Since the beginning of the Israeli assault on Gaza, Ha’aretz has done a fairly decent job covering the war; its analytical pieces are, in particular, often interesting and well written. But today, spurred no doubt by a need to publish some feel-good fluff for its readers, Ha’aretz published a truly ridiculous piece called In pictures: Tens of thousands attend pro-Israel rallies in Europe, NY. This short piece is accompanied by a slideshow of.. of what exactly? Of various Jewish organizations demonstrating their support for Israel. Here is the obvious catch of the story: while the huge worldwide demonstrations in support of the Palestinians featured people from the Left and the Right, Muslims and non-Muslims, Arabs and non-Arabs, unions, human rights organizations, various political parties, unions, social groups and even Jews (secular or religious), only the hardcore Zionist claptrap is out in support for Israel. I don’t know how smart the average reader of Ha’aretz is, but I suspect that they are on average pretty intelligent folks, and if that is the case, this feelbe attempt at cheerleading should actually make them feel even more isolated and reviled than before.

Take a look at the article (link above) and look at the slideshow for yourself.

Have you ever seen something as pitiful as that?