Photo: Ahmed Jadallah, Reuters
Remember the day after 9/11? No, not the Palestinians dancing in the streets; but this:
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat today donated blood for the victims of the US terror attacks and condemned ‘‘this horrible attack.’’
‘‘We are donating our humble abilities to President Bush and to the American people,’’ Arafat said at Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
Arafat, one of hundreds of Palestinians who participated in the blood drive, smiled as doctors drew blood from his right arm.
As he came out of the hospital, about 200 Palestinians started chanting, ‘‘We are ready to give our soul and blood for you.’’
Asked if he had a message for the American people, Arafat said, ‘‘God bless you, God Bless you, God bless you.’’
Well, now it appears it was all a staged propaganda hoax. Noah Pollack at Commentary Magazine reports:
Joel Pollak (no relation) reports on his blog that Charles Enderlin, the France 2 television reporter implicated in the Mohammed al-Dura fabrication, admitted at a talk at Harvard last night that the famous scenes of Yasser Arafat donating blood after the 9/11 attacks were, like the footage of the IDF killing al-Dura, staged:
Enderlin said the event had been staged for the media to counteract the embarrassing television images of Palestinians celebrating in the streets after the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.
The blood donation story made headlines around the world. It was reported by esteemed news agencies like the BBC, and photographs of Arafat lying with an outstretched arm ran on many front pages. But the whole scene was staged, Enderlin said. Arafat didn’t like needles, and so the doctor put a needle near his arm and agitated a bag of blood. The reporters took the requisite photographs.
Arafat, it’s worth noting, died in 2005 of AIDS, and it is thus a good thing that he didn’t actually donate blood. Is it possible that the reputation of the international press corps in Israel, especially its European members, could get any worse?
Hat tip: Michael Totten
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.