Israel's Cover-ups: A New Era That Is Being Ruled By Out-of-date Minds
19 February 2013
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed
We are usually highly critical of Arab governments,
accusing them of being outdated. We also blame them
for their rigid commitment to policies of suppression
and silence. But then we witness a country, such as
Israel, displaying traits that are just as bad as
those we have been criticizing. We typically assume
Israel is a modern and strong country that can deal
with everything in a transparent manner. It has larger
universities, larger research centers and more
advanced media institutes than us. This story,
however, concerns Israel's ?Prisoner X?, who is
believed to have committed suicide in his cell after
being held secretly in prison where he was given the
above code-name to conceal his identity. After an
Australian television channel exposed Prisoner X's
fate, the Israeli security apparatus rushed to muzzle
the local media by bringing together Israel's
journalists and warning them against publishing this
news. This move only increased the British and other
international media's longing to investigate and
uncover the ?crime.? For comparison purposes, let's
revisit the exposure of the last significant Israeli
?secret? when Dubai police chief Dhahi Khalfan
surprised the world with the substantial quantity of
images and information about the Israeli cell that
infiltrated the country and assassinated Palestinian
leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in early 2010. Khalfan
showed images of 27 people who had arrived in Dubai
from six different countries using fake Western
passports. This scene was unprecedented; photos,
passports, places and a map showing the sequence of
events. In this world of modern technology and
communication, the fake passports, wigs and disguises
did not help the agents because their faces were
uncovered and revealed to the world. The faces of
these agents would have been seen across the globe,
rendering them useless for any future operations.
Prisoner X, who the Israelis claim committed suicide,
may not be one of Mabhouh's killers; the Australian
media began investigating this mysterious detainee 6
months before the Dubai murder took place. Following
the scandalous muzzling of the Israeli press Tel Aviv
has shown that it is primarily a security and
military-based regime, adhering to out-of-date
concepts in a world that is full of super-fast ways of
reporting the news. Israeli writer Ronen Bergman tells
an old story about the basement in Beit Sokolov
(headquarters of Israeli Journalists Association),
quoting an expert on military censorship. The military
expert revealed, ?Forty years ago, we had listening
devices on phone lines belonging to foreign
journalists. They used to call their colleagues, and
we used sit and listen to their calls from the
basement. Every time a journalist revealed more
information than they should have, we would interrupt
on the line and shout for them to stop. If that did
not work, we would simply terminate the call. I think
those rushing to conceal this story are still living
with a ?basement mentality.'? He relates a similar
story regarding the policy of concealing truth under
the pretext of security requirements, when in fact
this is nothing more than covering up the murder of an
Israeli agent, committed by the Israeli security
forces more than half a century ago. He reveals that
the victim's son had lived for decades, believing that
his father had fled to Brazil and abandoned him and
his mother. The security services continued to lie to
his family until a journalist, fifty years later,
revealed that his father was a secret agent who was
killed by an anesthetic dose during his abduction to
return him to Israel. In order to hide the crime, they
decided to throw his body in the sea and claim that
the man fled to Brazil.
Maybe they were able to hide political crimes in 1952,
but how can they do so in this day and age? The Dubai
video tapes prove that deception is possible, but not
forever as the truth will eventually come out. When
Israelis claim the Arab press is not free, and that in
Israel, they can throw rotten tomatoes at the prime
minister, we agree with them. However at least we are
aware that the press is not free and are accordingly
unhappy about this fact, whereas they are collective
partners in these deceptions and lies.
This is a new era that is being ruled by out-of-date
minds, not just in terms of journalistic dishonesty,
but also politics. Israel's leaders believe the
occupation of the Palestinian territories is
guaranteed and permanent, as long as there is enough
cement and bullets. However one day they will find
themselves out of time and out of land. The occupation
may last for a century, but it will remain an
occupation, something that requires all of Israel's
potential and production, until Israel's factories
fall silent.
Al
Rashed is the general manager of Al -Arabiya
television. He is also the former editor-in-chief of
Asharq Al- Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly
magazine, Al Majalla. He is also a senior Columnist in
the daily newspapers of Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is
a US post-graduate degree in mass communications. He
has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs.
He is currently based in Dubai.
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