What is Arutz Sheva? What Are They Like?

So we have seen how PCG often quotes from Arutz Sheva. It also referred to as Israel National News. As will shown in later posts UCG and LCG have also quoted Arutz Sheva. (Arutz Sheva is Hebrew for "Channel Seven".)

When Arutz Sheva is quoted by PCG, UCG and LCG they never question or criticize Arutz Sheva. It is taken at face value and not questioned. Therefore it is evident that PCG, UCG and LCG trust Arutz Sheva.

But what is this media source that is named Arutz Sheva? Is PCG, UCG and LCG's trust in Arutz Sheva warranted?

Recently the Israeli President gave a speech in which he stated that Israeli society can be viewed as being divided into four groups, namely secular Jews, national religious Jews, ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arab citizens. As far as I can tell Arutz Sheva caters for the national religious Jews within Israel.

So when looking at what Arutz Sheva should happen to say we must be careful to remember that what they say is mainly for national religious Israeli Jews. Most Israelis are not national religious Jews. If Arutz Sheva should say something we would disagree with let us remember that most Israelis (even other national religious Jews) would quite likely also disagree with Arutz Sheva and with the opinions noted here. We must not stereotype Israeli Jews. Just like any other society there is a very wide range of opinions and diversity of people within Israeli society.

Arutz Sheva caters towards national religious Jews. There is nothing wrong with that. Jews are human beings like anyone else. Jews are as beautiful, precious and flawed as any other persons. If a person who happens to be Jewish should say something wrong then there is nothing wrong to criticize a flawed opinion or to analyze it in a critical manner to see if it withstands scrutiny just like anyone else.

PCG, UCG and LCG tend to quote Arutz Sheva about news stories, not its editorial articles. But let us take a look at what this media outlet, Arutz Sheva, have to say about things in their editorial articles. What do the writers of Arutz Sheva say about things?

Is PCG, UCG and LCG's trust in Arutz Sheva warranted?

Let's take a look at what Arutz Sheva has to say.

Racist Cartoon of Obama as a Shoe Shiner

Here's a disgusting racist cartoon that portrays President Obama shining shoes. So this person working for Arutz Sheva does not like something President Obama did. There is nothing inherently wrong with criticism. But to portray him as a shoe shiner is so wrong in so many ways. For many years in America African Americans were forced into a subordinate position in American society so they were forced to work while being forced to gain less from their work then if they were white. They were forced into that situation even though they are good people and good Americans. Why bring up those good people who were forced to work for less just to mock President Obama?

American Jews are on the Path to Oblivion (?)

Here's one Arutz Sheva writer who says that American Jews are on the "path to oblivion" for not being as supportive towards the State of Israel as she thinks they should be.

Have you ever wondered what was wrong with American Jewry? I have…and after seeing a post on my Facebook page about an upcoming event at a synagogue in Boston, I think I've found the perfect answer to what ails American Jewry. No, it isn't assimilation, though that too is a shocking result of how American Jews have been raising their children for generations. It isn't intermarriage, yeah, that too. Those are symptoms of the problem, not the problem itself.

Over 30 years ago, an uncle (three out of four of his children have married non-Jews, one converted to Christianity, two got divorced, one intermarried a second time) told my sister, "I don't like what you people are doing over there."

"You people" were Israelis to him and rather than learn about Israel and what Israel was doing, my uncle chose the easy way out. He listened to the media and bought the story. He'd even been to Israel one time, more than some of his kids ever accomplished.

The "You People" attitude is what's wrong with American Jewry. That's it. That simple. So long as Israelis are - you people, American Jewry will continue on its path to oblivion. (Paula R. Stern, What Ails American Jewry, April 23, 2015.)

Should Israel Withdraw from the West Bank?

Here's one Arutz Sheva columnist condemning an Israeli dove calling for the State of Israel to withdraw from the West Bank.

One wonders what precisely the doyen of the “human rights brigade”, Hagai El-Ad, the CEO of B'tselem, sought to achieve with his recent oped (“Israel’s charade of Democracy” June 1st 2015, New York Times). Was it to lament that Israel triumphed in the Six Day War of 1967? When hacking through the turgid prose, one hopes to be rewarded with an original thought or innovation, but El-ad only seemed capable of rehashing the same tired and clapped-out arguments regarding surrendering Judea and Samaria. [He means the West Bank.]

Perhaps the laziest concoction was his sweeping denigration of all “settlers” as the sole obstacle to “true democracy” in Israel. It takes a special blend of narrow-mindedness and indifference to history to tar an incredibly diverse cross-section of the population as war criminals and obstacles to peace. (David Gross, B'tselem's Lies are Simply Getting Old, June 3, 2015.)

Heckled by Many Palestinians in the US (?)

Here's one columnist talking with a Jewish student saying he is hassled by Palestinians about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Presumably the student is in the United States.

But he’s not “religious.” His parents always vote for Democrats and he thinks like they do. He is a Liberal. He’s 20. Because he’s a Liberal he was offended by my book on Islam and the media. He gave it a one star review and now regretted doing so.

[Actually most American Jews tend to vote for the Democratic Party. About 90% of them. I wonder how many within the COGs are aware of that fact? - Redfox712.] 

The book got him thinking, he said. Would I please answer one central question?

“Why can’t the Israelis make peace with the Palestinians? This always comes up at school.”

“Who brings it up?” I asked.

“The Palestinians. They keep asking us and we don’t have the answers, nothing they want to hear.”

“Never mind that there are no such people as Palestinians. Who does the talking on your side?”

“There’s me,” he said, “and plenty more of us, but dwindling.”

“How many on the other side?”

“Well,” Michael said, “we have about a thousand Palestinians on campus and we meet some of them regularly whenever we can.” (Jack Engelhard, The Last Jew on Campus, June 1, 2015.)

BDS Denounced as Modern Nazism

Here is one writer who calls people advocating for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against the State of Israel as "just modern Naziism, plain and simple." 

The fact is that there is more freedom in Israel, even for Arabs, than any other country in the Middle East. The BDS is just modern Naziism, plain and simple. And just like the rest of the world contentedly sat by while Jews were discriminated against and then slaughtered in Nazi Germany, most people are perfectly happy to let the BDS chip away at the State of Israel, not caring about its true aims. (Batya Medad, Cellphones and Soccer Balls: BDS versus Israel, June 4, 2015.)

Khamenei Unleashing Genocide Against ... Arabs (?)

Here's one writer luridly describing Khamenei. He even says Khamenei is pursuing a "Persian genocide of the Jewish and Arab peoples". So Khamenei is trying to launch a genocide against Arabs? I have often heard that Khamenei wishes to destroy the State of Israel. However I have never heard that he wants to launch a genocide against Arabs before.

In the cocooned-safety of Tehran, Persia, the black-turbaned Shiite Ayatollah Khamenei tweets about his love of children learning to read. Meanwhile, in the pursuit of his Persian genocide of the Jewish and Arab peoples, Khamenei inflames, instigates, and arms any Muslim who wants to kill any Jew, Christian, or any other sectarian form of Islam. All Arab Islamic extremists, whether they be Shiite, Sunni, Sufi are welcome to Khamenei’s weapons and military advice, although murderous Shiites are preferred.

Ayatollah Khamenei, and his band of megalomaniacal Iranian henchmen, are literally and figuratively fighting to the last drop of the blood of two million Shiite Alawites of Syria. And, with the Syrian rebels about to capture the topographic gateway to the Alawite-predominated Lattakia Syrian coast, Shiite Alawite blood is about to torrent. (Mark Langfan, Khamenei Fights to the Last Drop Of Shiite Alawite Blood, June 4, 2015.)

The Real Danger to Israel is Left Wing Israeli Jews (?)

Here's the editor of Arutz Sheva saying the threat to worry about BDS is that it might be used by left wing Israeli Jews he vilifies as the "enemy within".

However, the difference between the 1930s and now is crucial: the State of Israel. While the Jewish people were then a totally vulnerable, stateless minority, without any means of defending ourselves, today we are not. No matter how much some (or even many) people may want to annihilate us today, the State of Israel means we have the ability to deter our enemies and defend ourselves with devastating effectiveness in the face of attack - as we have done each and every time we were forced to do so, even when Israel was far weaker than it is now.

That is precisely the reason why Israel - the most crucial element of Jewish self-defense - is the new favorite target of anti-Semites. And, ironically, it is also the reason they will fail.

The only existential danger the BDS movement and its fellow travelers pose to Israel is as a stick in the hands of the "enemy within" - namely, those elements on the Left who use it as leverage to pressure Israel into retreat. (Ari Soffer, BDS on the March? Don't Panic - Really, June 4, 2015.)

Call for PLO to be Sent "to Hell in a Handbasket"

Here's one Arutz Sheva writer condemning Israeli leftists and calling for the State of Israel to send the PLO to "hell in a handbasket".

Mahmoud Abbas cannot apply for a patent for the idea of boycotting us at every turn. That idea was raised beforehand, in the irresponsible words of Helmut Ostrerman (aka "Uri Avineri") and his Israeli leftist friends including Alon Llel, Yossi Beilin, Shimon Peres (the father of the "New Middle East" delusion, who once - in a dark  moment - was chosen to be Israel's president), and other fools who constantly "warn" the Jewish people that their international standing will deteriorate if they do not establish another terror state on the hills of Judea and Samaria [He means the West Bank.] for murderers like Jibril Rajoub and his Abbas-type supporters. ... It is time to send the Palestine Liberation Organization to hell in a handbasket before it becomes another Hamas state ... (Dr. Mordechai Kedar, It's not about Soccer, Stupid. It's about Israel's Survival, June 5, 2015.)

Yearning for ISIL to Conquer Palestinians (?)

Here's one writer musing that it would be a good thing for Israel if Abu Bakr al Baghdadi's lackeys (ISIL/ISIS) gained ascendancy among the Palestininans. I hope he is being sarcastic.

In the run-up to this weekend’s visit by French foreign minister Fabius, one of his diplomats has been warning about the dangers of inertia in the peace process saying: If the conflict remains unresolved radical groups such as Islamic State will make the Palestinian cause their own'.
Well … would this be such a bad thing?
ISIS as standard-bearer for the PLO might actually work a lot better for Israel, both in terms of its international relations and national security. ...
If ISIS took over the PLO cause as their own, the world might better understand what Israel was dealing with. Not Armani suits but pure evil. (Zalmi Unsdorfer, Let ISIS speak for Palestine, June 19, 2015.)

That is a terrible idea and it is concerning that this man seems to almost welcome such a thing happening. Maybe he is just being sarcastic. Even if this is not meant to be taken at face value this is a terrible thought. Such a thing would be terrible for everyone concerned, whether Israeli Jewish or Palestinian.

US No Reliable or Sincere Ally of Israel

Here's one writer saying the whole world is against the State of Israel, including the United States.

As a realist, a pragmatist, I have absolutely no doubt that the State of Israel has no real reliable, sincere allies. There isn't even one country that Israel can expect would help in a pinch. Whatever "support" we have is just empty words written by fancy speechwriters for special occasions, like visits to Israel or Holocaust memorials. But if you look carefully at the facts, when Israel has been in danger, whether during our War of Independence, or the 1967 Six Days War, the 1973 Yom Kippur War and all of the periods of Arab terrorism, we've stood alone.
And as we've seen in most recent times, we are condemned for our victories. This absurdity does not come from "ignorance" nor "misunderstanding." The cause is fancy-worded antisemitism plain and simple. The world, yes, the USA, European countries and the United Nation member states would rather see the State of Isrel [sic] defeated. Then they can cry their fake tears, make some fancy memorials and do their best to keep surviving Jews in the gutter. ...
THERE IS NO PALESTINIAN PEOPLE! AND NO NEW ARAB STATE SHOULD RISE! (Batya Medad, Israel- Not Paranoid, The World Really Wants Us Gone, June 25, 2015.)

Blackmailing American Jews to Move to Israel

Here's one writer complaining about President Obama's relations with the State of Israel.

This particular Gemara [traditional Jewish religious commentary] excerpt reminds me of US President Barack Obama’s dealings with Israel and Iran. Look at his behaviour: concerning Israel, Mr Obama has gone on record to state he is Israel’s best friend (Coleen Curtis, “President Obama Tells Israeli People: The U.S Is Proud to Be ‘Your Strongest Ally and Your Greatest Friend’", The White House Blog, March 20, 2013). He has said that the “U.S. has Israel's back and that it would initiate a military strike on Iran if Tehran failed to pull the plug on its nuclear arms program” (Amrutha Gayathri, “Is President Obama Israel's Best Friend?”, International Business Times, March 7, 2012). (Tuvia Brodie, Obama and Israel: a Gemara lesson?, June 26, 2015.)

The author of the article then cites evidence to say that President Obama does not have the interests of Israel at heart. He then ends with taking the Book of Exodus out of context to try to spiritually blackmail American Jews into moving to the State of Israel.

In the Tractate Sotah (11a), we learn how G-d measures out punishment to a gentile leader (Pharaoh) according to how that leader measured out his own actions towards the Jews.

If you live in America, here’s a piece of advice. Think about Obama’s behaviour. Think about what happened to Pharaoh in the Exodus story. Think about measure-for-measure. Then, make aliyah [migrating to Israel]. Move to Israel. Walk away from one who betrays the Jewish nation. (Tuvia Brodie, Obama and Israel: a Gemara lesson?, June 26, 2015.)

What poppycock! How terrible it is that this man viciously perverts and cheapens Judaism into a club to coerce American Jews to migrate to the State of Israel. President Obama is going out of power in less than two years. If one wishes to migrate to the State of Israel then let it not be done in order to give in to superstitious blackmail like this.

Why Do the COGs Trust Arutz Sheva?

So now that we have seen some of the opinions expressed by writers of Arutz Sheva we need to ask why would PCG, UCG and LCG trust a media source that would publish outlandish opinions such as this?

How is it that all these three COGs, namely PCG, UCG and LCG, seem to have no weariness about a media source that would publish opinions and statements such as these?

They do say bird of a feather flock together. Why is it that PCG, UCG and LCG seem perfectly comfortable quoting from a media source that would publish opinions of this sort?