taken to its logical conclusion, Israel should just continue to accept the slaughter of its people and threats to its very existence. The existential threat does not matter to Coates.
We might note that the TV interviewer made national headlines after he was rebuked by his superiors for asking Coates tough questions.
Coates explains that the world has received misinformation from what he calls “low-information” people and he wants to give the voiceless a voice.
Three points: (1) He is now fully informed having spent a full 10 days in the region. (2) Advocacy is not a role for a journalist; it is the role of a propagandist. His obligation is to present both sides as accurately and objectively as possible. (3) The Palestinians are hardly voiceless; he obviously does not read or listen to the news. (Well, actually he has but takes exception on how the story has been told.)
Coates seems to acknowledge his slanted analysis when he writes: He has no desire to “hear both sides no matter how politely articulated, no matter how elegantly crafted. My frame excluded any defense of the patently immoral.”
In short, the book reeks of loathing, hostility, anger, resentment, animosity — all directed at Israel.
It would not be unfair to suspect that Coates will send royalties he earns from “The Message” to Hamas so the terrorist organization can finance future massacres.
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