J.P. Katz
Nov 30, 2021
Updated: Dec 27, 2021
Vice seems to be a willing participant in a wreckless media cycle that causes the deaths of innocent civilians while putting hundreds of millions of dollars in the pockets of military corporations and corrupt government regimes. In Gaza and beyond, the media dynamics and international aid have spawned a new type of battleground for the hearts and minds of the international community at the tragic sacrifice of innocent human lives.
Vice News, the CNN for millenials and Gen Z, shows its true colors as nothing but a propaganda machine for Hamas and sponsors of world terror.
Vice recently put out a story with omissions so gross that it is closer to fiction than fact. Heads up fact checkers, telling facts that are true does not mean one is not lying.
Feelings evoke action. This is allegedly why there was a huge spike in antisemitic attacks throughout American cities during and after the Gazan government launched thousands of rockets at Israel leaving the IDF no choice but to respond.
But at this point, anyone with half a brain knows that the real war is not being fought with bullets and rockets. It is being fought with ….media. This disgusting and immoral use of media adds a new and too often overlooked layer of the military industrial complex.
The media cycle of hell for citizens on the ground on both sides of any conflict in any country is felt by us all no matter what is trending. But in the case of the Hamas regime ruling Gaza and Palestinian Authority regime ruling the Arab communities in the West Bank this exploitation of media at the cost of its citizens well being and lives is even more grotesque.
Here’s how the media cycle has become part of the military monetization machine on the backs of civilians and here’s why it only applies to Hamas and the PA.
Palestinian Authority or Hamas are the two Arab regimes ruling the west bank and Gaza that were basically democratically elected more than a decade and ceased power barring votes for new parties and democratic elections (I think that means they’re officially not democracies). These two regimes incite terrorism and violence or actually initiate short battles against Israel in an ongoing war which they proclaim is intended to destroy Israel or free Palestine all the way to the Mediteranian Sea which essentially is the same as destroy Israel...but you choose your poison.
So, Israel responds to most but not all attacks in this ongoing war and the PA and Hamas garner international support, both in the form of empathy and ...money. Remember? First, it was barbarians stabbing Jewish people praying, grandmothers, children..basically, anyone who looked Jewish - even Arab Israelis. So Israel fought this with security walls and checkpoints. Then the media swoops in and spotlights to the world that the checkpoints are an inconvenience that is immoral. Remember, the ruling regimes in these cities were actually paying families of terrorists who murder Israelis. This generates more international empathy (read that from the POV of the PA and Hamas regimes as: more money. Rinse and repeat). Remember, Arafat, the founder of the terror group formerly known as the PLO which was the predecessor to the Palestinian Authority...that is the same P.A. that was established during the Clinton Administration’s failed Oslo Accords. Well, Arafat died a billionaire. Yeah...you read that right. With a B.
In Nov. of 2007 60 Minutes reports on Yasser Arafat’s extorted $1 billion in Palestinian public:
"What is Mr. Arafat and the Palestinian Authority worth today?" asks accountant Jim Prince. "Who is controlling that money? Where is that money? How do we get it back?"
So far, Prince's team has determined that part of the Palestinian leader's wealth was in a secret portfolio worth close to $1 billion -- with investments in companies like a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Ramallah, a Tunisian cell phone company and venture capital funds in the U.S. and the Cayman Islands.
Although the money for the portfolio came from public funds like Palestinian taxes, virtually none of it was used for the Palestinian people; it was all controlled by Arafat. And, Prince says, none of these dealings were made public.
Our whole point is to bring it out of control of any one person," Prince says.
That's what happened with the portfolio money, which is now under the control of Salam Fayyad, a former World Bank official who Arafat was forced to appoint finance minister last year after crowds began protesting his corrupt regime.
According to Fayyad, "There is corruption out there. There is abuse. There is impropriety, and that's what had to be fixed."
Remember Salam Fayyad? He was the former President of the Palestinian Authority who came up with a grand plan in 2009 and named it, “Palestine: Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State.” In 2011, he introduced the subsequent National Development Plan 2011–2013: “Establishing the State, Building our Future.” Don’t worry...you won’t hear the media talking about this. It is a very hush hush ambitious plan to essentially set up infrastructure and unilaterally declare independence from Israel.
Fast forward to 2013 and he leaves his brainchild in the hands of Abbas, Arafa’s successor and the ruler of the P.A. who last held elections in 2006.
On April 13, 2013 the BBC reported:
A BBC correspondent says [the former Prime Minister] Mr Fayyad's resignation is a major blow for US efforts to restart the long-stalled peace process with Israel.
His resignation is the climax of long-running and increasingly bitter dispute between the prime minister and the president.
They have been at odds over economic policy since Finance Minister Nabil Kassis quit last month, and rumours were rife that Mr Fayyad would step down.
Mr Fayyad accepted Mr Kassis's resignation, but he was subsequently overruled by Mr Abbas, challenging his authority.
There were terror tunnels trying to murder children in school. Israel goes into Gaza. The media? Lights, camera, action! More money flows into Gaza.
Do you really think this will all stop if Israel offers the west bank for peace? Why should Israel believe that (1) Terror attacks and rockets will stop (2) The international community like the U.N. will run to Israel’s aide in its time of need. What credibility does the governing regimes and the U.N. have left at this point?
There was actually relative quiet for a while then President Trump was in the White House. Hamas and PA were cut off from US aid and the unpredictability of the Trump administration kept tyrants like North Korea in check as well. Enters the current President Biden and ….well...in May the largest attack on Israel started May 10 and ensued with thousand of rockets indiscriminately launched at Israeli cities and towns which are populated by Jews, Arabs and Christians. The Israel Air Force struck strategic sites in Gaza until a ceasefire when the Gazan government finally stopped launching rockets. Can you imagine the footage that the Hamas friendly media outlets had access to? It's all about access when you're a journalist. We don’t have to look too far for misleading reporting on that battle.
But what if the footage was the real fodder? What if it was the dramatic footage of war planes bombing cities that was the real payload that Hamas regime was looking for at the expense and disregard for lives of the citizen’s of Gaza? Think about it. If the regime’s ideology of martyrdom rules the people then the sacrifice of a few hundred lives will yield a significant payload both in media footage which begets empathy which begets financial aid.
Egypt and Qatar each pledged $500 million to rebuild the destruction in Gaza. Reuters reported that, “Over 4,000 Gaza homes were destroyed or damaged during the May fighting, with losses estimated by the World Bank at up to $380 million. Egypt and Qatar have each pledged $500 million for Gaza reconstruction.” If Gaza receives more than $1 billion in international aid for rebuilding what the World Bank estimates to be $380 million in damages, who keeps the change?
If Gaza receives more than $1 billion in international aid for rebuilding what the World Bank estimates to be $380 million in damages, who keeps the change?
Nowadays, everyone has short term memory. It used to be that people couldn’t remember League of Nations or the British Mandate or the 1948 Israeli War of Independence when she was attacked by all neighbors, or the 1967 six day war which she miraculously won and then somewhat successfully gave back land for peace with Egypt and Jordan. What nation fights a defensive war and then gives back the spoils? But today our long term memory has gotten worse. Most people forget Israel’s dramatic forcible removal of all Jews from Gaza in 2005. I was in Israel at the time. It was not pretty to say the least and the optics internationally were even worse, especially when the images of the IDF taking Jews out in cages in cranes were splashed across international media outlets. Jews in giant cages is not exactly the optics you want to telegraph to the nations of the world. The Gazans burned down the greenhouses and valuable source of exports and revenue generating agricultural farms.
And of course, how can anyone forget the war in Gaza in 2014? The Associated Press reported in 2014:
Those involved in rebuilding say the post-war paralysis finally will come to an end next week, with an international pledging conference in Cairo. There, Abbas is to ask for $4 billion for Gaza, including for the rebuilding or repair of more than 60,000 homes and 5,000 businesses.
Reuters reported that, “Over 4,000 Gaza homes were destroyed or damaged during the May fighting, with losses estimated by the World Bank at up to $380 million. Egypt and Qatar have each pledged $500 million for Gaza reconstruction.”
This has been a very long war with many battles being fought. The strange part of this war though is the fact that the international community keeps replenishing the financial aid time and time again.
Let's not forget former P.A. Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad, who’s team identified more than $1 billion grafted (aka stolen) from the Arab population in the West Bank and Gaza. How long has this game of rewarding the governing regime for extorting international aid for personal gain and waging more battles. This is a whole different layer to and type of military industrial complex. Afterall, when Hamas, a terror organization, launches about $1 - $3 million worth of cheap hope-you-hit-something rockets and in return receives a devastating blow caught on film by news, media and smartphones throughout Gaza, the desired yield is increased international empathy for the terrorist organization and more than a $1 billion financial package to rebuild the city. Why doesn't the government ruling Gaza put their resources into building their economy, educating their children and trying to flourish?
When one looks at the circles and cycles of influence they truly have to ask, will this war ever come to an end?
Who really thinks that all of that aide will actually go to rebuilding and humanitarian needs? And of course, let's not forget the jobs and production costs of replenishing the Iron Dome for the global military machine. When one looks at the circles and cycles of influence they truly have to ask, will this war ever come to an end? What incentive to governing regimes and those that lobby them really have to end the cycle?