Haaretz's Bizarro WorldOnly in Haaretz could the liquidation of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh - in the event that he was killed by the Mossad - be deemed a huge blunder by the Mossad and a tremendous failing by Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Based on some of the absurd press coverage, one might believe that al-Mabhouh is alive and well, while many leading Mossad agents are under arrest in an Arab country for attempted murder.
Of course, al-Mabhouh was in fact successfully eliminated without any collateral damage. The operatives - if they are Mossad agents - all appeared to escape Dubai. It is possible that they will be identified, but at least as likely that they never will be. Perhaps their Mossad careers are over, but perhaps not.
The one questionable aspect of this operation - again in the event that it was Israel's - was the use of names and passport numbers of dual citizens of Israel and European countries.
The Haaretz line is followed by perhaps ten percent of Israelis. Yet since it is an English language newspaper with a prominent website, media across the world erroneously assume that the nonsense published on Haaretz's editorial and op-ed pages is actually representative of public opinion in Israel.
posted on 2/19/2010
