Townhall.com, Where Your Opinion Counts
Talk Radio:   Bill Bennett   Mike Gallagher   Dennis Prager   Michael Medved   Hugh Hewitt   
BREAKING NEWS  LeftArrow - Townhall.com : Conservative, Political, Republican   RightArrow - Townhall.com : Conservative, Political, Republican  
Columns, funnies & more in your inbox!
Login | What's Hot
  • Check the boxes and send us your email address to receveive your free newsletter
  • Your daily must-read of conservative columns, cartoons and news. Coulter, Sowell, Krauthammer and more.
  • Townhall.com’s weekly inside scoop on what’s happening behind the scenes in the world of politics. When news breaks, we report.
  • Signup to receive the latest daily Townhall cartoons
Thursday, June 13, 2002
Ben Shapiro :: Townhall.com Columnist
Whitewashing the Palestinians
by Ben Shapiro
Forward Print Share Single Page
Vote on It:
Average Vote:
[+] Text [-]
 
 
Poll
Was the Copenhagen Global Warming Summit Walk-Out a Win for the U.S.?


As an avid moviegoer, I love nothing better than a good political thriller. Still, I am boycotting the newest Tom Clancy movie "The Sum of All Fears." While the Ben Affleck-Morgan Freeman vehicle might be a great summertime blockbuster, I refuse to see it because of a large, ugly plot change: The book's villains were Palestinian terrorists who gain access to a nuclear device, and the movie moguls magically transformed the villains into "neo-Fascists." As a good American, I have a burning hatred of "neo-Fascists" just as much as the next guy, but the whitewashing of the book greatly angers me. Last time I checked, neo-Nazis weren't blowing up towers, killing American journalists or killing Israeli civilians. The real threat today is Islamic murderers and terrorists. And tomorrow's threat is Palestinian terrorists, who will soon reach America's shores. Consider this threat from Nobel Peace Prize-winning Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat: If Israel does not immediately relinquish the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria, "enabling our people to practice their legitimate rights of establishing the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, the whole region will witness a disastrous explosion that will impact not only the region but the stability of the entire world." As reported by the Jerusalem Post and headlined on the Drudge Report on June 8, the world's most celebrated terrorist-turned-"statesman" made this statement in Spain at a dinner honoring European Union Middle East envoy Miguel Moratinos. This comment is not out of character for Arafat; he has made numerous bombastic and inflammatory statements over the years. Still, the idea of a "disastrous explosion" symbolizes something bigger than another conventional suicide bombing in Israel. Perhaps it signals Arafat's willingness to attempt a Sept. 11-magnitude attack on Israel. Israeli intelligence has already uncovered Palestinian plans to topple the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv. Perhaps Arafat's statement signifies his ability to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Palestinian suicide murderers have already shown their willingness to experiment with weapons of mass destruction -- in past months, they have used rat poison in their bombs in an attempt to make these massacres even more death-laden. Of all the possibilities, it is most likely that Arafat's statement means he is very much aware of Al Qaeda's plans to use a dirty (radioactive) bomb in the United States. Two days after Arafat's statement in Spain, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that the U.S. government had caught an Al Qaeda terrorist in the process of planning a dirty-bomb attack in Washington, D.C. Arafat's own words paint a far different picture of him than do today's media, which portray him as a sick old man who only wants peace before he dies but is victimized by the Israeli military and unable to rein in murderers because of Israeli incursions. Arafat has been in control of the Palestinians for nearly 10 years, and in all that time, he has not reined in terrorists. Arafat has thousands of armed gunmen at his disposal. His pretended impotence is ridiculous. The problem isn't just Arafat. His constituency is part of the broader group of Islamists who wish to see a world dominated by fundamentalist Islam. The first step toward that domination is the destruction of Israel. A poll released June 11 by the Palestinian Jerusalem Media and Communication Center showed 51 percent of the Palestinian public wanting the end-goal of the intifada to be "liberating all of historic Palestine," i.e., from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. The Palestinians want Tel Aviv, Haifa and West Jerusalem, not only Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem. It is tragic that the U.S. government continues to stick its collective head in the sand and play along with the Palestinian Trojan Horse of a return to 1967 borders. It was Palestinians who were dancing in the streets after Sept. 11, not neo-Fascists. It was Islamic murderers who massacred nearly 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11, not white racist men. Americans have short memories and forgiving hearts; the last thing Americans need is whitewashing of Palestinian intentions. Tom Clancy's book had the courage to name the enemies of America. For a movie adaptation to change those villains from Islamists to anything else is gutless.
Share:
Forward Print Single Page
Vote on It:
Average Vote:
 
About The Author
Ben Shapiro is a regular guest on dozens of radio shows around the United States and Canada and author of Project President: Bad Hair and Botox on the Road to the White House.
 
TOWNHALL DAILY: Be the first to read Ben Shapiro's column. Sign up today and receive Townhall.com daily lineup delivered each morning to your inbox.
 
©Creators Syndicate

Join The Debate!

Post Your Comment
(0 comments so Far)
View in ascending order     View in descending order
Sign Up to Post Your CommentsSign Up to Post Your Comments
If you are already registered, click here to login. Otherwise, please take a few seconds to register with Townhall.com. Once you sign up, you’ll be able to post your comments immediately, use the action center, get podcasts, and more!
Note: Fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are required.
Salutation:
First Name:
*
Last Name:
*
Email:
*
Nickname:
*
Note: Nick name will be shown when you post comments.
Address 1:
*
Address 2:
City:
 *
State:
 *
Zip:
 *
Phone:
       
Your daily must-read of conservative columns, cartoons and news. Coulter, Sowell, Krauthammer and more.
(Bi-Weekly) We highlight the best opportunities from our partners for surveys, action items and more.